He reached out to touch the keyboard, and as his fingers made contact, a surge of pure, euphoric energy rushed up his arms. The room around him began to dissolve into a kaleidoscope of brilliant, neon colors. The walls fell away, replaced by an infinite expanse of starlight. He was no longer in his bedroom. He was flying.

The leaked MP3 that circulated in 2017–2018 was far from studio quality: muddy low-end, temporary vocal takes, and abrupt cutoffs. Despite this, it became a fan favorite, often labeled as “hot” on MP3 sharing sites due to its rarity and emotional weight — especially after Avicii’s passing in April 2018.

Despite its popularity, the track was not included in the posthumous album TIM (2019) and remains officially unreleased.

The song’s journey began during a cross-country U.S. road trip in March 2016, famously dubbed . During this trip, Avicii and his close collaborator Sandro Cavazza worked on new material in an Austin, Texas studio.

It debuted during Avicii's legendary live set at Ultra Music Festival (UMF) 2016 .

One of the most sought-after tracks in electronic music history, "Faster Than Light" (also known by fans as "