It was written by Avicii, Mike Einziger of Incubus and American soul singer Aloe Blacc, who provides vocals for the track.

The experimental rendering (it was accompanied by a live band with instruments and vocalists, including Blacc, Einziger and Incubus members Ben Kenney on bass and José Pasillas on drums)[3] reportedly confused and angered a section of the electronic dance festival community.

as "a fun experiment" during an exclusive chat with MTV UK,[10] said: "I had a demo with Mac Davis singing, the guy who wrote some songs that were covered by Elvis Presley, but I needed another singer to do the parts.

"[11][12] Aloe Blacc, who is not credited on the track, explained to The Huffington Post: "I started writing the lyrics at the top of 2013, travelling back from Switzerland.

I started in hip hop music back in the 90s and I never expected to be singing and have an actual career as a musician, but I'm travelling all over the world and I thought 'Life is a dream, wake me up when it's all over'.

[17] Robert Copsey of Digital Spy gave the song a positive review, stating: "As chart-friendly EDM continues to reach the furthest corners of the globe, staying ahead of the pack can prove a tricky task – especially when more and more acts arrive on the scene turning out mixes with identikit build-ups, tired lyrics and uninspired breakdowns that newcomers to the arena lap up with excitement.

"So wake me up when it's all over/ When I'm wiser and I'm older," featured artist Aloe Blacc sings over dialled-up, country-flecked guitar strums that sound like Mumford & Sons on speed.

[21] In Australia, the song debuted at number 42 on 24 June, before reaching the two spot two weeks later making it both Avicii's and Blacc's highest-charting single in the country.

Prior to reaching the top spot, Robin Thicke's, "Blurred Lines" spent eight weeks atop the chart.

It features a woman and a young girl, intended to be sisters, portrayed respectively by Russian model Kristina Romanova and Laneya Grace.

The video ends with them walking down the highway as they move into the city and shots from the concert and one of the staring villagers from the beginning seeming to notice and depressed by the sisters' departure before resuming her uninspired life.

The video includes product placement from Denim & Supply by Ralph Lauren and the Sony Xperia Z smartphone, used to capture a group selfie at the concert.

The video was shot by the Santa Clara River orange groves and in the town of Piru, California, north west of Los Angeles and Downtown LA as well as concert footage from an Avicii performing at the 2013 Ultra Music Festival in Miami.

"Wake Me Up (Acoustic)" was released as a promotional stand-alone single on Interscope Records and made available online for downloads via iTunes.

Blacc collaborated with the immigrant rights group National Day Laborer Organizing Network and the ABC* Foundation's Healing Power of Music Initiative.

The cast were real life immigrant activists: Hareth Andrade Ayala (a Virginia leader in the immigrant youth movement working to stop her own father's deportation), Agustin Chiprez Alvarez (a Los Angeles day laborer), and Margarita Reyes (who was deported with her mother as a child despite being born in the US).

[217] This version was released to digital retailers via TebeyMusic on 27 November 2013 as the third single from the former's second studio album, Two (2014) before impacting radio in January 2014.

"Wake Me Up" was covered by American recording artists Alicia Keys and Britton Buchanan during Season 14 of the singing competition The Voice.

[227][231] Amanda Bell of Entertainment Weekly wrote that "his whimpering tones are a good match for this piece, and her ability to break away is always pretty strong" but concluded that the performance was "still a bit boring".

[242] Choirmaster and broadcaster Gareth Malone has previously had chart success after putting together non-singers and turning them into a cohesive choir.

In 2011, he guided the Military Wives – a group of women with partners serving overseas in the army – to Christmas number one with the song "Wherever You Are".

In 2012, in collaboration with Gary Barlow, Malone produced the song "Sing", as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations, with the Commonwealth Band being joined by the Military Wives.

The BBC press release said that Malone would "bring together an array of untrained voices from the world of television sport and theatre" for the single.

[243] The celebrities that make up the All Star Choir are Margaret Alphonsi, Jo Brand, Radzi Chinyanganya, John Craven, Mel Giedroyc, Nitin Ganatra, Larry Lamb, Alice Levine, Fabrice Muamba, Craig Revel Horwood, Linda Robson and Alison Steadman.

Gareth Malone went on numerous television and radio shows to promote the song, including some presented by celebrities who feature on the record.