Top 10 a-ha Songs

Photo: Jamesbond raul, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Our a-ha Songs Ranked list takes a look at a band from Norway that released the smash hit single “Take On Me” in 1985. While the band never repeated that success in the United States and many other countries, the group stands as one of the most successful bands of all time in their native home in Norway. Over the course of a thirty-year career, the band has released ten studio albums and thirty-nine singles. What is most impressive is the number of hits the band has continued to have among their Norwegian fans and other International fans. In Norway, the band has celebrated eight number-one albums and two number-two albums. That’s a pretty impressive feat.

None of the albums they ever released charted lower than number two on the Norwegian album charts. The band has also released eighteen compilation albums, five live albums, four video albums, forty-one music videos, and thirty-nine singles. Out of those thirty-nine singles, the band celebrated the success of nine number-one singles. Many of them are presented on the a-ha songs list below. a-ha consists of musicians Paul Waaktaar-Savoy on guitar, Magne Furuholmen on keys, and Morten Harket on vocals.

# 10 – Train of Thought

We open up our a-ha songs ranked list with a song from the band’s debut album, entitled Hunting High and Low. The album was released in 1985. This is the album that ignited the group’s worldwide success with the single “Take On Me.” The song presented here was the fourth single released from the album entitled Train of Thought. This has always been one of our favorite songs on the record. The song was a top 10 hit in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and on the European Hit 100 Singles Charts.

# 9 – Stay On These Roads

Continuing with our a-ha songs list, we present the song “Stay On These Roads.” The songs were also released on the album titled Stay On These Roads. This is one of those songs you just fall in love with in the opening instrumental section. It’s just such a beautiful song. The song hit number one on the Norwegian Record charts in 1988. Just simply stunning!

# 8 – Forever Not Yours

In the number eight spot on our top 10 a-ha songs list is this somewhat Middle Eastern-sounding song, “Forever Not Yours.” This one also has sort of a James Bond feel to it. The song was released on the Lifelines album, which hit the stores in 2002. The song was released as the album’s lead single. In a typical a-ha fashion, the song hit number one on the Norwegian music charts.

# 7 – Celice

“Celice” is another great a-ha song with a moody opening that is then carried away by a driving drum beat and a pulsating bass line. This is a moody, haunting piece that is incredibly addictive. The song was released in 2005 on the album Analog. The song went straight to number one on the Norwegian music charts. The song should have been a bigger hit worldwide, although it reached number 21 in Germany and was a top 40 hit in Switzerland.

# 6 – Move To Memphis

In the number six spot on our a-ha songs list, we present the rocking song “Move To Memphis.” This was sort of an outlier in the band’s catalog. It had a more soulful groove than any of the band’s other singles. It was released as a single from their greatest hits album in 1991.

# 5 – Crying In The Rain

At the halfway point of our aha songs list, we turn to 1990 and the band’s big hit “Crying in the Rain.” The song was released on the album East Of The Sun, West Of The Moon. The song went straight to number one on the Norwegian music charts. It was also a top-ten hit in three other countries and broke into the top 40 in more. This would become one of the biggest-selling singles of their career.

# 4 – The Living Daylights

In the number four spot on our a-ha songs list, we present the theme song to the James Bond movie The Living Daylights. You know you made it big in the music business when the producers of the James Bond films ask your band to write and perform the title song to one of their movies. The movie The Living Daylights and its hit soundtrack single were both released in 1987. The song went straight to number one on the Norwegian music charts. The song was also a top ten hit in Germany, Ireland, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. It failed to even break into the top 100 in the United States.

# 3 – The Sun Always Shines on T.V.

As we get closer to the number one spot on our a-ha songs list, we turn once again to the band’s first album, Hunting High and Low. The song presented here, “The Sun Always Shines on T.V.,“ was released as the third single from the album. Interestingly, this would become the band’s only number one single in the United Kingdom. It was also a big hit worldwide, serving as the follow-up to “Take On Me.” This one is truly a great song.

# 2 – Summer Moved On

This great a-ha song starts off with a distinctive guitar lick, surrounded by a dancing piano, carried along by that classic a-ha drum groove. Yet this one evolves into a huge-sounding, orchestrated piece that feels like a movie soundtrack. The song’s arrangement is spectacular. It’s simply wonderful. The song was released in 2000 on the album Minor Earth Major Sky. It’s a shame this was not a huge worldwide hit. Yet in Norway, it went to number one. It was also a top ten hit in Austria and Germany. This is our favorite a-ha song, and we would have loved to put it in the number one spot, but we just could not ignore the success of the final song on this list.

# 1 – Take On Me

In the number one spot on our a-ha songs list is obviously the song that broke the band big time around the world and turned them into a household name instantly. MTV embraced the video for this song and helped fuel the band’s success as they celebrated a number-one record with their debut single. a-ha’s masterpiece “Take On Me” hit number one in their native home of Norway instantly. However, the song also hit number one in the United States and in Switzerland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, and Australia.

“Take On Me” hit number two in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and number three in France. That’s a pretty successful song. “Take On Me” was released in 1985 on the album Hunting High and Low. Music fans around the world also fell in love with the song’s brilliant music video, which was directed by Steve Barron. It won six Awards in 1986 at the MTV Video Music Awards