"Friends" is a 1993 single by Norwegian singer Stella Getz. It was released as the first single, from the debut album, Forbidden Dreams and peaked at number-one in Hungary and Israel. In Scandinavia, the song reached number 5 in Norway and number 9 in Denmark.
Background and release
Getz was discovered after entering a DMC contest at the age of 16. After having cut just a few demos, she soon got herself a deal with Mega Records and went into studio with producers Lars E. Ludvigsen and Mikkel S. Eriksen to work on her first single. The song is described as a fusion of loud but subtle rock guitars with a techno foundation, highlighted by a remarkable melody and Getz' fog horn-strength vocals. She made her first public appearance on Norwegian Television performing "Friends" in the popular TV-show Casino. "Friends" peaked at number-one in both Hungary and Israel. It also reached the Top 5 in Norway, and the Top 10 in Denmark. In Germany, it peaked at number 32, with 16 weeks on the charts. The song also peaked at number 81 on the Eurochart Hot 100 in February 1994.
Critical reception
Music & Media wrote about the song, "The instant appeal of the single is clear, and so is the 17-year old singer with African blood in her veins. A stunning synth riff like on Stevie Wonder's Superstitious are the wheels on which this song rides. Miss Getz raps and scats—what else with such a jazzy surname?—on top of that. The sing-along chorus is the finishing touch of the song, easily holding its own in the Euro dance field which is suffering already too much from conventions, making it almost impossible to say who's who. With the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer ahead, one gold medal should go to Norway at least. For originality."
Music video
A music video directed by Matt Broadley was produced by Mega Records to promote the single. It shows the singer in a big yellow-painted room. Through a giant pirate binocular she sees a crowd of "friends" arriving and then starts singing. The friends are coming through the door, although Stella tries to keep them outside. They wears white masks and they're taking over the place. They're breaking LP-records and dancing on them. They eat all the food in the fridge. And they are tagging down the walls with graffiti spray. In the end the friends are dancing around Stella, who has been tied with a rope to a tall lamp.
