"Light Up the Sky" is a song by American
Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
pop rock
Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...
band
The Afters
The Afters is an American Christian rock band founded by Josh Havens and Matt Fuqua. Havens and Fuqua first worked together in a Starbucks coffee shop in Mesquite, Texas, where they performed songs for customers before deciding to form a band. ...
from their 2010 album of the same name ''
Light Up the Sky''. It was released on June 2, 2010, as the lead single. The song became the group's first
Hot Christian Songs
Hot Christian Songs is a music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It ranks the popularity of Christian songs using the same methodology developed for the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, the magazine's flagship songs c ...
No. 1, staying there for two weeks.
[Chart dates for "Light Up the Sky":
*December 18:
*December 25:
*January 15: ] It lasted 51 weeks on the overall chart, their longest charting single to date. The song is played in the key of
D major
D major is a major scale based on D (musical note), D, consisting of the pitches D, E (musical note), E, F♯ (musical note), F, G (musical note), G, A (musical note), A, B (musical note), B, and C♯ (musical note), C. Its key signature has two S ...
, and has a tempo of 142
beats per minute
Beat, beats, or beating may refer to:
Common uses
* Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact
* Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact
* Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of in ...
.
Background
"Light Up the Sky" was released on June 2, 2010, as the lead single from her third studio album of the same name. Prior to the death of their longtime manager and their drummer's best friend, along with the departure of two band members, they had to overcome many struggles which are shown in the song, exploring the depth of God's love in hard times. Guitarist/vocalist Matt Fuqua explained in an interview with The Sound Opinion: "The story behind Light Up the Sky is a part of the story of all of us. At some point in all of our lives, we think there is no one who knows what we are going through, that we are all alone in this life. 'Light Up the Sky' is a picture of what it looks like when you make it through one of those really challenging times and you look back and see how God was using all those things for good; and that you were never alone."
The song is featured in the June 22, 2010 episode "
Break-Up to Make-Up" of the
MTV
MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
show ''
The Hills''.
Music video
The music video for "Light Up the Sky" was released on November 3, 2010. The visual was directed by
Gavin Michael Booth and produced by Booth and Marie Jeannette.
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
Certifications
References
{{authority control
2010 songs
2010 singles
The Afters songs
Songs written by Jason Ingram
Songs written by Dan Muckala
Music videos directed by Gavin Michael Booth