A-ha’s widely popular video “Take on Me,” released back in 1985, has made history after passing the one billion views mark on YouTube.
If we see the songs from the 20th century, it can be noted that only four songs from the entire century could make it past the billion views mark before this.
These include “Sweet Child O’ Mine” and “November Rain,” from Guns N’ Roses, Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” and “Bohemian Rapsody” by Queen.
The fifth and the newest addition to the group is “Take on Me.”
A-ha has also made history by becoming the first-ever European act to accomplish this achievement.
The original “Take on Me” was initially released in 1984 but it couldn’t make quite an impression. So it was re-launched by the creators the next year.
The new video of the song was a combination of animation and live-action, making it a hit on MTV and finally giving it the first position in 36 territories.
In an interview with Billboard, Magne Furuholmen, the keyboardist of A-ha, revealed how the video managed to stay popular over all those years.
Magne said: “Obviously the video is unique and it has some features that stand up and stand the test of time. It’s hand drawn which makes it what it is.”
He added: “The song also seems to resonate with people across time.
“It’s just very fortunate to have such a big song in our catalog. We probably spent a few years talking it down, trying to get people to focus on new stuff we’re doing.
“At this point, certainly speaking for myself, I’m just surprised and proud that the song has done so well and still finds an audience.”
Videos older than 1990 have recently received a huge increase in viewership over the last few years but it is not unusual for the videos produced recently to get more than a billion views.
The first video ever to get more than a billion views was “Gangnam Style,” which got more than a billion views in December 2012.
Other notable music videos to have got a billion-plus viewership are Despacito, Uptown Funk, and Shape of You.
As of A-ha, they are planning to have a tour of Australia to perform there on the coming Wednesday. They will also be visiting a number of other venues across the world this year.
Replaced!