"Up We Go" is a song recorded by Canadian

electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a r ...

artist

Lights Light is an electromagnetic radiation, part of which stimulates the sense of vision. Light or Lights may also refer to: Illumination * Light bulb * Traffic light Arts and entertainment Music * Lights (musician) (born 1987), Canadian singer-son ...

for her third studio album, ''

Little Machines ''Little Machines'' is the third studio album by Canadian electropop singer-songwriter Lights, released on September 19, 2014, through Warner Bros. Records. It was preceded in July 2014 by the release of its lead single "Up We Go", which debuted o ...

'' (2014). Written by Lights in collaboration with songwriter-producer Tawgs Salter, the song was released July 22, 2014 via LIGHTS Music as the lead single from the album. In the United States, it was released to

modern rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. Radio format Mod ...

radio through Warner Bros. Records on September 9, 2014. The song has enjoyed commercial success - it reached number 31 on the ''Billboard'' Canadian Hot 100 and the top ten on multiple airplay formats, and was certified Gold by

Music Canada Music Canada (formerly Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA)) is a non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It ...

in January 2015 - and was also met with positive reviews from contemporary music critics, being described as "impossibly catchy."

Composition

"Up We Go" is a

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...

song that combines Lights' signature electro-influenced

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

production style with "lush" guitars. Jeff Benjamin of ''fuse'' described the style as a compromise between the lighter

synth A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis an ...

s of her debut and the grittier electropop territory explored on ''

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part o ...

''. Lyrically, the song is an

anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to short ...

about persevering through difficult times, with the chorus assuring the listener that "''from down this low / It's only up we go''".

Critical reception

The song received mostly positive reviews from contemporary music critics. In his "Song of the Day" spotlight featuring "Up We Go", Jeff Benjamin of ''fuse'' praised Lights for " ixingclever lyrics... with inspiring lyrics about persevering and looking forward to the brighter day" and was also complimentary of the shift in her sound. Also praising the lighter musical approach, Greg Moskovitch of ''

Music Feeds ''Music Feeds'' is a free bi-weekly digital music and lifestyle magazine ( street press) established in 2008 and based in Sydney, Australia Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wal ...

'' wrote that " e punchy, synth-pop production provides a soaring and glittering soundbed for Poxleitner’s motivational lyrics, which lead into an anthemic, impossibly catchy chorus." British music blog ''

Popjustice Popjustice is a music website founded in 2000 by UK freelance music journalist Peter Robinson, who has worked for '' NME'', ''The Guardian'', ''Attitude'' and many others. It is composed of the work of editor Robinson, features editor Michael Cra ...

'' rated the song 8/10 and felt the song had the potential to elevate Lights's career to the next level: "Canadian electronic pop expert Lights hasn't yet enjoyed the UK success she deserves... which is a shame, because if this excellent first track from her new album 'Little Machines' is anything to go by she's about to scale new heights."

Chart performance

"Up We Go" debuted at number 84 on the ''Billboard'' Canadian Hot 100 for the chart dated August 9, 2014. On the chart dated November 8, 2014, "Up We Go" reached a new peak of number 31, becoming her second highest-charting single yet, behind "

Drive My Soul "Drive My Soul" is the debut single by Canadian singer-songwriter Lights from her debut self-titled EP. It was released as the EP's lead single on March 11, 2008, in Canada and July 24, 2008, in the United States. The song reached number 18 on t ...

", which peaked at number 18. It debuted at number 42 on

Canada CHR/Top 40 The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...

on the chart issued September 13, 2014, as well as number 47 on Canada Hot AC and number 43 on Canada AC the following week. The song has since peaked in the top 10 on the former two, and the top 5 on the latter.

Music video

The official music video for "Up We Go" was directed by

Alon Isocianu Alon Isocianu (born in Hadera, Israel) is a Canadian music video and commercial director and visual artist. He has helmed music videos for a variety of notable international artists including Kelly Clarkson, Maren Morris, Pentatonix, Lights, Billy ...

and premiered on Lights's

VEVO Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, ...

channel on September 3, 2014. The one shot video features the singer in an elevator, with various background events and characters appearing as the doors open to new locations.

Other appearances

The song "Up We Go" also features in the soundtrack and ingame songs of EA's The Sims 4. The song has been remixed to be sung in the Sims language Simlish

Track listings

Digital download # "Up We Go" - 2:51 Digital download — Borgeous Remix # "Up We Go" - 4:41 Digital download — Borgeous Remix (UK) # "Up We Go" - 4:41 # "Up We Go" - 4:41

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from ''Little Machines'' liner notes. *

— vocals, synths, guitar, bass, drum programming, writing * Drew Pearson — additional synths, guitar, bass, drum programming, production, engineering *

Thomas "Tawgs" Salter Thomas "Tawgs" Salter is a Canadian musician, songwriter, producer and recording engineer. His extensive body of musical work includes a vast array of artists ranging from Josh Groban, Lights and Lenka to Chantal Kreviazuk, Fefe Dobson, Dear Rou ...

— additional synths, guitar, bass, production, writing * Jason "Human Kebab" Parsons — additional programming *

Maurie Kaufmann Boy was a Canadian indie pop band, originally the solo project of Whitehorse native Stephen Kozmeniuk. The band consisted of vocalist and general instrumentalist Kozmeniuk, drummer Maurie Kaufmann, bassist Steve Payne, and guitarists Rolla Olak a ...

— drums *Adam Weaver — synths *

Spike Stent Mark "Spike" Stent (born 3 August 1965) is an English record producer and mixing engineer who has worked with many international artists including Madonna, Marshmello, U2, Beyoncé, Björk, Depeche Mode, Echo & The Bunnymen, Grimes, Ed Shee ...

— mixing *João Carvalho — mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Lights 2014 songs 2014 singles Lights (musician) songs Songs written by Tawgs Salter Warner Records singles Songs written by Lights (musician)