See The Light

"See The Light" is a song by the Swedish trio Suede. Written by all of the members of Suede and produced by Shawn Middlesbrough, the song was released as the trio's debut single on January 2, 2012 in the UK, making it one of the first singles to be released that year and also making it the lead single from their debut album Today Is Our Day, which will be released the following. The single was also released in the trio's native Sweden on 26 December 2011 as "Ser ljuset" in Swedish.

The song has received positive reviews from critics and has reached the top ten in both Sweden and the UK. In Sweden, the song has reached #4, while in the UK the single has debuted at #6. It is the trio's first top ten single in both countries.

Release and artwork
"See The Light" was released in the UK and Ireland on January 2, 2012, and in Sweden the week before on December 26, 2011, on the CD single and digital download formats. It was also released on January 3, 2012 in the US and Canada on digital download only. The song premiered in the UK in early December. In Sweden, the Swedish version of the song was released. In the UK, a vinyl single was planned but was eventually scrapped for reasons unknown. A seperate digital download version was planned too, featuring a different tracklisting from the single's CD counterparts, but instead the CD formats were copied onto digital outlets instead.

In the UK, three CD formats were released each separately featuring one of the members of the trio on the cover. Herman is seen on the cover of CD1, while Anders and Lennart are seen on the covers of CD2 and CD3. A digital and vinyl cover, which would've featured all three on the cover together, was planned but was scrapped when the digital and vinyl formats were cancelled.

In Norway, "See The Light" was released simultaneously with "Låt dem gå" in February 2012. It was also released in the United States and Canada that same month.

B-sides
The single has three b-sides, "You Get On My Damn Nerves", "What Will The Neighbors Say?", and "Let Them Go" have been revealed by Now Music. Each of the three b-sides featured sole lead vocals from each one of the members of Suede. The b-sides were also recorded in Swedish. "Let Them Go" and its Swedish counterpart "Låt dem gå" were included on Swedish editions of the group's debut album Today Is Our Day with the latter version being released as a single only in Sweden.

Critical reaction
The song has received mixed to positive reviews with many critics praising lead singer Herman Chang's vocals during the chorus and have described the song as a "feel good anthemic dance tune". Critics have been ambivalent towards the song's lyrics saying that they were "very simplistic but effect" but fully praised the song's chorus and how it rhymed.

Chart performance
On January 1, 2012, the single debuted at #11 on the UK Download Chart, and later in the same week, it debuted at #28 on the UK Airplay Chart. The following week, the song rose to #5 on the UK Downloads Chart and #7 on the UK Airplay Chart; it has since peaked at #6 on the Airplay chart and has become a considerably big radio hit in the UK.

On the week ending January 8, 2012, "See The Light" debuted at #6 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the trio's first top ten single. It sold 54,348 copies in its first week of physical availability. On the following week, the single fell to #10 but rebounded to #7 the week after where it was certified Silver by the BPI. In the UK, the single has been certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and has sold 252,108 copies to date; it has stayed on the charts for fifteen weeks.

The single has debuted, and so far, peaked at #4 on the Sverigetopplistan in Sweden, where it has also been receiving high amounts of airplay. The single has been certified Platinum in Sweden by the GLF. It also reached #14 in Norway, #69 in Canada, and #1 on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart. It also charted at #36 on the US Billboard Pop Songs chart. In April 2012, upon the popularity of their single "Pass Me By", "See The Light" finally charted on the Billboard Hot 100 at #100 and stayed at the position for three weeks.

Music video
The music video for "See The Light" premiered on January 2, 2012 in the UK, the same day the song was released there. A Swedish version of the video also premiered that same day in Sweden. It was directed by [some director] though its production dates are unknown; it is thought that the video was shot in December 2011, just a couple of weeks before Christmas.

The video is very simplistic and, with the exception of the final scene which is shown in full color, is shown entirely in black and white. The video starts off with Anders in bed, Herman riding in a jeep, and Lennart overlooking the view at a marina. Intercut with close ups of the trio midway through the video, the video ends with the boys finding themselves in joyful or delightful situations. Anders gets out of his bed and makes his way towards the living room where he sees twin babies, who are his children. He plays with them before finally posing with them in what appears to be a picture as he is suddenly shown looking into the camera smiling while posing with the twin infants. Lennart is seen making funny faces while talking and laughing constantly. Finally, Herman is seen getting involved in a massive paintball fight where he and his friends are enjoying and laughing at themselves. The video ends with its only full-colored scene, as the sun is seen rising over the hills/mountains. The video then fades to white, keeping up with the "color scheme" of the video.

Reaction to the video was mostly positive and many people complimented Herman's paintball fight scene, where it was deemed "suspenseful", and Anders' fatherly scene with the twins where many people considered it "very adorable and cute".

Track listing

 * UK CD 1
 * 1) "See The Light"
 * 2) "What Will The Neighbors Say?"
 * 3) "See The Light" (Extended Mix)


 * UK CD 2
 * 1) "See The Light"
 * 2) "Let Them Go"
 * 3) "See The Light" (Power's Out Remix)


 * UK CD 3
 * 1) "See The Light"
 * 2) "You Get On My Damn Nerves"
 * 3) "See The Light" (Knife Cut The Lightbulb Party Remix)


 * Swedish CD single
 * 1) "Ser ljuset"
 * 2) "Du får på min förbannade nerver"
 * 3) "Vad ska grannarna säga?"
 * 4) "Låt dem gå"
 * 5) "See The Light" (billed as "Ser Ijuset (engelsk version)")


 * Swedish and Norwegian digital download
 * 1) "Ser Ijuset"


 * American and Canadian digital download
 * 1) "See The Light"


 * American vinyl single
 * A1. "See The Light"
 * A2. "See The Light" (Extended Mix)
 * B1. "See The Light" (Power's Out Remix)
 * B2. "See The Light" (Knife Cut The Lightbulb Party Remix)


 * The CD formats and their tracklistings were also released on digital download formats as well.