Light On (Maggie Rogers song)

"Light On" is a song by American singer and songwriter Maggie Rogers. It was released on October 10, 2018 as the fifth single of Rogers' major-label debut studio album, Heard It in a Past Life (2019).[1] Rogers co-wrote the song with Kid Harpoon and both co-produced it with Greg Kurstin.

"Light On"
Single by Maggie Rogers
from the album Heard It in a Past Life
ReleasedOctober 10, 2018 (2018-10-10)
Length3:53
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Maggie Rogers singles chronology
"Give a Little"
(2018)
"Light On"
(2018)
"Burning"
(2019)
Music video
"Light On" on YouTube

Background

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Announcing the song release, she revealed that the track was about "gratitude". "it’s the most vulnerable ive ever felt in a song" [sic], she tweeted.[2] In an interview with Billboard, Rogers revealed that the song was about "feeling out of control". She recalled, "There's always a part of it that has to feel like work or something that's not entirely you".[3]

During an interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music's Beats 1 on October 10, 2018, Rogers said,

This was the final song I wrote for the record. [...] I wrote this record which captures all those feelings of being overwhelmed and being uncertain. I realized the one story I hadn’t written was about all of the joy. I really wanted to say thank you to my fans, and write a letter to them to tell them what had happened and how much they meant to me. Because in all this time when I was really uncertain, I would get on stage every night, and be so certain. It was never the music I was unsure about, it was everything else around it that I found overwhelming.[4]

Critical reception

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Meredith Nardino of Atwood Magazine said that "...Rogers is laying her whole heart on the table, bringing us backstage to some of the most challenging moments of her creative life."[5] Upon reviewing for the associated album, Clash called it as the "stand out track" of the album, commented: "['Light On' is] where infectious energy and choppy beats are enough to bob Rogers’ characteristically peppy vocals over some of the prettiest melody you are likely to hear this year."[6] Writing for Variety, Chris Willman said the track "gets passionate about feeling strangely passionless."[7]

Live performances

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On November 3, 2018, Rogers performed the song during her appearance on the forty-fourth season of Saturday Night Live.[8] The performance was met with a mixed response, with Bustle called it as "may not have been the best introduction".[9] She performed it on Ellen on January 16, 2019.[10] During her Heard It in a Past Life Tour stop at the O2 Academy, Brixton, England, she brought out lead vocalist Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine to perform the song.[11] Rogers performed the track during her morning television debut set on Today Show on April 25, 2019.[12]

Personnel

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  • Maggie Rogers – vocals, production, percussion
  • Chris Allgood – mastering engineer assistance
  • Julian Burg – engineering
  • Serban Ghenea – mixing
  • John Hanes – mixing engineering
  • Kid Harpoon – production, acoustic guitar, bass guitar, electric guitar, piano, drum programming
  • Greg Kurstin – production, bass, drums, guitar, keyboards, piano, engineering
  • Emily Lazar – mastering
  • Alex Pasco – engineering

Credits adapted from Tidal.[13]

Track listings

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  • Digital download[14]
  1. "Light On" – 3:53
  • Digital download – Winston Marshall Remix[15]
  1. "Light On" (Winston Marshall Remix) – 5:11

Charts

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Chart (2018–2019) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA Hitseekers)[16] 4
New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)[17] 40
US Adult Alternative Songs (Billboard)[18] 1
US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[19] 31
US Alternative Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[20] 9
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[21] 26
US Rock Airplay (Billboard)[22] 35

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[23] Gold 40,000
United States (RIAA)[24] Gold 500,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ Sodomsky, Sam (October 10, 2018). "Maggie Rogers Announces Debut Album, Shares New Song "Light On": Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
  2. ^ Rogers, Maggie [@maggierogers] (October 8, 2018). "this is a song about gratitude. it's the most vulnerable ive ever felt in a song. it's about how overwhelmed + scared i was during all that change, but mostly about all the light you gave me when I couldn't always find it for myself. 'light on' out wednesday. 💡" (Tweet). Retrieved November 10, 2019 – via Twitter.
  3. ^ Schiller, Rebecca (January 29, 2019). "Maggie Rogers Explains That 'Light On' Is 'About Feeling Out Of Control': Watch". Billboard. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
  4. ^ @Beats1 (October 10, 2018). ""I really wanted to say thank you to my fans and write a letter to them." Brand new @maggierogers. #LightOn is @zanelowe's #WorldRecord" (Tweet). Retrieved May 11, 2020 – via Twitter.
  5. ^ Nardino, Meredith (October 11, 2018). "Vulnerability, Gratitude, and Change Inspire Maggie Rogers' "Light On"". Atwood Magazine. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
  6. ^ "Maggie Rogers - Heard It In A Past Life". Clash. January 17, 2019. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  7. ^ Willman, Chris (January 20, 2019). "Album Review: Maggie Rogers' 'Heard It in a Past Life'". Variety. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  8. ^ "Maggie Rogers Soars on 'SNL' with 'Light On' and 'Fallingwater': Watch". Billboard. November 4, 2018. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  9. ^ O'Keeffe, Jack (November 4, 2018). "Maggie Rogers' 'SNL' Performance Had A Mixed Response, But Here's Why You Should Still Give Her A Chance". Bustle. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  10. ^ Mercuri, Monica (January 8, 2019). "Maggie Rogers Earns First Alternative Songs No. 1 With 'Light On' Ahead Of Major Album Debut". Forbes. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  11. ^ Newcomb, Ming Lee (February 21, 2019). "Maggie Rogers brings out Florence Welch for stellar "Light On" rendition in London: Watch". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  12. ^ Martoccio, Angie (April 25, 2019). "Watch Maggie Rogers Celebrate 25th Birthday on 'Today Show'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  13. ^ "Credits / Heard It In A Past Life / Maggie Rogers". Tidal. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  14. ^ "Heard It In A Past Life by Maggie Rogers on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  15. ^ "Light On (Winston Marshall Remix) - Single by Maggie Rogers on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  16. ^ "ARIA Report: Issue 1502" (PDF). ARIA. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 13, 2018. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  17. ^ "NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. October 22, 2018. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  18. ^ "Maggie Rogers - Chart history (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  19. ^ "Maggie Rogers - Chart history (Adult Top 40)". Billboard. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  20. ^ "Maggie Rogers - Chart history (Alternative Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  21. ^ "Maggie Rogers - Chart history (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  22. ^ "Maggie Rogers - Chart history (Rock Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  23. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Maggie Rogers – Light On". Music Canada. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  24. ^ "American single certifications – Maggie Rogers – Light On". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 25, 2021.