Different World (Alan Walker album)

Featuring artists such as Steve Aoki, Noah Cyrus, and Digital Farm Animals, the album is noted for its mixture of "recognizable releases" such as "Faded" with "new material" such as "Lost Control".^[4] Walker said of the album "It's an incredible feeling to be able to release my debut album, Different World. These last years were absolutely surreal, and I certainly never imagined it would get to that point when I started. very different for me. It's something I've worked on for some time, and I'm super excited to finally share with the world and hear the reaction of my fans!"^[5] A campaign for the album was launched, titled "#CreateADifferentWorld". It is to raise awareness regarding the theme of climate change.^[6]

The album's first single "All Falls Down", featuring Noah Cyrus and Digital Farm Animals, was released as the lead single from the album on 27 October 2017.^[7] The single peaked at number one on the Norwegian Singles Chart and the US Billboard Dance Club Songs chart.^[8][9]

"Darkside", a song featuring Antiguan-German singer-songwriter Au/Ra and Norwegian singer Tomine Harket, was released as the second single on 27 July 2018.^[10] The song was also released with a remix by Dutch DJ Afrojack,^[11] which reached number 1 on the Norwegian charts and number 10 on the Swedish charts.^[8][12]

The single "Diamond Heart", featuring Swedish singer-songwriter Sophia Somajo, was released as the third single on September 28, 2018.^[13] Two remixes have been officially released, one by Syn Cole and one by Dzeko.^[14] The song's music video was nominated for Best Cinematography at the 2019 Berlin Music Video Awards.^[15]

The song "Different World", featuring American singer Sofia Carson, Norwegian music producer K-391 and Chinese music producer Corsak, was released as the album's fourth and final single on November 30, 2018.^[16] The song was released to coincide with a campaign entitled "#CreateADifferentWorld" and features Walker speaking about the importance of climate change.^[17] The song reached number 31 in the Norwegian charts.^[8]

The album also included the number-one singles, "Faded" "Sing Me to Sleep" and "Alone", with the former two featured uncredited Naustdal pop singer Iselin Solheim, and the latter featured uncredited singer Noonie Bao.^{[18][19][20][21]}

More information Review scores, Source ...

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Gaffa (Denmark)	[22]
NRK P3	[23]
Verdens Gang	[24]
The Straits Times	[1]

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Dancing Astronaut wrote that the album "extends the fullest portrait of his distinctive sound" and described it as "a tightly threaded collection of songs, which articulates Walker's sonic artistry."^[25] Billboard described it as "turning bleating synth melodies into sing-alongs, melts warm Caribbean rhythms with hardstyle booms, and electrifies the dance floor as much as it aims for radio readiness."^[26] Manuel Probst of German music site Dance-Charts [de] says, "Alan Walker's typical sound design runs through Different World like a common thread, creating a special atmosphere with its melancholy melodies. I am creating it. Even though the superstar stays true to his style, his attention to detail allows him to constantly change and give each song his own unique touch".^[27] Marit Johansen Jegthaug of NRK P3 said: "There are too few new songs and the album is poorly structured. It lacks variety, dramaturgy, something that would distinguish it from the stagnant singles with a clear distinction between old and new and all over the place".^[23] Tor Martin Bøe of Verdens Gang gave the album a "die throw" rating of 3 out of 6, describing it as "manic and gloomy" and stating that "the dark sense of abandonment feels almost tacked on".^[24] Anjali Raguraman of The Straits Times described it as a "cinematic, vocals-driven album" and said that "it feels like Walker has played it safe by sticking to what he is familiar with".^[1]

At the time of Billboard's 2019 mid-year report, the album had logged 93,000 equivalent album sales in the United States and "Faded" had amassed 192,396,000 streams.^[28]

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies a co-producer
• ^{^[c]} signifies a vocal producer
• "Intro" features background vocals from Emelie Hollow and Anna-Marie Kimber.
• "Sing Me to Sleep" features uncredited vocals from Iselin Solheim.
• "Alone" features uncredited vocals from Noonie Bao.
• "Faded" features uncredited vocals from Iselin Solheim.
• "The Spectre" features uncredited vocals from Jesper Borgen.