"Afterglow" is a song by Australian rock band INXS. It was released in April 2006 as the second single from the band's eleventh studio album, ''

Switch In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type of ...

''.

Background and writing

The song was written by

Andrew Farriss Andrew Charles Farriss (born 27 March 1959) is an Australian rock musician and multi-instrumentalist best known as the keyboardist, backing vocalist, and main composer for rock band INXS. Farriss released his debut studio album in 2021. Caree ...

and Desmond Child, and was a tribute to

Michael Hutchence Michael Kelland John Hutchence (22 January 1960 – 22 November 1997) was an Australian musician, singer-songwriter and actor. Hutchence co-founded the rock band INXS, which sold over 75 million records worldwide and was inducted into th ...

, one of INXS' founders, who committed suicide in 1997. In singing the song, J. D. Fortune, winner of '' Rock Star: INXS'', described his role in Hutchence's legacy—his "afterglow". It is a bhangra rock song written in

F sharp minor F-sharp minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative major is A major and its parallel major is F-sharp major (or enharmonically G-flat major). ...

Music video

The video for the single features actress

Estella Warren Estella Dawn Warren (born December 23, 1978)"Estella Warren". ''Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television''. Vol. 69. Gale, 2006. Gale Biography In Context. Web. May 26, 2011. is a Canadian actress, fashion model and former synchronized swimmer. ...

and J. D. Fortune in a loft in downtown Los Angeles. J. D. Fortune walks alone on the empty

Sixth Street Viaduct The Sixth Street Viaduct, also known as the Sixth Street Bridge, is a viaduct bridge that connects the Arts District in Downtown Los Angeles with the Boyle Heights neighborhood. The Sixth Street Viaduct spans the Los Angeles River, the Santa ...

and is later joined by the rest of the band of INXS.

Critical reception

Music critic Matt Collar of the publication

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

praised the song as an "epic ballad", noting how it drew influence from U2's track "

With or Without You "With or Without You" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the third track on their fifth studio album, '' The Joshua Tree'' (1987), and was released as the album's lead single on 16 March 1987. The song was the group's most successful sing ...

". The song has been described as "bhangra rock", with melody reminiscent of INXS' earlier work with Hutchence.

Chart performance

"Afterglow" peaked at number 24 in Australia on the ARIA Singles chart, spending 10 weeks in the top 50. The song reached number 22 on the US '' Billboard'' Adult Top 40 chart, and number 20 on the

Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems ...

Charts

Weekly charts

References

{{authority control 2006 singles INXS songs Songs written by Desmond Child Songs written by Andrew Farriss 2005 songs Song recordings produced by Guy Chambers Songs about musicians