All of the Lights
"All of the Lights" is a song by American rapper Kanye West, released as the fourth single from his fifth studio album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010). It was produced by West and features additional vocals from several other recording artists, including Drake, John Legend, The-Dream, Alicia Keys, Fergie, Elton John, Ryan Leslie, Charlie Wilson, Tony Williams, La Roux, Alvin Fields, Ken Lewis, Kid Cudi, and Rihanna; the latter two are credited on the official music video and single version, but not on the album version. It is often played along with its accompanying interlude "All of the Lights (Interlude)", which precedes the song on the album's tracklist.
"All of the Lights"
January 18, 2011
2009–2010
- 4:20 (radio edit)
- 5:00 (album version)
- West
- Bhasker (co.)
"All of the Lights" was universally acclaimed by music critics, who complimented its detailed, maximalist production and dramatic theme. It was commercially successful in the U.S., peaking at number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs; it landed at number 59 on the Billboard Year-End Charts in 2011. At the 54th Annual Grammy Awards, the song won Grammy Awards for Best Rap Song and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, and was nominated for Song of the Year. By December 2011, the song had sold over 1,561,000 digital units in the US.[1] As of November 2020, it has been certified quintuple platinum by the RIAA.
The song's accompanying music video, directed by Hype Williams,[2] featured strobe-lit performances of Rihanna and West, as well as Kid Cudi. It was given a discretionary warning by Epilepsy Action, stating that the video "potentially triggers seizures for people with photosensitive epilepsy".[3] West and Rihanna performed the song at the 2011 NBA All-Star Game, while it was also featured in the promo for the same event.[4] A snippet of the song was performed by Rihanna at the 2023 Super Bowl Halftime Show.
Leaks and release[edit]
Even though not fully leaked, "All of the Lights" was featured for the first time on "Runaway"—a 35-minute film about West's "true labor of love" which was released on October 23, 2010.[13][14] The song was featured in the film together with other songs from West's then-upcoming fifth studio album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010), including "Monster", "Power" and "Lost in the World" among others.[14] The song fully leaked on November 4, 2010, online.[15]
West announced through his Twitter account that "All of the Lights" would be the album's fourth single.[16] Following the album's release, the song debuted at number 92 on the Billboard Hot 100.[17][18] It was sent to Australian contemporary hit and alternative radio stations on December 13, 2010.[19] "All of the Lights" was released as a single in the United States on January 18, 2011. Rihanna was credited as a featured artist for the single when impacting radio.[20]
Composition[edit]
"All of the Lights" is a hip hop song that runs for 4 minutes and 59 seconds.[22] According to the sheet music published by Universal Music Publishing Group at Musicnotes.com, it was composed in the key of B flat minor using common time and a steady groove. The vocal range spans from the low note of Ab3 to the high note of F5.[22] Instrumentation is provided by drums, bass,[23] piano[24] and horns.[25] The piano is played by Elton John, who also together with thirteen other vocalists provides the background vocals.[22][23] American singers Fergie and Alicia Keys, sing the break-downs and ad-libs, respectively.[26] Alex Deney from NME called the song a "sleb-studded centrepiece".[27]
Reception[edit]
"All of the Lights" received universal critical acclaim. AllMusic's Andy Kellman stated "At once, the song features one of the year’s most rugged beats while supplying enough opulent detail to make Late Registration collaborator Jon Brion's head spin".[21] Alex Denney of NME called it "the sleb-studded centrepiece", commenting that "In anyone else’s hands it’d be an A-list circle-jerk of horrid proportions, but through Kanye’s bar-raising vision it becomes a truly wondrous thing".[28] Zach Baron of The Village Voice found the song's lyrics relevant to the "year of economic suffering", writing that "West interrupted his own wealthy anomie to pen 'All of the Lights,' an incongruously star-stuffed song about a disoriented parolee trying to beat a restraining order and see his daughter, working out a brief reunion with her estranged mother: 'Public visitation, we met at Borders'".[29] Chicago Sun-Times writer Thomas Conner viewed that "as crowded as 'All of the Lights' is [,] it maintains an almost operatic drama, telling a tale of adultery and its aftermath that winds up being quite moving".[30] The Guardian's Kitty Empire cited the song as "the album's most magnificent high", writing that it "backs up operatic levels of sound with great drama".[31]
Ann Powers of NPR included "All of the Lights" in her list of the Top 10 Top 40 singles of 2011, commenting "its like an action painting: the artist scatters elements across its canvas to form a whole that's all motion and colorful build."[32] Slant Magazine named it the best single of 2011, describing the song as "perhaps the most acute example of Kanye West’s pitched mania for theatrical expressions of manic-depressive instability, his mixture of self-destruction and self-love",[33] they later listed it second in their list of the best singles of the 2010s in 2019.[34]
Tampa Bay Times named it the second best pop song of the decade, proclaiming "Everything Kanye West has ever believed himself to be came to life in this song: The stadium-sized horns, the chilling Rihanna hook, the snarl of cockiness in his voice, the insane list of uncredited cameos .. It’s the moment King Midas figured out how to use his touch."[35] Elsewhere, Nothing but Hope and Passion listed it 13th on its list of "100 Must Listen Songs of the 2010s".[36] Time Out named it the 13th best song of all time in 2016.[37]
Media[edit]
In 2016, the song was used in a Gatorade commercial starring Serena Williams.[45] The song is also featured in the game NBA 2K14 as part of the soundtrack chosen by LeBron James.[46] In 2019, the song was featured in a Peloton TV commercial, entitled; Our Kind of Joy.[47]
In 2023, Rihanna sang the hook of the song as a part of the Super Bowl LVII halftime show.[48][49]