"Lightning" is a song by British-Irish

boy band A boy band is loosely defined as a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform Love song, love songs marketed towards girls and young ...

the Wanted The Wanted are a British-Irish boy band consisting of group members Max George, Siva Kaneswaran, Jay McGuiness and Nathan Sykes and, until his death in 2022, Tom Parker (singer), Tom Parker. The group was formed in 2009 and signed a worldw ...

, taken as the third single from their second studio album, '' Battleground''. It was released on 16 October 2011. The song was written by

Steve Mac Steve McCutcheon (born 15 January 1972), known professionally as Steve Mac, is a British record producer, songwriter and musician. A multi-award-winning producer, he is one of the most prolific songwriters and record producers in modern British ...

Wayne Hector Wayne Anthony Hector is a British songwriter who is best known for his work with pop artists such as Nicki Minaj, One Direction, the Wanted, Toše Proeski and Olly Murs. He co-wrote seven of Westlife's number one singles, including "World of O ...

and

Ed Drewett Edward James Drewett (born 1 April 1988) is a British singer and songwriter who is best known for his contributions and collaborations with acts such as One Direction, Little Mix, Jonas Blue, The Wanted, Olly Murs and SG Lewis. Early life Drew ...

, the same team responsible for the band's number-one single, "

Glad You Came "Glad You Came", also known as "I'm Glad You Came", is a song by British-Irish boy band the Wanted, released on 10 July 2011 as the second single from their second studio album, '' Battleground''. The song was written by Steve Mac, Wayne Hecto ...

". The song debuted at number two on the

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, behind

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's "

We Found Love "We Found Love" is a song by Barbadian singer Rihanna from her sixth studio album, ''Talk That Talk'' (2011). Scottish DJ Calvin Harris wrote, produced, and features on the song, which also appears on his third album '' 18 Months'' (2012). "We F ...

". The single was originally intended for release in the

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, following the success of "

", and a promotional remix single was issued, however, its release was cancelled.

Background

The song was written by

and

. It was first premiered during the band's Spring 2011 tour, where many fans assumed it to be the first single from '' Battleground''. The song kicks off with a thumping electronic beat, as Tom's raspy vocals come in: "You're in control, pressing pause on my heartbeat...". During the chorus, the band sing: "I know it's a little bit frightening, we might as well be playing with lightning now-ow-ow." Band member Tom Parker said of the song, "We all felt it was a sound like we've never done before. It's the perfect prelude to the album, and a great song to get you in the mood for a party." The song premiered on mainstream radio on 17 September 2011. Band member Max George said of the song, "It was only really meant as a filler track. Something to keep the fans interested on the weeks leading up to the album release. We never knew it would be so successful."

Critical reception

A positive reception came from "

CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...

Newsround" who rated it four out of five stars. They went on to say that "The verses aren't that catchy, but the chorus will get you humming in a lightning flash!." They also said that "the rousing singalong chorus is well worth waiting for." Another positive reception came from

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...

's Lewis Corner, who rated it four stars out of five and wrote that " ..The five-piece croon over a cool 'n' catchy melody more addictive than snacking on a tube of

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in front of the telly." .."The results are strikingly similar; once you pop, you shamelessly can't stop no matter how much you try."

Promotion

The band performed the song live for the first time during the results show of the 16 October edition of ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

''. They also made a special appearance on the ''Strictly Come Dancing Halloween Special'' to perform the song, on 30 October 2011.

Music video

The music video for "Lightning" was director by Matt Stawski. The video was filmed in LA, and premiered on 22 September 2011, via the Wanted's YouTube channel. The video features the members of the band performing during a rave, in a similar fashion to their "Glad You Came" video. The video is set at night, and also features many explosions and kissing scenes.

Track listing

* Digital download # "Lightning" – 3:23 # "Lightning" (Chuckie Extended Mix) – 5:43 # "Lightning" (The Alias Remix – Radio Edit) – 3:29 # "Glad You Came" (Live Tour Performance) – 3:20 * UK CD single # "Lightning" – 3:23 # "Lightning" (Chuckie Extended Mix) – 5:43 # "Lightning" (The Alias Remix – Radio Edit) – 3:29 * U.S. promotional CD single">THE WANTED "LIGHTNING" OFFICIAL & RARE US 11 TRACK PROMO CDS – ALMIGHTY MIXES , eBay
/ref> # "Lightning" (Radio Edit) – 3:24 # "Lightning" (Digital Dog Radio Edit) – 3:21 # "Lightning" (Digital Dog Club Mix) – 6:28 # "Lightning" (Digital Dog Dub) – 6:10 # "Lightning" (Almighty Radio Edit) – 3:23 # "Lightning" (Almighty Club Mix) – 6:24 # "Lightning" (The Alias Remix – Radio Edit) – 3:29 # "Lightning" (The Alias Club Mix) – 7:11 # "Lightning" (Chuckie Extended Mix) – 5:43 # "Lightning" (Chuckie Club Mix) – 6:13 # "Lightning" (Chuckie Dub) – 5:14

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control The Wanted songs 2011 songs 2011 singles Dance-pop songs Island Records singles Song recordings produced by Steve Mac Songs written by Ed Drewett Songs written by Steve Mac Songs written by Wayne Hector