Joey Tempest Reveals Why 'The Final Countdown' Success Was Unexpected

Europe's frontman Joey Tempest shared his thoughts about the band's hit song, "The Final Countdown."

Upon the 1986 song's release, it pushed Europe to become the No. 1 song in 25 countries, including the UK. Both the track and the album led the band to savor the spotlight of international fame before the group took a brief hiatus in 1992.

Decades later, "The Final Countdown" remains an anthem in the rock music industry, making the Europe frontman have some thoughts about the band if the song never became a hit.

Joey Tempest Says "The Final Countdown" Led Europe To Have New Genre

The frontman recently spoke about the hit 1986 song in an interview with Classic Rock. Per Tempest, he sometimes wonders what would have happened to them if the track never reached the peak at all.

He also shared the possibility of Europe going back to its more melodic sound before it became a hard rock band.

The singer revealed that he and his bandmates were already going places but "The Final Countdown" gave them something they could have never dreamt of.

"As international rock bands, Def Leppard and Iron Maiden had opened a lot of doors. And for a short period, we were the biggest band in the world," he said. "Suddenly we were playing festivals with Duran Duran and it was like, 'OK, we're here for a while, are we?' We became a crossover band. I don't know whether that's good or bad."

Tempest noted how he never gave an interview without him mentioning the song. Thus, when asked how it feels like to perform the track so often, he proudly mentioned that "The Final Countdown" brings people together, especially during heavier festivals.

Europe always finds it amazing to see the song unite people from all music genres.

Europe To Return With New Music

Elsewhere in the interview, Tempest hyped fans by hinting at Europe's upcoming new music. Like what the frontman said about the band returning to its 1980s sound, the upcoming album would reportedly be connected to their early materials.

According to the frontman, talking about such a release would be impossible if they had planned it 10 years ago. Fortunately, they found themselves completing the music project in the most natural way while making Tempest's songwriting return to its roots.