Shine a Light (McFly song)
Encyclopedia
"Shine a Light" is the second single from Engish band McFly
's fifth studio album Above the Noise
. The single features vocals from singer Taio Cruz
. The single was released on 7 November 2010 via Digital Download, with a physical release following the next day. A free download will be available for members of the band's new website, SuperCity. The song received mostly positive reviews from pop music critics. On November 3, 2010, the song was added to BBC Radio 1
's A-List. The song peaked the number 9 in UK Airplay Chart. McFly secure their fifteenth Top 5 hit with "Shine a Light" on the UK Single Chart.
described the writing process as "working backwards" in comparison to how the band usually writes their songs. They started out with the beat and then built the song around it. The single was first confirmed by band frontman Tom Fletcher
, before being made available to pre-order on the HMV website.
awarded it 4 stars and said: "'Shine a Light' might be a sentimental number about missing an ex, but with Cruz's squelchy synths, McFly's trademark pop/rock choonage and some deceptively catchy "Eh Eh"s, the urge to bound around the nearest open space for three minutes and 45 seconds is near-irresistible." Iain Moffatt from BBC Music
said that: "even the perfectly serviceable of-the-moment pop of Shine a Light are little preparation for the delights in store here". The Entertainment Focus review said that: "Across the record the band takes anthemic pop on the corking Shine a Light". Johnny Dee from Virgin Media
said: "Better is the Auto-Tune soul of "Shine a Light" which sees the band teaming up with Taio Cruz to good effect." Jack Foley from Indie London said that: "Shine a Light showing what can be achieved when they fuse pop rock with dance-pop and combine vocals with Taio Cruz (arguably the best offering either of these two acts have had in the charts for some time!)".
The video for the track premiered on the group's website on October 9, appearing on their YouTube page just hours later.
, without an appearance from Cruz. On 4 December, McFly and Cruz performed the song together live on Jingle Bell Ball
; the first and unique time they had done so. McFly performed the song on The Hollyoaks Music Show, he Alan Titchmarsh Show]], TMI
and the charity events ChildLine Concert
in Dublin and Children in Need
. McFly also performed an acoustic version of the song in Spain on "El Hormigueiro".
UK CD2
UK 7" Picture Disc
and spent eighteen weeks in UK top 100. The song peaked the number 9 in UK Airplay Chart.
In Scotland the song spent three weeks on Top 10 and eight weeks in the Top 20.
In Portugal the song spent seven weeks on Top 20.
Nine weeks after the original release, "Shine a Light" featured 16 in 4Music's top 20 for the week.
McFly
McFly are an English pop rock band who first found fame in 2004. The band consists of Tom Fletcher , Danny Jones , Dougie Poynter and Harry Judd . They were signed to the Island Records label from their 2004 launch until December 2007, before creating their own label, Super Records...
's fifth studio album Above the Noise
Above the Noise (McFly album)
Above the Noise is the fifth studio album from British band McFly. The album was released on 15 November 2010. The album spawned three singles: "Party Girl", which was released on 6 September; "Shine a Light", which was released on 8 November; and "That's the Truth", which was released on 6 March...
. The single features vocals from singer Taio Cruz
Taio Cruz
Taio Cruz is a British singer-songwriter, record producer, occasional rapper, and entrepreneur. In 2008, he released his debut album Departure, which Cruz wrote, arranged and produced himself. It achieved initial success in the UK and earned him a MOBO Award nomination...
. The single was released on 7 November 2010 via Digital Download, with a physical release following the next day. A free download will be available for members of the band's new website, SuperCity. The song received mostly positive reviews from pop music critics. On November 3, 2010, the song was added to BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
's A-List. The song peaked the number 9 in UK Airplay Chart. McFly secure their fifteenth Top 5 hit with "Shine a Light" on the UK Single Chart.
Writing process
Tom FletcherTom Fletcher
Thomas Michael "Tom" Fletcher is an English singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known as one of the lead vocalists and guitarists of English pop rock band McFly, in addition to being the group's founder and principal songwriter...
described the writing process as "working backwards" in comparison to how the band usually writes their songs. They started out with the beat and then built the song around it. The single was first confirmed by band frontman Tom Fletcher
Tom Fletcher
Thomas Michael "Tom" Fletcher is an English singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known as one of the lead vocalists and guitarists of English pop rock band McFly, in addition to being the group's founder and principal songwriter...
, before being made available to pre-order on the HMV website.
Critical reception
Robert Copsey from Digital SpyDigital 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....
awarded it 4 stars and said: "'Shine a Light' might be a sentimental number about missing an ex, but with Cruz's squelchy synths, McFly's trademark pop/rock choonage and some deceptively catchy "Eh Eh"s, the urge to bound around the nearest open space for three minutes and 45 seconds is near-irresistible." Iain Moffatt from BBC Music
BBC Music
BBC Music is a team working in the department of Audio and Music Interactive at the BBC. Responsible for the BBC Music website - the portal site to music content across the BBC website....
said that: "even the perfectly serviceable of-the-moment pop of Shine a Light are little preparation for the delights in store here". The Entertainment Focus review said that: "Across the record the band takes anthemic pop on the corking Shine a Light". Johnny Dee from Virgin Media
Virgin Media
Virgin Media Inc. is a company which provides fixed and mobile telephone, television and broadband internet services to businesses and consumers in the United Kingdom...
said: "Better is the Auto-Tune soul of "Shine a Light" which sees the band teaming up with Taio Cruz to good effect." Jack Foley from Indie London said that: "Shine a Light showing what can be achieved when they fuse pop rock with dance-pop and combine vocals with Taio Cruz (arguably the best offering either of these two acts have had in the charts for some time!)".
Music video
The song premiered on September 21, 2010, following a video treasure hunt competition involving the band. The treasure hunt allowed fans to appear in the music video for the track by hunting for clues to get to the place of filming.The video for the track premiered on the group's website on October 9, appearing on their YouTube page just hours later.
Live performances
McFly performed "Shine a Light" live for the first time on Paul O'Grady LivePaul O'Grady Live
Paul O'Grady Live was a British comedy chat show hosted by Paul O'Grady, that began airing on 10 September 2010 on ITV1 and ITV1 HD/STV HD/UTV HD in the United Kingdom. The show is a Friday night chat show that features a mixture of celebrity guests, airing at 21:00. The show culminates with...
, without an appearance from Cruz. On 4 December, McFly and Cruz performed the song together live on Jingle Bell Ball
Jingle Bell Ball
The Jingle Bell Ball is a concert held every year in December, by Global Radio at O2 Arena. Headline acts have included superstars like Rihanna, Janet Jackson, Lady Gaga, The Black Eyed Peas and Kylie Minogue...
; the first and unique time they had done so. McFly performed the song on The Hollyoaks Music Show, he Alan Titchmarsh Show]], TMI
TMI
-Nuclear accident:* Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station, a nuclear power station in Pennsylvania, U.S.* Three Mile Island accident, a common term for a 1979 accident at the station* Three Mile Island accident health effects, about impacts of the accident...
and the charity events ChildLine Concert
ChildLine Concert
The ChildLine Concert is an annual pop music charity event which has taken place in Ireland since 1997. As the name suggests the money raised by the concert is donated to the young person's charity, ChildLine and many of the attendants are also children...
in Dublin and Children in Need
Children in Need
Children in Need is an annual British charity appeal organised by the BBC. Since 1980 it has raised over £500 million. The highlight of the Children in Need appeal is an annual telethon, held in November. A teddy bear named "Pudsey Bear" fronts the campaign, while Terry Wogan is a long...
. McFly also performed an acoustic version of the song in Spain on "El Hormigueiro".
Track listing
UK CD1- "Shine a Light" (featuring Taio Cruz) - 3:39
- "Shine a Light" (featuring Taio Cruz) (WestFunk & Steve Smart Remix) - 3:28
UK CD2
- "Shine a Light" - 3:55
- "Dynamite" (Radio 1 Live Lounge Session) - 3:56 (Taio Cruz Cover)
- "I'll Be Your Man" (Acoustic Version) - 4:59
- "End of the World" (Acoustic Version) - 3:38
UK 7" Picture Disc
- "Shine a Light" (featuring Taio Cruz) - 3:39
Chart performance
On 14 November, the single debuted on the UK Single Chart at number 4, with sales of more than 51,000 copies, the song spent seven weeks in the Top 20, In its 7th week "Shine a Light" became the top selling singles of McFly after All About YouAll About You/You've Got a Friend
"All About You"/"You've Got a Friend" is the first single from British band McFly's second studio album, Wonderland. The single was the official Comic Relief charity single for 2005, with all royalties being donated to the charity. The single was also used to promote Make Poverty History. The...
and spent eighteen weeks in UK top 100. The song peaked the number 9 in UK Airplay Chart.
In Scotland the song spent three weeks on Top 10 and eight weeks in the Top 20.
In Portugal the song spent seven weeks on Top 20.
Nine weeks after the original release, "Shine a Light" featured 16 in 4Music's top 20 for the week.
Charts
| Chart (2010–11) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| European Hot 100 | 20 |
End of year charts
| End of year chart (2010) | Position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart | 98 |
Personnel
- Danny JonesDanny JonesDaniel Alan David "Danny" Jones is an English musician who is one of the lead vocalists and guitarists for pop rock band McFly, alongside fellow members Tom Fletcher , Dougie Poynter and Harry Judd .-McFly:McFly rose to fame in 2004, in part due to their association with Busted who helped launch...
- songwriterSongwriterA 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...
, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, lead vocals, backing vocals - Tom FletcherTom FletcherThomas Michael "Tom" Fletcher is an English singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known as one of the lead vocalists and guitarists of English pop rock band McFly, in addition to being the group's founder and principal songwriter...
- songwriter, guitar, lead vocals, backing vocals - Harry JuddHarry JuddHarry Mark Christopher Judd is an English musician who is best known as the drummer for British pop rock band McFly, along with fellow band members Tom Fletcher, Dougie Poynter and Danny Jones...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration... - Dougie PoynterDougie PoynterDougie Lee Poynter is an English musician and the bass guitarist and vocalist for the pop rock boyband McFly.- McFly :...
- bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Taio CruzTaio CruzTaio Cruz is a British singer-songwriter, record producer, occasional rapper, and entrepreneur. In 2008, he released his debut album Departure, which Cruz wrote, arranged and produced himself. It achieved initial success in the UK and earned him a MOBO Award nomination...
- songwriter, lead vocals, synths, keyboard, producer - Alan Nglish - producer
- Serban GheneaSerban GheneaSerban Ghenea is a four-time Grammy Award and three-time Latin Grammy Award-winning mixer. He has mixed songs for such artists as Michael Jackson, Justin Timberlake, Usher, Faith Hill, Carrie Underwood, Jewel, Santana, Ozomatli, Shakira, Jill Scott, R. Kelly, Rod Stewart, and Dave Matthews Band...
- Mixed
Release history
| Region | Date | Label | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ireland Ireland Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth... |
5 November 2010 | Island Records Island Records Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group... |
Digital Download, CD |
| 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... |
7 November 2010 | Island Records | CD, Digital download, 7" |