Avicii’s ‘Levels’ is synonymous with club culture and it’s undoubtedly a classic of the genre. So, to celebrate our Club Classics countdown kicking off today at 9 AM - see what I did there - let’s go back to the first time Avicii ever played it live.
It was 2011: ‘Game of Thrones’ premiered, Charlie Sheen was “winning”, and a relatively unknown Swedish DJ who went by Avicii took the stage at Ultra Music Festival in Miami.
During his main stage set on March 26, Avicii whipped out an ID that would soon be dubbed ‘Levels’ and catapult him into mainstream fame. By the grace of God, someone in the crowd that fateful day was filming the set and uploaded it online.
The crowd was absolutely lapping it up, even though they had no clue they were living in such a monumental moment in dance music history.
Just months later Avicii, real name Tim Bergling, would play it at Tomorrowland with 180,000 people in attendance. Again, everyone in the crowd is absolutely loving the track, foreshadowing how EDM fans would receive it over the next decade and then some.
The people knew the gravity of the tune as soon as it graced their eardrums, and over time media publications and critics would heap praise on the track.
Billboard called it “one of the greatest songs of all time". The Vulture described the song as “shiny and sleek and feeling like it could touch God". EDM.com said: “It’s difficult to see the words ‘electronic dance music’ without the tune coming to mind”.
But…where will it place in our Club Classic countdown - the top 500 back-in-the-day bangers as voted by you? Voting’s closed and we’ve already started listing off the classics.
Listen to George from 9 AM to 5 PM every day this week to find out where your favourite track will place, with the #1 song being played Friday, May 26 at 5 PM.
