Flashing Lights
Encyclopedia
"Flashing Lights" is a song by American
rap
artist Kanye West
. It was released on November 22, 2007, as the fourth single
for his third studio album, Graduation
. The song was co-produced by Eric Hudson
and features R&B singer Dwele
as well as additional vocals provided by Connie Mitchell
of Sneaky Sound System
. The single's cover art was designed by Japanese pop art
ist, Takashi Murakami
.
in New York City
, where he played the song over a clip from the 2004
Hong Kong film
2046
which he later released on his official blog. The song features Detroit R&B singer Dwele on its chorus and contains additional vocals provided by Connie Mitchell
of the Australia
n electronic
group Sneaky Sound System
. The collaboration came about when Kanye met Mitchell's bandmates Angus McDonald and Daimon Downey at a diner in Sydney, Australia. Seeking musical inspiration, West asked McDonald for ideas, who suggested that he be introduced to Mitchell. After their meeting, West asked Mitchell to sing over the song's vocals and well as certain other tracks on Graduation. Mitchell later admitted that while she previously didn't know who Kanye was and never really cared for hip-hop
, the collaboration had changed her views.
As a result of its popularity, "Flashing Lights" was utilized by multiple media outlets. In December 2007, the song was used in an ad campaign for French
vodka Cîroc
, featuring spokesperson Sean Combs
. It is featured in the popular action-adventure
video game Grand Theft Auto IV
on the in-game contemporary hip-hop radio station, The Beat 102.7 and was used in the second trailer for the game. The song came to be included on Now That's What I Call Music 27. In January 2009, "Flashing Lights" was used once again for the highly conceptualized promotional TV spots co-directed by Emnet Mulugeta and Marcus Engstrand of the upcoming part two of the fifth season Nip/Tuck
. The promo won gold at the North American Promax Awards
. The song has been confirmed to be included within the setlist of the turntable
music video game Scratch: The Ultimate DJ
.
-tinged Hip-hop
/R&B
song composed in the key of F♯ minor. It is written in common time
and moves at 90 beats per minute. The main and background vocal range
for the song spans nearly two octaves, from C#3 to E4. Opening with a gradual, rising crescendo of symphonic strings
before transforming into a moderately-paced, synth
-driven beat, "Flashing Lights" tells the operatic narrative of man contemplating the complexities of a tragic relationship. After the introduction
, in which Mitchell's processed vocals repeat the titular hook
four times, West raps the two verses, each one followed by the chorus
sung by Dwele coupled with the hook. Following a break
, the song enters a passage where its heavily manipulated hook echoes in and out before the coda
draws the composition to a close.
. Alex Fletcher of Digital Spy
highly approved of the single, awarding it a four-star review and asserting that it "easily demonstrates why West is the hottest property in US music at the moment. Mixing chilled-out electronics, jittering synths and laid-back, old-skool hip-hop, he creates a sumptuous track that grows more intriguing with every listen." Billboard
gave a favorable review, claiming that it "does a great job of reintroducing Miami Vice
-esque keys." Rolling Stone
also gave the song a positive review, stating that within it, "West single-handedly takes hip-hop back to its pre-Run-DMC disco
days." PopMatters
complemented "Flashing Lights" for its glitzy sound as well as its futuristic feel. Stylus Magazine
music reviewer Jayson Greene heralded the "gorgeously airy" single as "one of the most unabashedly graceful things heard on a commercial hip-hop record in years."
"Flashing Lights" was listed as the thirty-first best song of 2007 by Stylus Magazine. The song was also listed at number thirteen on Pitchfork's "The 100 Best Tracks of 2008". It was later cited as the fifty-second best song of the entire decade by Pitchfork, which wrote, "It's classic Kanye-- self-possessed, superfluously art-ridden, probably too clever by half. In Kanye's post-everything museum, da Vinci sidles up next to a bust of Julius
; a Karen O
-repping blog post follows one dedicated to 10-ft. tall "Chewing Gum Sculptures"; Parisian house
mingles with stadium hip-hop. 'But what do I know?' goes the hook, pop-pushing curiosity still intact."
Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart at number twenty-three for the issue date of October 13, 2007. The next week, the song descended two spaces to the twenty-fifth position. Two weeks later, "Flashing Lights" rebounded and climbed up to peak at number twelve on the chart for the issue dated November 3. "Flashing Lights" debuted at number sixty-one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
for the chart week of November 10, 2007. The next week, the song yielded a single space and moved down to number sixty-one. However, it rebounded the following week and moved up to number forty-seven on the issue dated November 24. Over the course of the following five weeks, "Flashing Lights" climbed upwards on the chart before finally peaking at number twelve on the issue date of December 29. The song later reached this position again on the issue dated February 2, where it remained for two weeks in a row before relapsing. The song entered the Hot Rap Tracks
chart at number twenty-five on the issue dated November 11, where it stayed for two weeks. By the issue dated December 29, the song had climbed up twenty spaces to reach the fifth position, where it remained for an additional three weeks. "Flashing Lights" peaked at number two on the chart for the issue date of January 26, 2008, where it stayed for two weeks in a row.
"Flashing Lights" first appeared on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles
chart at number twenty-two for the issue date of November 24, 2007. The next week, it climbed nineteen places to reach its peak on the chart at number three. "Flashing Lights" was the "Hot Shot Debut" of the week on the Hot 100, debuting at number seventy-five on November 29. The next week, the single climbed up to number fifty-seven for the issue date of December 15. In its third week on the chart, "Flashing Lights" moved up another seven spaces to reach number fifty. The following week, it ascended eleven places to the thirty-ninth position for the issue dated December 29. The song moved up three spaces the week after to reach number thirty-six. On the issue date of January 12, "Flashing Lights" fell thirteen places to number forty-nine. However, the single experienced a rebound the next week and ascended fourteen spaces to the thirty-fifth position. The song rose again the following week to reach number thirty for the issue dated January 26. "Flashing Lights" peaked at the number twenty-nine spot on the Billboard Hot 100 on the issue date of February 2, 2008.
In Canada
, the song debuted at number eighty-eight on the issue date of February 23, 2008. The next week, it climbed up to reach number sixty-seven. The following week, "Flashing Lights" moved up another seven spaces to peak at number fifty-four on the issue dated March 3. Despite only charting at number 29, in the UK, the song has remained successful and is played on the KISS network daily. The song's highest Europe
an chart performance occurred in Belgium
, where it charted at number five for the issue date of April 12, 2008. On the issue date of May 3, "Flashing Lights" debuted and peaked at number 84 on the European Hot 100.
Grammy Award
after-party on February 10, 2008. It was intended to premiere on BET
on February 13, 2008, but was subsequently pulled from schedule. West decided to premiere the video on his official blog that same day. The video for was co-directed by Spike Jonze
along with West himself and produced by Jonathan Becker and Joshua Greenberg of Bucks Boys Productions. Filmed entirely in slow-motion, the video begins with a Ford Mustang Bullit rolling onto the screen and stopping at dusk in the desert outside Las Vegas, Nevada
. As the bright, red taillights turn off, the song breaks into its titular refrain and Houston-based Playboy
model Rita G. exits the vehicle dressed in a wig, fur coat and large black sunglasses. Walking a distance away from the car, she strips down to her lingerie
and lights her clothes on fire. As she walks back towards the car with flames at her back, West's vocals begin. Kanye himself finally makes his appearance when the woman opens the trunk to reveal him lying in it tied up and gagged. She gently strokes his helpless, terrified face and gives him a light kiss, before retrieving a nearby shovel. As the camera pans out, the woman raises the shovel over her head and repeatedly stabs it into the trunk. The video then abruptly cuts to the words "Flashing Lights" written red letters against a black screen before concluding over a minute earlier than the album version of the song.
The second video for the single leaked onto the internet on May 23, 2008. It casts UK model Charlotte Carter-Allen as a young woman who becomes overwhelmed by the New York City
nightlife. Less than a week apart, the first music video shot for "Flashing Lights" was released on May 29. Filmed in Berlin, Germany and bearing resemblance to a murder-mystery tale, this version features West pursuing a mysterious woman wearing a couture gown played by American model Sessilee Lopez
, along with multiple enigmatic characters under the roof of a haunted mansion. This version was listed at number two on the Viral Video Chart on May 30. Following the releases, West he clarified on his blog he did not release the two videos. He had produced more than one version of the same video as is common practice and only selected the one he was the happiest with; the rest were leaked. The third video was voted as the eleventh best music video of 2008 by Rolling Stone. Pitchfork Media listed the same version as the fifteenth best music video of the decade.
In August 2010, during an Ustream
session, Kanye admitted that Flashing Lights is his favourite video from those he had previously done.
in New York
's Museum of Natural History
on January 25, 2008, West remained onstage to perform "Can't Tell Me Nothing," "Good Life" and "Flashing Lights". It was there he also announced that he was set to premiere the music video for "Flashing Lights" in the coming weeks. He performed "Flashing Lights" live for the opening of Japan
ese artist Takashi Murakami
's exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum
on April 4. During the song's second verse, West playfully courted a woman sitting in the front row, holding her hand as he recited the lyrics. West included "Flashing Lights" within the setlist of his Glow in the Dark Tour
. In the space opera
storyline of the conceptual concert, West attempts to harness the energy emitted by aliens that have taken on the form of the shooting stars
mentioned in the song to power his "Spaceship" and make his escape from a planet devoid of creativity. However, the plan fails and the ship plummets from the sky, crashing back to the ground to the tune of "All Falls Down
". Near the end of the tour's North American leg, West performed the song during the final night of Lollapalooza
2008 in his hometown of Chicago
, where he co-headlined the festival with Nine Inch Nails
. That same August, West played "Flashing Lights" at the Exdo Event Center in Denver for a private show at held for Bono
's humanitarian organization ONE
. During his performance, he produced a freestyle
that included improvised lines touching on Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama
as well as his late mother. Kanye performed the song during his appearance at the Knitting Factory
in New York City
on September 9. West provided a live rendition of "Flashing Lights" during his appearance on VH1 Storytellers
on February 28, 2009. "Flashing Lights" was performed at while West headlined the Met Opera Gala
on May 5, 2009.
UK CD single
UK 12" single
musician Colin Munroe
, who retitled it "I Want Those Flashing Lights" and made his own music video. It eventually caught the attention of Kanye West, who expressed his affinity by posting its accompanying video directed by Philip Sportel up on his official blog. The official remix of "Flashing Lights" featured R&B singer-songwriter R. Kelly
. A HBCU Marching Band performed "Flashing Lights" at the Georgia Dome
Battle of the Bands onf January 26, 2008.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
rap
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
artist Kanye West
Kanye West
Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...
. It was released on November 22, 2007, as the fourth single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
for his third studio album, Graduation
Graduation (album)
Graduation is the third studio album by American hip hop artist Kanye West, released September 11, 2007 on Roc-A-Fella Records. Recording sessions for the album took place during 2005 to 2007 at Chung King Studios and Sony Music Studios in New York City and at Chalice Studios and The Record Plant...
. The song was co-produced by Eric Hudson
Eric Hudson
Eric Hudson is a South Orange, New Jersey native and Grammy award-winning music producer. Born to father Curt Hudson, songwriter/producer . He went to Columbia High School in South Orange, NJ and graduated in 2004.-2006:Omarion - 21* 01. "Entourage"* 03. "Electric"* 11. "Been With a Star"John...
and features R&B singer Dwele
Dwele
Andwele Gardner , better known by his stage name Dwele is a soul singer, songwriter and record producer from Detroit, Michigan.-Biography:...
as well as additional vocals provided by Connie Mitchell
Connie Mitchell
Connie Mitchell is an Australian pop singer and the lead vocalist with the Sydney band Sneaky Sound System. She appears on the band's singles "Pictures", "I Love It", "UFO", "Goodbye", "Kansas City", "When We Were Young", "16" and "We Love"...
of Sneaky Sound System
Sneaky Sound System
Sneaky Sound System are a Sydney-based Australian dance music group consisting of guitarist and producer Black Angus and vocalist Connie Mitchell.-Early Years:...
. The single's cover art was designed by Japanese pop art
Pop art
Pop art is an art movement that emerged in the mid 1950s in Britain and in the late 1950s in the United States. Pop art challenged tradition by asserting that an artist's use of the mass-produced visual commodities of popular culture is contiguous with the perspective of fine art...
ist, Takashi Murakami
Takashi Murakami
is an internationally prolific contemporary Japanese artist. He works in fine arts media—such as painting and sculpture—as well as what is conventionally considered commercial media —fashion, merchandise, and animation— and is known for blurring the line between high and low art...
.
Background
West first unveiled "Flashing Lights" on August 27, 2007, at an album listening session for GraduationGraduation (album)
Graduation is the third studio album by American hip hop artist Kanye West, released September 11, 2007 on Roc-A-Fella Records. Recording sessions for the album took place during 2005 to 2007 at Chung King Studios and Sony Music Studios in New York City and at Chalice Studios and The Record Plant...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where he played the song over a clip from the 2004
Hong Kong films of 2004
A list of films produced in Hong Kong in 2004:.-2004:-External links:* * Hong Kong films of 2004 at...
Hong Kong film
Cinema of Hong Kong
The cinema of Hong Kong is one of the three major threads in the history of Chinese language cinema, alongside the cinema of China, and the cinema of Taiwan...
2046
2046 (film)
2046 is a 2004 Hong Kong film written and directed by Wong Kar-wai. It is a loose sequel to the 1991 Hong Kong film Days of Being Wild and the 2000 Hong Kong film In the Mood for Love...
which he later released on his official blog. The song features Detroit R&B singer Dwele on its chorus and contains additional vocals provided by Connie Mitchell
Connie Mitchell
Connie Mitchell is an Australian pop singer and the lead vocalist with the Sydney band Sneaky Sound System. She appears on the band's singles "Pictures", "I Love It", "UFO", "Goodbye", "Kansas City", "When We Were Young", "16" and "We Love"...
of the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n electronic
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
group Sneaky Sound System
Sneaky Sound System
Sneaky Sound System are a Sydney-based Australian dance music group consisting of guitarist and producer Black Angus and vocalist Connie Mitchell.-Early Years:...
. The collaboration came about when Kanye met Mitchell's bandmates Angus McDonald and Daimon Downey at a diner in Sydney, Australia. Seeking musical inspiration, West asked McDonald for ideas, who suggested that he be introduced to Mitchell. After their meeting, West asked Mitchell to sing over the song's vocals and well as certain other tracks on Graduation. Mitchell later admitted that while she previously didn't know who Kanye was and never really cared for hip-hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
, the collaboration had changed her views.
As a result of its popularity, "Flashing Lights" was utilized by multiple media outlets. In December 2007, the song was used in an ad campaign for French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
vodka Cîroc
Ciroc
Cîroc is a brand of distilled beverage manufactured in France and marketed as a vodka. It is claimed by the drink's promoters that it distinguished from other vodkas by the fact that it is derived from grapes, in contrast to corn, sorghum, rye, wheat, or potatoes that are more commonly used...
, featuring spokesperson Sean Combs
Sean Combs
Sean John Combs , also known by his stage names Diddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, singer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur. He has won three Grammy Awards and two MTV Video Music Awards, and his clothing line earned a Council of Fashion Designers of America award. He was originally...
. It is featured in the popular action-adventure
Action-adventure game
An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
video game Grand Theft Auto IV
Grand Theft Auto IV
Grand Theft Auto IV is a 2008 open world action video game published by Rockstar Games, and developed by British games developer Rockstar North. It has been released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles, and for the Windows operating system...
on the in-game contemporary hip-hop radio station, The Beat 102.7 and was used in the second trailer for the game. The song came to be included on Now That's What I Call Music 27. In January 2009, "Flashing Lights" was used once again for the highly conceptualized promotional TV spots co-directed by Emnet Mulugeta and Marcus Engstrand of the upcoming part two of the fifth season Nip/Tuck
Nip/Tuck
Nip/Tuck is an American drama series created by Ryan Murphy, which aired on FX in the United States. The series focuses on McNamara/Troy, a plastic surgery practice, and follows its founders, Sean McNamara and Christian Troy...
. The promo won gold at the North American Promax Awards
Promax Awards
PromaxBDA Awards honor design and marketing work in the advertising and promotions business from a company or individual that is broadcast, published or released in their respective markets....
. The song has been confirmed to be included within the setlist of the turntable
Turntablism
Turntablism is the art of manipulating sounds and creating music using phonograph turntables and a DJ mixer.The word 'turntablist' was coined in 1995 by DJ Babu to describe the difference between a DJ who just plays records, and one who performs by touching and moving the records, stylus and mixer...
music video game Scratch: The Ultimate DJ
Scratch: The Ultimate DJ
Scratch: The Ultimate DJ is a music video game announced by Genius Products in 2008. Similarly to Konami's Beatmania series, it will employ a specialised turntable controller , which will allow the player to follow along to the rhythm game while simulating common DJ techniques, such as...
.
Music structure and composition
"Flashing Lights" is an electronicElectronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
-tinged Hip-hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
/R&B
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
song composed in the key of F♯ minor. It is written in common time
Common Time
"Common Time" is a science fiction short story written by James Blish. It first appeared in the August 1953 issue of Science Fiction Quarterly and has been reprinted several times: in the 1959 short-story collection Galactic Cluster; in The Testament of Andros ; in The Penguin Science Fiction...
and moves at 90 beats per minute. The main and background vocal range
Vocal range
Vocal range is the measure of the breadth of pitches that a human voice can phonate. Although the study of vocal range has little practical application in terms of speech, it is a topic of study within linguistics, phonetics, and speech and language pathology, particularly in relation to the study...
for the song spans nearly two octaves, from C#3 to E4. Opening with a gradual, rising crescendo of symphonic strings
Strings (music)
A string is the vibrating element that produces sound in string instruments, such as the guitar, harp, piano, and members of the violin family. Strings are lengths of a flexible material kept under tension so that they may vibrate freely, but controllably. Strings may be "plain"...
before transforming into a moderately-paced, synth
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
-driven beat, "Flashing Lights" tells the operatic narrative of man contemplating the complexities of a tragic relationship. After the introduction
Introduction (music)
In music, the introduction is a passage or section which opens a movement or a separate piece. In popular music this is often abbreviated as intro...
, in which Mitchell's processed vocals repeat the titular hook
Hook (music)
A hook is a musical idea, often a short riff, passage, or phrase, that is used in popular music to make a song appealing and to "catch the ear of the listener". The term generally applies to popular music, especially rock music, hip hop, dance music, and pop. In these genres, the hook is often...
four times, West raps the two verses, each one followed by the chorus
Refrain
A refrain is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the "chorus" of a song...
sung by Dwele coupled with the hook. Following a break
Break (music)
In popular music, a break is an instrumental or percussion section or interlude during a song derived from or related to stop-time – being a "break" from the main parts of the song or piece....
, the song enters a passage where its heavily manipulated hook echoes in and out before the coda
Coda (music)
Coda is a term used in music in a number of different senses, primarily to designate a passage that brings a piece to an end. Technically, it is an expanded cadence...
draws the composition to a close.
Critical reception
"Flashing Lights" received generally positive reviews from music critics and was widely regarded as the best song on GraduationGraduation (album)
Graduation is the third studio album by American hip hop artist Kanye West, released September 11, 2007 on Roc-A-Fella Records. Recording sessions for the album took place during 2005 to 2007 at Chung King Studios and Sony Music Studios in New York City and at Chalice Studios and The Record Plant...
. Alex Fletcher of Digital Spy
Digital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
highly approved of the single, awarding it a four-star review and asserting that it "easily demonstrates why West is the hottest property in US music at the moment. Mixing chilled-out electronics, jittering synths and laid-back, old-skool hip-hop, he creates a sumptuous track that grows more intriguing with every listen." Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
gave a favorable review, claiming that it "does a great job of reintroducing Miami Vice
Miami Vice
Miami Vice is an American television series produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series starred Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas as two Metro-Dade Police Department detectives working undercover in Miami. It ran for five seasons on NBC from 1984–1989...
-esque keys." Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
also gave the song a positive review, stating that within it, "West single-handedly takes hip-hop back to its pre-Run-DMC disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
days." PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
complemented "Flashing Lights" for its glitzy sound as well as its futuristic feel. Stylus Magazine
Stylus Magazine
Stylus Magazine was an online music and film magazine launched in 2002. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, a number of different podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog....
music reviewer Jayson Greene heralded the "gorgeously airy" single as "one of the most unabashedly graceful things heard on a commercial hip-hop record in years."
"Flashing Lights" was listed as the thirty-first best song of 2007 by Stylus Magazine. The song was also listed at number thirteen on Pitchfork's "The 100 Best Tracks of 2008". It was later cited as the fifty-second best song of the entire decade by Pitchfork, which wrote, "It's classic Kanye-- self-possessed, superfluously art-ridden, probably too clever by half. In Kanye's post-everything museum, da Vinci sidles up next to a bust of Julius
Julius
The gens Julia was one of the most ancient patrician families at Ancient Rome. Members of the gens attained the highest dignities of the state in the earliest times of the Republic. The first of the family to obtain the consulship was Gaius Julius Iulus in 489 BC...
; a Karen O
Karen O
Karen Lee Orzolek , better known by her stage name Karen O, is the vocalist for New York rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs.-Early life:...
-repping blog post follows one dedicated to 10-ft. tall "Chewing Gum Sculptures"; Parisian house
French house
French house is a catch-all term for house music by many French artists, a popular strand of the late 1990s and 2000s European dance music scene and a form of Euro disco. The genre has also been referred to as "neu-disco" , "French touch", "filter house" and "tekfunk" over the years...
mingles with stadium hip-hop. 'But what do I know?' goes the hook, pop-pushing curiosity still intact."
Chart performance
Fueled by the momentum of Graduations release, even before actually being released as a single, "Flashing Lights" entered the BillboardBillboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart at number twenty-three for the issue date of October 13, 2007. The next week, the song descended two spaces to the twenty-fifth position. Two weeks later, "Flashing Lights" rebounded and climbed up to peak at number twelve on the chart for the issue dated November 3. "Flashing Lights" debuted at number sixty-one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
for the chart week of November 10, 2007. The next week, the song yielded a single space and moved down to number sixty-one. However, it rebounded the following week and moved up to number forty-seven on the issue dated November 24. Over the course of the following five weeks, "Flashing Lights" climbed upwards on the chart before finally peaking at number twelve on the issue date of December 29. The song later reached this position again on the issue dated February 2, where it remained for two weeks in a row before relapsing. The song entered the Hot Rap Tracks
Hot Rap Tracks
Rap Songs is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stations and sales in hip hop-focused or exclusive markets. From 1989 through 2001, it was based on how much the single...
chart at number twenty-five on the issue dated November 11, where it stayed for two weeks. By the issue dated December 29, the song had climbed up twenty spaces to reach the fifth position, where it remained for an additional three weeks. "Flashing Lights" peaked at number two on the chart for the issue date of January 26, 2008, where it stayed for two weeks in a row.
"Flashing Lights" first appeared on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles
Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles
The Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States. It lists the top 25 singles below number 100 that have not yet charted on the Billboard Hot 100. Sometimes, however, singles halt their progress on this chart, and never appear on the Hot 100...
chart at number twenty-two for the issue date of November 24, 2007. The next week, it climbed nineteen places to reach its peak on the chart at number three. "Flashing Lights" was the "Hot Shot Debut" of the week on the Hot 100, debuting at number seventy-five on November 29. The next week, the single climbed up to number fifty-seven for the issue date of December 15. In its third week on the chart, "Flashing Lights" moved up another seven spaces to reach number fifty. The following week, it ascended eleven places to the thirty-ninth position for the issue dated December 29. The song moved up three spaces the week after to reach number thirty-six. On the issue date of January 12, "Flashing Lights" fell thirteen places to number forty-nine. However, the single experienced a rebound the next week and ascended fourteen spaces to the thirty-fifth position. The song rose again the following week to reach number thirty for the issue dated January 26. "Flashing Lights" peaked at the number twenty-nine spot on the Billboard Hot 100 on the issue date of February 2, 2008.
In Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, the song debuted at number eighty-eight on the issue date of February 23, 2008. The next week, it climbed up to reach number sixty-seven. The following week, "Flashing Lights" moved up another seven spaces to peak at number fifty-four on the issue dated March 3. Despite only charting at number 29, in the UK, the song has remained successful and is played on the KISS network daily. The song's highest Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an chart performance occurred in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, where it charted at number five for the issue date of April 12, 2008. On the issue date of May 3, "Flashing Lights" debuted and peaked at number 84 on the European Hot 100.
Music video
In total, three separate videos were made for "Flashing Lights" with the one aired on television being the third and final version. The third music video was first unveiled before an audience of two hundred guests at the Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
after-party on February 10, 2008. It was intended to premiere on BET
Bet
Bet or BET may refer to:* A wager in gambling* Basic Economics Test * Bet , the second letter in many Semitic alphabets, including Aramaic, Hebrew, Phoenician and Syriac* Brunauer-Emmett-Teller isotherm. See BET_theory...
on February 13, 2008, but was subsequently pulled from schedule. West decided to premiere the video on his official blog that same day. The video for was co-directed by Spike Jonze
Spike Jonze
Spike Jonze is an American director, producer and actor, whose work includes music videos, commercials, film and television...
along with West himself and produced by Jonathan Becker and Joshua Greenberg of Bucks Boys Productions. Filmed entirely in slow-motion, the video begins with a Ford Mustang Bullit rolling onto the screen and stopping at dusk in the desert outside Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
. As the bright, red taillights turn off, the song breaks into its titular refrain and Houston-based Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
model Rita G. exits the vehicle dressed in a wig, fur coat and large black sunglasses. Walking a distance away from the car, she strips down to her lingerie
Lingerie
Lingerie are fashionable and possibly alluring undergarments.Lingerie usually incorporates one or more flexible, stretchy materials like Lycra, nylon , polyester, satin, lace, silk and sheer fabric which are not typically used in more functional, basic cotton undergarments.The term in the French...
and lights her clothes on fire. As she walks back towards the car with flames at her back, West's vocals begin. Kanye himself finally makes his appearance when the woman opens the trunk to reveal him lying in it tied up and gagged. She gently strokes his helpless, terrified face and gives him a light kiss, before retrieving a nearby shovel. As the camera pans out, the woman raises the shovel over her head and repeatedly stabs it into the trunk. The video then abruptly cuts to the words "Flashing Lights" written red letters against a black screen before concluding over a minute earlier than the album version of the song.
The second video for the single leaked onto the internet on May 23, 2008. It casts UK model Charlotte Carter-Allen as a young woman who becomes overwhelmed by the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
nightlife. Less than a week apart, the first music video shot for "Flashing Lights" was released on May 29. Filmed in Berlin, Germany and bearing resemblance to a murder-mystery tale, this version features West pursuing a mysterious woman wearing a couture gown played by American model Sessilee Lopez
Sessilee Lopez
Sessilee Lopez is an American model. She has appeared in Vogue Italia and graced one of the four covers of its "All Black" issue, while Naomi Campbell, Liya Kebede, and Jourdan Dunn graced the alternative ones.-Career:...
, along with multiple enigmatic characters under the roof of a haunted mansion. This version was listed at number two on the Viral Video Chart on May 30. Following the releases, West he clarified on his blog he did not release the two videos. He had produced more than one version of the same video as is common practice and only selected the one he was the happiest with; the rest were leaked. The third video was voted as the eleventh best music video of 2008 by Rolling Stone. Pitchfork Media listed the same version as the fifteenth best music video of the decade.
In August 2010, during an Ustream
Ustream
Ustream is a website which consists of a network of diverse channels providing a platform for lifecasting and live video streaming of events online. Established in March 2007, the site has over 2,000,000 registered users who generate 1,500,000+ hours of live streamed content per month with over ten...
session, Kanye admitted that Flashing Lights is his favourite video from those he had previously done.
Live performances
After providing a surprise appearance at a concert held by Kid SisterKid Sister
Melisa Young better known by her stage name Kid Sister, is a rap artist based in Chicago, Illinois, well known for her single "Pro Nails", featuring Kanye West.-Background:Melisa Young was born July 3, 1980 in Markham, Illinois...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
's Museum of Natural History
Museum of Natural History
A museum of natural history is a museum with exhibits about natural history, including such topics as animals, plants, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, and climatology. Some museums feature natural-history collections in addition to other collections, such as ones related to history, art and...
on January 25, 2008, West remained onstage to perform "Can't Tell Me Nothing," "Good Life" and "Flashing Lights". It was there he also announced that he was set to premiere the music video for "Flashing Lights" in the coming weeks. He performed "Flashing Lights" live for the opening of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese artist Takashi Murakami
Takashi Murakami
is an internationally prolific contemporary Japanese artist. He works in fine arts media—such as painting and sculpture—as well as what is conventionally considered commercial media —fashion, merchandise, and animation— and is known for blurring the line between high and low art...
's exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum
Brooklyn Museum
The Brooklyn Museum is an encyclopedia art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At 560,000 square feet, the museum holds New York City's second largest art collection with roughly 1.5 million works....
on April 4. During the song's second verse, West playfully courted a woman sitting in the front row, holding her hand as he recited the lyrics. West included "Flashing Lights" within the setlist of his Glow in the Dark Tour
Glow in the Dark Tour
The Glow in the Dark Tour is a critically acclaimed world concert tour by Kanye West featuring Rihanna, Lupe Fiasco, N.E.R.D, and Nas. It began on April 16, 2008 in Seattle, Washington and travelled to Latin America, Asia, Europe, New Zealand and Australia through to early December.The tour...
. In the space opera
Space opera
Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes romantic, often melodramatic adventure, set mainly or entirely in outer space, generally involving conflict between opponents possessing advanced technologies and abilities. The term has no relation to music and it is analogous to "soap...
storyline of the conceptual concert, West attempts to harness the energy emitted by aliens that have taken on the form of the shooting stars
Meteoroid
A meteoroid is a sand- to boulder-sized particle of debris in the Solar System. The visible path of a meteoroid that enters Earth's atmosphere is called a meteor, or colloquially a shooting star or falling star. If a meteoroid reaches the ground and survives impact, then it is called a meteorite...
mentioned in the song to power his "Spaceship" and make his escape from a planet devoid of creativity. However, the plan fails and the ship plummets from the sky, crashing back to the ground to the tune of "All Falls Down
All Falls Down
"All Falls Down" is a song by American hip hop artist Kanye West. It was released as the second single from his debut album, The College Dropout. The song was produced by West and features singer Syleena Johnson. It was released in February 2004 and entered the UK Singles Chart at number ten and...
". Near the end of the tour's North American leg, West performed the song during the final night of Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza is an annual music festival featuring popular alternative rock, heavy metal, punk rock and hip hop bands, dance and comedy performances, and craft booths. It has also provided a platform for non-profit and political groups. The music festival hosts more than 160,000 people over a...
2008 in his hometown of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, where he co-headlined the festival with Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock project, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction...
. That same August, West played "Flashing Lights" at the Exdo Event Center in Denver for a private show at held for Bono
Bono
Paul David Hewson , most commonly known by his stage name Bono , is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his...
's humanitarian organization ONE
ONE Campaign
The ONE Campaign is an international, nonpartisan, non-profit organization which aims to increase government funding for and effectiveness of international aid programs....
. During his performance, he produced a freestyle
Freestyle rap
Freestyle rap commonly refers to rap lyrics which are improvised through a acapella or with instrumental beats, i.e. performed with no previously composed lyrics, or "off the top of the head"...
that included improvised lines touching on Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
as well as his late mother. Kanye performed the song during his appearance at the Knitting Factory
Knitting Factory
The Knitting Factory is a music venue and concert house with locations in Brooklyn, Boise, Reno, and Spokane. The club originally specialized in jazz and experimental music and has expanded to showcasing all genres of music, performing arts and comedy....
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
on September 9. West provided a live rendition of "Flashing Lights" during his appearance on VH1 Storytellers
VH1 Storytellers
Storytellers is a television music series produced by the VH1 network.In each episode artists perform in front of a live audience, and tell stories about their music, writing experiences and memories, somewhat similar to MTV Unplugged...
on February 28, 2009. "Flashing Lights" was performed at while West headlined the Met Opera Gala
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
on May 5, 2009.
Track listing
'Digital single- "Flashing Lights" – 3:57
UK CD single
- "Flashing Lights" – 3:57
- "Stronger" (Andrew Dawson remix) – 4:45
UK 12" single
- "Flashing Lights" – 3:57
- "Flashing Lights" (Instrumental) – 3:57
- "Stronger" (Andrew Dawson remix) – 4:45
Personnel
Information taken from Graduation liner notes.- Songwriters: Kanye West and Eric Hudson
- Producers: Kanye West and Eric Hudson
- Mix engineer: Andrew Dawson
- Assistant engineers: Matty Green, Anthony Palazzole, Andy Marcinkowski
- Violins: Emma Kummrow, Igor Szwec, Gloria Justen, Olga Konopelsky, Luigi Mazzocchi, Charles Parker
- Violas: Peter Nocella and Alexandra Leem
- Cello: Jennie Lorenzo
- Bass: Tim Resslar
- String arrangements: Larry Gold
- Additional vocals: Connie Mitchell
Chart positions
| Chart (2007/2008) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 82 |
| Belgium Singles Chart Ultratop 50 Ultratop 50 singles, often just Ultratop 50, is the weekly chart of fifty best-selling singles in Flanders, Belgium, and is produced and published by the Ultratop organization. The chart has existed since March 31, 1995... (Flanders Flanders Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp... ) |
5 |
| Belgium Singles Chart Ultratop 40 Ultratop 40 singles, often just Ultratop 40, is the weekly chart of best-selling singles in Wallonia and Brussels Capital Region, the french-speaking parts of Belgium. Its equivalent covering the Flanders region is Ultratop 50. Both charts are produced and published by the Ultratop organization... (Wallonia) |
19 |
| Canadian Hot 100 Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007... |
54 |
| European Hot 100 Singles | 84 |
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
21 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
29 |
| US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... |
12 |
| US Billboard Hot Rap Tracks Hot Rap Tracks Rap Songs is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stations and sales in hip hop-focused or exclusive markets. From 1989 through 2001, it was based on how much the single... |
2 |
| US Billboard Pop 100 Pop 100 The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009... |
40 |
| US Billboard Pop Songs | 31 |
| US Billboard Rhythmic Top 40 | 8 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
29 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (2008) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 90 |
| US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs | 48 |
| US Billboard Hot Rap Tracks | 15 |
Release history
| Region | Format | Date |
|---|---|---|
| North America North America North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas... |
Digital download, CD, 12" | |
| United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
Digital download, CD, 12" |
Cover versions and remixes
The song was remixed by Canadian indie popIndie pop
Indie pop is a genre of alternative rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid 1980s, with its roots in the Scottish post-punk bands on the Postcard Records label in the early '80s, such as Orange Juice, Josef K and Aztec Camera, and the dominant UK independent band of the mid...
musician Colin Munroe
Colin Munroe
Colin Munroe is a Canadian singer-songwriter and record producer originally from North Gower, Ontario, who now resides in Toronto.-Biography:...
, who retitled it "I Want Those Flashing Lights" and made his own music video. It eventually caught the attention of Kanye West, who expressed his affinity by posting its accompanying video directed by Philip Sportel up on his official blog. The official remix of "Flashing Lights" featured R&B singer-songwriter R. Kelly
R. Kelly
Robert Sylvester Kelly , better known by his stage name R. Kelly, is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. A native of Chicago, Kelly began performing during the late 1980s and debuted in 1992 with the group Public Announcement. In 1993, Kelly went solo with the album 12 Play...
. A HBCU Marching Band performed "Flashing Lights" at the Georgia Dome
Georgia Dome
The Georgia Dome is a domed stadium located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, between downtown to the east and Vine City to the west. It is primarily the home stadium for the NFL Atlanta Falcons and the NCAA Division I FCS Georgia State Panthers football team. It is owned and operated by the...
Battle of the Bands onf January 26, 2008.
- An official remix that has a verse from the rap duo ClipseClipseClipse is a Virginia Beach, Virginia-based hip hop duo. Formed in 1992 by brothers Malice and Pusha T , the group is heavily affiliated with production team The Neptunes and signed to Star Trak Entertainment.- Exclusive Audio Footage :The Thornton brothers were born in The Bronx, New...
taken from the song "Mic Check" off We Got It 4 Cheap Vol. 2. - The third has new intro, a new verse and ad-libs in the hook by Raheem DeVaughnRaheem DeVaughnRaheem DeVaughn is an American singer and songwriter. His debut album, The Love Experience , reached No. 46 on the Billboard 200 album chart. It featured the singles "Guess Who Loves You More" and "You". His second album Love Behind the Melody was released in January 2008...
. - Lil WayneLil WayneDwayne Michael Carter, Jr. , better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. At the age of nine, Lil Wayne joined Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label, and half of the duo, The B.G.'z, with B.G.. In 1997, Lil Wayne joined the group Hot Boys, which also included...
and Jay-ZJay-ZShawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
off of Lil Wayne's mixtape Starring in Mardi Gras. - Drum and BassDrum and bassDrum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
remix by High ContrastHigh ContrastLincoln Barrett, better known by the stage name High Contrast , is a Welsh drum and bass DJ and producer.-History:...
. - UltravioletUltravioletUltraviolet light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays, in the range 10 nm to 400 nm, and energies from 3 eV to 124 eV...
- Diplo
- Covered by Rock City of Konvict MuzikKonvict MuzikKon Live Distribution is a record label founded by R&B singer Akon. It is his alternate R&B/Hip hop label.-Artists:*Colby O'Donis*Jeffree Star*Kardinal Offishall*Kat DeLuna*Lady Gaga*Natalia Kills*Brittian Scott*Ray Lavender- Discography :...
. - Covered by Black BuddaflyBlack BuddaflyBlack Buddafly is an African German American R&B duo composed of the twin sisters Amina and Jazz . They were born in 1983 to a German mother and a Senegalese father; their family also included an older sibling, Sophie, who was a member of the group until 2006, and a younger sister and brother...
- Covered by Jazmine SullivanJazmine SullivanJazmine Marie Sullivan is an American recording artist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is also the protégé of rapper Missy Elliott. Her debut single "Need U Bad" reached number one on Billboards Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, while her second single, "Bust Your Windows" peaked at number four...
- Covered by WaleWale (rapper)Wale Victor Folarin , better known by his stage name Wale , is an American rapper from Washington, D.C. Wale was born to Nigerian parents. He rose to prominence in 2006, when his song "Dig Dug " became popular in his hometown. Wale became locally recognized and continued recording music for the...
- Strings sampled on the Gil Scott-HeronGil Scott-HeronGilbert "Gil" Scott-Heron was an American soul and jazz poet, musician, and author known primarily for his work as a spoken word performer in the 1970s and '80s...
track- "On Coming From A Broken Home", featured on his I'm New HereI'm New HereI'm New Here is a departure from the rhythmic, jazz-funk and soul style of Scott-Heron's previous work, and embraces an acoustic and electronic minimal sound. Musically, I'm New Here incorporates blues, folk, trip hop, and electronica styles...
record - Elements of the song were used by Alicia KeysAlicia KeysAlicia Augello Cook , better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began playing the piano...
on The Freedom TourThe Freedom TourThe Freedom Tour was the fourth concert tour by American singer-songwriter Alicia Keys in support of her fourth studio album, The Element of Freedom. The tour commenced at the Scotiabank Place in Ottawa on February 26, 2010. The tour continued onto North America visiting Europe as well...
in the song "You Don't Know My NameYou Don't Know My Name"You Don't Know My Name" is a song by American recording artist Alicia Keys from her second studio album, The Diary of Alicia Keys. Written by Keys, Kanye West, and Harold Lilly and produced by Keys and West, the track was released as the album's lead single in November 2003, and contains a sample...
" - Pro ft. Dwele (remix) released in 2008 on the "Jackin For Hits" mixtape
- Sampled by George WatskyGeorge WatskyGeorge Watsky is a poet and rapper from San Francisco, California. Watsky performs slam poetry, and was featured on Season 6 of Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry on HBO...
in his song "Hercules" on the "Guilty Pleasures" mixtape
External links
- "Flashing Lights" lyrics at MTVMTVMTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....