the single debuted in "billboard" the week of 13 july 1985, and was heading into the u.s. top twenty when it was given an international release, including a second release in norway and a third shot at the uk market. it hit number one on the "billboard" hot 100 in the united states, spending 27 weeks on the charts and becoming the tenth-biggest single of 1985, and this time going to number two in the united kingdom and number one in norway. in all, the song reached number one in 36 countries, becoming one of the world's best-selling singles of all time with nearly 9 million copies sold.