Hand in Hand (Olympic theme song)

"Hand in Hand"
Single by Koreana
from the album Hand in Hand
Released1988
Length4:13
LabelPolydor
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Giorgio Moroder

"Hand in Hand" (Korean: 손에 손 잡고; RR: Sone Son Japgo) is a song by South Korean band Koreana that was the official theme song of the 1988 Summer Olympics held in Seoul, South Korea. It is sung in both Korean and English and was produced by Giorgio Moroder. Its English lyrics were written by Tom Whitlock while its Korean lyrics were penned by Kim Moon-hwan.[1]

"Hand in Hand" topped the music charts of several European countries, including Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and West Germany. It has since been translated and covered several times. In 2013, Moroder said that the original singer of the demo recording that he presented to PolyGram was Joe Pizzulo, not Koreana.[2]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1988) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[3] 98
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[4] 7
Denmark (IFPI)[5] 3
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[6] 4
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[7] 21
Norway (VG-lista)[8] 1
Portugal (AFP)[9] 3
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[10] 1
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[11] 1
West Germany (GfK)[12] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (1988) Position
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[13] 4
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[14] 3
West Germany (Official German Charts)[15] 21

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Germany (BVMI)[16] Gold 250,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[17] Gold 25,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Cover versions and cultural references

  • A Mandarin version of the song, called 心手相連 (xin shou xiang lian, hearts and hands join), performed by Alan Tam.[citation needed]
  • A Cantonese version of the song, called 一呼百應 (Yat hu bat ying, many people respond to one call), performed by Hong Kong singers Timothy Wong and Pearl Lee.[18]
  • A Swedish version, called "Jul i vinterland" (Eng. Christmas in Winterland"), with lyrics by Keith Almgren, has been recorded by Wizex in 1988 on Christmas compilation albums and on single in 1991.
  • On August 14, 2016, South Korean girl group I.O.I released a digital single and remake of the song.[19]
  • In Venezuela, the group Papel Carbón made a version of this song in Spanish.
  • The ending part of the song was featured in the original version of the Pingu episode "Ice Hockey", whereas the redubbed version has an original piece of instrumental music in its place.
  • The song was also featured in an episode of the Chinese drama series Blossoms Shanghai.

References

  1. ^ Park Moo-jong (July 14, 2010). "Seoul Olympics gave powerful impetus to great changes in South Korea". The Korea Times. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
  2. ^ "Giorgio Moroder". www.redbullmusicacademy.com.
  3. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 170. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  4. ^ "Koreana – Hand in Hand" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  5. ^ "Top 3 in Europe". Music & Media. Vol. 5, no. 38. 17 September 1988. p. 31.
  6. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles". Music & Media. Vol. 5, no. 41. 8 October 1988. p. 26.
  7. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Koreana". Sisältää hitin – 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 135. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  8. ^ "Koreana – Hand in Hand". VG-lista.
  9. ^ "Top 3 in Europe". Music & Media. Vol. 5, no. 43. 22 October 1988. p. 26.
  10. ^ "Koreana – Hand in Hand". Singles Top 100.
  11. ^ "Koreana – Hand in Hand". Swiss Singles Chart.
  12. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Koreana – Hand in Hand" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  13. ^ "1988 Year End Eurocharts: Hot 100 Singles". Music & Media. Vol. 6, no. 52/1. 1 January 1989. p. 30.
  14. ^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1988" (in German). Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  15. ^ "Top 100 Singles–Jahrescharts 1988" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  16. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Koreana; 'Hand in Hand')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  17. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Hand in Hand')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  18. ^ "《一呼百應》疲勞轟炸". Archived from the original on 2023-01-09.
  19. ^ "(싱글) 손에 손잡고". MelOn (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2017-08-11. Retrieved August 15, 2016.