Ocean

Album: Single release only (2018)
Charted: 25 78
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Songfacts®:

  • This soothing, downtempo dance track features instrumentation by Dutch DJ Martin Garrix and vocals by American singer Khalid. The collaboration was birthed when a fan Twitter account based out of Israel reached out to both artists asking them to work together. Khalid tweeted Garrix quoting the fan and Garrix responded: "Lets do it."

    Martin Garrix started the dance ballad's idea on a boat in Amsterdam, penning the chords before moving into a studio to develop the demo along with co-writers Dewain Whitmore, Ilsey Juber and Giorgio Tuinfort. The Dutch DJ communicated with Khalid via FaceTime; they only met in person for the first time when they filmed the video. The final version of the song was released on June 15, 2018.
  • Lyrically, the song centers on the power of love. Khalid uses the metaphor of an ocean that can't separate him and his romantic partner. He goes on to assure her that if they're "caught in a wave I will carry you over."
  • Khalid has previously dipped his toes into the dance waters before, hooking up with Calvin Harris in 2017 on "Rollin" and later in the year providing the vocals on Marshmello's hit tune "Silence."

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