The hit song of summer 2013

There's no doubt which song has taken the lead in Sweden: By Swede Avicii, far from unknown to an American audience.  

  • Avicii spins his 2013 hit “Wake me up.” The star DJ had to call off all his shows scheduled for the remainder of 2014 to recover from surgery earlier this year. Photo: Jalil Arfaoui

  • The hit song of summer 2013
    No summer without a summer hit song, right? This summer several songs can be viewed as contestants for this year's hit. According to Erik Wedberg, radio host at Rix FM, there’s no doubt which song has taken over from the ever-important student floats in the beginning of the summer all the way to August.
    “It is Swedish native Tim Bergling - better known as Avicii's ‘Wake me up’,” he says. “It took off right before and during Midsummer, and it is the type of song that you need only to hear once and it’s stuck with you.”
    Wedberg was surprised at the lack of good summer songs presented during the last Eurovision Song Contest, the only song from that event played on radio during the summer months is the Danish winner “Only teardrops” with Emmelie de Forest. There’s also been a lack of funny songs, another summer treat in Sweden, and Wedberg isn’t sure why that is. “Perhaps nobody has written anything funny enough?” Music editor at radio channel P3, Sofia Lundman, says the song they’ve played the most during summer is Nonono’s “Pumpin blood”, but she points out that it isn’t really competing with the summer’s greatest hits. “It’s a typical P3-hit,” she says. “But it feels very summery.” Lundman also says that Avicii has sailed up as a clear favorite on Swedish Radio. Another song she’s heard a lot is Medina’s “Miss Decibel”. “It has Swedish lyrics, and it’s got a nice beat to it. I think the rhythm makes it a summer hit.”
    Lundman doesn’t think the summer hit phenomenon is about to peter off, even though the way we consume music is changing.
    “I think we are more out and about during the summer. We meet more people. Whether we listen to radio or a DJ plays the song, it will be heard,” she says. Kristoffer Karlsson, aka DJ Foffe, has been playing in places like Båstad, Tylösand, and Borgholm for over ten years. He has seen (or heard) summer hits come and go, and this summer he agrees that Avicii has made the hit we will all remember: “People keep asking for it all the time, in some places I play it as every other song.” He adds that he played the song during a wedding with an audience in the 35-45 age group. “The guests there liked it just as much as the 20-year olds in the night clubs. It works for everyone.”

  • Clip from Avicii's 'Wake me up' at the official youtube site: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcrbM1l_BoI The Swedish DJ takes a time out to fully regain his strength prior to a planned new album project in 2015.

  • Listen to Avicii's 'Wake me up' at the official youtube site Avicii - Wake me Up