"99 Luftballons" (literally "99 Balloons") is a protest song by German singer Nena that reached number one in Germany in 1983. Both the English and German versions of the song tell a story of 99 balloons floating into the air, triggering an apocalyptic overreaction by the military. The song was composed by Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen, the keyboarder of the NENA-Band. The bands guitar-player Carlo Karges wrote the original german Lyrics. The translation from "99 Luftballons" to "99 red Balloons" was made by Kevin McAlea.

The song came during a period of escalating rhetoric and strategic maneuvering between the United States and the Soviet Union. In particular, its chart success coincided with the Able Archer 83 crisis. The Soviet Union misread a NATO exercise as an actual preparation for a nuclear strike and activated its own weapons for a preemptive strike, creating a tense situation in which World War III might indeed have started by mistake.

The English translation of "99 Luftballons" (titled "99 Red Balloons") was not a literal translation. Nena topped the UK Singles Chart with this version for three weeks from 28 February 1984. She never charted again in the U.K., and was placed #10 on the recent "Channel 4" poll, "The 100 greatest one hit wonders of all time". The song also peaked at #2 on the U.S. Hot 100 chart.

The song has been covered by numerous bands, most notably by 7 Seconds in English, Siobhan DuVall, and by Goldfinger in English with a German verse. The latter cover was featured in several films, including Eurotrip (2004) and Not Another Teen Movie (2001) as well as the video game Gran Turismo 3 (2000) as background music and during various competitions in Nickelodeon's television movie Rocket Power: Race Across New Zealand (2002).

"99 Luftballons" was also used in a Telus commercial in Canada in 2003. This commercial featured piglets being lifted up by red balloons into the air, with the German song playing in the background.

VH1 Classic, an American cable television station, ran a charity event for Hurricane Katrina relief in 2006. Viewers who made donations were allowed to choose which music videos the station would play. One viewer donated $35,000 for the right to program an entire hour and requested continuous play of Nena's "99 Luftballons" and "99 Red Balloons" videos continuously for an entire hour. The station broadcasted the videos as requested from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. EST on March 26, 2006.

Mentions in the media

• A cover version is featured in the European release of the 2004 video game Donkey Konga.
• On a Vh1 one-hit-wonders special, host William Shatner joked that this was the only song on the countdown to mention him. He was of course referencing the line "Hielten sich für Kaptain Kirk." ("They thought that they were Captain Kirk.")
• Played in the 2003 French movie La Beuze
• Played in the 2002 video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
• Sang for a few seconds by Drew Barrymore in the 1998 movie The Wedding Singer
• Played in the pilot episode of NBC's television series My Name is Earl.
• It has been featured in a Saturday Night Live commercial, advertising a smoke detector that plays the hits of the 1980s.
• Played in one of the climactic scenes of Boogie Nights
• Features in the reunion dance scenes of Grosse Pointe Blank
• Features as the closing theme for the BBC Radio 4 spoof panel game The 99p Challenge
• Features in an episode of the television series Scrubs (Episode 2.20 , "My Interpretation")
• Is sung by Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn in the movie Wedding Crashers as a deleted scene.
• Played on the Australian countdown programme 20 to 1 on 13 February 2006, in the episode "20 to 1: One Hit Wonders".
• P. Diddy claims this to be one of his favorite songs.
• Briefly quoted in the Guster song "Amsterdam".
• Homer sings this song (in German) in The Simpsons episode "The Heartbroke Kid."
• In a spoof of American Idol in MADtv Season 8, three celebrity contestants (Courtney Love, Wham!, and Bobby Brown) sang in different styles.
• Listened by Lorelai in Gilmore Girls when she goes into labour.

External links

• A triple side-by-side comparison of the German lyrics, a direct translation, and the English version
• List of bands who have covered this song