# Levels (Avicii song)
"Levels" is a 2011 progressive house instrumental by the Swedish DJ and producer Avicii (Tim Bergling, 1989–2018), built around a vocal sample of [Etta James](https://www.edgepedia.org/etta-james)'s 1962 recording "Something's Got a Hold on Me". Released on 28 October 2011, it became one of the defining commercial hits of early-2010s electronic dance music (EDM) and is repeatedly cited as the track that set the template for the festival-scale EDM anthem.[1](https://edm.com/features/on-this-day-avicii-levels/) • [2](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-avicii-levels-20180420-story.html) • [3](https://pangearecordings.com/blogs/news/swedish-producers-euphoric-finale-avicii-otto-knows-2010-2014)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | 28 October 2011, as a single and the four-track *Levels* EP (17 minutes), on Avicii's imprint, distributed by Universal Music[1](https://edm.com/features/on-this-day-avicii-levels/) • [4](https://music.apple.com/us/album/levels-ep/1440787344) |
| Sample | Etta James's 1962 song "Something's Got a Hold on Me"; the song was composed by Leroy Kirkland, Pearl Woods, and James, with Tim Bergling and Ash Pournouri also credited[1](https://edm.com/features/on-this-day-avicii-levels/) • [5](https://www.universalmusic.com.br/2021/10/29/o-iconico-single-levels-do-dj-e-produtor-sueco-avicii-completa-10-anos-de-lancamento/) • [6](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDuoOapZ9Z0) |
| Chart and sales peak | No. 1 dance hit in the U.S. and the U.K.; four million tracks sold worldwide; No. 1 in Sweden, No. 60 on the US Billboard Hot 100, Top 10 in ten other countries[7](https://www.multivu.com/players/English/7522051-volvo-cars-new-beginning-avicii/links/7522051-Avicii-Fact-Sheet-May-8th.pdf) • [5](https://www.universalmusic.com.br/2021/10/29/o-iconico-single-levels-do-dj-e-produtor-sueco-avicii-completa-10-anos-de-lancamento/) • [19](https://www.indiatoday.in/lifestyle/what-s-hot/story/rip-avicii-5-songs-that-made-it-to-billboard-s-hot-100-chart-1216999-2018-04-21) |
| Certifications | Top of the dance charts in eight countries; platinum in eleven countries, with multi-platinum status in most regions[1](https://edm.com/features/on-this-day-avicii-levels/) |
| Festival standing | Voted the biggest track in Tomorrowland's history in the festival's 2020 Top 1000 public poll[8](https://djmag.com/news/tomorrowland-names-Avicii-levels-no1-track-festival-history) |
| Continuing play | Played at a major festival every year since 2011, with 219 logged performances on one festival-set database[9](https://festivalsets.info/) |
## Release and early circulation
Avicii first played "Levels" live at [Ultra Music Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/ultra-music-festival) in Miami in 2011, months before the official release, and the track circulated through DJ sets and online uploads while anticipation built.[10](https://dancingastronaut.com/2021/10/weekend-rewind-celebrate-10-years-of-aviciis-icnonic-levels-with-these-10-unforgettable-moments/) Universal Music issued the single on 28 October 2011, and it quickly became a staple of DJ sets and radio shows worldwide.[1](https://edm.com/features/on-this-day-avicii-levels/) Its reach extended into mainstream advertising: the song featured in a thirty-second Bud Light Platinum commercial during the 2012 [Super Bowl](https://www.edgepedia.org/super-bowl).[11](https://time.com/4362299/flume-skin-electronic-music/)
## The Etta James sample
The track's focal point is a sample of "Something's Got a Hold on Me," the early-1960s R&B song by Etta James, whose gospel-inflected vocal hook carries the drop (The climactic moment when the music's energy fully releases).[1](https://edm.com/features/on-this-day-avicii-levels/) • [2](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-avicii-levels-20180420-story.html) The Los Angeles Times described the sample as the clearest sign of Avicii's interest in music history, noting that the same vocal had already been used by [Pretty Lights](https://www.edgepedia.org/pretty-lights) on "Finally Moving" five years earlier.[1](https://edm.com/features/on-this-day-avicii-levels/) The sample's reach continued after "Levels": [Flo Rida](https://www.edgepedia.org/flo-rida) and his producers borrowed "Levels" itself for "Good Feeling," which reached No. 3 on Billboard's Hot 100 in early 2012, with Avicii receiving a writing credit.[2](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-avicii-levels-20180420-story.html) • [1](https://edm.com/features/on-this-day-avicii-levels/)
## Sound and structure
Commentators classify the track as progressive house, arranged around the festival formula of intro, build-up, and drop.[3](https://pangearecordings.com/blogs/news/swedish-producers-euphoric-finale-avicii-otto-knows-2010-2014) • [12](https://note.com/nobuworks/n/n04d262f736f3?hl=en) The drop delivers a supersaw synth lead over a kick-driven rhythm, and the breakdown strips back to the James vocal sample and filtered chords before the melody returns.[13](https://blog.tabizmusic.com/2026/02/avicii-levels-review-track-that-shaped.html) The original version runs 5:38, with an extended intro for DJ mixing, while the radio edit tightens the structure to 3:19 with an earlier drop and a more prominent vocal hook.[13](https://blog.tabizmusic.com/2026/02/avicii-levels-review-track-that-shaped.html)
## Commercial performance
"Levels" reached No. 1 on the dance charts of the United States and the United Kingdom and sold four million tracks worldwide, according to a 2015 label fact sheet.[7](https://www.multivu.com/players/English/7522051-volvo-cars-new-beginning-avicii/links/7522051-Avicii-Fact-Sheet-May-8th.pdf) Universal Music Brasil reports it at No. 1 in Sweden and the United States, and a Top 10 hit in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.[5](https://www.universalmusic.com.br/2021/10/29/o-iconico-single-levels-do-dj-e-produtor-sueco-avicii-completa-10-anos-de-lancamento/) EDM.com counts the top of the dance charts in eight countries and platinum certification in eleven.[1](https://edm.com/features/on-this-day-avicii-levels/) The official music video on YouTube has been viewed about 786 million times.[14](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ovdm2yX4MA)
## Festival legacy and afterlife
In May 2020, Tomorrowland's publicly voted Top 1000 poll named "Levels" the biggest track in the festival's history, unseating [Swedish House Mafia](https://www.edgepedia.org/swedish-house-mafia)'s "One"; the countdown ran on Tomorrowland's One World Radio from 11 to 22 May, with 100 tracks played per day.[8](https://djmag.com/news/tomorrowland-names-Avicii-levels-no1-track-festival-history) One festival-set database records "Levels" as having been played at that festival circuit every year since 2011, a 16-year streak with 219 logged performances.[9](https://festivalsets.info/)
The track has also accumulated a remix history. Skrillex's dubstep remix, created in 2011, remained in his setlist continuously, and Avicii released an EP of remixes that also included a version incorporating Indian classical elements.[1](https://edm.com/features/on-this-day-avicii-levels/) • [15](https://synpop.com/avicii-levels/) After Avicii's death in April 2018 at the age of 28, DJs continued to play the original, mashups, and edits as tributes as much as festival records.[16](https://edmhousenetwork.com/the-most-played-tracks-from-tomorrowland-2026-weekend-1/) • [17](https://chart-history.net/cc/cc-avicii.pdf) [Calvin Harris](https://www.edgepedia.org/calvin-harris)'s decision to close the Head Trip 2026 festival with "Levels" after weather disruption was framed by one music publication as connecting the present-day festival experience with an important chapter in electronic music history.[18](https://cdamag.io/music/calvin-harris-closes-head-trip-2026-with-aviciis-iconic-levels-after-weather-disruption/)
## References
1. [On This Day in Dance Music History: Avicii Released "Levels", EDM.com](https://edm.com/features/on-this-day-avicii-levels/)
2. [Avicii was a dance-music futurist with deep ties to the past, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-avicii-levels-20180420-story.html)
3. [Avicii & the Swedish Sound That Built the Euphoric Finale, Pangea Recordings](https://pangearecordings.com/blogs/news/swedish-producers-euphoric-finale-avicii-otto-knows-2010-2014)
4. [Levels - EP, Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/album/levels-ep/1440787344)
5. [O icônico single "Levels", do DJ e produtor sueco Avicii, completa 10 anos de lançamento, Universal Music Brasil](https://www.universalmusic.com.br/2021/10/29/o-iconico-single-levels-do-dj-e-produtor-sueco-avicii-completa-10-anos-de-lancamento/)
6. [Levels (Original Version), official YouTube audio](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDuoOapZ9Z0)
7. [Avicii Fact Sheet, MultiVu/Volvo Cars (May 2015)](https://www.multivu.com/players/English/7522051-volvo-cars-new-beginning-avicii/links/7522051-Avicii-Fact-Sheet-May-8th.pdf)
8. [Tomorrowland names Avicii's 'Levels' as the biggest track in the festival's history, DJ Mag](https://djmag.com/news/tomorrowland-names-Avicii-levels-no1-track-festival-history)
9. [FestivalSets.info festival track database](https://festivalsets.info/)
10. [Weekend Rewind: Celebrate 10 years of Avicii's iconic 'Levels', Dancing Astronaut](https://dancingastronaut.com/2021/10/weekend-rewind-celebrate-10-years-of-aviciis-icnonic-levels-with-these-10-unforgettable-moments/)
11. [Flume's New Album Skin Might Be the Future of Electronic Music, Time](https://time.com/4362299/flume-skin-electronic-music/)
12. [Looking Back at Songs Called 'Festival Anthems' from Each Decade, NOBUWORKS](https://note.com/nobuworks/n/n04d262f736f3?hl=en)
13. [Avicii – "Levels" Review: The Track That Shaped EDM, TaBiz](https://blog.tabizmusic.com/2026/02/avicii-levels-review-track-that-shaped.html)
14. [Avicii - Levels, official YouTube video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ovdm2yX4MA)
15. [Avicii Levels: The Untold Story Behind EDM's Biggest Anthem, Synpop](https://synpop.com/avicii-levels/)
16. [The Most Played Tracks From Tomorrowland 2026 Weekend 1, EDM House Network](https://edmhousenetwork.com/the-most-played-tracks-from-tomorrowland-2026-weekend-1/)
17. [Avicii chart chronology, chart-history.net](https://chart-history.net/cc/cc-avicii.pdf)
18. [Calvin Harris Closes Head Trip 2026 With Avicii's Iconic 'Levels', CDA Magazine](https://cdamag.io/music/calvin-harris-closes-head-trip-2026-with-aviciis-iconic-levels-after-weather-disruption/)
19. [RIP Avicii: 5 songs that made it to Billboard's Hot 100 chart](https://www.indiatoday.in/lifestyle/what-s-hot/story/rip-avicii-5-songs-that-made-it-to-billboard-s-hot-100-chart-1216999-2018-04-21)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Compositions and songs › Pop, rock, and metal songs › Dance and EDM songs › Modern EDM and DJ collaborations*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license