"Midnight City" is a song by French

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

band M83. The track was first released in France on 16 August 2011, as the

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 ...

from the group's sixth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, ''

Hurry Up, We're Dreaming ''Hurry Up, We're Dreaming'' (stylised as ) is the sixth studio album by French electronic music band M83. The album was released on 18 October 2011, by Naïve Records in France and by Mute Records in the United States. The album was the last ...

'' (2011). The song was written by Anthony Gonzalez, Yann Gonzalez,

Morgan Kibby Morgan Grace Kibby (born May 3, 1984) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and former actress based in Los Angeles, California. She is best known as a member and collaborator of the French electronic group M83 between 2008 and 201 ...

and

Justin Meldal-Johnsen Justin Meldal-Johnsen (born March 26, 1970) is an American musician, record producer, songwriter and musical director. He is best known for his work with artists such as Beck, Paramore, Nine Inch Nails, M83, Air, and St. Vincent. Meldal-J ...

. The track saw international success, peaking at number eight in France and charting on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Alternative Songs 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-played ...

and

Rock Songs Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (formerly known as Rock Songs and Hot Rock Songs) is a record chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine. From its debut on June 20, 2009, through October 13, 2012, the chart ranked the airplay of songs across alternati ...

charts. Due to French network

TF1 TF1 (; standing for ''Télévision Française 1'') is a French commercial television network owned by TF1 Group, controlled by the Bouygues conglomerate. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network. TF1 is par ...

's use of the song as the closing theme after the

UEFA Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...

football matches, the song topped the digital French chart. Elsewhere, "Midnight City" rose to acclaim in the United Kingdom in 2012, following its selection as the theme to reality TV show ''

Made in Chelsea ''Made in Chelsea'' (abbreviated ''MIC'') is a British structured-reality television series broadcast by E4. ''Made in Chelsea'' chronicles the lives of affluent young people in the West London and South West areas of Belgravia, King's Road, C ...

'' and prominent usage for the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

London 2012 The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

Olympic Games coverage; it peaked at number thirty-four on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

Recording and release

Gonzalez's observations of

Downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains the central business district of Los Angeles. In addition, it contains a diverse residential area of some 85,000 people, and covers . A 2013 study found that the district is home to over 500,000 jobs. It is ...

at night helped inspire "Midnight City"'s lyrics.M83 interview – Anthony Gonzalez (part 5)

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

. 12 October 2011. Retrieved 13 December 2011. Gonzalez created the song's opening riffs by heavily distorting his own voice. The song ends on a

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

solo played by

Fitz and the Tantrums Fitz and the Tantrums are an American indie pop and neo soul band from Los Angeles, California, that formed in 2008. The band consists of Michael Fitzpatrick (lead vocals), Noelle Scaggs (co-lead vocals and percussion), James King (saxophone, ...

' James King.Siese, April
Doin’ That Voodoo With Fitz And The Tantrums
Antiquiet.com. 21 November 2011. Retrieved 18 December 2011. Regarding the solo, Gonzalez said: "Sometimes a song needs an element to be finished. You know that this element has been overused in the past and is considered clichéd or cheesy, but the song needs it." Going with ''Hurry Up, We're Dreamings theme of childhood, the artwork for the "Midnight City" single was meant to reflect the fascination a kid experiences while watching a fantasy, mystery, or science fiction film. Gonzalez described the single's cover as "a crazy looking alien, a sort of mix of owls and ''

E.T. ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (or simply ''E.T.'') is a 1982 American science fiction film produced and directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Melissa Mathison. It tells the story of Elliott, a boy who befriends an extraterrestrial, dub ...

'' and science fiction and fantasy movies like ''

The Neverending Story ''The Neverending Story'' (german: Die unendliche Geschichte) is a fantasy novel by German writer Michael Ende, published in 1979. The first English translation, by Ralph Manheim, was published in 1983. The novel was later adapted into several f ...

.''"Features – M83's – Anthony Gonzalez
.

Urban Outfitters Urban Outfitters, Inc. (URBN) is a multinational lifestyle retail corporation headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Operating in the U.S., the United Kingdom, Canada, select Western European countries, Poland the United Arab Emirates, Kuw ...

. Retrieved 16 December 2011. The song premiered online on 19 July 2011 as an MP3 download, and was officially released on 16 August 2011.

Composition

M83's vocal range spans from B₃ to the high note of F₅.

Critical reception

"Midnight City" received universal acclaim, and was hailed as one of the best songs of 2011.

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

's Brandon Stosuy wrote: "'Midnight City' comes off like Gonzalez's '

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

.' The parallels are there, from the instantly memorable riff to the gentle sense of longing".The Top 100 Tracks of 2011

. 12 December 2011. Retrieved 13 December 2011. Ryan Reed of

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

also praised the song, writing: "On this transcendent standout ..Anthony Gonzalez and co-synth-scientist Justin Meldal-Johnsen build layer upon layer of keys, arena-sized drums, and vocal atmospherics (not mentioning one of the tastiest sax solos this side of a Springsteen record). The result? The synth Sistine Chapel."The 75 Best Songs of 2011

. 5 December 2011. Retrieved 5 December 2011. Josh Jackson of '' Paste'' wrote that the song " ..sees Anthony Gonzalez at his spacey, dramatic best," while ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

s Charles Aaron described the song as " ..

Korg , founded as Keio Electronic Laboratories, is a Japanese multinational corporation that manufactures electronic musical instruments, audio processors and guitar pedals, recording equipment, and electronic tuners. Under the Vox brand name, they ...

synths set to 'stunned.'"Aaron, Charles
SPIN's 20 Best Songs of 2011

. 9 December 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2011. The track was ranked fifth on

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian Radio in Australia, radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greate ...

Hottest 100 The Triple J Hottest 100 is an annual music listener poll hosted by the publicly-funded, national Australian youth radio station, Triple J. Members of the public are invited to vote for their favourite Australian and alternative music of the y ...

listing for

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

Accolades

Music video

A music video for "Midnight City", directed by Fleur & Manu, was released on 17 October 2011. The video features

telekinetic Psychokinesis (from grc, ψυχή, , soul and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), or telekinesis (from grc, τηλε, , far off and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), is a hypothetical psychic ability allowing a person ...

children who escape a federal facility and test their powers in an abandoned factory.Smith, K
Watch M83's "Midnight City" Video
Paste. 18 October 2011. Retrieved 13 December 2011. The video is the first part of a trilogy which continues in the video for "

Reunion Reunion may refer to: * Class reunion * Family reunion Reunion, Réunion, Re-union, Reunions or The Reunion may also refer to: Places * Réunion, a French overseas department and island in the Indian Ocean * Reunion, Commerce City, Colorado, U ...

" and is concluded in the video for "

Wait Wait or WAIT may refer to: Music * Wait (musician), British town pipers Albums and EPs * ''Wait'' (The Polyphonic Spree EP), by The Polyphonic Spree * ''Wait'' (Emanuel Nice EP), a 2002 EP released by the band Emanuel Nice * ''Wait'' (Stee ...

". According to M83, the video is a tribute to '' Akira'', '' Village of the Damned'', and ''

Close Encounters of the Third Kind ''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'' is a 1977 American science fiction film written and directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Richard Dreyfuss, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban, Cary Guffey, and François Truffaut. It tells the story ...

''.Midnight City
ilovem83.com. Retrieved 13 December 2011. The orphanage from which the children escape was filmed at the Orphelinat Saint-Philippe in

Meudon Meudon () is a municipality in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is in the département of Hauts-de-Seine. It is located from the center of Paris. The city is known for many historic monuments and some extraordinary trees. One of t ...

. The warehouse where they try their power is the Hangar Y, also in

. The final scene where the children hold hands together as they watch the sun sets was shot on a rooftop of the "Indy bowling Paris La chapelle" in

Porte de la Chapelle Porte may refer to: *Sublime Porte, the central government of the Ottoman empire *Porte, Piedmont, a municipality in the Piedmont region of Italy *John Cyril Porte, British/Irish aviator *Richie Porte, Australian professional cyclist who competes ...

, in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. The video had over 376 million views on YouTube as of 2 August 2022.

Performance and usage in media

M83 performed the song live on ''

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by comedian Jimmy Fallon. About pag ...

'' on 21 November 2011.Hogan, Marc
M83 Visit Saxy 'Midnight City' on 'Fallon'

. 22 November 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2011. In December 2011, the song was performed live on ''

Last Call with Carson Daly ''Last Call with Carson Daly'' is an American late-night television series that was broadcast by NBC from 2002 to 2019. Hosted by former MTV personality Carson Daly, the series was initially formatted as a late-night talk show in line with ''Th ...

''.Phillips, Amy
Watch M83 on "Carson Daly"

. 15 December 2011. Retrieved 15 December 2011. "Midnight City" has appeared in several commercials, TV shows, games and movies after its release. The song was featured in a

Victoria's Secret Victoria's Secret is an American lingerie, clothing, and beauty retailer known for high visibility marketing and branding, starting with a popular catalog and followed by an annual fashion show with supermodels dubbed Angels. As the largest ret ...

commercial, an advertisement for

Renault Captur The Renault Captur (pronounced as "capture") is a series of subcompact crossover SUVs manufactured by the French automaker Renault. The production version of the first one, based on the B platform, made its debut at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show and ...

, a

Gucci Gucci (, ; ) is an Italian high-end luxury fashion house based in Florence, Italy. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and home decoration; and it licenses its name and branding to Coty, Inc. for fragrance ...

perfume commercial featuring

Blake Lively Blake Ellender Lively ( Brown; born August 25, 1987) is an American actress. Born in Los Angeles, Lively is the daughter of actor Ernie Lively, and made her professional debut in his directorial project ''Sandman'' (1998). She starred as Brid ...

, an advertisement for

Ariel Ariel may refer to: Film and television *Ariel Award, a Mexican Academy of Film award * ''Ariel'' (film), a 1988 Finnish film by Aki Kaurismäki * ''ARIEL Visual'' and ''ARIEL Deluxe'', 1989 and 1991 anime video series based on the novel series ...

3-in-1 Pods and a video commercial for Polish beer

Lech Lech may refer to: People * Lech (name), a name of Polish origin * Lech, the legendary founder of Poland * Lech (Bohemian prince) Products and organizations * Lech (beer), Polish beer produced by Kompania Piwowarska, in Poznań * Lech Poznań, ...

.Jagernauth, Kevin
Watch: Nicolas Winding Refn Directed Gucci Premiere Ad Starring Blake Lively
Indiewire.com. 1 August 2012. Retrieved 5 August 2012.New campaign for Polish brewery LEC
Licensing
Schubert Music Publishing. Retrieved 8 March 2013. It served as the theme song to ''

'', something Gonzalez said was "an opportunity for people to hear my music who'd never listen to it otherwise."Richards, Sam
M83's Anthony Gonzalez is ready for the fast lane

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

. 16 December 2011. Retrieved 17 December 2011. It was also featured in the final scene and closing credits of the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

television series ''

How to Make It in America ''How to Make It in America'' is an American comedy-drama television series that ran on HBO from February 14, 2010, to November 20, 2011. The series follows the lives of Ben Epstein (Bryan Greenberg) and his friend Cam Calderon (Victor Rasuk) as t ...

.'' In 2020, the song was used in the beginning of the first episode of the Danish-Norwegian television show Ragnarok. The song was used in the feature films '' Young & Beautiful'' (2013), '' Katy Perry: Part of Me'' (2012) and ''

Warm Bodies ''Warm Bodies'' is a novel by author Isaac Marion. The book was described as a "zombie romance" by the ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' and makes allusions to William Shakespeare's ''Romeo and Juliet''. The author, based in Seattle, originally wr ...

'' (2013). In 2013 the song was used in the first-season finale of ''

The Mindy Project ''The Mindy Project'' is an American romantic comedy television series created by and starring Mindy Kaling that began airing on Fox in September 2012 and finished its run of six seasons on Hulu in November 2017. The series was co-produced by Uni ...

.'' The song is featured in the pilot of ''

Beauty & the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' (''The Young American and Marine T ...

''. The song was also used in the soundtrack of Dutch TV movie 'Boys' (2014) and came out briefly in the movie ''

22 Jump Street ''22 Jump Street'' is a 2014 American satirical buddy cop action comedy film directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, written by Jonah Hill, Michael Bacall, Oren Uziel and Rodney Rothman and produced by and starring Hill and Channing Tatum. ...

''. In late 2012, the song was used in the seventh generation

Nissan Sentra The Nissan Sentra is a series of automobiles manufactured by the Japanese automaker Nissan since 1982. Since 1999, the Sentra has been categorized as a compact car, while previously it occupied the subcompact class. Until 2006, Sentra was a reba ...

and the popular

Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...

sitcom ''

Liv and Maddie ''Liv and Maddie'', also known as ''Liv and Maddie: Cali Style'' for the fourth season, is an American comedy television series created by John D. Beck and Ron Hart that aired on Disney Channel from July 19, 2013 to March 24, 2017. The series ...

'' premiered on 15 September 2013. In 2014, the song was used on Non Stop Pop FM in the

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...

and PC update of ''

Grand Theft Auto V ''Grand Theft Auto V'' is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the seventh main entry in the Grand Theft Auto, ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2008's ''Grand Theft Auto IV'', and ...

'', as well as featured on the soundtrack of the film ''

Beyond the Lights ''Beyond the Lights'' is a 2014 American romantic drama film directed and written by Gina Prince-Bythewood. The film stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Nate Parker, Minnie Driver, Machine Gun Kelly, and Danny Glover. The film premiered at the 2014 Toronto I ...

'' and the game GT Racing 2: The Real Car Experience. The song was also used in several sports broadcasts. On 21 December 2011, "Midnight City" was used in the final moments of the second episode of HBO's television series, '' 24/7 Flyers-Rangers: The Road to the Winter Classic''.24/7 Music

. Retrieved 27 December 2011. The

used "Midnight City" as the theme music to their trail for the BBC coverage of the

Olympic Games. The trail was first broadcast just after midnight on the morning of 1 January 2012.Mosey, Roger. "Anticipating the BBC's 2012 coverage

BBC Sport BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC television, radio and online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadcasting the sport live or alongside flag ...

. 1 January 2012. Retrieved 9 January 2012.

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

used the song in its trailer for the second season of ''

30 for 30 ''30 for 30'' is the title for a series of documentary films airing on ESPN, its sister networks, and online highlighting interesting people and events in sports history. This includes three "volumes" of 30 episodes each, a 13-episode series un ...

.''30 For 30 Volume 2 Trailer

. 13 May 2012. Retrieved 5 June 2012. In its home country, the song was used by French network

as the closing theme following the

football matches, which helped the song to top the digital chart. In 2012, the song was used as the soundtrack for a campaign video of Julien Rochedy, the President of the youth electoral support committee of

Front National The National Rally (french: Rassemblement National, ; RN), until 2018 known as the National Front (french: link=no, Front National, ; FN), is a far-rightAbridged list of reliable sources that refer to National Rally as far-right: Academic: ...

. Gonzalez objected to the song's usage in the video, writing in a Facebook post that the Front National did not ask permission from him for use, and that M83 did not associate with any political parties.Snapes, Laura
Outraged Over "Midnight City" Association With French Right Wing Political Party Le Front National

. 10 April 2012. Retrieved 10 April 2012.Valerio, Ivan
Le FN a-t-il pillé les droits du groupe électro M83?

Europe 1 Europe 1, formerly known as Europe n° 1, is a privately owned radio station created in 1955. Owned and operated by Lagardère Active, a subsidiary of the Lagardère Group, it is one of the leading radio broadcasting stations in France and its pro ...

. 9 April 2012. Retrieved 10 April 2012. The song has been streamed over 800 million times on Spotify as of February 2023.

Track listing

Remix EP

On 27 September 2011, M83 released a remix EP in advance of the album. The following tracks were on the EP:Midnight City (Remixes) – EP

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 ...

. 27 September 2011. Retrieved 13 December 2011.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

Watch the "Midnight City" video on YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Midnight City 2011 singles M83 (band) songs Songs written by Justin Meldal-Johnsen Songs written by Morgan Kibby 2011 songs Mute Records singles Synth-pop songs