Clarity (Zedd song)

"Clarity" is a song by Russian-German DJ Zedd featuring the vocals of singer Foxes. It was released on 14 November 2012 as the third single from the former's debut studio album of the same name. The song was written by Zedd (who produced the song), Matthew Koma, Porter Robinson and Skylar Grey. It was released as iTunes Single of the Week on 2 October 2012, and as an 4-track remix EP on 12 February 2013, by Interscope Records. The song impacted US radio on 5 March 2013. Zedd released an extended mix of the song exclusively on Beatport on 18 February 2018.^[6]

"Clarity"
Single by Zedd featuring Foxes
from the album Clarity
Released	14 November 2012 (2012-11-14)
Recorded	April 2012[1]
Genre	Progressive house[2] electro house[3] dance-pop[4] EDM[5]
Length	4:31 (album version) 3:48 (radio edit) 5:43 (extended version)
Label	Interscope
Songwriter(s)	Anton Zaslavski Holly Hafermann Matthew Koma Porter Robinson
Producer(s)	Zedd Jonny "Ghostwriter" Harris
Zedd singles chronology
"Spectrum" (2012) "Clarity" (2012) "Stay the Night" (2013)
Foxes singles chronology
"Youth" (2012) "Clarity" (2012) "Right Here" (2013)
Music video
"Clarity" on YouTube

Clarity (Remixes)
Remix album by Zedd
Released	February 12, 2013 (2013-02-12)
Recorded	2012–13
Length	17:22
Label	Interscope
Producer	Zedd
Zedd chronology
Clarity (2012) Clarity (Remixes) (2013)

When Koma listened to Foxes' song "Youth", he contacted her through Skype and asked her to be the vocalist on "Clarity". After Foxes did research on Wikipedia about Zedd, she accepted the offer.^[7] In June 2014, following the success of "Stay the Night" featuring Hayley Williams in the United Kingdom, "Clarity" was re-released there, and this time reached a better peak of number 27, compared to the previous one of 29 in 2013. It ended up being awarded silver certification by the BPI following the intake of streaming into Official Charts data in the UK. It also reached the top ten in the US and was certified six-times Platinum there as well as Gold or higher in nine additional countries.

The extended play of the track was released on 18 February 2013. It features ten remixes including Tiësto, Headhunterz and Funkagenda, among others.^[8] From December 2012 to 4 February 2013, Zedd hosted a remix contest for the track. There were 982 official entries.^[9] The winning remix by Tom Budin was due to be featured on an upcoming Zedd release.^[10]

"Clarity" won the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording at the 56th Grammy Awards, becoming their first win.^[11]

Critical reception

Idolator editor Sam Lansky praised the vocals produced by Jonny "Ghostwriter" Harris, and praised Zedd for "[transforming] his EDM sound into a lovely, downtempo emo-style set."^[12]

Composition

"Clarity" has a tempo of 128 beats per minute, and is written in the A♭ major key. Its main chord progression is B♭m7sus4/E♭/Fm7/Cm7/D♭ – B♭m7sus4/E♭/Fm7/Cm7/D♭/A♭.^[13]

Music video

A music video for "Clarity" directed by Jodeb was released on January 11, 2013. The music video featured Foxes and actor and model AJ English as a couple. The video starts with the camera panning over the desert, and later switching to see Foxes and the male lead driving in different cars, until they suddenly collide head-to-head, with enough force for both characters to rocket backward. The male lead wakes up after being knocked unconscious from the collision, and finds the injured Foxes. However, she runs away through the desert, making him follow her until she falls unconscious in the sand. A rewind of the whole event was shown afterwards, before in the final scene, the two people drive in the same car, presumably enjoying themselves. All scenes were accompanied by computer effects of collisions and other images that synchronize with the music. The music video also features a cameo from Zedd.

Track listing

Digital download^[14]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Clarity"	4:31

Digital download (Extended mix)^[6]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Clarity" (Extended Mix)	5:43

Digital download (Remixes EP)^[15]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Clarity" (Zedd Union Mix)	3:27
2.	"Clarity" (Tiësto Remix)	5:54
3.	"Clarity" (Style of Eye Remix)	6:37
4.	"Clarity" (Brillz Remix)	5:57

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2013-2014) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[16] 13 Australia Dance (ARIA)[17] 2 Australia Hitseekers (ARIA)[18] 1 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[19] 38 Belgium Dance (Ultratop Flanders)[20] 20 Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia)[21] 11 Belgium Dance (Ultratop Wallonia)[22] 23 Brazil (Billboard Brasil Hot 100)[23] 51 Brazil Hot Pop Songs[23] 15 Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[24] 17 Czech Republic (Rádio – Top 100)[25] 38 Germany (GfK)[26] 94 Ireland (IRMA)[27] 39 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[28] 81 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[29] 13 Scotland (OCC)[30] 22 Slovakia (Rádio Top 100)[31] 66 UK Singles (OCC)[32] 27 UK Dance (OCC)[33] 6 US Billboard Hot 100[34] 8 US Adult Pop Airplay (Billboard)[35] 16 US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[36] 1 US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs (Billboard)[37] 2 US Latin Pop Airplay (Billboard)[38] 28 US Pop Airplay (Billboard)[39] 2 US Rhythmic (Billboard)[40] 7

Year-end charts Chart (2013) Position Australia (ARIA)[41] 57 Australia Dance (ARIA)[42] 12 Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[43] 49 UK Singles (OCC)[44] 180 US Billboard Hot 100[45] 24 US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[46] 7 US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs (Billboard)[47] 5 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[48] 5 US Rhythmic (Billboard)[49] 41 Chart (2014) Position US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs (Billboard)[50] 30 Decade-end charts Chart (2010–2019) Position US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs (Billboard)[51] 31

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[52]	2× Platinum	140,000^
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[53]	3× Platinum	180,000‡
Canada (Music Canada)[54]	Platinum	80,000*
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[55]	Gold	45,000‡
Germany (BVMI)[56]	Gold	150,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[57]	Gold	15,000‡
Mexico (AMPROFON)[58]	Gold	30,000*
New Zealand (RMNZ)[59]	2× Platinum	60,000‡
Sweden (GLF)[60]	Platinum	40,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[61]	Platinum	600,000‡
United States (RIAA)[62]	6× Platinum	6,000,000‡
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Country	Date	Format	Label
Italy[63]	14 November 2012	Contemporary hit radio	Universal
Australia[64]	1 February 2013	Digital download	Interscope
New Zealand[65]
United States[66]	12 February 2013	Digital download (remixes EP)
Australia[67]	18 February 2013
Germany[68]
New Zealand[69]
United States[70]	5 March 2013	Contemporary hit radio
United Kingdom[71]	6 June 2014	Digital download (remixes EP)

See also

• List of number-one dance singles of 2013 (U.S.)