"Lights" is a song by English singer Ellie Goulding from Bright Lights (2010), the reissue of her debut studio album, Lights (2010). Written by Goulding, Richard Stannard and Ash Howes, the song was inspired by Goulding's childhood fear of the dark. It was released on 13 March 2011 as the album's sixth single overall, and second from Bright Lights. Originally a bonus track on the UK and German iTunes edition of Lights, the song was re-edited for inclusion on Bright Lights in late 2010, serving as the single version.
"Lights" received positive reviews from most music critics, who praised the song's production and Goulding's "ethereal" vocals. The song was also a commercial success, reaching the top 20 in several countries. In the United States, "Lights" was a sleeper hit, reaching number two on the Billboard Hot 100 after 33 weeks on the chart, and becoming one of the few songs to have spent more than a year on the Hot 100. The song has been certified seven-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
In 2022, "Lights" became viral on the video-sharing apps TikTok and Instagram. In response to its resurgence, Goulding and Speed Radio released a sped-up remix on 1 July 2022.
Background and release
"Lights" was originally announced as a single on 8 September 2010 on Goulding's official Twitter page, with a release date scheduled for 1 November 2010. It was set to be released as the lead single from the album's repackaging as Bright Lights. However, this plan was scrapped in favour of releasing "Your Song" in order to capitalise on the John Lewis Christmas advert that it was featured in. This was followed by the reissue of the album Lights as Bright Lights.
In January 2011, it was once again announced that the single version of "Lights" would be released. A digital EP was released in the United Kingdom on 13 March 2011, containing Goulding's acoustic cover version of Rihanna's "Only Girl (In the World)" as performed on BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge on 10 December 2010.
The single version of "Lights" also appears as a bonus track on the international edition of Goulding's second studio album, Halcyon. The song is included on the soundtrack to the 2012 film Spring Breakers and is played during the closing credits.
Composition
According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, "Lights" is written in the key of G-sharp minor with a moderate pop tempo of 120 beats per minute. Goulding's vocals span from F3 to D5 while the song follows a chord progression of Gm−F−E−Cm7. Lyrically, the song discusses the fear of the dark that Goulding had as a child, and how she could only sleep with the lights on. In an interview with 97.1 AMP Radio in late July 2012, Goulding stated, "Sometimes if I've had a couple of drinks and I come back and just like lie on my bed and fall asleep I wake up and realize that there isn't a light on and I have to turn a light on." She also explained, "It can be seen as something like a lighthouse that kind of always guides you home. I've always felt comfort sleeping with the light on, and I've always felt comfort being with my siblings."
Critical reception
"Lights" received mostly positive reviews from critics. Horatia Harrod of The Daily Telegraph commented that the song is "threaded with dark thoughts, but set to an airy pop production bordering on polite. Her voice is the real star. She has the magical ability, not unlike her heroine, Björk, to sing with a sort of controlled tremulousness: her voice aches with vulnerability but never breaks." The Guardian reviewer Johnny Dee described the song as "a welcome return to her patented folky-pop-with-some-tasteful-drum-and-bass-wobble sound".
Genevieve Koski of The A.V. Club was also positive of the song, giving it an A− and praising the song's "organic-sounding" production and Goulding's "ethereal, restrained" vocals, while Steven Hyden of The A.V. Club gave it a C, claiming that Goulding sounds too "restrained" and "aloof to the point of emotional constipation". About.com's Bill Lamb rated the song three-and-a-half out of five stars, calling it "a pleasing, catchy slice of electro-pop" and noting that "Goulding's voice has an edge of sadness and vulnerability that sets the song apart from standard dance pop", but concluded, "In a pop music world dominated by distinctive vocalists, it is too easy for a song like 'Lights' to feel polite and get lost in the shuffle."
On 8 October 2014, "Lights" was honoured as Song of the Year at American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers' (ASCAP) 34th annual awards in London.