Alan Walker Released a Ballad with ‘Not You’ in 2021, Now It’s Gained New Life

For all the grandiosity that every dance music song aspires for, Alan Walker’s 2021 song “Not You” was different. Teaming up with Emma Steinbakken, the song from the album World of Walker is pretty much devoid of any dancefloor-oriented elements, with the Norwegian DJ-producer focusing instead of string arrangements, keys and vocals.

Nearly two years on – in which Walker has released two Walkerverse EPs – “Not You” is regaining popularity, particularly in South East Asian countries like Indonesia due to social media platforms like TikTok. Walker was even invited to perform the song on Indonesian Idol recently, with the song reportedly adding nearly a million streams per day. As an artist who holds the distinction of being the most-followed DJ on Spotify, Walker is the last person you’ll hear say something trite like how it’s not about the numbers. He terms the renewed rise in streaming numbers for “Not You” as an “unexpected U-turn in music streaming that’s indescribable.” He adds over a call that the stats and numbers help focus more on content and building interaction with fans in countries around the world, including India and Indonesia.

Beyond the numbers is Walker’s own conviction in the song, which he felt didn’t get its due when it first came out. “It didn’t get the same impact when we released it. It was a very slow song but it also slowly blew up over time. It’s exactly what I was hoping for, at some point,” the DJ says about the success of “Not You.” He admits he’s always releasing songs with a “powerful drop” but “Not You” was “purely piano and strings for a calm, soothing song.” He adds, “The lyrics and the whole momentum of the song, I feel like is very emotional and powerful. It has a very strong meaning to it and I think that’s what caught on.

Walker has spoken previously about how EDM reaching countries like India slightly later than the West has helped make his music more popular in the region, but it’s also that he capitalized on the geographical interest by showing up early in his career to tour here. The DJ says whenever he plays any of the larger electronic festivals around the world, he’ll “pretty much always see an Indian flag in the crowd.” He adds, “That shows how much the music means for India. Having the opportunity to come to India from Norway is always incredible. I was always coming to India, China and Indonesia in the very beginning, instead of going to America and all that. That was the main reason for the connect to those countries.”

The DJ has had his stint on primetime Indonesian T.V., but one wonders how long it might be before Walker shows up on Indian screens and become even more of a household name. “I’ve heard about how huge Bollywood and all that is,” he says with a laugh. After Indonesia, he’s “very open” to making a Bollywood version of “Not You” as well. Walker says, “It can be awesome.” Interestingly, Indian producers like Gravero and the duo Sush & Yohan have already associated to drop mashups which crossover with songs like “Jeena Jeena” by Sachin-Jigar and Atif Aslam (from the movie Badlapur), plus “Jab Tak” by Armaan Malik and Amaal Mallik from M.S. Dhoni — The Untold Story.

On the touring front, Walker is also keen to go to more cities within India and do bigger shows, which the country is ripe for after EDM artist Martin Garrix’s wide-ranging eight-city tour earlier this year. “We’d like to just do a much more wider India tour. The potential and everything is there. I think we really could pull something off,” he adds.

Most of the year will be markedly less hectic shows for the DJ, though. “We’re taking a little bit more relaxed here on the touring front,” he says. There’s a total of around 75 shows planned, compared to the estimated 110 shows he took on in 2022. “But we have a ton of new music coming up and I’m super excited to show the world. Hopefully, I’ll be stopping by India sooner than later,” Walker says.