"Spectrum" is a song by Russian-German

electronic music Electronic music is a Music genre, genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or electronics, circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromech ...

producer

Zedd Anton Zaslavski (russian: Антон Заславский; born 2 September 1989), known professionally as Zedd (), is a Russian-born German DJ, record producer, and songwriter. Zedd grew up and began his musical journey in Kaiserslautern, G ...

. It features the vocals from American singer

Matthew Koma Matthew Bair (born June 2, 1987), known professionally as Matthew Koma, is an American singer, songwriter, DJ and record producer. Songs written by Koma include "Spectrum" and Grammy Award-winner "Clarity", both performed by Zedd. Koma has coll ...

. It was released as a single on June 4, 2012, and serves as the second single from Zedd's debut studio album ''

Clarity Clarity may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Clarity, a magic spell in the online game '' EverQuest'' * Clarity, a fictional drug from the film '' Minority Report'' Music Albums * ''Clarity'' (Jimmy Eat World album) ...

''. It was written by Koma and Zedd. An

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

of the track – featuring remixes by

Armin van Buuren Armin Jozef Jacobus Daniël van Buuren ( , ; born 25 December 1976) is a Dutch DJ and record producer from Leiden, South Holland. Since 2001, he has hosted '' A State of Trance'' (ASOT), a weekly radio show, which is broadcast to nearly 40&n ...

Arty Arty may refer to: People * Arty (Queen), 8th century BC wife of Pharaoh Shebitku * Arty (musician) (born 1989), Russian record producer and DJ born Artem Stolyarov * Arty Ash, stage name of British actor Arthur Richard Dodge (1895–1954) * A ni ...

Deniz Koyu Deniz "Koyu" Akçakoyunlu (born April 29, 1985, in Bochum) is a Turkish-German disc jockey and electronic dance music producer who specializes in progressive house and electro house. He has collaborated with some of the most successful electro ...

, as well as

Congorock Rocco Rampino (born 1983, in Lecce), better known as Congorock, is an Italian producer and DJ. He is best known for his song "Babylon" in 2010. In 2012 Congorock toured with Barbadian R&B singer Rihanna on her 777 Tour, at around about the sa ...

– was released on July 31, 2012. It also features a track titled "Human" (a collaboration with

Nicky Romero Nick Rotteveel (; born January 6, 1989), professionally known as Nicky Romero or Monocule, is a Dutch DJ, record producer and remixer from Amerongen, Utrecht Province. He has worked with, and received support from DJs, such as Tiësto, Fedde ...

), which was also released as a single on July 31, 2012.

TVXQ TVXQ (stylized as TVXQ!), an initialism for Tong Vfang Xien Qi (), is a South Korean male Pop music, pop duo consisting of Yunho, U-Know Yunho and Changmin, Max Changmin. They are known as in Japanese releases, and are sometimes referred to as ...

Yunho Jung Yun-ho (; born February 6, 1986), also known by his stage name U-Know Yunho () or simply U-Know, is a South Korean singer-songwriter, actor, and a member of the pop duo TVXQ. Born and raised in Gwangju, South Korea, Yunho started his music ...

Super Junior Super Junior (; stylized in all caps), also known as SJ or SuJu, is a South Korean boy band formed by Lee Soo-man, the founder of SM Entertainment in 2005. They are also dubbed by the media as the "King of Hallyu Wave" due to their promine ...

Donghae Donghae may refer to: * East Sea, the South Korean name of the Sea of Japan ** Donghae Expressway, the name of the expressway in South Korea ** Donghae Line, a railway line in Busan, South Korea * Donghae City, in South Korea ** ''Donghae''-class ...

and

Eunhyuk Lee Hyuk-jae (born April 4, 1986), better known by his stage name Eunhyuk, is a South Korean rapper, singer-songwriter, dancer and television host. He is a member of the South Korean boy group Super Junior and its subgroups Super Junior-T and ...

, EXO's Kai and

Lay Lay may refer to: Places *Lay Range, a subrange of mountains in British Columbia, Canada * Lay, Loire, a French commune * Lay (river), France *Lay, Iran, a village * Lay, Kansas, United States, an unincorporated community People * Lay (surname ...

and

SHINee Shinee ( ; ko, 샤이니, Syaini; ja, シャイニー, Shainī; stylized as SHINee) is a South Korean boy band formed by SM Entertainment in 2008. The group's musical impact in their native country has earned them numerous accolades and the ...

Taemin Lee Tae-min (born July 18, 1993), better known mononymously as Taemin, is a South Korean singer, actor and dancer. He debuted as a member of the boy band Shinee in May 2008 and the supergroup SuperM in 2019, both under SM Entertainment, and ...

and Minho under the project name S.M. The Performance released a Korean version, featuring the vocals of Taemin, Donghae and Yunho. This version was released on December 30, 2012 by

S.M. Entertainment SM Entertainment Co., Ltd. () is a South Korean multinational entertainment agency. It is one of South Korea's largest entertainment companies where it was established in 1995 by record executive and record producer Lee Soo-man. The company ha ...

and the proceeds were given to charity. There is also a Japanese remix, which features English vocals by

Hatsune Miku , also called Miku Hatsune, and officially code-named CV01, is a Vocaloid software voicebank developed by Crypton Future Media and its official anthropomorphic mascot character, a 16-year-old girl with long, turquoise twintails. Miku's pers ...

, made by the Japanese music group,

Livetune Livetune (stylized as livetune) is a Japanese electro band which formed in 2007 as a dōjin music circle signed to Toy's Factory. The band originally consisted of two members, Kz and Kajuki P, but Kajuki P left the band in March 2009. Livetune s ...

, which is featured in the Japanese release of Zedd's album ''

''. Livetune had originally remixed the song as a fan of Zedd's music and Zedd was impressed with the result of the remix and asked for it to be included in the Japanese release as a bonus track.

Production

"Spectrum" was written and produced by Zedd, with vocals and additional writing from

. Zedd started with the

chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice ...

, saying that he "wasn't sure if it would be a really hard club song or end up being a song for another artist." After Koma finished touring with

LMFAO LMFAO (an initialism for Laughing My Freaking Ass Off or Laughing My Fucking Ass Off) are an American electronic dance music duo consisting of Redfoo and Sky Blu. Redfoo is the youngest son of Motown Records founder Berry Gordy and Nancy L ...

, he emailed Zedd that he wanted to work together again. Zedd finished producing the instrumental for "Spectrum", and brought him to the studio to show him the beat. According to Zedd, "he was singing along, and I heard parts of the melody which I liked. I forced him to stay a few hours even though he was tired as s***." He also said the lyrics took quite a few weeks to write.

Release

"Spectrum" was released on June 4, 2012. Zedd said he wanted "Spectrum' to be ''

'''s lead single because he felt "like it sums up my album the best so far. It has vocals. It has instrumental parts. It has everything." ..it shows what the album will be about so well."

Music video

The official music video for the song premiered on August 15, 2012, shot at the Pink Motel in Sun Valley, California. It is directed by Petro, photographed by cinematographer

Steve Gainer Steve Gainer, ASC ASK (born October 25, 1962) is an American cinematographer, director, and producer. He is a member and museum curator of the American Society of Cinematographers, a member of the Directors Guild of America, and the Academy of ...

ASC ASK, and stars

Taryn Manning Taryn Manning is an American actress and singer. She is best known for portraying Tiffany "Pennsatucky" Doggett in the Netflix original series ''Orange Is the New Black'' (2013–2019), Cherry in ''Sons of Anarchy'' (2008–2010), Nola in ''Hus ...

and Derek Magyar. Discussing the video with ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...

'', Zedd said the following:

Track listing

All versions of "Spectrum" listed below feature Matthew Koma. ; CD single and digital download # "Spectrum" (Radio Edit) – 4:03 # "Spectrum" (Extended Mix) – 6:01 ; Digital download (EP) # "Spectrum" (Extended Mix) – 6:01 # "Spectrum" (

Remix) – 6:28 # "Spectrum" (

A-Trak Alain Macklovitch (born March 30, 1982), known by his stage name A-Trak, is a Canadian DJ, record producer, and record executive. He came to prominence in the late 2000s as an international club DJ and remix artist, known for incorporating highly ...

and

Clockwork Clockwork refers to the inner workings of either mechanical devices called clocks and watches (where it is also called the movement) or other mechanisms that work similarly, using a series of gears driven by a spring or weight. A clockwork mec ...

Remix) – 5:05 # "Spectrum" (

Remix) – 6:05 # "Spectrum" (

Remix) – 6:35 # "Spectrum" (Gregori Klosman and Tristan Garner Knights Remix) – 4:57 # "Spectrum" (

Remix) – 5:42 # "Spectrum" ( Monsta Remix) – 5:30 # "Spectrum" (Acoustic Version) – 6:01 # "Human" (with

) – 4:17 ; Digital download (Shreddie Mercury Remix) (

Beatport Beatport is an American electronic music-oriented online music store owned by LiveStyle. The company is based in Denver, Los Angeles, and Berlin. Beatport is oriented primarily towards DJs, selling full songs as well as resources that can be us ...

exclusive) # "Spectrum" (Shreddie Mercury Remix) – 5:18 ; Other versions * "Spectrum" (

Headhunterz Willem Rebergen (born 12 September 1985), better known by his stage name ''Headhunterz'', is a Dutch DJ and music producer. Rebergen is also a voice actor. He has done dubbing for several movies and TV series. He started his career in 2005 ...

Edit) – 4:00 (Available as a free track on Headhunterz'

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming s ...

page.) * "Spectrum" (

KDrew Kevin Nicholas Drew, better known as his alias KDrew, is an American record producer and DJ from New Jersey. KDrew produces primarily EDM and is perhaps best known for his remixes for Zedd and Lady Gaga, although his original records "Bullseye" a ...

Remix) – 4:40 * "Spectrum" (

Remix) (featuring Matthew Koma and

) – 3:21 (This release is a Japan-only exclusive remix.)

Unofficial Remixes

# "Spectrum (Johnny Wolinger Remix)" – 5:00

Personnel

– producer,

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

– songwriter,

vocalist Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or witho ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

SM The Performance cover

The song was covered by the dance unit group, SM The Performance, which includes members of

SM Town SM Town (stylized as SMTOWN) is a musical collective for the recording artists under South Korean entertainment company SM Entertainment. SM Town artists have performed at the annual SM Town Live world tours since the SM Town Live '08 Asia to ...

. The cover was released as a digital download on December 30, 2012, in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

under the label of

SM Entertainment SM Entertainment Co., Ltd. () is a South Korean multinational entertainment agency. It is one of South Korea's largest entertainment companies where it was established in 1995 by record executive and record producer Lee Soo-man. The company ha ...

. The first dance performance of "Spectrum" was during '

SBS Gayo Daejeon ''SBS Gayo Daejeon'' (, broadly ''SBS'' '' Battle of the Bands'') is an annual televised music festival that is broadcast by the Seoul Broadcasting System at the end of each year. The program first aired in 1997, and awards were given to musica ...

' held on December 29, 2012. The choreography was created by NappyTabs who previously collaborated with

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice o ...

BoA Kwon Bo-ah (; born November 5, 1986), known professionally as BoA, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, dancer, record producer and actress. One of the most successful and influential Korean entertainers, she has been dubbed the " Queen of K- ...

's "

Only One Only may refer to: Music Albums * ''Only'' (album), by Tommy Emmanuel, 2000 * ''The Only'', an EP by Dua Lipa, 2017 Songs * "Only" (Anthrax song), 1993 * "Only" (Nine Inch Nails song), 2005 * "Only" (Nicki Minaj song), 2014 * "The Only", by S ...

" and

's "Humanoids". The vocals were provided by

and

Shinee Shinee ( ; ko, 샤이니, Syaini; ja, シャイニー, Shainī; stylized as SHINee) is a South Korean boy band formed by SM Entertainment in 2008. The group's musical impact in their native country has earned them numerous accolades and the ...

. In addition to these, other members of SM The Performance include

of Super Junior, Minho of Shinee, Kai and Lay of Exo.

References

External links

*
Live performance of "Spectrum"
by SM The Performance, during 2012 ''

'' {{Authority control 2012 singles Interscope Records singles Zedd songs SM Entertainment singles Songs written by Matthew Koma Songs written by Zedd 2012 songs