"Flames" is a song by American singer
Mod Sun featuring Canadian singer-songwriter
Avril Lavigne
Avril Ramona Lavigne ( ; born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. At age 16, she signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records. Her debut studio album, ''Let Go (Avril Lavigne album), Let Go'' (2002), is the ...
. The song was released by Big Noise on January 8, 2021, as the third single from Mod Sun's fourth studio album ''
Internet Killed the Rockstar
''Internet Killed the Rockstar'' is the fourth studio album by American musician Mod Sun, released on February 12, 2021 by Big Noise Music Group. Produced by John Feldmann, the album marks a departure from Mod Sun's hip hop sound in favor of pop ...
''. The song was written by Mod Sun, Lavigne and
John Feldmann, and produced by the latter.
Background and release
In December 2020, Lavigne confirmed she was recording music with Mod Sun along with producers
John Feldmann,
Travis Barker and
Machine Gun Kelly.
Mod Sun also declared in December 2020 that his upcoming fourth studio album will include one collaboration with another singer.
In January 2021, the featured artist was revealed to be Lavigne.
"Flames" was announced on January 1, 2021 when Mod Sun and Lavigne posted the pre-save link together with the single's cover on
Instagram
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
and
Twitter.
"Flames" was released for
digital download and
streaming
Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...
on January 8, 2021 through Big Noise.
"Flames" was Mod Sun's fastest growing single on streaming platforms, garnering over 1 million plays on
Spotify in its third day on the platform. The singer stated this was a highlight for his career and thanked Lavigne for believing in his work. The song became a moderate hit on rock and alternative radio.
On April 16, 2021, an acoustic version of the song was released,
which had a music video released on April 23.
Music video
Mod Sun and Avril Lavigne confirmed that they were making a new music video for "Flames" through their social media posts and comments in response to fans. It was also confirmed through
Instagram
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
stories and comments that the video was shot on January 13, 2021. On January 20 it was announced that the music video would be released on January 22, 2021.
Critical reception
"Flames" was met with generally positive reviews upon its release from music critics. Tamara Bay of
Wall of Sound wrote that the song is "an emo pop jam which sees Avril and Mod Sun's vocals ebb and flow together like two peas in a pod".
''
Music Feeds'' Laura English praised the song calling it "a catchy bop that mashes pop sensibilities with emo AF lyrics and vocals".
Writing for Stereo Board, Laura Johnson labeled the song "a pop-punk ballad that deals heavily in fire imagery and an earworm chorus". Rachel Dowd of
Alternative Press praised the song by saying that it "opens up with Lavigne and a haunting piano before heavy rock guitars and percussion kick in along with Mod Sun's distinct vocals.
''
Idolator
An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry.
Idolater or Idolator may also refer to: Books
*''Os Idólatras'', 1968 Portuguese novel by Maria Judite de Carvalho Music
* Idolator (website), an American music blog
* ''Idolator'' (album), third album ...
''s Mike Wass called the song a "power-punk anthem, which contains massive pop hooks.
''
Entertainment Weekly'' placed the song on its "Friday Five" list which lists the five best songs released in that week according to its editors.
Charts
Release history
References
{{Authority control
2021 singles
2021 songs
Avril Lavigne songs
Mod Sun songs
Songs written by Avril Lavigne
Songs written by John Feldmann
Songs written by Mod Sun