"Ocean" is a song by Dutch music producer and DJ

Martin Garrix Martijn Gerard Garritsen (; born 14 May 1996), known professionally as Martin Garrix and also as Ytram and GRX, is a Dutch disc jockey and music producer who was ranked number one on ''DJ Mag''s Top 100 DJs list for three consecutive years—201 ...

featuring American singer-songwriter

Khalid Khalid (variants include Khaled and Kalid; Arabic: خالد) is a popular Arabic male given name meaning "eternal, everlasting, immortal", and it also appears as a surname.

, from the former's debut studio album ''The Martin Garrix Experience''. The song was written by Khalid,

Dewain Whitmore Jr. Dewain Whitmore Jr. is an American Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, and vocal producer based in Los Angeles, California. Signed to Disney Music Publishing, he has worked with numerous popular acts, including Chris Brown, Nick Jonas, DNC ...

Ilsey Juber Ilsey Anna Juber (born April 17, 1986) is an American singer and songwriter from California. Juber co-wrote Mark Ronson's "Nothing Breaks Like a Heart" feat. Miley Cyrus, along with much of Ronson’s ''Late Night Feelings'' album with vocals ...

, and its producers Garrix and

Giorgio Tuinfort Giorgio Hesdey Tuinfort is a Dutch record producer and songwriter. Biography Born in Suriname, Tuinfort moved to the Netherlands at 9 months old. His musical career started at age 4, after he attended a special music class for toddlers. After b ...

. it was released by

Stmpd Rcrds Stmpd Rcrds (stylised in all caps; pronounced "stamped records") is a Dutch electronic dance music record label owned by record producer Martin Garrix, who founded the label on 4 March 2016. History Martin Garrix announced the creation of Stmp ...

on 15 June 2018, alongside its music video.

Background

In October 2017, Khalid tweeted Garrix quoting a fan who asked for a collaboration between them, Garrix responded: "Lets do it". Khalid first revealed that he was in the studio with Garrix during an interview on ''Billboard'' Music Awards' Facebook Live broadcast on 17 April 2018. Garrix later revealed more details on the song to Kenh14 News, saying: "At the moment, I can announce that I have a new song with Khalid. He is a great singer. We will release it early June. I'm really excited about it." In an interview with

Sirius XM Hits 1 ''Sirius XM Hits 1'' is a Contemporary hit radio, Top 40 radio station on Sirius XM Radio channel 2 and Dish Network channels 6002 and 099-02 (099-02 is only for Hopper users). Like most Sirius XM stations, it plays no commercials. The channel was ...

at the 2018 ''Billboard'' Music Awards, Garrix announced the song's title and release date. The official announcement came on 11 June, along with the single artwork.

Music video

A music video for the song was released via Garrix's YouTube channel on 15 June 2018. The video was shot in a warehouse in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...

, which had no water or electricity. The production crew constructed stage lighting, LEDs and a building with glass and mirrors to go with the mood of the song. As of August 2022, the video has received over 293 million views.

Critical reception

Kat Bein of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' felt that the track was "perfectly suited for Khalid's soulful range", who gave listeners his "alto richness and falsetto tenderness over the slow burn beat Garrix cooked". Matthew Meadow from Your EDM described "Ocean" as "the most mellow of any Garrix song we've heard thus far" which "plays more to Khalid's style than it does to his own", thus missing out on most of Garrix's signature musical style.

Dancing Astronaut Dancing Astronaut is an American media platform founded in 2009 that primarily covers the electronic dance music industry. The website covers concerts and festivals, reports on entertainment news, reviews music, and publishes original content sy ...

's Chris Stack wrote that the pair delivered a "laid back pop track blending electronic tropes with elements of rock and R&B into a soothing soundscape polished by calming harmonies", while noting the successful continuation of Khalid's "foray into EDM".

Personnel

Credits adapted from

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. *

– production, mix engineering *

Khalid Khalid (variants include Khaled and Kalid; Arabic: خالد) is a popular Arabic male given name meaning "eternal, everlasting, immortal", and it also appears as a surname.

– vocals *

– production * Denis Kosiak – engineering, vocal production

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 2018 singles 2018 songs Khalid (singer) songs Martin Garrix songs Pop ballads Songs written by Giorgio Tuinfort Songs written by Ilsey Juber Songs written by Khalid (singer) Songs written by Martin Garrix Stmpd Rcrds singles Songs written by Dewain Whitmore Jr.