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10 songs that feel like The Living Daylights

Matched to The Living Daylights by a-ha on how the music actually moves — intensity, dynamic swing, texture, tempo — not by genre tag. Here's what makes each one a match.

The Living Daylights
The song you love
The Living Daylights
a-ha
moderate 59/100 intensity 110 BPM
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Wrapped Around Your Finger — The Police moderate 112 BPM

A 99% feel-match — carries the same confident pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (59/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (112 BPM).

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Through Being Cool — Devo moderate 120 BPM

98% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (60/100). Same layered texture.

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Supernaut — Black Sabbath intense 120 BPM

Keeps the same confident pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (64/100). Measured 95% alike.

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Ain't That Nothin' — Television moderate 120 BPM

Measures 95% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (60/100). Same layered texture.

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Not Today — BTS intense 95 BPM

A 95% feel-match — carries the same confident pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (61/100).

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Hey Now — Kendrick Lamar intense 95 BPM

95% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (61/100). Same layered texture.

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Blood Sugar Sex Magik — Red Hot Chili Peppers intense 92 BPM

Keeps the same confident pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (61/100). Measured 95% alike.

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Dionysus — BTS intense 128 BPM

Measures 94% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (64/100). Same layered texture.

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The Wicker Man — Iron Maiden moderate 140 BPM

A 94% feel-match — carries the same confident pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (62/100).

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Shock the Monkey — Peter Gabriel moderate 112 BPM

99% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (59/100). Same layered texture.

…and if you want it calmer

Same feeling, measured gentler — for when The Living Daylights is more than you want right now.

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When Tomorrow Comes — Eurythmics safe 117 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but it stays in our safe band start to finish. Intensity 45/100, down from 59. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Head Over Heels by ABBA
Head Over Heels — ABBA safe 118 BPM

It stays in our safe band start to finish, so it lands at 45/100 — the pull without the edge. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Skateaway by Dire Straits
Skateaway — Dire Straits safe 110 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while it stays in our safe band start to finish. Reads 40/100. Nearly the same tempo, too.

The Kids Don't Stand a Chance by Vampire Weekend
The Kids Don't Stand a Chance — Vampire Weekend safe 120 BPM

Holds the same feel while it stays in our safe band start to finish. 45/100, versus the original's 59. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Toosie Slide by Drake
Toosie Slide — Drake safe 82 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but its dynamic range stays a gentler 4 where the original climbs to 7. Intensity 16/100, down from 59.

Not Fade Away by Buddy Holly
Not Fade Away — Buddy Holly safe 135 BPM

Its dynamic range stays a gentler 4 where the original climbs to 7, so it lands at 29/100 — the pull without the edge.

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Mule Skinner Blues (Blue Yodel #8) — Bill Monroe & his Blue Grass Boys safe 140 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while its dynamic range stays a gentler 5 where the original climbs to 7. Reads 33/100.

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Roar — Kidz Bop Kids safe 128 BPM

Holds the same feel while it stays in our safe band start to finish. 42/100, versus the original's 59.

Frequently asked

What songs sound like “The Living Daylights” by a-ha?

The closest feel-matches we measure are “Wrapped Around Your Finger” by The Police, “Through Being Cool” by Devo, “Supernaut” by Black Sabbath — the top match scores 99% alike. Matching is by how the songs actually move (intensity, dynamic range, texture, tempo, predictability, vocal force), not by genre tag or popularity.

What songs are like “The Living Daylights” but calmer?

“When Tomorrow Comes” by Eurythmics, “Head Over Heels” by ABBA, “Skateaway” by Dire Straits keep a similar feel while measuring gentler — lower dynamic swing, fewer sudden shifts, or a calmer overall level.

How intense is “The Living Daylights”?

It measures 59/100 on our intensity scale, computed from a dynamic range of 7/10, layered texture, moderate sudden shifts, and dynamic vocals. Tempo is 110 BPM.

How do you decide which songs are similar?

Every song in our catalog is measured on 8 dimensions — intensity, dynamic range, tempo, sudden changes, texture, predictability, vocal force and fine sound detail. Similarity is the distance between two songs across those measurements, so matches cross genres and eras. Shared mood tags break ties.

By the numbers: how this song compares

Computed from this song’s place among the 19,209 songs we’ve measured.

Where it sits in 19,000 songs

On our 19k-song scale this lands in the middle band — more energetic than 77% of songs, calmer than the other 23%. Its intensity reading of 59/100 comes from a dynamic range of 7/10, layered texture, moderate shifts, and dynamic vocals. Relatively few songs occupy this exact corner of the spectrum.

What makes it unusual

What stands out most about this song is blazing intensity: more extreme on that axis than 77% of everything we've measured. At the far opposite end of the library sit the songs built on near-total stillness — steady volume, no surprises, a slow and unhurried pulse — the kind of track this one is the counterpoint to.

Feels almost identical to

Closest matches by feel across all 19,209 measured songs — not by genre or artist, by how they actually move.

What it’s good for

Sleep0/10
Focus3/10
Workout4/10
Dinner6/10
Party / hype6/10

Scored from this song’s tempo, intensity, dynamics and texture — not crowd votes.

1987 in context

The 205 songs we’ve measured from 1987 average a dynamic range of 6.5/10. At 7/10, this track is right in line with its year.

Mixes smoothly with

Within a few BPM and close in feel — they flow without a jarring transition.

The fingerprint

Intensity59
Dynamics67
Tempo39
Surprise50
Density33
Predictability50
Vocal force75
Trigger load25

The 8-dimension measurement behind every rating on this page.

Want the single closest match, with every dimension compared?

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