"Faded" is a hit song by Norwegianrecord producer and DJ Alan Walker with vocals provided by Norwegian singer Iselin Solheim. The single was originally set to be released on 25 November 2015, but was postponed to 3 December 2015. 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. It is currently the 20th most viewed video on YouTube, with over 2.8 billion views, 20 million likes and 534 thousand dislikes as of 15 July 2020, as well as being the 29th most streamed song on Spotify, with over 1 billion streams. Walker debuted a live performance of "Faded" with Solheim and string support on 27 February 2016 at X Games Oslo 2016. The performance was aired live on Norwegian television.
Background
The song "Faded" is a revamped version of Walker's past compositions "Fade", which was released via the record label NoCopyrightSounds in 2014. In the creation of "Faded", 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 its what inspired me to create 'Fade' which later on became "Faded". The style is inspired by the Norwegian producer K-391. 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 Iselin Solheim and mainstream production. The song is set in common time and has a tempo of 90 beats per minute. It is written in the key of E♭ minor with a chord progression of E♭m–B-G♭–D♭.
Chart performance
"Faded" became a worldwide commercial success upon its release, topping Norwegian, Finnish and Swedishsingles 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. 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 2.7 billion views to date, making it the 19th most viewed YouTube video. It is also the 4th most liked YouTube video with over 20 million likes.
A music video was released, featuring Shahab Salehi as the protagonist. The video was shot in Rummu quarry in Estonia, and produced and edited by Bror Bror and directed by Rikkard and Tobias Häggbom, with Rikkard Häggbom also as director of photography.
Synopsis
The video shows a young man dressed in black block styled attire including a mask, roaming with his backpack and a photograph of his home in his hand. He wanders through abandoned town areas including high rise devastated buildings and derelict structures, an S.O.S. flare is used by him at one point to explore a dark building. Guided by the photo, he finally locates his home, but finds it in ruins. With a final look at his home, he removes his mask, as the video fades to black.
Filming locations
The video was filmed in Estonia, and primarily concentrated on buildings that were derelict, abandoned, or in disrepair. Most filming locations are interspersed across the video and do not appear in a continuous order. Notable locations include the Linnahall building ; a disused textile manufacture and live concert building at :w:et:Põhja puiestee|Põhja puiestee 7 in Tallinn; the former Rummu prison, the Rummu limestone quarry and lake alongside the adjoining spoil tip in Vasalemma Parish; and some locations around the city ofPaldiski. 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.
Acoustic version
On 11 February 2016, Alan Walker published an acoustic version of the song called "Faded ". 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". The music video to "Restrung" features Walker, Iselin Solheim and an 11-person string ensemble performing in the reactor hall of the dismantled R1, Sweden's first nuclear reactor. The cast were wearing the trademark hoodies that sport Alan Walker's artist logo composed of his stylized initials. The R1 reactor hall is located underground at Sweden's Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. 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 Alan Walker's behind the scenes video, the "Restrung" video was filmed as a continuation of sorts to the original "Faded" video.
Formats and track listings
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 and Japan.
