An anthem. A nation treasure. The ultimate party song. These are all words and phrases you can use to describe Levels because it is the ultimate vibe boosting song to ever exist and it turns ten years old today.
When I think of songs that are considered “anthems” for my generation, I think of two. Its Party in the U.S.A. by Miley Cyrus and Levels by Avicii. Levels is a cultural phenomenon that was created by a generational talent who passed way too soon.
Avicii debuted Levels in December of 2010 on a British radio station, yet he titled it “Unnamed”. He didn’t play the final version until March of 2011 at the Ultra Music Festival in Miami.
It eventually released to iTunes on October 28th, 2011.
Levels hit number one all over the place. It was the top song in 2011 to 2012 on the Hungarian Dance chart, Hungarian Top 40, Netherlands Mega Dance Top 30, Norwegian chart, Scottish chart, Slovakian Radio Top 100, Swedish chart, UK Dance chart, and U.S. Dance chart.
In addition to eight number one spots, it was fourth on six different charts and third on three different charts.
Levels also earned multi platinum in Australia, Germany, Sweden, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, and the UK.
Avicii had stated multiple times that he made the song so that he could incorporate a vocal sample from the 1962 gospel inspired song "Something's Got a Hold on Me" by the late Etta James.
“Oh, oh sometimes I get a good feeling, yeah (yeah), I get a feeling that I never, never, never, never had before, no, no (yeah)”
What I find most wild about the song is that Avicii didn’t intend on Levels being a smash hit. When asked about the success of the song and if he anticipated it, he said “not at all”.
Well, with Halloween weekend just about here, I’m sure whatever college you’re at our party you are attending, you’ll hear Levels played. Make sure to wish it a happy birthday.