"Ocean" is a song by Dutch music producer and DJ

Martin Garrix Martijn Gerard Garritsen (; born 14 May 1996), known professionally as Martin Garrix (or Ytram and GRX), is a Dutch Republic, Dutch DJ and record producer who was ranked number one on ''DJ Mag''s Top 100 DJs list for three consecutive years—20 ...

featuring American singer-songwriter

Khalid Khalid (variants include Khaled and Kalid; Arabic: خالد) is a popular Arabic male given name meaning "eternal, everlasting, immortal". It also appears as a surname.

, from the former's debut studio album ''The Martin Garrix Experience''. The song was written by Khalid, Dewain Whitmore Jr.,

Ilsey Juber Ilsey Anna Juber (, ; born April 17, 1986) is a British American singer and professional songwriter from Los Angeles, California. Before releasing her debut album ''From the Valley'' in 2023, Juber co-wrote songs for popular artists such as Bey ...

, and its producers Garrix and

Giorgio Tuinfort Giorgio Hesdey Tuinfort (born 30 April 1981) is a Dutch record producer and songwriter. He is best known for his production work for Senegalese-American singer Akon and French DJ David Guetta. Giorgio has been credited on releases by prominent m ...

. it was released by

Stmpd Rcrds Stmpd Rcrds (stylised in all caps; pronounced "stamped records") is a Dutch electronic dance music record label owned by record producer Martin Garrix, who founded the label on 4 March 2016. History Martin Garrix announced the creation of Stmpd ...

on 15 June 2018, alongside its music video.

Background

In October 2017, Khalid tweeted Garrix quoting a fan who asked for a collaboration between them, Garrix responded: "Lets do it". Khalid first revealed that he was in the studio with Garrix during an interview on ''Billboard'' Music Awards' Facebook Live broadcast on 17 April 2018. Garrix later revealed more details on the song to Kenh14 News, saying: "At the moment, I can announce that I have a new song with Khalid. He is a great singer. We will release it early June. I'm really excited about it." In an interview with

Sirius XM Hits 1 ''Sirius XM Hits 1'' is a Top 40 radio station on Sirius XM Radio channel 2 and Dish Network channels 6002 and 099-02 (099-02 is only for Hopper users). Like most Sirius XM stations, it plays no commercials. The channel was formerly known as US-1 ...

at the 2018 ''Billboard'' Music Awards, Garrix announced the song's title and release date. The official announcement came on 11 June, along with the single artwork.

Music video

A music video for the song was released via Garrix's YouTube channel on 15 June 2018. The video was shot in a warehouse in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...

, which had no water or electricity. The production crew constructed stage lighting, LEDs and a building with glass and mirrors to go with the mood of the song. As of April 2025, the video has received over 312 million views.

Critical reception

Kat Bein of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' felt that the track was "perfectly suited for Khalid's soulful range", who gave listeners his "alto richness and falsetto tenderness over the slow burn beat Garrix cooked". Matthew Meadow from Your EDM described "Ocean" as "the most mellow of any Garrix song we've heard thus far" which "plays more to Khalid's style than it does to his own", thus missing out on most of Garrix's signature musical style.

Dancing Astronaut Dancing Astronaut is an American media platform founded in 2009 that primarily covers the electronic dance music industry. The website covers concerts and festivals, reports on entertainment news, reviews music, and publishes original content syn ...

's Chris Stack wrote that the pair delivered a "laid back pop track blending electronic tropes with elements of rock and R&B into a soothing soundscape polished by calming harmonies", while noting the successful continuation of Khalid's "foray into EDM".

Personnel

– production, mix engineering *

Khalid Khalid (variants include Khaled and Kalid; Arabic: خالد) is a popular Arabic male given name meaning "eternal, everlasting, immortal". It also appears as a surname.

– vocals *

– production * Denis Kosiak – engineering, vocal production

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 2018 singles 2018 songs Khalid (singer) songs Martin Garrix songs Pop ballads Songs written by Giorgio Tuinfort Songs written by Ilsey Juber Songs written by Khalid (singer) Songs written by Martin Garrix Stmpd Rcrds singles Songs written by Dewain Whitmore Jr.