Avicii's 'Wake Me Up' Turns 7!

It’s been two years since the tragic passing of Avicii – and it’s been seven years since he’s blessed our ears with his massive hit, Wake Me Up.

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Months prior to releasing his record, Avicii debuted ‘Wake Me Up’ at Ultra Music Festival 2013.  Unfortunately for him, the audience booed, “When we performed at Ultra, it was just awkward.  I don’t think even the sound people knew what they were doing. Everybody else at the festival had air cannons and pyro and half-naked girls dancing onstage. Then here comes Tim with drums, banjo, fiddle, guitar and three singers,” explains the track’s lead vocalist, Aloe Blacc.  Aloe then shared, “When we (myself and Mike Einzinger) got offstage that night, we asked Avicii if the performance had been bad. Avicii told us not to worry, because audiences would understand later.”

According to Billboard, “‘Wake Me Up’ became not only a defining hit of the Avicii catalog, but a defining anthem of the EDM era, with its influences blurring the lines between dance, pop and country like no other song before it. The track peaked at No. 4 and finished at No. 13 on Billboard’s year-end Hot 100 songs in 2013. “Wake Me Up” also held the record for most weeks at No.1 on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart (with 26 weeks) until that record was broken by The Chainsmokers’ “Closer,” featuring Halsey, which logged 27 weeks at No. 1.”

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In the fall of 2013, Avicii along with Chic’s Nile Rodgers spoke with Billboard about the making of ‘Wake Me Up,’ “I always thought it was good.  I always kind of trusted my own judgment in the music and knew that once people do hear it, at least when my fans hear it and stuff, when they get over the fact that it’s country…I trust in the music, because I thought it was the best work I’ve done,” explained Avicii.  Nile then added, “To have a dance record that could possibly impact the country market, to me I was just thinking statistically, not only is this artistically bold, but if this connects, you’re doing some next level dance music.”

Watch their interview below.