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Song · Nena

“99 Luftballoons” by Nena

“99 Luftballoons” by Nena appears on 25 radio countdowns from 11 stations between 1983 and 2024. Its best result is #15 on the KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1998). In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #27 alternative song of 1983, #771 alternative song of all time and #354 of the '80s.

25countdowns
11stations
#15best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1983–2024years charted

"99 Luftballons" came off Nena's self-titled 1983 album and made the West German band's name: new wave with a pulse, Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen's music under Carlo Karges' words, and an anti-war song tucked inside a pop hit.

It was such a success across Europe and Japan that Nena cut an English version, "99 Red Balloons", with new lyrics by Kevin McAlea, for the 1984 album 99 Luftballons. That one is no straight translation, and its meaning drifts from the original. In America the choice was clear: the English version never charted, while the German recording became Nena's only hit on the Billboard Hot 100.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1983 20 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1983 107
1983 50 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1983 91

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1988 343 Live 105 Live 105 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1988) 501
1990 173 Live 105 Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1990) 299
1991 255 Live 105 Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1991) 302
1992 309 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1992) 500
1994 64 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1994) 497
1995 70 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1995) 500
1996 71 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1996) 500
1996 74 Q101 Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996) 500
1998 15 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1998) 488
1999 354 WFNX WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) 500
1999 804 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
1999 634 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
2000 855 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 857 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2001 264 WBRU WBRU Modern Rock Top 500 (2001) 500
2002 857 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 1336 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 855 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2003 834 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) 2044
2004 855 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2005 855 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2023 113 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s 850
2024 653 WYEP WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years 1049

Also listed as: 99 Luft Balloons; 99 Luftballons.

Charting alongside it in 1983

Best songs of 1983 →
  1. 1New Year's DayU2
  2. 2Let's DanceDavid Bowie
  3. 3The LovecatsThe Cure
  4. 4Every Breath You TakeThe Police
  5. 5Rebel YellBilly Idol
  6. 6In a Big CountryBig Country

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