Red Lights (song)

"Red Lights" is a song by Dutch DJ and record producer Tiësto. The song features uncredited vocals from Michel Zitron,[2] who co-wrote the song with Tiësto, Wayne Hector, Carl Falk, Rami Yacoub and Måns Wredenberg. "Red Lights" was first released on 13 December 2013[3] by PM:AM Recordings as the lead single from Tiësto's fifth studio album, A Town Called Paradise (2014).

"Red Lights"
Single by Tiësto
from the album A Town Called Paradise
Released	13 December 2013
Genre	Progressive house dance-pop
Length	4:23 (main version) 3:21 (radio edit)
Label	PM:AM
Songwriter(s)	Wayne Hector Carl Falk Michel Zitron Rami Yacoub Tijs Verwest Måns Wredenberg[1]
Producer(s)	Tiësto Carl Falk Rami Yacoub
Tiësto singles chronology
"Love And Run" (2013) "Red Lights" (2013) "Wasted" (2014)

"Red Lights" is mostly a musical change from Tiësto's previous releases as it departs from his trademark trance influenced sound and sees him experimenting with new genres through the incorporation of acoustic elements into his music, which highlights his ability to adapt to the expanding EDM market.[4]

"Red Lights" received generally mixed reviews from contemporary music critics and performed moderately well in most major music markets. It became Tiësto's first number-one hit in Scotland, his first top ten hit in the United Kingdom and his highest-charting single in Ireland and Australia. Additionally, "Red Lights" also became Tiësto's second highest-charting single in the United States, where it has peaked at number fifty-six on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song also peaked at number-two on the US Billboard Dance Club Songs and number-six on the US Billboard Dance/Electronic Songs charts.

On May 12, 2017, Tiësto released an official remix of "Red Lights" by electronic production duo Hungry Man Fun Man.[5]

Background and release

Tiësto's fifth studio album, A Town Called Paradise was released on 13 June 2014. While little was initially known regarding Tiësto's collaborators for the album, it had been revealed that the album would mark a departure from Tiësto's "traditional trance sound".[6] "Red Lights" was eventually released as the album's lead single on 13 December 2013 after making its premier on 29 November 2013 on BBC Radio 1.[7] The song's release coincided with Tiësto's move to Republic Records and his announcement of plans to release an "artist album" in 2014.[8] Tiësto stated that "Red Lights" would be one of two songs unveiled prior to the release of "Footprints", another one of his songs which premiered at the TomorrowWorld Festival in September 2013.[9]

During an interview with the Miami NewTimes, Tiësto revealed that the original version of "Red Lights" had been developed two and a half years prior to its release. Swedish record producer Rami Yacoub brought the song to Tiësto's attention by playing its chorus to him. Tiësto reflected on this experience by commenting, "I was like, Wow, this is so uplifting and euphoric! This is so me! And I knew that I wanted to work on the track. It was a very long process, but it was definitely worth it".[10]

Reception

Bill Lamb from About.com spoke positively about "Red Lights", describing it as a "wistful dance track that brings all the audio excitement of club music without any lyrics likely to offend" and subsequently ranked the song tenth on his list of "Top 10 Clean Party Songs for Kids".[11] However, the song was not as well received by Joe Bish of The Guardian. In his review of newly released songs during the final week of February 2014, Bish initially praises the track, calling it "real dance music" but ultimately concludes that "it will come back to haunt you. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon, and for the rest of your life".[12]

Music video

The song's accompanying music video was released on 10 February 2014 and runs for approximately three minutes and thirty-two seconds. Tiësto describes "Red Lights" as a song about “letting loose of your inhibitions and running free" and states that the song's music video is a reflection of this. The video centres on two close friends who embark on a road trip to Las Vegas to attend one of Tiësto's shows in Hakkasan.[13]

Track listing

Digital download

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Red Lights"	4:23

Remixes

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Red Lights" (extended mix)	6:01
2.	"Red Lights" (Afrojack Remix)	5:34
3.	"Red Lights" (twoloud Remix)	5:50
4.	"Red Lights" (Fred Falke Remix)	6:44
5.	"Red Lights" (Blame Remix)	4:19
Total length:		28:28

Credits and personnel

Songwriting – Wayne Hector, Carl Falk, Michel Zitron, Rami Yacoub, Tijs Verwest, Måns Wredenberg Production – Tiësto, Carl Falk, Rami Yacoub Additional production – John Amatiello, Dean Gillard and Matt Ward Mixing – Dean Gillard and Matt Ward

All instruments played and programmed by Rami Yacoub, Carl Falk, Dean Gillard and Matt Ward Additional guitars – Carl Fark Vocals – Michel Zitron Mastered by Stuart Hawkes at Metropolis Studios, London

Chart performance

"Red Lights" has performed moderately well worldwide, reaching the top forty on most of the charts it has entered. In the Netherlands, "Red Lights" debuted at number sixty-eight and eventually peaked at number forty-two on the Mega Single Top 100.

In Australia, "Red Lights" debuted at number forty-four and eventually peaked at number eight on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart, becoming Tiësto's first top ten single there.[14] It has been certified Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipments in excess of 70,000 copies.[15] "Red Lights" also became Tiësto's highest-charting single in Ireland and his first top ten hit in the United Kingdom when it debuted at number three[16] and number six[17] on the Irish Singles Chart and UK Singles Charts respectively. Elsewhere in the world, "Red Lights" has reached number-one in Scotland, the top ten in Norway, Sweden and Denmark, the top twenty in Finland and Hungary and the top forty in Germany, Austria and Belgium (Flanders and Wallonia).

In the United States, "Red Lights" debuted at number ninety-seven on the US Billboard Hot 100 and eventually peaked at number fifty-six. It also topped the US Dance/Mix Show Airplay and reaching the top three of the US Dance/Electronic Songs and top ten of the US Dance Club Songs charts. In August 2014, "Red Lights" was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments in excess of 500,000 copies.[18] "Red Lights" enjoyed similar success in Canada, peaking at number forty-one on the Canadian Hot 100.[19]

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2013–14) Peak position scope="row" Australia (ARIA)[20] 8 scope="row" Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[21] 36 scope="row" Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[22] 32 Belgium Dance (Ultratop Flanders)[22] 28 scope="row" Belgium (Ultratip Wallonia)[23] 20 Belgium Dance (Ultratop Wallonia)[23] 16 scope="row" Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[24] 41 CIS (Tophit)[25] 55 scope="row" Czech Republic (Rádio Top 100)[26] 83 scope="row" Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[27] 47 scope="row" Denmark (Tracklisten)[28] 10 scope="row" Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[29] 11 scope="row" France (SNEP)[30] 156 scope="row" Germany (Official German Charts)[31] 29 scope="row" Hungary (Dance Top 40)[32] 39 scope="row" Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)[33] 8 scope="row" Hungary (Single Top 40)[34] 20 scope="row" Ireland (IRMA)[35] 3 scope="row" Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[36] 22 scope="row" Netherlands (Single Top 100)[37] 42 scope="row" Norway (VG-lista)[38] 5 scope="row" Poland (Dance Top 50)[39] 13 scope="row" Scotland (Official Charts Company)[40] 1 scope="row" Slovakia (Rádio Top 100)[41] 46 scope="row" Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[42] 9 scope="row" Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[43] 74 scope="row" UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[44] 6 scope="row" UK Dance (Official Charts Company)[45] 2 scope="row" US Billboard Hot 100[46] 56 scope="row" US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs (Billboard)[47] 5 scope="row" US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[48] 2 scope="row" US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[49] 17

Year-end charts Chart (2014) Position Australia (ARIA)[50] 99 Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)[51] 52 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[52] 80 Russia Airplay (Tophit)[53] 86 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[54] 40 Ukraine Airplay (Tophit)[55] 117 US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[56] 20 US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs (Billboard)[57] 18

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[15]	Platinum	70,000^^
Canada (Music Canada)[58]	Gold	5,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[59]	Silver	200,000
United States (RIAA)[18]	Platinum	1,000,000
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

1. "Tiësto – Red Lights (song)". Australian-charts.com. 2014-04-16. Retrieved 2014-04-16.
2. Carr, Kim (December 19, 2013). "Tiesto and his Christmas pal Calvin Harris team up for arena super tour". Daily Star. Retrieved February 24, 2014.
3. "iTunes - Music - Red Lights - Single by Tiësto". Itunes.apple.com. 2013-12-13. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
4. "Tiësto Releases His Newest Track 'Red Lights' (Listen)". Elite Daily. 2013-12-17. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
5. TiestoVEVO (2017-05-11), Tiësto - Red Lights (Hungry Man Fun Man Remix) official audio, retrieved 2017-05-12
6. New Single from Tiësto- ‘Red Lights’. "New Single from Tiësto- 'Red Lights'". Fresh 92.7. Retrieved 2014-02-18.CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
7. Renck, Lizzie (2013-11-30). "Tiësto premieres latest 'Red Lights' on BBC Radio 1". Dancing Astronaut. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
8. "TIËSTO premieres latest 'Red lights' on BBC Radio 1 | News".
9. AsankaD. "Tiesto – 'Red Lights' (Single Premiere)". Jamsplay.com. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
10. "Tiesto on His Next Album, "Red Lights," and Why He'll "Never Stop Challenging" Himself". 2014-03-17.
11. Lamb, Bill. "Top 10 Clean Party Songs for Kids". About.com. Retrieved 2014-04-16.
12. Bish, Joe (2014-02-22). "Max Marshall, Jake Bugg, Rudimental: this week's new tracks". The Guardian. Retrieved 2014-04-17.
13. "Tiesto: 'Red Lights' Music Video - Watch Now!". Veeoz Australia. 2014-03-14. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
14. Steffen Hung. "Tiësto - Red Lights". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
15. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2014 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association.
16. http://acharts.us/ireland_singles_top_100/2014/09
17. http://acharts.us/uk_singles_top_75/2014/10
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19. http://www.billboard.com/charts/canadian-hot-100?page=4
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28. "Hitlisten.NU – Tiësto – Red Lights" (in Danish). Tracklisten. Retrieved 2014-05-04.
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34. "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége.
35. "Chart Track: Week 09, 2014". Irish Singles Chart.
36. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 17, 2014" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved 2019-10-15.
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38. "Norwegiancharts.com – Tiësto – Red Lights". VG-lista. Retrieved 2014-02-15.
39. "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Dance Top 50. Retrieved 2014-04-16.
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42. "Swedishcharts.com – Tiësto – Red Lights". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 2014-02-01.
43. "Swisscharts.com – Tiësto – Red Lights". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 2014-03-09.
44. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
45. "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
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47. "Tiësto Chart History (Hot Dance/Electronic Songs)". Billboard.
48. "Tiësto Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard.
49. "Tiësto Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard.
50. "ARIA Top 100 Singles 2014". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 2015-01-07.
51. "Rádiós Top 100 - hallgatottsági adatok alapján - 2014". Mahasz. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
52. "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 2014". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
53. "Russian Top Year-End Radio Hits (2014)". Tophit. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
54. "Årslista Singlar – År 2014" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
55. "Ukrainian Top Year-End Radio Hits (2014)". Tophit. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
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57. "Hot Dance/Electronic Songs – Year-End 2014". Billboard. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
58. "Canadian single certifications – Tiësto – Red Lights". Music Canada.
59. "British single certifications – Tiësto – Red Lights". British Phonographic Industry. Select singles in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Red Lights in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.