Page 40 - We Rave You Magazine | July 2022

EDITORIAL > AVICII’S GENRE-CHANGING ANTHEM, “WAKE ME UP” WITH ALOE BLACC CELEBRATES ITS NINTH YEAR

AVICII’S GENRE-

CHANGING ANTHEM,

“WAKE ME UP” WITH

ALOE BLACC CELEBRATES

ITS NINTH YEAR

BY: CREIGHTON BRANCH PC: RUKES

ome might say it is arguably the most important song in the past decade for the
electronic world. You can’t deny the massive impact that Avicii’s 2013 global hit with
Aloe Blacc, ‘Wake Me Up,’ had on dance music and the entire entertainment industry
with its release. It introduced the electronic scene to so many new people and changed
the way we think of music production. When Avicii first premiered the track at Ultra that
Syear, ‘Wake Me Up’ received a fair amount of negative criticism. As it blended a country/
folk-inspired sound with the big progressive elements he was known for at the time, many did not
understand the concept. Some in the crowd even heckled the Swedish legend. However, it is now
apparent that Avicii was ahead of the times because as ‘Wake Me Up’ celebrates its ninth birthday,
it is undoubtedly the most popular electronic track ever created. Released on June 17th, the song
skyrocketed up the charts to #1 in over 25 countries and sent Avicii into the mainstream spotlight.
‘Wake Me Up’ has gained over 2.1 billion views on Youtube and a staggering 1.6 billion streams on
Spotify. It landed Avicii a Billboard Music Award win for Best Dance Song and received numerous
platinum certifications across the world. ‘Wake Me Up’ showed the pure genius of Avicii as he was
able to combine genres that never seemed possible, and to this day, it still never gets old.

40 we rave you.com july 2022 41