Bright Lights Bigger City
Encyclopedia
"Bright Lights Bigger City" is the third single from American soul singer Cee Lo Green's third studio album, The Lady Killer
. The song was produced by Ben H. Allen III and Graham Marsh, and written by Cee Lo, Tony Reyes and Ben H. Allen III. The single was released on March 27, 2011, and has so far peaked at number 13 in the UK Singles Chart
. The single version of the track features an uncredited guest rap from American rapper Wiz Khalifa
. The song samples "You Only Live Twice
", the soundtrack to the James Bond film of the same name
.
's "Just Got Paid
". So it's a story that's been told before, and it's so true to life. ... We all work pretty hard throughout the week, and Friday and Saturday, you know, will always be special, so this is just a song to commemorate that." In late January 2011, Cee Lo rescheduled his UK tour dates, with the five-show run now ending on March 31, 2011. "Bright Lights Bigger City" was released four days before the tour concluded, on March 27, 2011.
's "Billie Jean
" due to a similar looping bassline. Williams writes, "Bright Lights Bigger City sounds like the cousin of Michael Jackson's Billie Jean"; while in Berman's analysis, "Green even goes so far as to touch on disco and early-1980s pop elements, as with "Bright Lights Bigger City," which opens the album with a bang. With a bass line that references Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean," a string section straight out of any classic disco dance tune and even a synth reminiscent of Van Halen
's "Jump," the song is still a powerful, cohesive pop track." Luke Winkie of Music OMH says "the only thing that sounds inherently new on The Lady Killer is the post-intro curveball, "Bright Lights Bigger City", which combines an electro-funk groove, swirling violins and a massive rave-synth chorus. It's great, off-the-wall, and totally engaging." Not all reviews of "Bright Lights Bigger City" were overwhelmingly positive. For example, Jeremy Gartzke, writing for The Daily Cardinal, argues "Bright Lights Bigger City" is a straightforward song about the virtues of Saturday nights. With a staccato intro and a fantastic bass line, this song was written specifically with the dance floor in mind. Unfortunately, this song just isn't memorable, and as soon as it's over you've forgotten about it."
elements and augments them with futuristic sounds, all buoyed by Cee-Lo's remarkably elastic voice." A second version of the music video, featuring the remix featuring Wiz Khalifa
, was released on March 10, 2011. Khalifa's verse begins at approximately two minutes and twenty seconds in. Drew Grant of Salon Magazine described the "neon" video as "a city populated entirely by neon signs instead of people," allowing one to "visualize all the words of the song, so it's kind of like a Sing-a-long!" The remix video has been compared to Cee Lo's original video for "Fuck You" and other videos that feature a visualization of the song's lyrics.
On July 7 a music video was released for the Remix version of "Bright Lights Bigger City" featuring Wiz Khalifa
.
, performing this song on
November 11, 2010, as part of the Symmetry Live Concert Series at the W Hotel in Midtown Manhattan
, New York,
and the January 15, 2011, episode of Saturday Night Live
.
The performance received positive reviews, being described as "rock-star-esque",
"surprisingly good",
"the best song that mid-80’s Glenn Frey
never wrote,"
and "better than all right". They performed the song opening for Prince
at Madison Square Garden
,
the Shockwaves NME Awards
Big Gig opening for Foo Fighters
at Wembley Arena
,
and the charity Let's Dance for Comic Relief
semi-final in London, England,
again the next night after a long flight at the Jimmy Kimmel Live! special show following the Academy Awards
,
and many other venues. Green performed the song live on August 14th 2011 at WWE SummerSlam
which used the song as its official theme song
.
UK Promotional CD Single Set / German CD Single
Source:
The Lady Killer (album)
The Lady Killer is the third studio album by American recording artist Cee Lo Green, released November 5, 2010, on Elektra Records. Production for the album was handled by Salaam Remi, Element, The Smeezingtons, Fraser T...
. The song was produced by Ben H. Allen III and Graham Marsh, and written by Cee Lo, Tony Reyes and Ben H. Allen III. The single was released on March 27, 2011, and has so far peaked at number 13 in the 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 ...
. The single version of the track features an uncredited guest rap from American rapper Wiz Khalifa
Wiz Khalifa
Cameron Jibril Thomaz , better known by the stage name Wiz Khalifa , is an American rapper. He released his debut album, Show and Prove, in 2006, and signed to Warner Bros. Records in 2007...
. The song samples "You Only Live Twice
You Only Live Twice (song)
"You Only Live Twice" was the title song from the film of the same name and was sung by Nancy Sinatra, with music by John Barry and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse. The song is widely recognised for its striking opening bars, featuring a simple 2-bar theme in the high octaves of the violins and lush...
", the soundtrack to the James Bond film of the same name
You Only Live Twice (film)
You Only Live Twice is the fifth spy film in the James Bond series, and the fifth to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film's screenplay was written by Roald Dahl, and loosely based on Ian Fleming's 1964 novel of the same name...
.
Background
Of the song, Cee Lo told MTV News: "This song, I think, just has a broader appeal, because it's just not talking about me, it's talking about us. It's a song about the nightlife and just kinda being out and living for the weekend. It's kinda got that 'working-class hero' quality too; I reference, you know, songs like Johnny KempJohnny Kemp
Johnny Kemp is a Bahamian R&B singer and dancer. He began singing in nightclubs in the Bahamas at 13. He moved to New York in 1979 with the band "Kinky Fox." His self-titled debut album came out in 1986 and he scored a minor hit with "Just Another Lover." True success came the following year,...
's "Just Got Paid
Just Got Paid
"Just Got Paid" is a 1988 crossover single by singer/songwriter Johnny Kemp. The song made it to number one on the U.S. R&B singles and dance charts and reached number ten on the Billboard Hot 100...
". So it's a story that's been told before, and it's so true to life. ... We all work pretty hard throughout the week, and Friday and Saturday, you know, will always be special, so this is just a song to commemorate that." In late January 2011, Cee Lo rescheduled his UK tour dates, with the five-show run now ending on March 31, 2011. "Bright Lights Bigger City" was released four days before the tour concluded, on March 27, 2011.
Critical reception
The track has not been reviewed as a single yet, however, reviews of the track itself in the context of The Lady Killer were mostly favorable. Several reviews, including Rob Williams of The Winnipeg Free Press and Zachary Berman of The Diamondback Online argue "Bright Lights Bigger City" is reminiscent of Michael JacksonMichael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
's "Billie Jean
Billie Jean
"Billie Jean" is a dance-pop/R&B song by American recording artist Michael Jackson. It was written, composed, and co-produced by Jackson, and produced by Quincy Jones from the singer's sixth album, Thriller . Originally disliked by Jones, the track was almost removed from the album after he and...
" due to a similar looping bassline. Williams writes, "Bright Lights Bigger City sounds like the cousin of Michael Jackson's Billie Jean"; while in Berman's analysis, "Green even goes so far as to touch on disco and early-1980s pop elements, as with "Bright Lights Bigger City," which opens the album with a bang. With a bass line that references Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean," a string section straight out of any classic disco dance tune and even a synth reminiscent of Van Halen
Van Halen
Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart...
's "Jump," the song is still a powerful, cohesive pop track." Luke Winkie of Music OMH says "the only thing that sounds inherently new on The Lady Killer is the post-intro curveball, "Bright Lights Bigger City", which combines an electro-funk groove, swirling violins and a massive rave-synth chorus. It's great, off-the-wall, and totally engaging." Not all reviews of "Bright Lights Bigger City" were overwhelmingly positive. For example, Jeremy Gartzke, writing for The Daily Cardinal, argues "Bright Lights Bigger City" is a straightforward song about the virtues of Saturday nights. With a staccato intro and a fantastic bass line, this song was written specifically with the dance floor in mind. Unfortunately, this song just isn't memorable, and as soon as it's over you've forgotten about it."
Music video
The first music video for "Bright Lights Bigger City", which features the album version of the track, was released on November 9, 2010, the same date as the release of The Lady Killer in the US. In describing the video, MTV.coms Kyle Anderson reports: "The video puts Cee Lo in the back of a car, cruising through the streets of New York surrounded by glammed-out women and flower petals. In between, he seduces a woman in a bathtub, gets his head shaved in a black-lit room and gets into some sort of super-spy battle with a female ninja in a restaurant kitchen. The video reflects the posh and slightly hallucinatory nature of the track. It's emblematic of the rest of The Lady Killer, which borrows all sorts of classic Motown and StaxStax Records
Stax Records is an American record label, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee.Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the name Stax Records was adopted in 1961. The label was a major factor in the creation of the Southern soul and Memphis soul music styles, also releasing gospel, funk, jazz, and...
elements and augments them with futuristic sounds, all buoyed by Cee-Lo's remarkably elastic voice." A second version of the music video, featuring the remix featuring Wiz Khalifa
Wiz Khalifa
Cameron Jibril Thomaz , better known by the stage name Wiz Khalifa , is an American rapper. He released his debut album, Show and Prove, in 2006, and signed to Warner Bros. Records in 2007...
, was released on March 10, 2011. Khalifa's verse begins at approximately two minutes and twenty seconds in. Drew Grant of Salon Magazine described the "neon" video as "a city populated entirely by neon signs instead of people," allowing one to "visualize all the words of the song, so it's kind of like a Sing-a-long!" The remix video has been compared to Cee Lo's original video for "Fuck You" and other videos that feature a visualization of the song's lyrics.
On July 7 a music video was released for the Remix version of "Bright Lights Bigger City" featuring Wiz Khalifa
Wiz Khalifa
Cameron Jibril Thomaz , better known by the stage name Wiz Khalifa , is an American rapper. He released his debut album, Show and Prove, in 2006, and signed to Warner Bros. Records in 2007...
.
Live performances
Green is touring with an all-female backing band named Scarlet FeverScarlet Fever (band)
Scarlet Fever is an all-female backing band touring with Cee Lo Green. Originally formed for promotional tour events, popularity of the "Fuck You" single and The Lady Killer album led to multiple television appearances reaching an audience of millions in Europe and North America...
, performing this song on
November 11, 2010, as part of the Symmetry Live Concert Series at the W Hotel in Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan, or simply Midtown, is an area of Manhattan, New York City home to world-famous commercial zones such as Rockefeller Center, Broadway, and Times Square...
, New York,
and the January 15, 2011, episode of Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
.
The performance received positive reviews, being described as "rock-star-esque",
"surprisingly good",
"the best song that mid-80’s Glenn Frey
Glenn Frey
Glenn Lewis Frey is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor, best known as a founding member of the Eagles. Frey formed the Eagles after he met drummer Don Henley in 1970 and the two eventually joined Linda Ronstadt's backup band for her summer tour. The Eagles formed in 1971 and...
never wrote,"
and "better than all right". They performed the song opening for Prince
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
,
the Shockwaves NME Awards
NME Awards
The NME Awards is an annual music awards show in the United Kingdom, founded by the music magazine, NME .The first awards show was held in 1953 as the NME Poll Winners Concerts, shortly after the founding of the magazine....
Big Gig opening for Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters is an American alternative rock band originally formed in 1994 by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl as a one-man project following the dissolution of his previous band. The band got its name from the UFOs and various aerial phenomena that were reported by Allied aircraft pilots in World War...
at Wembley Arena
Wembley Arena
Wembley Arena is an indoor arena, at Wembley, in the London Borough of Brent. The building is opposite Wembley Stadium.-History:...
,
and the charity Let's Dance for Comic Relief
Let's Dance for Comic Relief
Let's Dance for Comic Relief is a British television programme shown on BBC One, featuring celebrities performing famous dance routines to raise money for the charity Comic Relief. The programme is currently presented by Steve Jones and Alex Jones, who replaced previous host Claudia Winkleman in...
semi-final in London, England,
again the next night after a long flight at the Jimmy Kimmel Live! special show following the Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
,
and many other venues. Green performed the song live on August 14th 2011 at WWE SummerSlam
SummerSlam (2011)
SummerSlam was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by WWE that took place on August 14, 2011. For the third consecutive year, SummerSlam was held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, and it was the 24th annual SummerSlam event...
which used the song as its official theme song
Theme music
Theme music is a piece that is often written specifically for a radio program, television program, video game or movie, and usually played during the title sequence and/or end credits...
.
Track listing
Digital Download- "Bright Lights Bigger City" (feat. Wiz Khalifa) - 3:37
- "Bright Lights Bigger City" (The Shapeshifters Heavy Disco Remix) - 6:43
UK Promotional CD Single Set / German CD Single
- "Bright Lights Bigger City" - 3:41
- "Bright Lights Bigger City" (feat. Wiz Khalifa) - 3:37
Personnel
- ArrangementArrangementThe American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
(strings) - Salaam RemiSalaam RemiSalaam Remi Gibbs, better known as Salaam Remi, is a hip hop producer and keyboard player, known for his association with Nas, Amy Winehouse, and his reggae-tinged approach to production... - SongwritingSongwriterA songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
- Ben H. Allen III, Cee-Lo Green, Tony Reyes - ProductionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
- Ben H. Allen, Graham Marsh - Recording - Ben H. Allen III, Graham Marsh
- MixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
- Ben H. Allen III - Assistant MixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
- Robert Gardner - Bass - Tony Reyes
- Drums - Bradley Hagen
Source:
Charts
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US 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... (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... ) |
2 |
| US Pop Songs (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... ) |
36 |
| US Adult Pop Songs (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... ) |
39 |
Release history
| Region | Date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | March 27, 2011 | Digital download Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment... , CD single CD single A CD single is a music single in the form of a standard size Compact Disc, not to be confused with the 3-inch CD single, which uses a smaller form factor. The format was introduced in the mid-1980s, but did not gain its place in the market until the early 1990s... |
Elektra Elektra Records Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009.... |
| Germany | May 20, 2011 | CD single | Elektra |