"Million Eyes" is a song recorded by Belgian singer

Loïc Nottet Loïc Jean-Pierre Nottet (; born 10 April 1996) is a Belgian people, Belgian singer, songwriter and dancer. He began his career as a singer in the third season of ''The Voice Belgique'' in 2014 and represented Belgium in the Eurovision Song Cont ...

, released on 27 October 2016 by

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

. Written by Amy Morrey and Nottet and produced by Luuk Cox, the track was chosen as the

lead single A lead single (or first 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. A similar term, "debut ...

of Nottet's debut studio album ''

Selfocracy ''Selfocracy'' is the debut studio album by Belgian singer Loïc Nottet. It was released in digital and physical formats on 31 March 2017 by Sony Music Entertainment. Nottet rose to fame in 2014 when participating in '' The Voice Belgique'' and w ...

'' (2017). Musically, it has been described as an

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs whe ...

-inspired dark

electropop Electropop is a popular music fusion genre combining elements of the electronic and pop styles. It has been described as a variant of synth-pop with emphasis on a hard electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a rev ...

power ballad featuring piano in its instrumentation. The lyrics discuss Nottet being observed by a "million eyes", as well as on judgments and internal battles. Inspired by the 2008 film ''

Changeling A changeling, also historically referred to as an auf or oaf, is a human-like creature found throughout much of European folklore. According to folklore, a changeling was a substitute left by a supernatural being when kidnapping a human being. ...

'' and the music of Sia, "Million Eyes" features

androgynous Androgyny is the possession of both masculine and feminine characteristics. Androgyny may be expressed with regard to biological sex or gender expression. When ''androgyny'' refers to mixed biological sex characteristics in humans, it often r ...

vocals from Nottet. Reviewers likened the song to the work of

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...

The Weeknd Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (; born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is best known for adding Pop music, pop, electronic music, electronic and hip-hop stylings ...

and Alice on the Roof.

Music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

were generally positive towards "Million Eyes", praising its power, composition and structure, as well as Nottet's delivery. At the 2017 D6bels Music Awards, the song was nominated in the Hit of the Year category. An accompanying music video was uploaded onto the singer's official

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channel simultaneously with the single's release, and was directed by Zeb Daemen of Caviar Productions. Shot mostly in

black and white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...

, it portrays Nottet performing

contemporary dance Contemporary dance is a genre of Concert dance, dance performance that developed during the mid-twentieth century and has since grown to become one of the dominant genres for formally trained dancers throughout the world, with particularly stron ...

in a body of water. The visual was received with universal acclaim from critics. For further promotion, Nottet performed "Million Eyes" on several radio and television shows, and included it on the setlist of his Selfocracy Tour (2017–2018). The track attained commercial success in

Wallonia Wallonia ( ; ; or ), officially the Walloon Region ( ; ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—along with Flemish Region, Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the c ...

and France. It was also certified Gold and Diamond by the

Belgian Entertainment Association The Belgian Recorded Music Association (BRMA), previously Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA) is the organisation that represents the interests of the music industry in Belgium. The BRMA is the local record industry association in Belgium of ...

(BEA) and

Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique SNEP (, in English National Syndicate of Phonographic Publishing) is the inter-professional organisation that protects the interests of the French record industry. Originally known under the acronym SNICOP, the organisation was established in ...

(SNEP) for selling over 10,000 and 250,000 units, respectively.

Background and composition

"Million Eyes" was written by Amy Morrey and Notett, while production was solely handled by Luuk Cox. Cox was further credited for programming, Ken Lewis for mixing and Michel "Chelle" Dierickx for recording. In an interview, Nottet stated that the song was personal to him and that he wrote it in around ten minutes during a "sad and nostalgic" night. He cites the "sad" film ''

'' (2008), which he watched without sound, as an inspiration for the song's melody. "Million Eyes" was released for digital download on 27 October 2016 by

in various countries. Originally, another song from Nottet's then-unreleased debut studio album ''

'' (2017) had been chosen as the

for the record; instead, "Million Eyes" was picked "at the last minute", as Nottet felt it would appeal more to listeners. "Million Eyes" has been described as an

-inspired dark

power ballad. Its instrumentation features piano notes that are "wrapped in a hazy aura". Throughout the track's lyrics, Nottet speaks of 'million eyes' watching and "forcing him to put on a fake smile as a mask". Ruben Vanyper of

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 part ...

wrote: "'Million Eyes' delves, with sensitivity and sincerity, on the impact that the judgments and the harshness of words have on some people", while Yohann Ruelle of Pure Charts thought the lyrics discussed internal battles. During the song's refrain, Nottet sings: "'Cause with your million eyes you're watching me/You talk behind my back/You spy on me/So I scream and shout to make you leave/But you're still here, you keep judging me with your million eyes". Chris Halpin of

Wiwibloggs Wiwibloggs is a fansite and YouTube channel focusing on the Eurovision Song Contest, launched in 2009 by journalist William Lee Adams. History In April 2015, Wiwibloggs won the Arts & Culture category at the UK Blog Awards. Adams has judged ...

noted fragility in one fellow line from the track: "Too different, I'm scared of judgement". Throughout "Million Eyes", Nottet reaches for high notes, and he changes the key he sings in an "overwrought" manner towards the end. Nottet himself explained that the song was inspired by the works of Australian singer Sia, while

critics A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or governme ...

also noticed the influence of Barbadian performer

, American recording artist

and Belgian singer Alice on the Roof.

Reception

Upon its release, "Million Eyes" was met with generally positive reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

. Ruelle of Pure Charts classified Nottet's vocals as powerful, fragile and "wrapped in a hazy atmosphere", noting that they are especially showcased in the song's refrain. Manon Michel, writing for ''

Les Inrockuptibles ''Les Inrockuptibles'' (), abbreviated as ''Les Inrocks'', is a French cultural magazine. Started as a monthly in 1986, it became weekly in 1995. As of 2021, it returned to a monthly format. In the beginning, rock music was the magazine's prim ...

'', commended the singer's voice for being "almost"

. ''Moustique'' Luc Lorfèvre praised the track's production and structure, and compared its lyrics to English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

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's " Too Many Friends" (2013). Both Jonathan Currinn of CelebMix and an editor of ''

La Libre Belgique ''La Libre Belgique'' (; ), currently sold under the name ''La Libre'', is a French-language Belgian daily newspaper. Together with ''Le Soir'', it is one of the most popular Francophone newspapers in both Brussels and Wallonia. ''La Libre'' was ...

'' praised Nottet's delivery, and noted that "Million Eyes" contained elements from his debut single, " Rhythm Inside" (2015). The latter author further wrote that "Million Eyes" "uses its crystalline atureto take its listener towards dark but dreamlike horizons". In a more mixed review, Halpin of Wiwibloggs praised the song for being accessible to listeners, but criticized it as "cold", as well as commented on Nottet's emotionally exaggerated and thus "distracting" delivery. "Million Eyes" was named the best song of 2016 by Wiwibloggs, and was nominated in the Hit of the Year category at the 2017 D6bels Music Awards. Commercially, the track experienced success on some

record charts A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, ofte ...

after its release. In native Belgium, it debuted peaked at number two in the

region, spending 25 weeks in the

Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium. Ultratop is a non-profit organization, created in 1995 on the initiative of the Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA), the Belgian member organiz ...

ranking and 17 nonconsecutive weeks within the top ten. "Million Eyes" also reached number 43 in

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

, and was certified Gold by the

(BEA) for over 10,000 copies sold. The song fared well in France, reaching number five in April 2017, with 3,421 copies sold in that week. It spent a total of 42 weeks in the ranking. For more than 230,000 units sold, "Million Eyes" was awarded Diamond by the

(SNEP). The track further entered and peaked at number 43 on the

Swiss Hitparade The Swiss Hitparade () is Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland. The Swiss charts include: * Singles Top 75 (released since 1968) * Singles T ...

, and reached number three in the country's

Romandy Romandy ( or ; Arpitan: ''Romandia'')Before World War I, the term French Switzerland () waalso used ( or , , ) is the French-speaking historical and cultural region of Switzerland. In 2020, about 2 million people, or 22.8% of the Swiss pop ...

region.

Music video

Preceded by a 16-second teaser, an accompanying music video for "Million Eyes" was uploaded onto Nottet's official

channel on 27 October 2016, at around 18:00. It was shot by Zeb Daemen of Caviar Productions. During an interview, Nottet elaborated: "I love

Tim Burton Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and producer. Known for popularizing Goth subculture, Goth culture in the American film industry, Burton is famous for his Gothic film, gothic horror and dark fantasy films. ...

and I get a lot of musical inspiration from films like ''

The Conjuring ''The Conjuring'' is a 2013 American supernatural horror film directed by James Wan and written by Chad Hayes and Carey W. Hayes. It is the inaugural film in ''The Conjuring'' Universe franchise. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga star as E ...

'', '' The Lady in Black'' or '' Insidious'' .. hese movies show thedark sides of humanity, but I try to ensure that my music remains accessible to everyone, as I do not want to make a

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

". The music video was mostly shot in

. Michel of ''Les Inrockuptibles'' described its set as "an extremely graphic and

minimalist In visual arts, music, and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in the post-war era in western art. The movement is often interpreted as a reaction to abstract expressionism and modernism; it anticipated contemporary post-mi ...

black and white pop universe", while Nottet himself explained that: "I wanted it sober, black but classy and very simple because I eeit as a bare exposure". During the visual, the singer performs

in a body of water, wearing a black outfit that ''La Libre Belgique'' described as "deeply mysterious". Towards the end of the video, Nottet collapses; however he gets up again as the clip becomes color, representing him having found "a symbol". Reviewers met the music video with universal acclaim. Currinn praised it, calling it "a pure performance piece that includes ..Nottet prov nghimself as a vivid emotional performer, interpreting his own song and the meaning behind it". He further stated: "This song becomes so much more thanks to the visual; it blows us away and leaves us speechless everytime we watch it." An editor of website Aficia applauded the singer's emotional dancing, comparing it to that of American dancer

Maddie Ziegler Madison Nicole Ziegler (; born September 30, 2002) is an American actress and dancer. She appeared in Lifetime (TV network), Lifetime's reality show ''Dance Moms'' from 2011 (at age 8) until 2016, and starred in a series of music videos by Si ...

. Jade Olivier described the choreography as "flexibility, emotion, energy" and went on to liken it to Nottet's appearances on the sixth season of French television show ''

Danse avec les stars ''Danse avec les stars'' (''DALS''; ) is the French version of the British reality TV competition ''Strictly Come Dancing'' and is part of the ''Dancing with the Stars'' franchise. The show was first broadcast on TF1 on 12 February 2011, the parti ...

''.

Live performances

For promotional purposes, Nottet performed "Million Eyes" on several occasions since 2016. He first appeared on '' Jonas & VanGeel'' on 5 November 2016, as well as on radio stations MNM, Radio 2, and

NRJ Nouvelle Radio Jeune, (Acronym: NRJ, , ) is a private France, French radio station created by Jean-Paul Baudecroux and Max Guazzini in June 1981 in France, 1981. Widely popularized by its "godmother", singer Dalida, who prevented it from closi ...

later that month. The singer performed on the seventh season of ''Danse avec les stars'' on 16 December 2016, accompanied by Canadian and French dancers Nico Archambault and Fauve Hautot, respectively. He also sang "Million Eyes" on Madmoizelle Music, and

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that same month. In January 2017, Nottet appeared on '' C à vous'', on

's '' C'Cauet'' programme, as well as on

Chérie FM Chérie FM is a French radio station created in 1987 and belongs to the NRJ Group. History Chérie FM was created in 1987 in Paris by Jean-Paul Baudecroux on the then defunct frequency of Gilda la Radiopolitaine. Chérie FM then started broadca ...

. A performance for RFM Music Live followed in March, as well as for Le Grand Studio RTL ''The Voice Belgique'' in April, and for

RTL Nederland RTL Nederland is a Dutch Mass media, media network, a subsidiary of RTL Group. The media company is located in Hilversum, although the licences of its Television station, TV stations are issued in Luxembourg. History Early years The history ...

in May 2017. "Million Eyes" was also included on the setlist of the singer's Selfocracy Tour, which ran from 2017 to 2018. Nottet further sang the track at the D6Bels Music Awards on 26 January 2018.

Track listing

*Digital Download #"Million Eyes"4:14

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Selfocracy''. *

– lead vocals, songwriter *Amy Morrey – songwriter * Luuk Cox – producer, programming *Michel "Chelle" Dierickx – recording *Ken Lewis – mixing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{authority control Loïc Nottet songs 2016 songs 2016 singles 2010s ballads Electropop ballads Black-and-white music videos Songs written by Loïc Nottet Belgian electronic songs