Songfacts®:

• Lauren Mayberry of Chvrches' first solo single, "Are You Awake?" is a melancholic, intimate piano-driven ballad. On a somber and rainy December afternoon in America, the Scottish singer, grappling with homesickness, composed the song as she missed the people back home.
• Mayberry connected with the Canadian singer-songwriter Tobias Jesso Jr. (Adele's "When We Were Young " and "To Be Loved," Harry Styles' "Boyfriends") to write the song. Both shared the experience of living in Los Angeles away from their home country.
  
  Zedd collaborator Matthew Koma added finishing touches to the delicate arrangement. "I was thinking a lot about loneliness and homesickness, and as soon as Tobias started playing the chords, the lyrics and melody came to me really quickly," Mayberry said of the song. "I finished the song with my friend Matthew Koma, who really understood what I was trying to say."
• Matthew Koma arranged the strings and played keyboards and guitar. The other musicians are:
  
  Taylor Goldsmith: piano
  Griffin Goldsmith: drums
  Brad Goodall: keyboards
  
  Taylor Goldsmith is the frontman of American folk rock band Dawes. Goldsmith has also done work as a session musician, performing on albums by Jackson Browne, John Fogerty, and the Killers, among others. His brother, Griffin Goldsmith, is Dawes' drummer. Singer-songwriter Brad Goodell released his debut album, Made In America, on November 4, 2022.
• Mayberry released "Are You Awake?" on September 1, 2023. She debuted the song live at the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC, three days later. It was her first time playing a headline show as a solo artist.