| "99 Luftballons" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Nena | ||||
| from the album Nena and 99 Luftballons | ||||
| Language | German | |||
| English title | "99 Red Balloons" | |||
| Released |
| |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:53 | |||
| Label | Epic | |||
| Composer(s) | Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen | |||
| Lyricist(s) |
| |||
| Producer(s) | ||||
| Nena singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Official video | ||||
| "99 Luftballons" on YouTube | ||||
"99 Luftballons" (German: Neunundneunzig Luftballons, "99 balloons") is a song by the West German band Nena from their 1983 self-titled album. An English-language version titled "99 Red Balloons", with lyrics by Kevin McAlea, was also released by Nena on the album 99 Luftballons in 1984 after widespread success of the original in Europe and Japan. The English version is not a direct translation of the German original and contains lyrics with a somewhat different meaning.[6] In the US, the English-language version did not chart, while the German-language recording became Nena's only US hit.
- ^ Gerard, Chris (7 July 2015). "The 50 Greatest Pop Songs of the '80s, Nos. 40-31". Metro Weekly. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
- ^ Spuhler, Robert (21 September 2016). "The return of Nena". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
- ^ Wide, Steve (22 September 2020). "Honourable Mentions: New Wave 'One-Hit Wonders'". A Field Guide to Post-Punk and New Wave. Smith Street Books. p. 72. ISBN 978-1-925811-76-6.
- ^ Breihan, Tom (10 August 2020). "The Number Ones: Van Halen's "Jump". Stereogum. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
Nena's apocalyptic German-language synthpop banger "99 Luftballons" peaked at #2 behind "Jump".
- ^ Sheffield, Rob (27 September 2022). "100 Best Songs of 1982". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
...the German New Wave boom that also gave us...Nena ("99 Luftballons")...)
- ^ "99 Red Balloons – interview with the writer, Kevin McAlea". Eighty-eightynine. Retrieved 17 July 2014.