Flashing Lights
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| “Flashing Lights” | |||||
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| Single by Kanye West featuring Dwele from the album Graduation |
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| Released | November 22, 2007 (US Airplay) April 21, 2008 (UK) |
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| Format | Airplay, CD, 12" | ||||
| Recorded | 2007 | ||||
| Genre | Hip hop, R&B | ||||
| Length | 3:57 | ||||
| Label | GOOD Music, Island Def Jam, Roc-A-Fella | ||||
| Writer(s) | Kanye West, Eric Hudson | ||||
| Producer | Kanye West & Eric Hudson | ||||
| Kanye West singles chronology | |||||
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| Dwele singles chronology | |||||
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"Flashing Lights" is the ninth track and fourth single from rapper Kanye West's album Graduation. The song was released as the fifth single in the UK.
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[edit] Song information
It features R&B artist Dwele and contains additional vocals by Connie Mitchell.[citation needed] The album artwork was designed by Takashi Murakami. "Flashing Lights" notably contains no credited samples, but is said to be inspired by Japanese anime music.
The song was also used in a December 2007 ad campaign for French vodka Cîroc. The advertisements also feature spokesperson Diddy.
The song is currently on BBC Radio 1's A-List.
The song is featured in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV on the radio station The Beat 102.7.
[edit] Music video
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The video, co-directed by Spike Jonze along with West himself, starts out with a car stopping in the desert at dusk, with the red tail lights and yellow headlights of a Ford Mustang creating "flashing lights" on the ground.
The term "flashing lights" arises from West being caught cheating on his girl by the paparazzi's "flashing lights." A woman (portrayed by Rita G, as a woman scorned) gets out of the car, walks a distance away from it, proceeds to strip down to her lingerie, and burns her clothes. She then walks back to her car, and opens the trunk. West is seen there, tied up and gagged. The girl somewhat flirts with West stroking and kissing him, before taking out a shovel that is in the trunk, as a terrified West helplessly watches. The camera then zooms out and we see the woman repeatedly bludgeon West (presumably to death) with the shovel. The title of the song, "Flashing Lights", is then shown in red letters against a black screen as the video ends. The video ends over a minute before the album version of the song ends. It is actually the third version of the video for the song, as West apparently wasn't satisfied with the first two in South East San Diego, CA. This was confirmed in an interview with Rita G.[1]
The video was originally premiered at the Entertainment Weekly Grammy after-party on February 10, 2008.
It was supposed to premiere BET February 13, 2008, but didn't due to the graphic nature of the music video.[citation needed]
Though it received much airplay, the video for "Flashing Lights" stands as one of West's most controversial music videos. Upon its release, viewers expressed that the video seemed too short and for the most part uneventful, while critics accused it of containing overly violent content. West retorted that they simply could not comprehend the subtle symbolism and metaphors embedded within the video, going on to state that he loved the video and couldn't care less if someone else felt differently.
A second separate music video for "Flashing Lights" leaked on May 23, 2008. The completely different video made active use of stop motion animation. Less than a week apart, a third separate music video for "Flashing Lights" was released on May 29, 2008. Bearing resemblance to a murder-mystery tale, this third version featured multiple enigmatic characters under the roof of a haunted mansion.
[edit] Track listing
[edit] UK CD and 12" Vinyl
- "Flashing Lights"
- "Stronger" (Andrew Dawson remix)
[edit] Remixes
There were 3 different remixes:
- An official remix that has a verse from the rap duo Clipse.
- An R&B Remix, featuring R. Kelly.
- The third has new intro, a new verse and ad-libs in the hook by Raheem DeVaughn.
[edit] Cover versions
- Covered by Rock City of Konvict Muzik.
- Lil Wayne and Jay-Z off of Lil Wayne's mixtape Starring in Mardi Gras.
- Covered by Colin Munroe
[edit] Chart peformance
Even before its released date, it debuted at #61 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs the chart week of November 10, 2007, and has since reached the top 20 of that chart, so far at #17. It was the "Hot Shot Debut" of the week on the Hot 100, the chart week of December 8, 2007, debuting at #75, and has so far risen to #29 as of January 24, 2008. "Flashing Lights" was produced by Kanye West and Eric Hudson. The song debuted the chart week of February 23, 2008 on the Canadian Hot 100 at #88, and has risen to #54.
[edit] Chart positions
| Chart | Peak position |
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| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 29 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs | 12 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Rap Tracks | 2 |
| U.S. Billboard Rhythmic Top 40 | 8 |
| U.S. Billboard Pop 100 | 40 |
| Billboard Canadian Hot 100 | 54 |
| Lithuanian Airplay Chart | 26[2] |
| UK Singles Chart | 29 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 35 |
| Australian Singles Chart | 82 |
[edit] References
- ^ Jayson Rodriguez. Kanye West's Latest Video Vixen Defends 'Flashing Lights' Clip: 'It's Whatever You Want It To Be'. MTV.
- ^ Lithuanian Airplay Chart. Lithuanian Charts Company.
[edit] External links
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