On this day in 1985: A-Ha went to #1 on the U.S. singles chart with ‘Take On Me’, making them the first Norwegian group to score a U.S. #1. The song spent 27 weeks on Billboard Hot 100 chart and was ranked the #10 song for the entire year of 1985. It would spend one week in the top spot. The video for the song featured the band in a pencil-sketch animation method called rotoscoping, combined with live action which won six awards and was nominated for two others at the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards. On February 17, 2020, the music video reached one billion views on YouTube. Prior to that date, only four songs from the entire 20th century had reached that elusive mark (‘November Rain’ and ‘Sweet Child o’ Mine’ by Guns N’ Roses, ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ by Nirvana, and ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ by Queen) making “Take On Me” the fifth video from that time period ever to do so.

Here’s a look at the complete Top 20 on the U.S. singles chart from this day back in 1985:

1 3 TAKE ON ME –•– A-Ha (Warner Brothers)-15 (1 Week at #1) (1)
2 4 SAVING ALL MY LOVE FOR YOU –•– Whitney Houston (Arista)-10 (2)
3 5 PART-TIME LOVER –•– Stevie Wonder (Tamla)-7 (3)
4 1 OH SHEILA –•– Ready For The World (MCA)-12 (1)
5 9 MIAMI VICE THEME –•– Jan Hammer (MCA)-7 (5)
6 6 LONELY OL’ NIGHT –•– John Cougar Mellencamp (Riva)-9 (6)
7 2 MONEY FOR NOTHING –•– Dire Straits (Warner Brothers)-15 (1)
8 7 DANCING IN THE STREET –•– Mick Jagger & David Bowie (EMI-America)-8 (7)
9 11 FORTRESS AROUND YOUR HEART –•– Sting (A&M)-9 (9)
10 13 HEAD OVER HEELS –•– Tears For Fears (Mercury)-6 (10)

11 12 I’M GOIN’ DOWN –•– Bruce Springsteen (Columbia)-7 (11)
12 15 LOVIN’ EVERY MINUTE OF IT –•– Loverboy (Columbia)-9 (12)
13 8 CHERISH –•– Kool & The Gang (De-Lite)-16 (2)
14 10 DRESS YOU UP –•– Madonna (Sire)-10 (5)
15 24 YOU BELONG TO THE CITY –•– Glenn Frey (MCA)-6 (15)
16 18 I’M GONNA TEAR YOUR PLAYHOUSE DOWN –•– Paul Young (Columbia)-7 (16)
17 25 WE BUILT THIS CITY –•– Starship (Grunt)-7 (17)
18 23 BE NEAR ME –•– ABC (Mercury)-9 (18)
19 21 ONE NIGHT LOVE AFFAIR –•– Bryan Adams (A&M)-6 (19)
20 19 FOUR IN THE MORNING (I Can’t Take Any More) –•– Night Ranger (MCA / Camel)-9 (19)