The Spectre (song)

This article is about the Alan Walker song. For the Radiohead song, see Spectre (song).
"The Spectre"
Single by Alan Walker
Released15 September 2017 (2017-09-15)
Recorded2016
Genre [1]
Length3:13
LabelMer Musikk
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)
  • Anders Frøen
  • Alan Walker
  • Jesper Borgen
  • Tommy Laverdi
  • Gunnar Greve
  • Lars Kristian Rosness
  • Marcus Arnbekk
Producer(s)
  • Mood Melodies
  • Marcus Arnbekk
  • Lars Kristian Rosness
  • Alan Walker
Alan Walker singles chronology
"Tired"
(2017) 		"The Spectre"
(2017) 		"All Falls Down"
(2017)
Audio sample
"The Spectre"
Music video
"The Spectre" on YouTube

"The Spectre" is a song by Norwegian record producer and DJ Alan Walker incorporating uncredited vocals provided by Norwegian songwriter and producer Jesper Borgen. It was composed by Jesper Borgen, Alan Walker, Marcus Arnbekk, Mood Melodies and Lars Kristian Rosness, with production handled by the latter four, and lyrics written by all composers as well as Tommy La Verdi and Gunnar Greve. "The Spectre" has a tempo of 128 BPM, is in the key of C♯ minor, and lasts for 3 minutes and 13 seconds.[2] The song was released via Mer Musikk on 15 September 2017.

Background[edit]

"The Spectre" is a vocal remake of Walker's 2015 single "Spectre", which was released through NoCopyrightSounds on 6 January 2015. On 22 December 2016, Walker debuted the song during the live show "Alan Walker is Heading Home", in his hometown Bergen, Norway.[3] He has included the song in his live sets months ahead of the song's release,[4] as well as playing a revised version of the song on the main stage at Tomorrowland Belgium 2017.[5] In an interview with Dance Music Northwest, Walker described the song as "a newer version of my old song Spectre", similar to "what I did with 'Fade' to 'Faded'".[6] Walker said of the song in a press release: "The reactions and feedback from people have been truly amazing, I'm very excited that's it's now being released officially. It's a song that I specifically want to dedicate to my core fans who've been following me since the start."[7][8]

Critical reception[edit]

Your EDM felt the song "contains all of the common Alan Walker elements that international EDM fans have come to find and love", including "the sound design, faint dreamy vocals, the anthemic drop, and the patented Alan Walker lead". Comparing to "Faded", they deemed it "a sleeker, more refined record".[9] In 2022, the official music video accomplished 1 billion streams on YouTube, making it Walker's 3rd single to accomplish this milestone.

Resurface[edit]

In 2023, the song regained popularity due to a viral meme posted on media-sharing platforms, featuring what a Smurf Cat would supposedly look like, typically alongside the lyrics "We live, we love, we lie" of Walker's song.[10]

Credits and personnel[edit]

Credits adapted from Tidal.[11]

  • Alan Walker – songwriting, production
  • Marcus Arnbekk – songwriting, production
  • Mood Melodies – songwriting, production
  • Lars Kristian Rosness – songwriting, production
  • Jesper Borgen – songwriting, vocals
  • Tommy La Verdi – lyrics
  • Gunnar Greve – lyrics, executive production
  • Sören von Malmborg – mastering engineering
  • Fredrik Borch Olsen – co-production

Charts[edit]

Weekly charts[edit]

Weekly chart performance for "The Spectre"
Chart (2017–18) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[12] 14
Czech Republic (Rádio – Top 100)[13] 30
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[14] 57
Germany (Official German Charts)[15] 50
Hungary (Single Top 40)[16] 32
Italy (Musica e Dischi)[17] 25
Mexico Airplay (Billboard)[18] 31
Norway (VG-lista)[19] 5
Philippines (Philippine Hot 100)[20] 65
Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100)[21] 7
Slovakia (Rádio Top 100)[22] 76
Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[23] 97
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[24] 22
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[25] 13
Switzerland (Media Control Romandy)[26] 8
US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs (Billboard)[27] 24

Year-end charts[edit]

Year-end chart performance for "The Spectre"
Chart (2018) Position
US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs (Billboard)[28] 83

Certifications[edit]

Certifications and sales for "The Spectre"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Austria (IFPI Austria)[29] Platinum 30,000‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[30] Gold 45,000‡
Germany (BVMI)[31] Gold 200,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[32] Gold 25,000‡
Mexico (AMPROFON)[33] Platinum 60,000‡
Poland (ZPAV)[34] Platinum 50,000‡
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[35] Gold 30,000‡
Sweden (GLF)[36] Platinum 40,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Alan Walker dedicates new rework of “The Spectre” to his core fans
  2. ^ "Key, tempo of Spectre By Alan Walker | Musicstax". musicstax.com. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  3. ^ "Alan Walker is Heading Home Bergen, Norway 2016 - Live Tracklist". Live Tracklist. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  4. ^ Rajrishi, Murthi (15 September 2017). "Alan Walker Shares Brand New Single, 'The Spectre'". Bangin Beats. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  5. ^ "Alan Walker @ Tomorrowland Belgium 2017 (Main Stage) - Live Tracklist". Live Tracklist. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  6. ^ Tingting, Wu (13 July 2017). "Alan Walker: "When I am working on new songs I try to not compare it to Faded"". Dance Music Northwest. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  7. ^ Kat, Bein (15 September 2017). "Alan Walker Celebrates His Day Ones on 'The Spectre': Listen". Billboard. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  8. ^ Stevo (15 September 2017). "Alan Walker Releases A Remake Of His Popular Single From 2015". EDM Sauce. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  9. ^ "Alan Walker's New Single Is The Quintessential Follow Up To "Faded" [LISTEN]". Your EDM. 2017-09-14. Retrieved 2022-09-25.
  10. ^ Dressler, Jacob (2023-09-17). "TikTok's Viral Blue Smurf Cat Meme Explained". ScreenGeek. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
  11. ^ "The Spectre / Alan Walker TIDAL". Tidal. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  12. ^ "Alan Walker – The Spectre" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  13. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – RADIO – TOP 100 and insert 201803 into search. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  14. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – SINGLES DIGITAL – TOP 100 and insert 201805 into search. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
  15. ^ "Alan Walker – The Spectre" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  16. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  17. ^ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 20 June 2022. Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Titolo" field, search "The spectre".
  18. ^ "Mexico Airplay: Oct 28, 2017". Billboard. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  19. ^ "VG-lista – Alan Walker". VG-lista. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  20. ^ "BillboardPH Hot 100". Billboard Philippines. 16 October 2017. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  21. ^ "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  22. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201744 into search. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  23. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select SINGLES DIGITAL - TOP 100 and insert 201744 into search. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  24. ^ "Sverigetopplistan – Sveriges Officiella Topplista". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  25. ^ "Alan Walker – The Spectre". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  26. ^ "Alan Walker – The Spectre" (in French). Media Control.
  27. ^ "Alan Walker Chart History (Hot Dance/Electronic Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  28. ^ "Hot Dance/Electronic Songs – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  29. ^ "Austrian single certifications – Alan Walker – The Spectre" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  30. ^ "Danish single certifications – Alan Walker – The Spectre". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  31. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Alan Walker; 'The Spectre')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  32. ^ "Italian single certifications – Alan Walker – The Spectre" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  33. ^ "Certificaciones" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Retrieved 23 May 2020. Type Alan Walker in the box under the ARTISTA column heading and The Spectre in the box under the TÍTULO column heading.
  34. ^ "OLiS - oficjalna lista wyróżnień" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 21 June 2023. Click "TYTUŁ" and enter The Spectre in the search box.
  35. ^ "Spanish single certifications – Alan Walker – The Spectre". El portal de Música. Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  36. ^ "Alan Walker - The Spectre". IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original on 28 December 2017. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
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