Saviour (Lights song)

"Saviour"
Single by Lights
from the album The Listening
ReleasedJuly 6, 2009
Recorded2007–08
Genre
Length3:29
Label
Songwriter(s)
  • Lights Poxleitner
  • Thomas "Tawgs" Salter
Producer(s)
  • Lights
  • Tawgs Salter
Lights singles chronology
"February Air"
(2008)
"Saviour"
(2009)
"Ice"
(2009)
Alternative cover
Saviour (Adam Young Remix) Cover

"Saviour" is the lead single from Canadian singer-songwriter Lights debut album The Listening (2009). It was released on July 6, 2009 in Canada, April 13, 2010 in the United States and May 9, 2010 in the United Kingdom. A week after the song's release in Canada, the song has entered the Canadian Hot 100, debuting at number 49.[1]

Background

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The song is about Lights telling someone of her troubles and how she doesn't like who she's become. Furthermore, she tells them that one day, she will need them to save her. In an interview, Lights said that the start of the chorus ("I just wanna run to you") sounds like crying because she was actually crying while she wrote the song.[2]

Composition

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The song is a poppy, keyboard-driven new wave ballad.[3] Lights uses the Auto-Tune effect in this song.

Music video

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The video features Lights drawing comics in her bedroom, which gradually animate and send her comic self into outer space. Lights lands on a desolate planet and walks around, looking for something. She picks up a crystal with a flower growing inside it, and plants it into the earth, causing the dark sky to become filled with light and the plants to thrive once again - she becomes the "saviour" of the planet. Meanwhile, the real Lights plays her keytar, draws, and walks around her bedroom, discovering things that had appeared in the comic. The video concludes with her blowing on a pink flower that begins to glow with ethereal light. This is a prequel to the Drive My Soul video. Lights has a second version of this music video where added parts to the video are shown.

Track listing

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Radio Single (July 6, 2009)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Saviour"Lights, Thomas Salter3:29
Saviour EP (September 8, 2009)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Saviour"Lights, Thomas Salter3:29
2."The Listening"Lights, Dave Thomson3:36
3."Saviour (Colin Munroe's Unsung Mix)" 3:21
4."Saviour (The Angry Kids FM Mix)" 3:45
Adam Young Remix EP (May 4, 2010)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Saviour (Adam Young Remix)"Lights, Thomas Salter3:17
2."Saviour" 3:29
3."Saviour (Adam Young Remix) Music Video" 3:17
Jasta Remix (August 31, 2010)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Saviour (Jasta Remix)"Lights & Thomas "Tawgs" Salter3:27

Charts

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Chart (2009) Peak
position
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[4] 38
Canada AC (Billboard)[5] 48
Canada CHR/Top 40 (Billboard)[6] 34
Canada Hot AC (Billboard)[7] 15

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[8] Gold 40,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

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Region Date Format
Canada July 6, 2009 (2009-07-06) Digital download
United States April 13, 2010 (2010-04-13)
United Kingdom May 9, 2010 (2010-05-09)

References

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  1. ^ "Canadian Hot 100: The Week Of August 15, 2009". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  2. ^ Sezar, Alexis. "LIGHTS Shines Bright on Debut Release 'The Listening'". American Superstar Magazine. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  3. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-02-22. Retrieved 2009-10-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ "Lights Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  5. ^ "Lights Chart History (Canada AC)". Billboard. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
  6. ^ "Lights Chart History (Canada CHR/Top 40)". Billboard. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
  7. ^ "Lights Chart History (Canada Hot AC)". Billboard. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
  8. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Lights – Saviour". Music Canada. Retrieved November 7, 2016.