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Faded (Alan Walker song)
2015 single by Alan Walker From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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"Faded" is a song by Norwegian DJ and record producer Alan Walker with vocals by Norwegian singer-songwriter Iselin Solheim. A rework of Walker's prior single "Fade", the song was written by Walker, Jesper Borgen, Mood Melodies, and Gunnar Greve, and produced by the former three. The song was released as a single by MER on 3 December 2015 for digital download and streaming.
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The song topped charts and has received certifications in several countries around the world, including 11× platinum in Sweden, double diamond in Poland, 7× platinum in Italy, and quadruple platinum in both Australia and Spain.[1] 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. As of May 2025, it is the 30th most viewed video on YouTube and also the 18th most viewed music video, with over 3.8 billion views as of August 2025. It was the first EDM track to hit 3 billion views.[2][3] "Faded" is also the 95th most-streamed song on Spotify as of June 2025, with over 2.1 billion streams.[4]
The accompanying music video, directed by Rikkard Häggbom, who also directed Alan's other single hits, has been widely praised for its cinematic storytelling and dystopian imagery. Walker debuted a live performance of "Faded" with Solheim and string support on 27 February 2016 at the X Games in Oslo.[5] The performance was aired live on Norwegian television. The song was put as the ultimate track on Walker's 2018 album Different World after an interlude specific to the track.[6]
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Background and release
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The song "Faded" is a revamped version of Walker's past composition "Fade", which was released via the record label NoCopyrightSounds in 2014.
When "Fade" first started gaining attention in 2014, many people said, "Oh, I feel like this song has lyrics, but it doesn't," and Walker responded, "It's kind of weird to say that, because it's an instrumental song that's just the same melody over and over again, just a little bit different." Walker had been toying with the idea of redoing the vocals for some time. He envisioned fleshing out "Fade" into a larger song, but wasn't ready to do it yet. So, he spent his time working on other releases.[7]
Then, when he signed with MER Musikk in 2015, the team at MER had the idea to add a piano to "Fade," write lyrics and find the perfect vocal for the song, and met Iselin Solheim through one of the songwriters they were working with.[8]
With the release of this song, He first uploaded teasers to YouTube, the first showing an excerpt of what the remake sounds like, the second showing the lyrics, and the third revealing the expected release date and name of the track, "Faded."[9][10][11] Faded was originally planned to be released on 25 November (as a belated 1-year anniversary of Fade being released on NCS), but it was delayed "due to circumstances out of Walker's control."[12] The track was eventually released on 3 December.[13]
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Writing and composition
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The lyrics for "Faded" were written by Jesper Borgen, Anders Frøen, and Gunnar Greve.[14] In addition to the lyrics, this song also changed the intro and introduced a piano. In the acoustic version, only the piano, violin, and Solheim's vocals are heard.[15] "Faded" is noticeably different from "Fade" for its piano intro and outro, and for having uncredited vocals by Iselin Solheim and mainstream production.[16] The song is said to be a mix of electro-pop and EDM. Additionally, you can feel the influence of electro and progressive house. Due to its slow tempo of 90 beats per minute, the song is often categorized as "downtempo". Walker commented on this in an interview with Norwegian national broadcaster NRK: "This is not what's popular these days," adding: "It's very different."[17] The chord progression is based on D♯m–B–F♯–C♯ and was written in D♯ minor. In a 2016 interview with the American online magazine The Knockturnal, he said "I don’t know where [the melody] came from, but I try to let my emotions and feelings have a big influence on the melodies I produce."[18]
Lyrically, the song expresses a sense of longing and search for something meaningful. The song's protagonist feels like she is fading away, both physically and emotionally, and struggles to find her way back to a place of belonging and purpose. In a Genius attribution, Walker said of the lyrics:
I would describe “Faded” as a happy yet emotional song, appropriate for both sad and/or uplifting occasions. It’s about searching for someone, something or somewhere lost. Or just feeling lost! One of the things I like the most about its lyrics is that the meaning can be interpreted freely by the listener.[19]
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Critical reception
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The song received mainly positive reviews. Tatiana Cirisano of Billboard said, "The rolling beats and stunning synth progressions have captivated dance listeners around the world." Simon Cleese of the music website Dance-Charts wrote, "With Faded, Alan Walker, along with vocalist Iselin Solheim, has created a radio hit that is at least as suitable for main floor clubs. The mood, vocals, and elements make Faded a very special song."[20] Anke van de Weyer of German radio station 1LIVE said, "It's a brilliant pendulum between melancholy and bass banging, but when it gets too set, Alan Walker picks up the tempo, and when he really gets into party mode, he slows down again."[21] The website vol.at wrote, "The voice of young artist Iselin Solheim fits the concept perfectly."[22] Forbes contributor Kris Holt said: "Which is a pretty humdrum EDM track that didn’t grab me in any way except for the vocals."[23]
Vice ranked "Faded" at number 93 on their "The 101 Best EDM Songs of All Time" list: "Despite sharing the same title as one of 2014's biggest EDM hits and the same chorus as another, it feels startlingly foreign in the trap arms race. While The Chainsmokers rode a corrugated rollercoaster, Walker made something weightless, with drifting piano parts floating around Fourth World synth percussion that sounded like Enigma put together after a big puff of helium."[24]
Chart performance
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"This is undoubtedly the track that most people associate me with, and it's kind of crazy to think that it was released three years ago. I'm always asked what this track means to me, and the best way to describe is probably that it literally changed my life forever. These past three years have been absolutely incredible for me, and I never imagined the impact this single would have when I first released it when I was 18 years old."
—Walker talking about the success of "Faded"[6]
"Faded" became a worldwide commercial success upon its release, topping Norwegian, Finnish and Swedish singles charts, as well as entering the top 3 in the Danish singles chart. The song peaked at number one in more than ten countries and in the top 5 in more than 25 countries.
In the United States, the song debuted at number 91 on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number 80, becoming Walker's first chart entry on the Billboard Hot 100. It also ranked No. 4 on the Dance Club Songs chart and No. 7 on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified his 3× Platinum for sales of 3 million copies. In the UK, it debuted at number 91 on the UK Singles Chart on 11 February 2016, and peaked at number 7. It peaked at number 2 on the UK Dance charts. The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) awarded him a 3× platinum certification for sales of over 1.8 million copies.
In Walker's native Norway, the song reached number 19 in 2015, one week after its release. Two weeks later, it jumped to number one. In Germany, the song earned him the top spot on the Dance Chart for 13 weeks and the Airplay Chart for 2 weeks.[25] The song was streamed 3.69 million times in one week, setting a new streaming record in Germany, beating Adele's "Hello" with 3.5 million streams.[26] Bundesverband Musikindustrie (BVMI) certified 7× Gold for sales of 1.4 million.
"Faded" topped the charts in several countries around the world, including Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. obtained. She has received several certifications around the world, including 11× platinum in Sweden, double diamond in Poland, 7× platinum in Italy, and quadruple platinum in Australia and Spain.[1] 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.[27]
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Live performances
Several female vocalists have performed the song live: Iselin Solheim, the original vocalist on the recording, Ingrid Helene Håvik (vocalist of Highasakite), Tove Styrke, Alexandra Rotan, Angelina Jordan, Zara Larsson and Torine Michelle.[28] On 4 November 2017, Alan Walker performed the song live with Against the Current at the 2017 League of Legends World Championship closing ceremony in Beijing.[29]
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Music video
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A music video was released, featuring Shahab Salehi[30] as the protagonist.[31] It was produced and edited by Bror Bror and directed by Rikkard and Tobias Häggbom; Rikkard Häggbom served as director of photography. Its music video on YouTube reached 1 billion views on 26 March 2017, and has received over 3.8 billion views to date, making it the 30th most viewed YouTube video.[32] As of January 2025, it has over 29 million likes, making it the 26th most liked YouTube video.
On 24 September 2021, the music video for "Paradise", a seventh single for Walker's follow-up album World of Walker, was released on YouTube featuring K-391 and Boy in Space as a collaboration with mobile game PUBG Mobile (PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds).[33] Taking place at the same time as "Faded"'s music video, it serves as a retroactive expansion of Faded, with it becoming the start of the "World of Walker" (WoW) universe.
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 rises and derelict structures in an abandoned town, wielding a flare to explore a dark building. Guided by the photo, he finally locates his home, which lies in ruins. With a final look at his home, he removes his mask, and the video fades to black.[31][34]
Filming locations
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Architects Raine Karp and Riina Altmäe
The video was filmed in Estonia[31][35][36] at such locations as the Linnahall building;[36] a disused textile manufacturing plant and a concert hall in Tallinn; the former Rummu prison; the Rummu quarry[36] and lake alongside the adjoining spoil tip in Vasalemma Parish; and the city of Paldiski.[37] The last shot features the ruins of a building near the shore on Pakri Peninsula just outside Paldiski, on the outskirts of Laoküla village, Keila Parish (59.327337°N 24.103941°E).
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Acoustic version
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On 11 February 2016, Alan Walker published an acoustic version of the song, titled "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 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 [Solheim]'s voice and the melodies, but can't stand the electronic parts of it."[38]
The music video for the "Restrung" version features Walker, Solheim, and a string ensemble performing in the reactor hall of the dismantled R1, Sweden's first nuclear reactor.[39][40] The cast wore black hoodies bearing Walker's logo of his stylized initials. The R1 reactor hall is located underground at Sweden's Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm.[40]
The team who created the video for "Faded" returned for the "Restrung" version — Bror Bror was the producer, Rikkard and Tobias Häggbom directed, and Shahab Salehi was credited as an assistant.[41][42] The filming atmosphere closely resembles that of "Faded"; according to a behind the scenes video of the filming, the "Restrung" video was conceived as a continuation to the original video.[43]
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Accolades
The song "Faded" won a Cannes Lion at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Best International Hit at the Eska Music Awards, Årets Låt Song of the Year and Best Western Artist of the Year at Spellemannprisen '16, and was nominated for British Single of the Year at the Brit Awards.
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Track listing
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Charts
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1–20
21–40
41–60
61–80
81–100
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 and Japan.
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Certifications
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Release history
The single was originally set to be released on 25 November 2015, but was postponed to 3 December.
Fade
"Fade" is an instrumental electro house track produced by Norwegian producer Alan Walker. It was released through his YouTube channel on 17 August 2014 (1 week before his 17th birthday),[170] before being re-released through NoCopyrightSounds 3 months later on 19 November to celebrate that channel's 1 million-subscriber milestone. Fade was featured as the seventh song of the NCS: Uplifting album before its removal. However, it was removed on 12 November 2021 due to Walker's contract with NCS expiring. The remake version of Fade is Faded.
"Fade" was Walker's first release and became part of the compilation album NCS: Uplifting. On both the video platform YouTube and portals such as SoundCloud, "Fade" was a huge success, receiving over 433 million views on YouTube alone. It also reached number 18 on the UK Independent Single Breakers Chart[171] and number 3 on the Swedish Heatseekers Chart in Sweden.[172] On 12 November 2021, Walker's contract with NCS expired, and "Fade", along with "Spectre" and "Fade", was removed from the NCS YouTube channel. At the time, it was NCS's most popular video, with 448.31 million views.
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References
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