"Black Summer" is a song by American rock band

Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates elements of alternative rock, funk ...

and is the first single from their twelfth studio album, ''

Unlimited Love ''Unlimited Love'' is the twelfth studio album by the American rock band the Red Hot Chili Peppers, released through Warner Records on April 1, 2022. Produced by Rick Rubin, the album marks the return of guitarist John Frusciante, who left the ...

''. The single was released on February 4, 2022 and it was their first song in 16 years to feature guitarist

John Frusciante John Anthony Frusciante (; born March 5, 1970) is an American musician, best known as the guitarist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers across three stints since 1988. He has released 11 solo albums and 7 EPs, ranging in style from acoustic guitar to e ...

, following his return to the band in 2019. "Black Summer" quickly became a number-one single for the band on

Alternative Airplay Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...

, giving them their 14th number-one single, a record for any artist on that chart, and 26th top ten single, second most for any artist on the Alternative Songs chart trailing only the Foo Fighters who have 28 top ten singles; it also gave the band a number-one single in four different decades on the Alternative Songs chart, tying them with Green Day for the most ever by an artist. "Black Summer" won the 2022

MTV Video Music Award The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video categor ...

for Best Rock Video.

Reception

The song received positive reviews from critics, although Kiedis' vocals drew confusion from critics, with some likening it to an

Irish accent Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

pirate accent In English-speaking popular culture, the modern pirate stereotype owes its attributes mostly to the imagined tradition of the 18th century Caribbean pirate sailing off the Spanish Main and to such celebrated 20th century depictions as Cap ...

. Kiedis explained that the accent was a tribute to Welsh singer-songwriter

Cate Le Bon Cate Le Bon (born Cate Timothy on 4 March 1983) is a Welsh musician and record producer. She sings in both English and Welsh. She has released six solo studio albums, three EPs and a number of singles. Le Bon has toured with artists such as St. ...

, whom the band's former guitarist

Josh Klinghoffer Josh Adam Klinghoffer (born October 3, 1979) is an American musician best known for being the guitarist for the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers from 2009 to 2019, with whom he recorded two studio albums, '' I'm with You'' (2011) and '' The Geta ...

had recorded with on her fifth studio album, ''

Reward Reward may refer to: Places * Reward (Shelltown, Maryland), a historic home in Shelltown Maryland * Reward, California (disambiguation) * Reward-Tilden's Farm, a historic home in Chestertown Maryland Arts, entertainment, and media * "Rewa ...

'', and performed with in the experimental musical collective Banana. ''Vulture'' praised the song, saying that it has "everything you'd want with a Chilis joint — ethereal riffs noodling along, wonderfully nonsensical lyrics, and a music video that has Anthony Kiedis disrobing at the midway point". Frusciante's guitar work was particularly praised, and was likened to his work on the band's 2006 album '' Stadium Arcadium''. ''

Consequence Consequence may refer to: * Logical consequence, also known as a ''consequence relation'', or ''entailment'' * In operant conditioning, a result of some behavior * Consequentialism, a theory in philosophy in which the morality of an act is determi ...

'' lauded Frusciante's "signature guitar sound", noting that it "links perfectly with Flea’s energetic bass work and steps out for multiple solos. And not only that, Frusciante's anthemic backup vocals have returned, amplifying the song's chorus to create a wide screen, stadium worthy effect." Producer

Rick Rubin Frederick Jay Rubin (; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is the co-founder (alongside Russell Simmons) of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records. Rubin helped popula ...

's return was also highlighted by '' Clash'', who compared the single to the band's earlier work, with its "funky melodies and heavy rock weaved throughout".

Music video

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

was released simultaneously with the single, directed by

Deborah Chow Deborah Chow (born June 16, 1972) is a Canadian filmmaker, television director and screenwriter known for her independent films and her work on ''Star Wars'' television. Two of her first short films, ''Daypass'' (2002) and ''The Hill'' (2004) have ...

. The music video for "Black Summer" is nominated for a 2022

for Best Rock Video. It marked the band's 29th nomination at the MTV Video Music Awards since 1990 and their first nomination since 2006 when they were nominated for "

Dani California "Dani California" is a song from American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers' ninth studio album, ''Stadium Arcadium'' (2006). The single was first made available at the iTunes Music Store and was officially released on April 28, 2006. The internati ...

Live performances

The song made its live debut on April 1, 2022 on ''

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It is the seventh incar ...

'' and has been played at every show on the band's Global Stadium Tour.

Personnel

Red Hot Chili Peppers * Anthony Kiedis – lead vocals *

Flea Flea, the common name for the order Siphonaptera, includes 2,500 species of small flightless insects that live as external parasites of mammals and birds. Fleas live by ingesting the blood of their hosts. Adult fleas grow to about long, a ...

– bass guitar *

Chad Smith Chad Gaylord Smith (born October 25, 1961) is an American musician who has been the drummer of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers since 1988. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012. Smith is also the drummer of the ...

– drums, tambourine *

– guitar, backing vocals Additional musicians *

Matt Rollings Matt Rollings is a Grammy Award-winning American composer, keyboard player and record producer. Known mainly for playing in Lyle Lovett's Large Band, Rollings has worked with many artists, not all country. Matt won the 'Best Traditional Pop Voc ...

– piano

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{MTV Video Music Award for Best Rock Video 2022 singles 2022 songs Red Hot Chili Peppers songs Songs written by Anthony Kiedis Songs written by Flea (musician) Songs written by Chad Smith Songs written by John Frusciante Warner Records singles