"Carrie" by Europe

Top 10 Alert!

Song#:  3214

Date:  08/01/1987
Debut:  71
Peak:  3
Weeks:  19
Genre:  Glam Rock



Pop Bits:  The Swedish band hit #8 with "The Final Countdown," a track from their third album of the same name. Its follow-up, "Rock the Night," slowed their momentum a bit peaking at #30. Hoping to gain back some of the audience they lost, the band then released this power ballad. It was the right move with the song reaching #3 at Pop. It also got to #35 Rock and #36 AC. It would end up being the band's biggest hit in the US. It would help sell albums and by the fall of '87 it would be certified double-platinum. In 1994, the LP would reach triple-platinum status.

ReduxReview:  While a good chunk of the glam rock/hard rock bands of the time were breaking through on the Pop chart with power ballads, Europe did it with hooky, pop-leaning "The Final Countdown." However, it seems they overestimated the appeal of their harder rocking tunes and somehow thought "Rock the Night" was the appropriate follow-up. It wasn't. The tune didn't tank, but it wasn't a significant success. Luckily, someone had the smarts to finally get "Carrie" out. It really should have been the second single. If it had been, I think it might have had a better chance to reach #1. While I wasn't the biggest fan of the tune, it was a well-executed track that had good mainstream appeal.

ReduxRating:  6/10

Trivia:  The b-side to this single was the album track "Love Chaser." That song along with "Carrie" were used in a film. World Grand Prix: Pride One was a 1986 documentary about the sport of motorcycle road racing. The Grand Prix was highly popular in European countries along with Japan. The yearly circuit would include races in various countries. It was much like the NASCAR circuit in the US. A documentary film was made about the races and was released mainly in Japan. There was also an accompanying soundtrack album that featured songs by Europe and another Swedish hard rock band named Madison. To help promote the film, "Love Chaser" was released as a single in Japan with "Carrie" on the b-side. It didn't seem to do well. Then after the band hit it big with "The Final Countdown," a new non-soundtrack related single was issued in Japan that had "Carrie" on the a-side and "Love Chaser" on the flip side.

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