Axwell Says 'Don't You Worry Child' Nearly Went Unfinished

Label doubts and last-minute decisions

Axwell told Brian Fink on America's Dance 30 that Don't You Worry Child came "pretty close to not getting finished." He explained that Swedish House Mafia can spend so long revisiting a track that they begin questioning whether it should come out at all. In some cases, continuing to change a song can eventually damage what they liked about it in the first place.

Those doubts became even stronger when Axwell, Steve Angello, and Sebastian Ingrosso played the track for their label. Axwell recalled being told, "this is not it," but the trio still believed in the song. With their final shows approaching, they decided they needed to release it. Axwell said they trusted their own judgement and went ahead despite the label's reaction.

From a one-day demo to Swedish House Mafia

Long before Swedish House Mafia completed their version, John Martin and Michel Zitron had started the song together in 2010. The pair were still getting to know each other when they began talking about their relationships with their fathers. That conversation led to the idea behind Don't You Worry Child. Working in Zitron's studio, they played around with a loop before the melody quickly followed. They completed the song in one day.

Their connection with Sebastian Ingrosso followed as Martin and Zitron began presenting song ideas to him. The first collaboration to come from that relationship was Save the World, which Swedish House Mafia released in 2011 with Martin's vocals. His voice appeared on the track without a featured artist credit, although he also helped write the song. With Don't You Worry Child, John Martin received a featured credit alongside Swedish House Mafia.

Farewell single turned chart-topper

By the time Don't You Worry Child reached listeners in 2012, Swedish House Mafia had already announced plans to separate. Its official video used footage from their final UK concert at Milton Keynes Bowl on July 14, 2012, where they also performed the song. That connection placed it directly within the closing months of the trio's original run.

Don't You Worry Child became Swedish House Mafia's first and only UK No. 1 single, spending six weeks inside the Top 10 and 60 weeks in the Top 100. It also reached No. 1 on the UK Dance Singles Chart. The song later earned a Grammy nomination for Best Dance Recording. Looking back at that success makes Axwell's recent comments even more interesting—the trio struggled to finish the song, and their label questioned whether they should release it.