"Wake Me Up" (sometimes listed as "Wake Me Up!") is a song by Swedish DJ and record producer

Avicii Tim Bergling (8 September 1989 – 20 April 2018), known professionally as Avicii, was a Swedish DJ, remixer, and record producer. At age 16, he began posting his remixes on electronic music forums, which led to his first record deal. He rose ...

, released as the lead

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 ...

from his debut

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

True True most commonly refers to truth, the state of being in congruence with fact or reality. True may also refer to: Places * True, West Virginia, an unincorporated community in the United States * True, Wisconsin, a town in the United States * ...

'' by

PRMD Music PRMD ''('' ''Pyramid)'' Music was a Swedish- American independent electronic music record label and music publisher well-known for releasing house music records, extended plays (EPs), and albums. The label was home to artists such as Avicii, ...

and

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

on 17 June 2013. It was written by Avicii,

Mike Einziger Michael Aaron Einziger (born June 21, 1976) is an American musician, songwriter and producer. He is best known for being co-founder and guitarist of the rock band Incubus, and has also co-written, produced and collaborated with a wide array of a ...

Incubus An Incubus () is a demon, male demon in human form in folklore that seeks to have Sexuality in Christian demonology, sexual intercourse with sleeping women; the corresponding spirit in female form is called a succubus. Parallels exist in many c ...

and American

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

singer

Aloe Blacc Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins III (born January 7, 1979), known professionally as Aloe Blacc (), is an American singer and rapper. He is known for his guest performance on Avicii's 2013 single "Wake Me Up (Avicii song), Wake Me Up", which peaked on ...

, who provides vocals for the track.

provides acoustic guitar, while Peter Dyer provides keyboard on the song. Avicii introduced "Wake Me Up" for the first time live on stage at the

Ultra Music Festival Ultra Music Festival (UMF) is an annual outdoor electronic music Music festival, festival that takes place in March in Miami, Florida. The festival was founded in 1999 by Russell Faibisch and Alex Omes. It was first held on Miami Beach, but bes ...

in Miami. The experimental rendering (it was accompanied by a live band with instruments and vocalists, including Blacc, Einziger and Incubus members Ben Kenney on bass and José Pasillas on drums) reportedly confused and angered a section of the electronic dance festival community. Subsequently, Avicii achieved critical and commercial success with the release of the single worldwide. "Wake Me Up" has been named as the highest charting dance track of the 2010s, sitting at number 13 in the 100-strong list from the official UK Singles Chart. It is the only song to crack the ''Billboard'' Decade-End without making the top three during any week. It also reached number one in much of Europe and charted well in various countries. The song has been described as a "summer anthem" by ''Variance Magazine'' and, throughout the 2013 festival season, Avicii included it as part of the opening or closing sequence of his sets at EDC Las Vegas, EDC London,

Tomorrowland Tomorrowland may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Tomorrowland (Disney Parks), a theme land at a number of Disney theme parks around the world * Tomorrowland (festival), an annual electronic dance music festival in Boom, Belgium * ''Tom ...

Creamfields Creamfields is an electronic dance music festival series founded and organised by British club promoter Cream, with its UK edition taking place on August Bank Holiday weekend, with a number of international editions held across various territo ...

Electric Zoo Electric Zoo was an annual electronic music festival held over Labor Day weekend in New York City on Randall's Island. The festival represents all genres of electronic music, bringing top international DJs and live acts from multiple countries t ...

and the

iTunes Festival The Apple Music Festival (formerly known as the iTunes Festival) was a concert series held by Apple, Inc. and inaugurated in 2007. Free tickets were given to Apple Music, iTunes and DICE users who lived in the United Kingdom, through localized ...

. Due to the success of the song, Blacc later released an acoustic version of "Wake Me Up" in his solo EP '' Wake Me Up''. It was also released as a promotional stand-alone single on

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture ...

, made available online for downloads via

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

. A separate music video was also made. The Blacc single charted on various charts.

Background

In an interview with the '' Daily Star'', Avicii, who had previously labelled "Wake Me Up!" as "a fun experiment" during an exclusive chat with

MTV UK MTV is a British pay television channel focusing on reality TV and music programming operated by Paramount Networks UK & Australia. The channel launched as part of MTV Networks Europe localisation strategy in 1997. MTV UK (previously MTV UK & I ...

, said: "I had a demo with

Mac Davis Morris Mac Davis (January 21, 1942 – September 29, 2020) was an American songwriter, singer, performer, and actor. A native of Lubbock, Texas, he enjoyed success as a crossover artist and writing for Elvis Presley during his early career, pro ...

singing, the guy who wrote some songs that were covered by

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

, but I needed another singer to do the parts. At the same time I was tipped off about doing another track with

, and I started working on that track. When I was with

from

, we came up with the chord progression and the melody for 'Wake Me Up!' but no real lyrics. None of us sing and we really needed to get that demo down and the only person I knew that lived in LA was Aloe, so I called him and he was free. Lyrics come really easy to him so he wrote them in a couple of hours and we finished the track." Aloe Blacc, who is not credited on the track, explained to ''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...

'': "I started writing the lyrics at the top of 2013, travelling back from

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. I started in

hip hop music Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music Music genre, genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African Americans, African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide r ...

back in the 90s and I never expected to be singing and have an actual career as a musician, but I'm travelling all over the world and I thought 'Life is a dream, wake me up when it's all over'. I was invited to the studio with Avicii and Mike Einziger from Incubus, and when I got to the studio they had already come up with a chord progression of the song. I came in with the lyrics and I just developed the melody as I heard the chords, and we all thought it was something very strong. We finished the song that night as an acoustic version, then Avicii made the dance mix in a couple of days, and that's what we released to the world, and that was his release." Blacc later released an acoustic version of the song which was included on his solo EP '' Wake Me Up''. It was also released as a promotional stand-alone single by

and made available online for download via

. The single also charted in its own right in various charts.

Composition

"Wake Me Up" is a

folktronica Folktronica is a genre of indie electronic music comprising various elements of folk music and electronica, often featuring uses of acoustic instruments—especially stringed instruments—deploying hip hop, electronic or dance rhythms, and ...

song, blending elements of EDM,

and

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

. Musically, it is written in the key of

B minor B minor is a minor scale based on B, consisting of the pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative major is D major and its parallel major is B major. The B natural minor scale is: Changes need ...

and runs at 124 beats per minute (BPM). It follows a chord progression of Bm/G/D/A – Bm/G/D/F#, with Blacc's vocals ranging from B₂ to B₄.

Critical reception

Robert Copsey of ''

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its initial launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television pro ...

'' gave the song a positive review, stating:

"As chart-friendly EDM continues to reach the furthest corners of the globe, staying ahead of the pack can prove a tricky task – especially when more and more acts arrive on the scene turning out mixes with identikit build-ups, tired lyrics and uninspired breakdowns that newcomers to the arena lap up with excitement. Kudos to Avicii then, who has dared to try something a little different for his latest offering. "So wake me up when it's all over/ When I'm wiser and I'm older," featured artist Aloe Blacc sings over dialled-up, country-flecked guitar strums that sound like
Mumford & Sons Mumford & Sons are a British folk rock band formed in London in 2007. The band consists of Marcus Mumford (lead vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, drums), Ted Dwane (vocals, double bass, bass guitar), and Ben Lovett (British musician), B ...
on speed. The jig-along chorus may conjure up images of Brits-on-tour, but to be honest, what summer anthem doesn't?" .

At the end of the year, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' listed "Wake Me Up" at number 26 on its list of 100 Best Songs of 2013.

Commercial performance

The single has peaked at number one in 22 countries to date, including Australia, New Zealand, Hungary, Ireland,Avicii continues Irish singles chart reign with 'Wake Me Up!'
, publisher=

the United Kingdom and several European countries, in addition to reaching the top 10 in six others. The song is also the most searched on the

Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

owned music identifying app Shazam with more than 23 million in February 2018. In Australia, the song debuted at number 42 on 24 June, before reaching the two spot two weeks later making it both Avicii's and Blacc's highest-charting single in the country. Prior to reaching the top spot,

Robin Thicke Robin Alan Thicke (born March 10, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his 2013 single " Blurred Lines" (featuring T.I. and Pharrell Williams), which peaked atop the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, received ...

's, "

Blurred Lines "Blurred Lines" is a song by American singer Robin Thicke featuring American rapper T.I. and American musician Pharrell Williams from Thicke's sixth studio album of the same name (2013). Solely produced by Williams, it was released as the a ...

" spent eight weeks atop the chart. On its sixth week at the top, 12 August, "Wake Me Up" became the longest-running number one by a Swedish act since

Roxette Roxette is a Swedish pop rock duo originally consisting of Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle, both of whom were already established musicians in Sweden prior to the band's formation. Fredriksson had released a number of successful solo albums, ...

's 1989 hit "

The Look "The Look" is a song by Swedish pop duo Roxette. It was released in early 1989 as the fourth single from their second studio album, '' Look Sharp!'' (1988). It became an international hit, and was one of the most successful singles of 1989. It t ...

". In Ireland, "Wake Me Up" spent seven consecutive weeks at number one. "Wake Me Up!" has performed well in the North American music markets, having peaked in Canada and the United States at number two and number four, respectively. It spent 21 weeks in the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100, and 54 non-consecutive weeks overall, making it the first Dance/Electronic song to stay over a year on that chart. It also reached number one position in the 7 September 2013 issue of Billboard's

Dance/Mix Show Airplay Dance/Mix Show Airplay (formerly Hot Dance Airplay) is a monitored electronic dance music radio chart that is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The chart came about as a result of the small but influential impact of electronic dance musi ...

Chart. In Canada it was the second best-selling song of 2013 with 519,000 copies sold (523,000 for all versions combined). It is the first dance/electronic song to sell over 4 million copies in the U.S., and as of August 2015 it has sold over 4,060,000 copies. In July 2013, "Wake Me Up" entered at the number one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Avicii's second UK number one and selling 88,000 copies in its first day and 267,000 in its first week, becoming Britain's fastest-selling single of 2013 at the time of writing. Following three weeks at number one, "Wake Me Up" spent a further four consecutive weeks at number two, and a total of 11 consecutive weeks in the top ten. By October 2013, the single had sold over 1 million copies in the UK, becoming the 140th single to do so in UK chart history and the third single of 2013 to do so. "Wake Me Up" was also the fifth most streamed track of 2013 in the UK. The song also spent nine consecutive weeks at number one on the

UK Dance Chart The Dance Singles Chart and the Dance Albums Chart are music charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company from sales of songs in the electronic dance music, dance music genre (e.g. house music, house, trance music, trance, ...

until being replaced by Avicii's next single "

You Make Me "You Make Me" is a song written and recorded by Swedish DJ and record producer Avicii. The song features unlisted/uncredited vocals from Swedish musician and singer Salem Al Fakir in collaboration with Swedish songwriter Vincent Pontare. It was ...

Music videos

A lyric video to accompany the release of "Wake Me Up" was first released on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

28 June 2013, at a total length of four minutes and thirty two seconds, and teaser clips for the official video were also released. The official video for the song was released a month after the lyric video on 29 July. It was directed by celebrity photographer

Mark Seliger Mark Alan Seliger (born May 23, 1959) is an American photographer noted for his portraiture. From 1992 to 2002, he was Chief Photographer for ''Rolling Stone'', during which time he shot over 188 covers for the magazine. From 2002 to 2012 he was u ...

and co-directed and edited by CB "Barney" Miller (former guitarist for 1980's pop band Miller Miller Miller & Sloan). It features a woman and a young girl, intended to be sisters, portrayed respectively by Russian model Kristina Romanova and Laneya Grace. It depicts them and how they are different from the people in their dreary village, as Laneya mentioned that people are seen looking at the two often with disgust and revulsion except for one of them. One morning, Kristina gets up early and rides off on a horse to a nearby city. Once in the city, she finds how welcoming and accepting the people are of her. She notices a woman with the Avicii logo birthmark like the one on her lower arm. They meet others and then jump into a truck and are then shown to be attending an Avicii concert. The next morning, Kristina rides back home on the horse and tells Laneya that she found "somewhere they belong" as they pack up all their belongings and depart the village for good. The video ends with them walking down the highway as they move into the city and shots from the concert and one of the staring villagers from the beginning seeming to notice and depressed by the sisters' departure before resuming her uninspired life. The video includes

product placement Product placement, also known as embedded marketing, is a marketing technique where references to specific brands or products are incorporated into another work, such as a film or television program, with specific promotional intent. Much of t ...

from Denim & Supply by

Ralph Lauren Ralph Lauren ( ; ; born October 14, 1939) is an American fashion designer, philanthropist, and billionaire businessman, best known for founding the brand Ralph Lauren (brand), Ralph Lauren, a global multibillion-dollar enterprise. He stepped do ...

and the

Sony Xperia Z The Sony Xperia Z is an Android-based smartphone by Sony. Announced at CES 2013 the phone was officially released on 9 February 2013 in Japan and 1 March 2013 in Singapore and the UK. It was released in the U.S months later. The Xperia Z was i ...

smartphone, used to capture a group

selfie A selfie () is a self-portrait photograph or a short video, typically taken with an electronic camera or smartphone. The camera would be usually held at arm's length or supported by a selfie stick instead of being controlled with a self-timer ...

at the concert. The video was shot by the Santa Clara River orange groves and in the town of

Piru, California Piru () is a small unincorporated historic town located in eastern Ventura County, California, in the Santa Clara River Valley near the Santa Clara River and Highway 126, about east of Fillmore and about west of Interstate 5. Lake Piru, ...

, north west of

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and Downtown LA as well as concert footage from an Avicii performing at the 2013 Ultra Music Festival in Miami. As of January 2025, the video has 2.4 billion views on Avicii's official YouTube channel, making it one of the 60 most viewed videos on the site. In addition, his own channel Avicii collaborated with the YouTube channel "Yo Mama" to produce the official music video for the single on his remix album, ''True: Avicii By Avicii''. It was directed by Zachary James and Alex Negrete.

Track listing

*;Digital download #"Wake Me Up" – 4:09 #"Wake Me Up" (Mr. Worldwide Remix) – 3:38 *;Digital download — remixes #"Wake Me Up" (Avicii Speed remix) – 7:04 #"Wake Me Up" (reggae mix) – 4:31 *;Digital download — remixes #"Wake Me Up" (Avicii Speed remix) – 7:04 #"Wake Me Up" (original extended mix) – 5:44 #"Wake Me Up" (reggae remix) – 4:31 *;Digital download — remixes (part 2) #"Wake Me Up" (PANG! Slow Things Down remix) – 6:12 #"Wake Me Up" (

EDX edX is an American For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit massive open online course provider. It was founded by MIT and Harvard. It is a subsidiary of 2U (company), 2U. History edX was founded in May 2012 by the admi ...

Miami Sunset remix) – 6:32 *;CD single #"Wake Me Up" (radio edit) – 4:09 #"Wake Me Up" (instrumental) – 4:32

Credits

Personnel

–

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

, producer *

–

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

, songwriter * Arash Pournouri – co-producer *

–

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

, songwriter * Peter Dyer – keyboards Adapted from CD single and BMI website.Tim "

" Bergling (2013). ''Wake Me Up''. ingle Cover PRMD Music, Universal Music. (catalogue #00602537477319)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Release history

Acoustic version

On 30 September 2013, Blacc released his own acoustic version of the song. The track appeared on the '' Wake Me Up EP'' as track number two in the 5-track EP. "Wake Me Up (Acoustic)" was released as a promotional stand-alone single on

and made available online for downloads via

. The track also appears on Blacc's full studio album '' Lift Your Spirit''.

Music video

In October 2013, Blacc released the music video for "Wake Me Up". Blacc collaborated with the immigrant rights group National Day Laborer Organizing Network and the ABC* Foundation's Healing Power of Music Initiative. The director is Alex Rivera. The cast were real life immigrant activists: Hareth Andrade Ayala (a

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

leader in the immigrant youth movement working to stop her own father's deportation), Agustin Chiprez Alvarez (a Los Angeles day laborer), and Margarita Reyes (who was deported with her mother as a child despite being born in the US).

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Cover versions

Tebey version

"Wake Me Up" was

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of ...

in the style of

in 2013 by Canadian country singer

Tebey Tebey Solomon Ottoh (born October 14, 1983), known Mononymous person, mononymously as Tebey, is a Canadian-American country music singer and multi-genre songwriter. His debut single, "We Shook Hands (Man to Man)", hit 47 on the ''Billboard (mag ...

featuring Canadian country band

Emerson Drive Emerson Drive was a Canadian country music band consisting of Brad Mates (lead vocals), Danick Dupelle (guitars, backing vocals), Mike Melancon (drums), and Dale Wallace (keyboards, backing vocals). The band was founded in 1995 as 12 Gauge, which ...

. This version was released to digital retailers via TebeyMusic on 27 November 2013 as the third single from the former's second studio album, ''

Two 2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and the only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many ...

'' (2014) before impacting radio in January 2014. The song was released in the US on 28 January 2014 through The Talent Associates. It has been well received by Canadian country radio, peaking at 5 on the

Canada Country The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

airplay chart. The song is also included on Tebey's 2016 EP, ''

Old School Old school, Old School, or Old Skool may refer to: Computers and gaming *Old school gaming or retrogaming, playing and collecting obsolete computer, video, and arcade games * Old School Renaissance, a trend in tabletop gaming *''Old School RuneS ...

''.

Track listing

Chart performance

"Wake Me Up", as performed by Tebey and Emerson Drive, entered the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007 as the standard record chart in Canada; a new chart ...

at No. 63 for the week ending 1 February 2014. It peaked at No. 56 for the week ending 29 March 2014, which position it held for one chart week.

Weekly charts

Certifications

Britton Buchanan and Alicia Keys version

"Wake Me Up" was covered by American recording artists

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer and songwriter. A classically trained pianist, Keys began composing songs at the age of 12 and was signed by Columbia Records at 15. After d ...

and Britton Buchanan during Season 14 of the singing competition '' The Voice''. Buchanan and Keys performed the song as a tribute to

who had died a little over a month earlier. Studio version of the song was released as a single on 21 May 2018 through

Republic Records Republic Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Based in New York City, it was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially ...

. The song appears on Buchanan's album ''The Complete Season 14 Collection (The Voice Performance)''.

Track listing

Live performance

Buchanan and Keys performed the song live on the Season 14 finale of '' The Voice'' on 21 May 2018. They performed a stripped down rendition of the song and dedicated their performance to

, with Keys saying "This one's for you Avicii! We're celebrating life, love and finding ourselves!". Amanda Bell of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' wrote that "his whimpering tones are a good match for this piece, and her ability to break away is always pretty strong" but concluded that the performance was "still a bit boring".

Spark Productions cover

In the United Kingdom, the original release date was intended to be 8 September 2013. In the absence of the original, a group called "Spark Productions" took advantage and released a cover version of it; this version reached number 26 on the UK Singles Chart before Avicii conceded to public demand and decided to release it early, with the

Official Charts Company The Official UK Charts Company Limited (formerly Music Industry Chart Services Limited), trading as the Official Charts Company (OCC) or the Official Charts (formerly the Chart Information Network), is a British inter-professional organisation ...

announcing on 15 July 2013 that it would be released that week.

Other notable covers

A cover of the song in Irish was uploaded onto

on 9 August 2013, by TG Lurgan, a music project by Irish-language summer college

Coláiste Lurgan Coláiste Lurgan is an independent summer school that runs three-week Irish-language immersion courses in the Connemara Gaeltacht village of Inverin in County Galway. As part of their student-directed focus in language teaching, the school runs ...

. The video received heavy publicity and popularity within Ireland from many news websites and the public. The video was a viral hit within the country and with Irish abroad, hitting a million views in one week. British band You Me at Six made a country version for

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

Live Lounge The Live Lounge is a segment on the British radio stations BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra. It was originally hosted by Simon Mayo, and later by Jo Whiley on her weekday mid-morning, and later weekend lunchtime radio shows, then by Fearne Cott ...

. James Shotwel commented that their cover "will be pulling at your heart strings all day long. The once fun-loving track has taken a turn for the melancholy, but it plays so well you'll hardly think twice about the change."

Jessica Mauboy Jessica Hilda Mauboy (; born 4 August 1989) is an Australian singer. Born and raised in Darwin, Northern Territory, she rose to fame in 2006 on the Australian Idol (season 4), fourth season of ''Australian Idol'', where she was runner-up and s ...

covered the song on 14 October 2016 For her 2016 album, '' The Secret Daughter: Songs from the Original TV Series''. It reached number 34 on the Australian

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

Children in Need 2014 version

Performed by

Gareth Malone Gareth Edmund Malone (born 9 November 1975) is an English choirmaster and broadcaster, self-described as an " animateur, presenter and populariser of choral singing". He is best known for his television appearances in programmes such as '' Th ...

's All Star Choir, the song was released as the official BBC

Children in Need ''BBC Children in Need'' is the BBC's UK Charitable organization, charity dedicated to supporting disadvantaged children and young people across the country. Established in 1980, the organisation has raised over £1 billion by 2023 through its ...

single for 2014. Choirmaster and broadcaster Gareth Malone has previously had chart success after putting together non-singers and turning them into a cohesive choir. In 2011, he guided the

Military Wives The Military Wives Choirs is a registered charity and network of 70 choirs in British military bases across the UK and overseas, bringing women in the military community closer together through singing. With over 2,000 members, the MWC network ...

– a group of women with partners serving overseas in the army – to Christmas number one with the song " Wherever You Are". In 2012, in collaboration with

Gary Barlow Gary Barlow (born 20 January 1971) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He is the lead singer of the pop group Take That. Barlow is one of the United Kingdom's most successful songwriters, having writ ...

, Malone produced the song "

Sing Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

", as part of the

Diamond Jubilee A diamond jubilee celebrates the 60th anniversary of a significant event related to a person (e.g. accession to the throne or wedding, among others) or the 60th anniversary of an institution's founding. The term is also used for 75th annivers ...

celebrations, with the Commonwealth Band being joined by the Military Wives. Malone was chosen to create the official Children in Need single for 2014, and his efforts were captured in a two-part series, ''Gareth Malone's All Star Choir'', which aired on 3 November and 10 November. The BBC press release said that Malone would "bring together an array of untrained voices from the world of television sport and theatre" for the single. The celebrities that make up the All Star Choir are

Margaret Alphonsi Margaret Omotayo Sanni Alphonsi (born 20 December 1983) is an English former rugby union player who played as a flanker for Saracens W.R.F.C. and England before retiring in 2014. She was Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year in 2010, and was i ...

Jo Brand Josephine Grace Brand (born 23 July 1957) is an English actress, comedian, presenter and writer. Starting her entertainment career with a move from psychiatric nursing to the alternative comedy stand-up scene and early performances on '' Satur ...

, Radzi Chinyanganya,

John Craven John Raymond Craven (born 16 August 1940) is an English journalist and television presenter, best known for presenting the BBC programmes '' Newsround'', '' Countryfile'' and '' Beat the Brain''. Early life Craven was born in Leeds, West Rid ...

Mel Giedroyc Melanie Clare Sophie Giedroyc ( , ; born 5 June 1968) is an English actress, comedian and television presenter. With Sue Perkins, she has co-hosted series including ''Light Lunch'' for Channel 4, '' The Great British Bake Off'' for the BBC an ...

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and

Alison Steadman Alison Steadman (born 26 August 1946) is an English actress. She received the 1977 Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actress for ''Abigail's Party'', the 1991 National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress for the Mike Leigh film ...

Promotion and live performances

Gareth Malone went on numerous television and radio shows to promote the song, including some presented by celebrities who feature on the record. This included spots on ''

Loose Women ''Loose Women'' (known as ''Live Talk'' from 2000 to 2001) is a British talk show that broadcasts on ITV weekdays from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm. The show focuses on a panel of four female presenters who interview celebrities, talk about aspects of ...

'', ''

Blue Peter ''Blue Peter'' is a British children's television entertainment programme created by John Hunter Blair. It is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having been broadcast since October 1958. It was broadcast primarily from BBC ...

'', ''

The One Show ''The One Show'' is a British television magazine and chat show programme. Broadcast live on BBC One weekdays at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. It is currently co-hosted by Alex Jones, Roman Kemp, Ronan Keating ...

'' and Alice Levine's afternoon show on Radio 1.

Chart performance

After its release on 9 November, the song was placed at number 1 on the midweek Official Chart Update on Radio 1, ahead of "

Thinking Out Loud "Thinking Out Loud" is a song by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran recorded for his second studio album, '' ×'' (2014). It was written by Sheeran and Amy Wadge, and produced by frequent collaborator Jake Gosling. It was released in the US ...

" by

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran ( ; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...

and

Cheryl Cheryl is a feminine given name with multiple origins. The name might have originated as a combination of the name Beryl with the prefix ''Cher-'' from the French ''chérie'', meaning ''darling'' (from the past participle of the verb ''chérir'' ...

's " I Don't Care", which was number one the previous weekend.

Weekly charts

MØ version

A cover of "Wake Me Up" was recorded by Danish singer and songwriter

MØ Karen Marie Aagaard Ørsted Andersen (; born 13 August 1988), known professionally as MØ (; not to be confused with ∅), is a Danish singer and songwriter. She signed a recording contract with Sony Music Entertainment in 2012 and released he ...

, as the

promotional single A promotional recording, promo, or plug copy is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as mu ...

for her upcoming fourth studio album ''Plaeygirl''. It was released on December 6, 2024 via

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

. According to MØ, she was inspired to record her version of the song, as a tribute to Avicii. She recalled heading his song "Levels" back at a rooftop party in 2012, in New York; " here'ssomething about the unapologetic, almost aggressive energy mixed with a haunting emotional depth made me make up my mind to follow my dreams of becoming an artist, whatever the cost. I was working with some of his friends out of his house in LA, in the days leading up to his passing. I remember having felt so honoured to be working out of this Scandinavian legend’s studio. He changed music, and he changed me. Forever I will be remembered, enchanted and inspired by angel Avicii. who was a friend of the singer before his death, and had previously collaborated together in the track " Dear Boy".

References

Background

Composition

Critical reception

Commercial performance

Music videos

Track listing

Credits

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Release history

Acoustic version

Music video

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Cover versions

Tebey version

Track listing

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Certifications

Britton Buchanan and Alicia Keys version

Track listing

Live performance

Spark Productions cover

Other notable covers

Children in Need 2014 version

Promotion and live performances

Chart performance

Weekly charts

MØ version

See also

References