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Quick Facts
- NAME: Morten Harket
- OCCUPATION: Singer
- BIRTH DATE: September 14, 1959 (Age: 53)
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Kongsberg, Norway
- ZODIAC SIGN: Virgo
Best Known For
Morten Harket is best known for being lead singer of the Norwegian pop band A-ha, which produced the 1980s hit "Take On Me" and its innovative music video.
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Play NowMorten Harket. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 08:49, May 22, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/morten-harket-21095421.
Morten Harket. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/morten-harket-21095421 [Accessed 22 May 2013].
"Morten Harket." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 22 2013, 08:49 http://www.biography.com/people/morten-harket-21095421.
"Morten Harket," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/morten-harket-21095421 [accessed May 22, 2013].
"Morten Harket," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/morten-harket-21095421 (accessed May 22, 2013).
Morten Harket [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 22] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/morten-harket-21095421.
Morten Harket, http://www.biography.com/people/morten-harket-21095421 (last visited May 22, 2013).
Morten Harket. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/morten-harket-21095421. Accessed May 22, 2013.
The "Take on Me" video took four months and approximately $200,000 to make. It made A-ha stars, and the awards came pouring in. The video scored eight MTV awards in 1986, including the MTV Video Music Awards for Best New Artist, Best Direction, Best Concept Video, and Viewer's Choice.
Sixteen other albums followed, including A-ha's final collection, Ending on a High Note,
Contents
released in 2011. It was a live concert album from Harket and the band's performance at the Oslo Spektrum. Another highlight in the group's career was recording the lead song "The Living Daylights" for the 1987 James Bond film of the same name; the film starred Timothy Dalton as Bond and actress Maryam d'Abo as Bond's love interest, Kara Milovy.
Between A-ha projects, Harket pursued a solo career with four albums, including his last in 2008. In 2000 he broke the record for a man holding the longest single note in a recording. The record was previously held by Bill Withers, who held a note for 18 seconds in the tune "Lovely Day." Harket surpassed that in 2000, by holding a note for 20.2 seconds on the song "Summer Moved On."
Despite all the touring and record releases, Harket and A-ha never repeated the U.S. success of "Take on Me." The song and video continue to be highlighted and parodied in everything from Family Guy and South Park to Psych and a GEICO insurance commercial. The song was even sampled in the song "Feel This Moment" by Pitbull and Christina Aguilera in 2012.
Personal Life
Harket has three children with Swedish actress Camilla Malmquist, to whom he was married from 1989 to 1998, as well as two children from subsequent relationships.
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