"Spectrum" is a song by Russian–German electronic music producer Zedd. It features the vocals from American singer Matthew Koma.[1] It was released as a single on June 4, 2012,[2] and serves as the second single from Zedd's debut studio album Clarity. It was written by Koma and Zedd.[3]
Anextended play of the track – featuring remixes by Armin van Buuren, Arty, Deniz Koyu, as well as Congorock – was released on July 31, 2012. It also features a track titled "Human" (a collaboration with Nicky Romero), which was also released as a single on July 31, 2012.[4]
TVXQ's Yunho, Super Junior's Donghae and Eunhyuk, EXO's Kai and Lay and SHINee's Taemin 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 and the proceeds were given to charity.[5]
There is also a Japanese remix, which features English vocals by Hatsune Miku, made by the Japanese music group, Livetune, which is featured in the Japanese release of Zedd's album Clarity.[6] 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.
"Spectrum" was written and produced by Zedd, with vocals and additional writing from Matthew Koma. Zedd started with the chord progression, 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, 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.[7]
"Spectrum" was released on June 4, 2012. Zedd said he wanted "Spectrum' to be Clarity'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."[7]
The official music video for the song premiered on August 15, 2012, shot at the Pink Motel in Sun Valley, California.[8] It is directed by Petro, photographed by cinematographer Steve Gainer ASC ASK, and stars Taryn Manning and Derek Magyar.[9]
Discussing the video with Rolling Stone, Zedd said the following:
I wanted the video to capture the ever-changing energy and emotion of the song through real human feelings ... It takes you on a journey through love, loss, contentment and anxiety. Musically, the chord progression I wrote captured the feeling and tension, unpredictability and the unknown. The video portrays this through a relationship between a man (human) and woman (alien) & the dynamics/excitement between the two of them.
The song was covered by the dance unit group, SM The Performance, which includes members of SM Town. The cover was released as a digital download on December 30, 2012, in South Korea under the label of SM Entertainment.[36] The first dance performance of "Spectrum" was during 'SBS Gayo Daejeon' held on December 29, 2012. The choreography was created by NappyTabs who previously collaborated with Christina Aguilera, BoA's "Only One" and TVXQ's "Humanoids".[37] The vocals were provided by YunhoofTVXQ, DonghaeofSuper Junior and TaeminofShinee. In addition to these, other members of SM The Performance include Eunhyuk of Super Junior, Minho of Shinee, Kai and Lay of Exo.
