Take On Me

"Take On Me"
First release (1984)
Single by a-ha
from the album Hunting High and Low
B-side	"And You Tell Me" "Stop! And Make Your Mind Up" "Love Is Reason"
Released	19 October 1984 (1984-10-19) (1st release) 5 April 1985 (1985-04-05) (2nd release) 16 September 1985 (1985-09-16) (3rd UK release)
Recorded	1984–85
Studio	RG Jones, London[1]
Genre	Synth-pop new wave[2]
Length	3:44 (1985 7" single version) 3:48 (album version) 4:48 (1985 12" version) 3:18 (1984 7" single version) 3:46 (1984 12" version) 3:49 (instrumental version)
Label	Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s)	Magne Furuholmen Morten Harket Pål Waaktaar
Producer(s)	John Ratcliff Alan Tarney
A-ha singles chronology
"Take On Me" (1984) "Love Is Reason" (1985)
Music videos
"Take On Me" (original version) on YouTube
"Take On Me" (second version) on YouTube

"Take On Me" is a song by the Norwegian synth-pop band a-ha. The original version, recorded in 1984 and released in October of that same year, was produced by Tony Mansfield and remixed by John Ratcliff. The 1985 international hit version was produced by Alan Tarney for the group's debut studio album, Hunting High and Low (1985). The recording combines synth-pop with a varied instrumentation, including acoustic guitars, keyboards, and drums.

The original 1984 version "Take On Me" failed to chart in the United Kingdom, as did the second version in the first of its two 1985 releases. The second of those 1985 releases charted in September 1985, reaching number two on the UK Singles Chart in October. In the United States in October 1985, the single topped Billboard's Hot 100, bolstered by the wide exposure on MTV of director Steve Barron's innovative music video featuring the band in a live-action pencil-sketch animation sequence. The video won six awards and was nominated for two others at the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards.