"Flashing Lights" is a song by Australian DJ and recording artist

Havana Brown The Havana Brown was the result of a planned breeding between Siamese and domestic black cats, by a group of cat fanciers in England, in the 1950s. Early breeders introduced a Siamese type Russian Blue into their breeding. However, using curren ...

for her first studio album of the same name (2013). The recording was written by Brown,

Nadir Khayat Nadir Khayat ( ar, نادر الخياط; born 9 April 1972), better known by his stage name RedOne, is a Moroccan singer, songwriter, record producer and record executive. As a record producer and songwriter, he has worked with many high-profi ...

John Mamann Jonathan Maman (; born September 29, 1978), better known by his stage name John Mamann (), is a French singer, songwriter and composer who is signed to AZ, part of Universal Music. He has released three albums, ''Mister Joe'' in 2010, self-titl ...

, Jean Claude Sindres, Yohanne Simon and Teddy Sky and produced by RedOne. It was released as the album's

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

on 23 August 2013 by

Island Records Australia Island Records Australia is an Australian record label that was launched in 2007 by Michael Taylor (now serving as managing director, Universal Music Australia). It is part of the Universal Music Group and is the Australian variant of Island R ...

as a digital download. Official remixes were digitally released on 13 September 2013. The theme of the "Flashing Lights" is about a

toxic relationship Psychological abuse, often called emotional abuse, is a form of abuse characterized by a person subjecting or exposing another person to a behavior that may result in psychological trauma, including anxiety, chronic depression, or post-traumatic ...

. "Flashing Lights" peaked at number sixty-eight on the Australian

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

. It peaked at number one on the US

Hot Dance Club Songs Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

chart, becoming her third number one hit atop that chart.

Background and composition

In July 2012, Havana Brown released her debut EP ''

When the Lights Go Out "When the Lights Go Out" is the second single released from British group Five's debut studio album, ''Five''. It was released in early 1998. The song was co-written by the group alongside Eliot Kennedy, Tim Lever and Mike Percy (from the ba ...

''. The recording was preceded by the release of her debut single "

We Run the Night "We Run the Night" is a song by Australian DJ and recording artist Havana Brown, written and produced by Cassie Davis and Snob Scrilla of production duo More Mega. It was released for digital download on by Island Records ( Universal Music A ...

" which peaked at number five in Australia and certified triple platinum. It also charted at 26 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and attained a platinum certification. Her third single, "

Big Banana The Big Banana is a tourist attraction and amusement park in the city of Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia. The grounds of the park are set amongst a banana plantation, featuring a large walk-through banana. Built in 1964, it was one of ...

", also gained platinum status in Australia and, along with "We Run the Night", peaked at number one on the US Hot Dance Club Songs charts. "Flashing Lights" is a

downtempo Downtempo (or downbeat) is a broad label for electronic music that features an atmospheric sound and slower beats than would typically be found in dance music. Closely related to ambient music but with greater emphasis on rhythm, the style may ...

dance-pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...

and

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

song, written by Brown together with

RedOne Nadir Khayat ( ar, نادر الخياط; born 9 April 1972), better known by his stage name RedOne, is a Moroccan singer, songwriter, record producer and record executive. As a record producer and songwriter, he has worked with many high-profi ...

, Jean Claude Sindres, Yohanne Simon and Teddy Sky, with RedOne producing the track. In an interview with ''

The Herald Sun The ''Herald Sun'' is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia, published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Corp Australia, itself a subsidiary of the Murdoch owned News Corp. The ''Herald Sun ...

'', Brown described the theme of "Flashing Lights": "It's about sexual kryptonite and intense passion". In the chorus Brown sings, “In the flashing lights / Looking for some love tonight / You know I love the way you lie / I wanna do it and do it / and do it again.” She elaborated on the lyrics with the

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing th ...

(ARIA), saying "Its about that sort of a relationship where you... try and break up, and you get back together cause you think it's love but really it's just, you know, a chemistry". A writer for Homorazzi.com enjoyed the recording, commenting that it has a "

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...

feel" to it.

Release

Brown announced the release of "Flashing Lights" by posting a video message on her official

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

page, accompanied by two remixes by

Richard Vission Richard Gonzalez (born 24 May 1969), better known by his stage name Richard "Humpty" Vission, is a Canadian house music producer, remixer, and DJ. Biography He was raised in Highland Park, in Los Angeles, California, and graduated from Benj ...

and Razor n' Guido. The recording was released digitally via

iTunes Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...

s on 23 August 2013, as the lead single from the album of the same name. An accompanying

lyric 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 published on

Vevo Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, di ...

on the same day. Official remixes of the song was serviced to iTunes on 13 September 2013. "Flashing Lights" debuted on the Australian

at its peak, number sixty-eight on 31 August 2013 spending only two weeks in the top 100. In the United States, the track debuted at number forty-nine on the US

chart, and peaked at number one, becoming her third hit atop that chart.

Formats and track listings

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-End charts

Release history

References

{{authority control 2013 singles 2013 songs Dance-pop songs Disco songs Havana Brown (musician) songs Island Records singles Song recordings produced by RedOne Songs written by RedOne Songs written by Geraldo Sandell Songs written by John Mamann Songs written by Jean-Claude Sindres Songs written by Yohanne Simon Songs written by Havana Brown (musician)