• Catchy rework
• Attractive vocals
• Dance-pop makeover of the classic

Time and time again, Alice Deejay’s evergreen “Better Off Alone” has been far from a solitary, one-time success— rather, it brought upon several other hits in pop and dance music alike. Needless to say, repetition leads to annoyance and when the success of a project is borrowed too many times, its novelty eventually wears off. Could the same be said about the newest project from Alan Walker, Dash Berlin, and Vikkstar? Probably not.

“Better Off (Alone, Pt. III)” is surprisingly praiseworthy, rather than an unneeded release wanting to gather streams.

An unexpected team-up, Alan Walker is synonymous mostly with the commercial dance-pop arena; known for his midtempo, radio-ready productions, the Nordic alias has retained a massive influence over the years (although getting mixed reactions due to his involvement with music creation). His latest album, “Walkerverse, Pt. I & II,” is a compilation of tracks tailored to trend: ranging from pop-punk to the signature electro midtempo pop. Meanwhile, Dash Berlin has been quietly churning out festival-intended tracks and edits with their melodic progressive house/trance sound, the most recent being “Time After Time” with DubVision and Emma Hewitt.

At the same time, this forms the debut for British YouTuber Vikkstar in music. It’s hard to discern his commitment to the technical aspects, making it hard to shrug off the belief of whether his feature is a brand deal of sorts.

That aside, “Better Off (Alone, Pt. III)” sticks to a wisely chosen policy: not to deter too much from the already successful formula. Right from the start, the song sets a good impression with the nostalgic riff opening the show, as enticing female vocals take the lead. Hyping up the tease, catchy piano chords get the ball rolling with striding claps, swiftly getting to the crux of the track. The main hook instantly grabs attention as the original’s melody pairs up with a piano-led deep house chorus, and together with the superb vocals— it just works! Sure, ingenuity isn’t the prime concern here, but rather making the most of the opportunity. A polished dance-pop production and capable songwriting (owing to its creators) form a record that puts a refreshing spin on the 2000s hit, not relying entirely on the sampling to do the trick.

Recommendable and repeatable, “Better Off (Alone, Pt. III)” is a late-summer contender for a viral song, alongside being a more-than-decent homage to the often unceremoniously sampled trance classic.

You can listen to “Better Off” here:

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