Alan Walker

Alan Olav Walker, known professionally as Alan Walker, broke through with “Faded,” the vocal reworking of his earlier track “Fade.” Released in December 2015, “Faded” reached number 80 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and earned triple-platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America. The Norwegian DJ and producer had first released “Fade” through NoCopyrightSounds while still known as DJ Walkzz, after building an audience by sharing music on YouTube and SoundCloud.

Born on 24 August 1997, Walker grew up in Fana, Bergen, and began making music around 2012. He started as a bedroom producer, learning through online work and taking feedback from fans as he posted tracks. His public image has remained closely tied to the hoodie and mask he wears to preserve anonymity. Musically, his work is rooted primarily in house, with expansive melodies and an emotional tone central to songs such as “Faded,” “Sing Me to Sleep,” “Alone,” “All Falls Down,” “Ignite,” and “Darkside.” Each of those singles has received multi-platinum certification and reached number one on Norway’s VG-lista chart.

After “Faded,” Walker released “Sing Me to Sleep” and “Alone” in 2016, followed by “All Falls Down” in 2017. “All Falls Down” reached number one on Billboard’s Dance Club Songs chart. In 2018 he issued “Darkside” and “Ignite,” then released his debut studio album, Different World. The album topped the Norwegian and Finnish charts and reached the top 20 in Sweden and Switzerland.

Walker’s second album, World of Walker, arrived in 2021 and included “On My Way” and “Alone, Pt. II,” both top-five hits on the Norwegian VG-lista. He released Walkerverse Pt. I & II in 2022 and supported it with Walkerverse: The Tour, which began that September. His fourth album, Walkerworld, followed in 2023; Walkerworld 2.0 was released in 2025, the same year he collaborated with Steve Aoki on Quantum Beats. Walker has won three MTV Europe Music Awards, three Electronic Dance Music Awards, two Spellemannprisen awards and an NRJ Music Awards Norge award. Billboard included him in its 2017 21 Under 21 list, DJ Mag ranked him 11th in its 2023 Top 100 DJs poll, and Forbes named him to its 2025 30 Under 30 Europe list.