"Faded" is a song by British-Norwegian record producer and DJ

Alan Walker Alan Olav Walker (born 24 August 1997) is a British-born Norwegian music producer and DJ primarily known for the critically acclaimed single " Faded" (2015), which was certified platinum in 14 countries. He has also made several songs including ...

with vocals provided by Norwegian singer

Iselin Solheim Iselin Løken Solheim (born 20 June 1990), known simply as Iselin, is a Norwegian singer-songwriter. She is well known for her vocals on Alan Walker's singles " Faded" and " Sing Me to Sleep" and Gryffin's single "Just for a Moment". She start ...

. The

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

was originally set to be released on 25 November 2015, but was postponed to 3 December. The song was highly successful, peaking in the top 10 in most of the countries it charted in, and reached the top spot in more than 10 countries. As of April 2022, it is the 21st most viewed video on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

and also the 14th most viewed music video, with over 3.3 billion views, making it the first

EDM EDM or E-DM may refer to: Music * Electronic dance music * Early Day Miners, American band Science and technology * Electric dipole moment * Electrical discharge machining * Electronic distance measurement *Entry, Descent, and landing demonstrat ...

track to hit that milestone. "Faded" is also the 48th most streamed song on

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

as of April 2022, with over 1.5 billion streams. Walker debuted a live performance of "Faded" with Solheim and string support on 27 February 2016 at the

X Games The X Games are an annual extreme sports event organized, produced and broadcast by ESPN. Coverage is also shown on ESPN's sister network, ABC. The inaugural X Games were held during the summer of 1995 in Providence and Newport, Rhode Island, ...

in Oslo. The performance was aired live on Norwegian television.

Background and composition

The song "Faded" is a revamped version of Walker's past composition "Fade", which was released via the record label

NoCopyrightSounds NoCopyrightSounds (NCS) is a British record label that releases royalty-free electronic dance music. Starting as a YouTube channel, it reached 1 million paid downloads in 2017. History NoCopyrightSounds was started as a YouTube channel in 201 ...

in 2014. Walker was inspired by the music producer Ahrix's sound on his track "Nova" from 2013. In an interview he stated: "The melodies and the way the track progresses are what's so unique and it's what inspired me to create 'Fade' which later on became 'Faded'". The style is inspired by the Norwegian producer

K-391 Kenneth Osberg Nilsen (born 2 November 1994), known professionally as K-391, is a Norwegian music producer. He is best known for his 2018 single "Ignite", a song featuring Alan Walker, Julie Bergan and Seungri which reached number one in Norway. ...

. The melody, I don't know where it came from, but I try to let my emotions and feelings have a big influence on the melodies I produce." While the structure and melody are almost identical to "Fade", "Faded" is noticeably different for its piano intro and outro; with uncredited vocals by

and mainstream production. The song is set in

common time The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

and has a tempo of 90

beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ( ...

. It is written in the key of E♭ minor with a

chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice ...

of E♭m–C♭-G♭–D♭.

Chart performance

"Faded" became a worldwide commercial success upon its release, topping

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

and

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

singles charts, as well as entering the top 3 in the

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

singles chart. The song peaked at number one in more than ten countries and in the top 5 in more than 25 countries. It also charted in various countries including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Switzerland, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It also reached number one on the Shazam Worldwide Top 100 Popular Songs in February 2016, and by March 2016, had become the world's most Shazamed song. Its music video on YouTube reached 1 billion views on 26 March 2017, and has received over 3 billion views to date, making it the 22nd most viewed YouTube video. It is also the 8th most liked YouTube video with over 26 million likes.

Live performances

Several female vocalists have performed the song live:

, the original vocalist on the recording,

Ingrid Helene Håvik Ingrid Helene Håvik (born 1987 in Ålesund, Norway) is a Norwegian songwriter and vocalist. She is best known as the lead singer of Highasakite but has also released a solo album under the artist name Ingrid. Biography Håvik is a former membe ...

(vocalist of

Highasakite Highasakite is an indie pop and indie rock band from Norway. The band formed when vocalist and songwriter Ingrid Helene Håvik met drummer Trond Bersu whilst studying jazz at the Trondheim Jazz Conservatory. In 2010, after just six months, the d ...

Tove Styrke Tove Anna Linnéa Östman Styrke (; born 19 November 1992) is a Swedish singer and songwriter. She gained popularity as a contestant on '' Swedish Idol 2009'', finishing in third place. After the show, she started a solo career in electropop. Sh ...

Alexandra Rotan Alexandra Rotan (born 29 June 1996) is a Norwegian singer. Rotan began her career as a child singer, becoming a superfinalist in Melodi Grand Prix Junior 2010 with the song "Det vi vil". She later joined the group Keiino in 2018, and represent ...

Angelina Jordan Angelina Jordan (born Angelina Jordan Astar; 10 January 2006) is a Norwegian singer whose audition for the 2014 season of '' Norway's Got Talent'', singing "Gloomy Sunday" in the style of Billie Holiday, became a viral video online and brought h ...

Zara Larsson Zara Maria Larsson (, ; born 16 December 1997) is a Swedish pop singer. In 2008, at the age of 10, she won the second season of the talent show '' Talang'', the Swedish version of the ''Got Talent'' format. Since then she has received recogni ...

and Torine Michelle. On 4 November 2017 Alan Walker performed the song live with Against the Current at the 2017

League of Legends ''League of Legends'' (''LoL''), commonly referred to as ''League'', is a 2009 multiplayer online battle arena video game developed and published by Riot Games. Inspired by ''Defense of the Ancients'', a Mod (video games), custom map for War ...

World Championship closing ceremony in Beijing.

Music video

Remains of Rummu quarry utility buildings in the water at night on 5 September 2014

A music video was released, featuring Shahab Salehi as the protagonist. It was produced and edited by Bror Bror and directed by Rikkard and Tobias Häggbom; Rikkard Häggbom served as director of photography. On 24 September 2021, a new music video called

Paradise In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in paradis ...

was released on YouTube featuring

and Boy in Space as a collaboration with mobile game

PUBG Mobile ''PUBG Mobile'' ( Chinese: 和平精英; pinyin: Hé Píng Jīng Yīng) is a free-to-play battle royale video game developed by LightSpeed & Quantum Studio, a division of Tencent Games. It is a mobile game adaptation of '' PUBG: Battlegrounds ...

(PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds). That music video takes place at the same time as ''Faded'', with it becoming the start of the ''World of Walker'' (WoW) Universe, as it uncovers a deeper plot within the previous music video ''Faded''.

Synopsis

The video shows a young man dressed in scruffy clothes and covering his face, roaming with his backpack and a photograph of his home in his hand. He wanders through devastated

high rise A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, residential tower, apartment block, block of flats, or office tower is a tall building, as opposed to a low-rise building and is defined differently in terms of height depending on the jurisdictio ...

s and derelict structures in an

abandoned town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...

, wielding a flare to explore a dark building. Guided by the photo, he finally locates his home, which lies in

ruins Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...

. With a final look at his home, he removes his mask, and the video fades to black.

Filming locations

The video was filmed in

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

at such locations as the

Linnahall Linnahall ( et, Tallinna Linnahall, 'Tallinn City Hall') (originally the V. I. Lenin Palace of Culture and Sports) is a multi-purpose venue in Tallinn, Estonia. It is situated in the harbor, just beyond the walls of the Old Town, and was complete ...

building; a disused textile manufacturing plant and a concert hall in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

; the former

Rummu Rummu is a small borough ( et, alevik) in Lääne-Harju Parish, Harju County, northern Estonia. As of the 2011 census, the settlement's population was 1,088, of which the Estonians Estonians or Estonian people ( et, eestlased) are a Fin ...

prison; the

Rummu quarry The Rummu quarry is a submerged limestone quarry located in Rummu, Vasalemma Parish, Estonia, Europe. Much of the natural area of the quarry is under a lake formed by groundwater, and is situated next to a spoil tip. The quarry is close to two f ...

and lake alongside the adjoining

spoil tip A spoil tip (also called a boney pile, culm bank, gob pile, waste tip or bing) is a pile built of accumulated ''spoil'' – waste material removed during mining. These waste materials are typically composed of shale, as well as smaller quant ...

in Vasalemma Parish; and the city of

Paldiski Paldiski is a town and Baltic Sea port situated on the Pakri Peninsula of northwestern Estonia. Since 2017, it's the administrative centre of Lääne-Harju Parish of Harju County. Previously a village of Estonia-Swedes known by the historical ...

. The last shot features the ruins of a building near the shore on

Pakri Peninsula Pakri Peninsula extends from northwestern mainland Estonia's Harju County into the Baltic Sea. Its length is 12 km and its area is about 40 km2. Portions of the peninsula were protected in 1998 as the Pakri Landscape Conservation Area on the b ...

just outside Paldiski, on the outskirts of Laoküla village,

Keila Parish Keila Parish ( et, Keila vald) was a rural municipality in north-western Estonia. It was a part of Harju County. The municipality had a population of 3,995 (as of 1 January 2004) and covered an area of 178.97 km2. The population density was ...

().

Acoustic version

On 11 February 2016, Alan Walker published an acoustic version of the song called "Faded (Restrung)". The song is performed with a piano and strings, with all the EDM elements taken out. Walker wrote in a note to ''

The FADER ''The Fader'' (stylized as ''FADER'') is a magazine based in New York City that was launched in 1999 by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. It was the first print publication to be released on iTunes. It is o ...

'', that he had decided on an alternative version of "Faded", so as "to highlight other aspects of the song; to present it to another audience who may like Iselin olheims voice and the melodies, but can't stand the electronic parts of it." The music video to "Restrung" features Walker, vocalist Iselin Solheim, and a string ensemble performing in the reactor hall of the dismantled R1, Sweden's first nuclear reactor. The cast wore black

hoodie A hoodie (in some cases spelled hoody and alternatively known as a hooded sweatshirt) is a sweatshirt with a hood. Hoodies with zippers usually include two pockets on the lower front, one on either side of the zipper, while "pullover" hoodies ...

s bearing Walker's logo of his stylized initials. The R1 reactor hall is located underground at Sweden's

Royal Institute of Technology The KTH Royal Institute of Technology ( sv, Kungliga Tekniska högskolan, lit=Royal Institute of Technology), abbreviated KTH, is a public research university in Stockholm, Sweden. KTH conducts research and education in engineering and technolo ...

(KTH) in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

. The same team who created the video for "Faded", also made the music video for "Restrung" — Bror Bror was the producer, Rikkard and Tobias Häggbom directed, and Shahab Salehi was credited as an assistant. The filming atmosphere closely resembles that of "Faded"; according to a behind the scenes video of the filming, the "Restrung" video was shot as a continuation of sorts to the original "Faded" video.

Track listing

*Digital – Single #"Faded" – 3:32 #"Faded" (Instrumental) – 3:35 *Digital – EP #"Faded" – 3:32 #"Faded" (Instrumental) – 3:34 #"Faded" (Restrung) – 3:37 #"Faded" (Piano Version) – 3:35 *Digital – Restrung #"Faded" (Restrung) – 3:37 *Digital – Remixes EP #"Faded" ( Tiesto's Deep House Remix) – 4:29 #"Faded" (

Dash Berlin Dash Berlin is a Dutch electronic music duo started in 2007 in The Hague by Eelke Kalberg and Sebastiaan Molijn. Dash Berlin were voted the seventh most popular DJs in the world according to ''DJ Mag'' in 2012; Kalberg and Molijn were record pro ...

Remix) – 3:35 #"Faded" ( Tungevaag & Raaban Remix) – 4:11 #"Faded" (Y&V Remix) – 4:33 #"Faded" (Tiesto's Northern Lights Remix) – 4:10 #"Faded" (

Luke Christopher Luke Christopher Hubbard (born May 8, 1993) is an American rapper, singer, producer and songwriter. Known as Luke Christopher, he is signed to ByStorm Entertainment / RCA. Early life Luke Christopher was born in Van Nuys, CA. He grew up in the ...

Remix) – 3:26 *Digital – Remixes #"Faded" (Tiesto's Deep House Remix) – 4:29 #"Faded" (Slushii Remix) – 3:31 #"Faded" (Young Bombs Remix) – 3:23 #"Faded" (Dash Berlin Remix) – 3:35 #"Faded" (Tungevaag & Raaban Remix) – 4:11 #"Faded" (Y&V Remix) – 4:33 #"Faded" (Tiesto's Northern Lights Remix) – 4:10 #"Faded" (Luke Christopher Remix) – 3:26 *CD single #"Faded" – 3:32 #"Faded" (Instrumental) – 3:34 #"Faded" (Restrung) – 3:37 #"Faded" (Tiësto's Deep House Remix) – 4:29 #"Faded" (Tiёsto's Northern Lights Remix) – 4:10 *7-inch :A-side #"Faded" – 3:32 :B-side #"Faded" (Instrumental) – 3:35 #"Faded" (Restrung) – 3:37 *Digital – Remixes II #"Faded" (

Slushii Julian Michael Scanlan (born May 1, 1997), known professionally as Slushii, is an American musician, DJ, singer, songwriter, and record producer based in Los Angeles. He is best known for working with various artists managed by Moe Shalizi, such a ...

Remix) – 3:31 #"Faded" (

Young Bombs Young Bombs are a Canadian electronic music duo currently signed to Sony Music Canada. The duo is based in Vancouver, British Columbia and is composed of DJ/producers Tristan Norton and Martin Kottmeier. Starting in 2014, the pair began working o ...

Remix) – 3:22 *Digital – Lost Stories Remix #"Faded" (

Lost Stories ''The Lost Stories'' is the eleventh and penultimate book in the series ''Ranger's Apprentice'' by Australian author John Flanagan. It is a collection of "lost" tales that fill in the gaps between novels. The book was released in Australia ...

Remix) – 3:31 *CD – EP (Japan) #"Faded" – 3:32 #"Alone" – 3:34 #"Tired" – 3:37 #"The Spectre" – 3:11 #"Sing Me to Sleep" – 3:11 #"Routine" – 2:48 #"Faded" (Tiёsto's Northern Lights Remix) – 4:10

Charts

The song was highly successful, peaking between 1 and 20 in most of the countries it charted in, and reached the top spot in more than 10 countries. The only countries where the song peaked between 21 and 40 are

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Copyright

In 2018, Cheetah Mobile removed a level containing this song from ''Rolling Sky'' to avoid being copyright claimed. Other levels with Alan Walker songs removed include " The Spectre", " Alone" and "

Ignite To ignite is the first step of firelighting. Ignite may also refer to: Music *Ignite (band), a melodic hardcore band from Orange County, California * ''Ignite'' (Econoline Crush album), 2007 * ''Ignite'' (Shihad album), 2010 * "Ignite" (Eir Aoi s ...

", as well as remixes of the songs.

References