◢ ◤ The Avicii Discography Rate ◢ ◤ WINNER!

Mina

Mina

Here we go! Starting with the song with the larger standard deviation of the two.





























Hey, once upon a younger year
When all our shadows disappeared
The animals inside came out to play






























Come within, taste it up
Take a little bit and baby don't you give up
Cast your light, give a damn
You gotta make a move and show me where we can stand





























Midnight blows in through the window; dances round the room
Got me hypnotized; I'm getting high on the perfume.
I couldn't live without you now, oh, I know I'd go insane
I wouldn't last one night alone, baby
I couldn't stand the pain!


































I'm addicted to you, hooked on your love
Like a powerful drug I can't get enough of
Lost in your eyes, drowning in blue
Out of control, what can I do?
I’m…..































#10 (tie, 1/2)
Addicted to You
60OMpV5BCzI.jpg

Average: 8.114
Standard Deviation: 1.846
Total Points: 178.50
Points Away from #1: 21.30
High Scorers: 11x2 (@HarryEzra, @Filippa), 10x4 (@Oleander, @ohnostalgia, @Sprockrooster, @Blond), 9.4x1 (@berserkboi), 9x3 (@AshtrayHeart, @Raichu, @WowWowWowWow)
Low Scorers: 4x1 (@Robsolete), 6x3 (@Remyky22, @Eric, @OspreyQueen)
​
Audra Mae loses her final vocal track of the rate at #10. As I previously highlighted, Addicted to You was True’s fourth single, following the single run of Wake Me Up, You Make Me, and Hey Brother. It features soulful vocals from Audra Mae and cowriting credits from Josh Krajcik who was the runner-up on the first season of The X Factor USA. It had a fair amount of chart success across Europe, reaching #1 in Germany (airplay), Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Poland (airplay), #14 on the UK singles chart, and #1 on the US Dance Club Songs Billboard. It went 3x platinum in Australia and Sweden, platinum in Italy, and gold in several other countries.

Both a lyric video (featuring a shortened edit of the song) and an official music video were commissioned and linked below. The music video features a Bonnie and Clyde-esque love story between two women that unfortunately ends badly for both.

There were a few lukewarm comments for this one:

@OspreyQueen (6) - It kind of just comes and goes.

@Empty Shoebox (7) - This is very competent, but it's lacking...that special something, that they are hunting. They're always wanting, more and more.

@LiK (7) - This song should have been amazing, but the singer sounds like she's bored and just wants to get out the recording booth and then the minute it she starts feeling it, it's suddenly over.

@Untouchable Ace (7.6) - Overplayed

And then a lot of positives:

@Raichu (9) - Very sexy.

@WowWowWowWow (9) - This one didn't hit as much here in the USA as around the world, so it's always a pleasant surprise when it pops up again. Can Audra Mae sing on every song please?

@berserkboi (9.4) - Lovely!

@Blond (10) First of all, the video is amazing. The vocals are fantastic, and if my fave (Kelly) were to make an EDM song with a famous DJ I would love if it sounded anything like this.

@Sprockrooster (10) - I could listen to the voice from Audra Mae all day and with the amazing production this is definitely a treat. A true runner-up for the 11. The only point of critique I can give this, is that it finishes too soon. Cause I am addicted to this.

And our 11s:

@Filippa (11) - This is my all-time favourite song from Avicii. This voice of Audra Mae, this melody! Everything’s perfect.

@HarryEzra didn’t leave any commentary for his 11 - but perhaps he’d like to comment below?

Official Music Video:



Lyric Video:



Performance at the Ultra Music Festival in 2013, featuring live vocals by Audra Mae:







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​


Next up: the second song to finish at #10 placed as high as #4 during the voting period...an impressive feat without a single 11!​
 
Mina

Mina

And completing the tie at #10:






























California, don't let me down
Seems so golden
But there's trouble all around







































I've lived my life like a masochist
Hearing my father say,
'Told you so, told you so!
Why can't you be like the other girls?'
I said, 'Oh no, that's not me
And I don't think that it'll ever be'

































You said that we would always be
Without you I feel lost at sea
Through the darkness you'd hide with me
Like the wind we'd be wild and free





























You
Said you'd follow me anywhere
But your eyes
Tell me you won't be there
























#10 (tie, 2/2)
Without You
Without-You-OM4R.jpg

Average: 8.114
Standard Deviation: 1.564
Total Points: 178.50
Points Away from #1: 21.30
High Scorers: 10x7 (@Empty Shoebox, @Sprockrooster, @Eric, @Blond, @Robsolete, @Empty Shoebox, @Mina), 9.6x1 (@berserkboi), 9x1 (@LiK) - ❤❤❤ Team Talent ❤❤❤
Low Scorers: 5x1 (@londonrain), 6x2 (@ohnostalgia, @Oleander), 6.5x1 (@Raichu)​

As I alluded to, Without You was as high as 4th on the leaderboard for part of the voting period - the underrated BOP that could! It’s hands-down my favorite song of the Avīci (01) EP, and the only one that I awarded with a 10.

Without You is the third and final track of the rate featuring vocals by Swedish singer Sandro Cavazza - you may recall that he also lent (often much-maligned) vocals to songs we eliminated at the beginning of the rate like Gonna Love Ya and So Much Better (Avicii remix). At least this time around, there were no complaints about his vocal performance!

As previously highlighted, this track was written and produced by a team including Avicii, Carl Falk (who also cowrote Broken Arrows and Sunset Jesus), @WowWowWowWow ‘s favorite duo Vargas and Lagola, and Dhani from the A*Teens. Without You was the EP’s first single and did quite well (though not quite as well as Lonely Together) - it was Avicii’s 7th Swedish #1 single (and charted again at #1 in April 2018 after Avicii’s death) and also made the top 10 in Austria, the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, the Netherlands, Scotland, Slovakia, and Switzerland. It reached #32 on the UK singles chart and #14 on the US Billboard bubbling under hot 100.

Though an official music video was not released in support of the track, an animated video following the same storyline as the the EP’s other lyric videos was commissioned. The song is also the only one to have a making-of featurette, which I’ve linked below; I’ve also linked a video of the song’s vocalist performing it acoustically.

There were a few of you who were sadly only mildly enthusiastic about this one:

@londonrain (5) - Meh.

@Raichu (6.5) - I would have scored this higher if it had a better chorus.

@Filippa (7) - A typical Avicii song. I like the chorus but for me it’s a bit too euphoric for having to learn to love without her/him.

@WowWowWowWow (7) - Eh.

And many of you who appreciated it for the 10/10 BOP that it is:

@LiK (9) - Beautiful song

@berserkboi (9.6) - Very good!

@Sprockrooster (10) - This still is the best single of the EP and FIGHT ME.

@Blond (10) - 100% my favourite of his latter stuff. It reminds me a lot of his earlier tracks. Avicii doing what he does best.

@Eric (10) - I love the defiant post-break up optimism of this track, especially the bits about not sitting at home and going out without you!

@Empty Shoebox (10) - I'm sure the intro has been used as walk on music in Melodifestivalen. Maybe I'm going mad. I probably am.

Animated (but strangely not lyric) Video:



Making of Without You Featurette:



Sandro Cavazza Live Acoustic Performance:


​







Next up: @berserkboi has been 2/2 with his predictions so far, but will his luck continue? Between #7-#9 tomorrow, we lose 2 more 11s.​
 
Mina

Mina

Now we reveal the song that beat Without You and Addicted to You by 0.7 points (thanks in part to receiving not one, but two 11s), good for a #9 finish:











































Oh, sometimes
I get a good feeling, yeah




























My hands are tied but not tight enough
You're the high that I can't give up
Oh Lord, here we go




































California, don't let me down
Seems so golden
But there's trouble all around
Sunset Jesus
Came to me
He once was a waiter
Now he's a savior
Making money on the street



































My dreams are made of gold
My heart's been broken and I'm down alone in the road
My dreams are fading 'til I get old
Breathe for a minute breathe for a minute
I'll be okay






















#9
Sunset Jesus
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Average: 8.145
Standard Deviation: 1.921
Total Points: 179.20
Points Away from #1: 20.60
High Scorers: 11x2 (@Remyky22, @LiK), 10x4 (@ohnostalgia, @Blond, @Untouchable Ace, @AshtrayHeart), 9.2x1 (@berserkboi), 9x3 (@SuperNerd, @Sprockrooster, @Mina)
Low Scorers: 4x1 (@Filippa), 5x1 (@WowWowWowWow), 6x3 (@Eric, @londonrain, @Petit nain des Îles)​

More than any other song in this rate, I’m so thrilled that Sunset Jesus made the top 10 (and that it received not one but two 11s!). It was consistently between #11-#20 for much of the voting period and ultimately landed in the top 10 after a series of high marks from some of our final voters.

As previously highlighted, Sunset Jesus is Stories’ 10th track, written by a team including Avicii, Sandro Cavazza, its uncredited vocalist Gavin DeGraw, Dhani from the A*Teens, and Mike Posner. Avicii and Dhani share producing credits on the track. Musically, it’s an uplifting bop; lyrically, it’s one of Stories’ best, describing the journey of someone who’s traveled far from home to chase their dreams, being confronted with rejection and cynicism along the way but still remaining hopeful.

Stories is now down to one track - its first single, Waiting for Love.

Of our two 11 givers, only @LiK prewrote some commentary for me - @Remyky22, would you like to share some commentary now in the thread?

@LiK (11) - This song is just so perfect to me. Gavin's delivery is fantastic, the lyrics are great, the production is so good I hear so many similarities and references / homages to many classics songs mixed into the production. I knew from the get go this song would have gotten the #11 distinction. It makes me feel happy and sad at the same time, so job well done.

This song also earned high praise from many other voters:

@Blond (10) - Gavin DeGraw is a 00s icon and this song is fantastic. I was surprised to see that it doesn’t actually sample Dani California by Red Hot Chili Peppers because the riffs are really similar in the intro.

@Untouchable Ace (10) - Smooth vocals from the best album track here.

@berserkboi (9.2) - Great!

@Sprockrooster (9) - I absolutely adore Gavin and hearing him on this track is bliss.

And some mixed remarks:

@Raichu (8) - That guitar riff sounds so much like Rebel Heart. In any case, this is really good for the most part, but it kinda falls prey to the standard Avicii structure.

@Empty Shoebox (7) - Just a little bit too repetitive for me (yeah, I know, it's dance music and it's supposed to be like that but I'm judging it against the other songs here, remember?)

@londonrain (6) - Acceptable.

Lyric Video:




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Next up: a song with vocals by an established performer.​
 
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LiK

LiK

Glad to see it got another #11. I saw the warning signs it was gonna go soon with that oh so subtle hint in the #10 elimination and I wasn't expecting it to make top 10, so we good.

Blond said:
I fucking love Sunset Jesus but does no one else hear Dani California at the beginning?
Click to expand...

Yes I hear it too but then I hear so many other songs mixed in "Kanye's - Homecoming", A bit of "Dear Boy", "When I Come Around by Green Day'" the chorus has some "California by Phantom Planet" inspiration.
 
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Remyky22

Remyky22

Any/All
I'm so proud of my 11 being the little song that could! This song was the moment when I really fell in love with Avicii's sound. At first, it doesn't even sound that complex - the piano line is repeated throughout the whole song, but through its repetition it becomes mesmerizing. The build-ups are insane, and the breakdowns even better, it sounds like sunset, and the lyrics also hold some personal value for me. Being from a small conservative country, I was never fully able to connect to its values, so homesickness is not something I feel very often. I have this other kind of nostalgia, for the places I haven't seen, for the ones that I have yet to discover and fall in love in. And there's an even deeper connection to the song because California used to be my dream state for quite some time. Sunset Jesus captures that feeling of walking through a city you haven't been to for the first time, seeing everything new and in vivid colors, colors so bright they even hurt a bit. Happy to the point of crying. It's one of my favorite songs for traveling, because the song literally travels with you, after the first drum roll, the riff plays in this hypnotizing way, signalling that wheels keep moving and telling you to just breathe, take it all in, and you'll be okay no matter what happens to your dreams (and then that breakdown). It's really one of my favorite songs of all time, the kind that makes you want to learn to play the piano just to play that riff. LOVE.
 
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