“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 earlier song "Fade", the song was written by Walker, Jesper Borgen, Mood Melodies, and Gunnar Greve and produced by the former three. The song has been described as electro house, progressive house, and melodic house and was praised by critics for its melancholic melody, synthesizers, and vocals. Lyrically, the song expresses a sense of longing and a search for something meaningful.
It was also a commercial success, topping Norway's VG-lista chart for 14 weeks and becoming Walker's first number-one single. In Germany, it reached number one on the GfK Entertainment charts for ten weeks. 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. "Faded" reached number 80 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was the 16th Norwegian song to chart there.
The accompanying music video was released the day after the single and was directed by Rikkard and Tobias Häggbom, with filming taking place in Estonia. It reached one billion views on YouTube on 26 March 2017, becoming the first Norwegian song to achieve this milestone. It also became the first electronic dance music (EDM) song to surpass three billion views on YouTube. The song won The Cannes Lions Award at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, the Årets Låt (Song of the Year) award at Spellenmannprisen '16, and the Best International Hit award at the Swiss Music Awards, and was nominated for British Single of the Year at the Brit Awards 2017 and Song of the Year at the Echo Music Prize.
Walker debuted a live performance of "Faded" with Solheim and string support on 27 February 2016, at the X Games Norway in Oslo, which was broadcast live on Norwegian television and Amercian broadcast network ESPN. "Faded" is a remake of Walker's earlier song "Fade", which was released by the British record label NoCopyrightSounds (NCS) in 2014. When "Fade" started gaining attention in 2014, Walker received feedback from listeners on how the song felt like it should have lyrics, which it lacked. A 23-second song sample.
The lyrics for "Faded" were written by Walker, Jesper Borgen, Anders Frøen, and Gunnar Greve. Also participating were Ingrid Helgor Skretting as vocalist and Sören Von Malmborg as mastering and mixing engineer. In addition to the lyrics, the track was fully rebuilt with a new mix and mastering, and a piano was introduced. Walker said that by adding lyrics and piano, "the whole song just came together". In the acoustic version, only the piano, violin, and Solheim's vocals are heard.
Lyrically, the song expresses a sense of longing and a search for something meaningful. 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! The song has been described as electro house, progressive house, and melodic house. It has also been described as melodic and melancholic. It is written in the E♭ minor key, with a tempo of 90 beats per minute and a chord progression of E♭m-C♭-G♭-D♭. Due to its slow tempo, the song is often categorized as "downtempo".
Walker said this in an interview with NRK: "This is not what's popular these days." The song was met with positive reviews from music critics. It has been ranked on several lists. "Faded" was an immediate commercial success worldwide, reaching number one on the charts in 18 countries and reaching the top five in over 25 countries. The song reached number one on the Spotify Global Viral Chart and number five on the Global Top 50. It also reached 500 million streams on Spotify in December 2016 and 1 billion streams in April 2019, making it the first Norwegian song to reach both milestones and the first song from outside the UK or US to reach over 1 billion streams. As of July 2016, the single had been downloaded 4 million times. Four years after its release, the song became the most-streamed song on Apple Music in Venezuela during the week of 4 November 2019.
The music video is set in a world where a catastrophe has occurred, and the protagonist is searching for his home with other survivors. 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.
In addition to the original track, "Faded" has spawned numerous remixes. A new animated music video for the 10th anniversary was released on 24 December 2025, produced by Retrever Entertainment. 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. The cast wore black hoodies bearing Walker's logo of his stylized initials.
“Faded” continues to be discussed as a defining EDM moment of its era, noted for its melancholic atmosphere, memorable melodic hook, and the integration of Solheim's vocal performance with Walker's production. It remains a reference point for discussions about lyrical meaning in electronic pop and the use of piano and strings to deepen emotional resonance. Lyrically, the song expresses longing and a search for something meaningful, inviting listeners to reflect on loss, distance, and the desire to find home or purpose.
Images and videos related to "Faded" amplify its narrative of searching and discovery, while its streaming milestones and international chart performance illustrate its wide cultural impact across generations of listeners.
ZHU - Faded (Official Music Video)
In summary, "Faded" blends melancholic lyricism, cinematic production, and a haunting vocal performance to convey a universal sense of longing. Its evolution from "Fade" to "Faded" marks a notable moment in EDM where lyrical storytelling and musical texture come together to create a track that resonates across cultures and languages.