a-ha

a-ha is a Norwegian synth-pop band established in 1982. All their ten studio albums have reached either #1 or #2 in Norway, with the first three also entering the top 10 in various countries throughout Europe, amassing over 35 million sales globally. They rose to fame as a ‘teen pin-up band’ with a large following of enthusiastic and vocal fans. Eventually, each member was knighted in Norway for their music contributions.

Frontman Morten Harket was persuaded in 1982 by keyboardist Magne Furuholmen to leave the blues/soul group Soldier Blue to join a band with guitarist Paul Waaktaar. When Harket noticed a song in Waaktaar's notebook intended to be named either “a-ha” or “A-hem”, he proposed naming the band “a-ha”.

A year later, in 1984, the band released their debut single “Take On Me” to considerable success in Norway. However, its re-recording and re-release alongside their debut album Hunting High And Low in the summer of 1985 led to enormous international success, claiming the #1 spot in eleven countries, aided by its innovative, award-winning music video that blended pencil-sketch animation with live-action.

The successor single “The Sun Always Shines On TV” also saw international triumph, reaching the top 20 in eleven countries. The success of these tracks propelled their debut album into the top 20 in twelve countries. a-ha won numerous awards in 1985 and 1986, including seven Billboard Music Video Awards, eight MTV Video Music Awards, five Spellemannprisen Awards (the Norwegian Grammy), a Bravo Otta Award from Germany, an Australian Pop Music Award, and a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist.

The band sustained massive success overseas with their subsequent two albums, both securing top 20 positions in ten countries and spawning several top 40 singles across Europe, though their US popularity waned. “Cry Wolf,” the second single from their sophomore album Scoundrel Days, marked their last minor hit in the US in 1986. Before their third album's release, a-ha recorded “The Living Daylights,” the sole James Bond theme song not created by an American or British artist/band, which ranked among the top 30 in ten countries.

The lead single from the band’s 1990 fourth album, a cover of the Everly Brothers' “Crying In The Rain", placed in the top 30 in eight countries overseas. The following year, a-ha set a world record by performing for 196,000 paying fans in Rio De Janeiro. 1993’s Memorial Beach became their first album not to achieve Gold or Platinum certification, labeled a ‘commercial failure’, and led to the band’s dissolution in 1994, with Furuholmen focusing on art and Waaktaar forming the band Savoy.

Reuniting in 1998 for the Nobel Peace Prize concert, a-ha played “The Sun Always Shines On TV” and debuted a new song, “Summer Moved On”, swiftly written for the event. Initially, there were no future plans, but the 2000 release of “Summer Moved On” in studio form saw top 40 success in five countries, leading to its inclusion on their sixth album.

Between 2002 and 2009, a-ha released three more albums enjoying considerable success in Norway, Austria, and Germany. During this period, they returned to the U.S. for the first time since 1986, performed for 120,000 people in Oslo (recognized as the largest concert ever held in Norway), and released a cover of John Lennon’s “#9 Dream” for Amnesty International.

After their 2009 album Foot Of The Mountain, a-ha announced another disbandment and a 2010 farewell tour. Their greatest hits compilation 25 emerged in 2010, followed by the live album Ending On A High Note in 2011. Nonetheless, on March 21, 2015, they reunited, releasing Cast In Steel and embarking on a world tour. The album reached the top 5 in five countries despite lacking charting singles. In 2017, the band delivered an acoustic performance for MTV, releasing it as MTV Unplugged: Summer Solstice, followed by a world tour in 2018, late 2019 to early 2020, and again in 2022. They released True North along with its accompanying film before the year's end.