"City of Angels" is a song by American rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars, featured on their fourth studio album Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams (2013). Written by lead vocalist Jared Leto, who co-produced the song with Steve Lillywhite, "City of Angels" was inspired by Leto's experience of living in Los Angeles with his family and was influenced by the city's culture. Imbued with elements of synthrock as well as music from the 1980s, the track was cited as an example of the album's variety and experimentation. It was one of the first songs to be written for Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams, but required a long period of time to record.

"City of Angels" was released as a promotional single in July 2013 in the United States, and was serviced to mainstream radio in Europe in October 2013. It received general acclaim from music critics, who commended the song's composition and production. Following the release of Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams, the track appeared in the lower regions of the UK Rock Chart. When released as a single, it re-entered the chart reaching number 21, peaked at number eight on the Alternative Songs in the US, and experienced moderate success in some international markets due to digital sales from the album. A piano version of the song was digitally released in July 2014.

Jared Leto directed the music video for the song, which features several personalities joining the three members of Thirty Seconds to Mars in sharing their visions about Los Angeles. The video was favorably reviewed by critics, who complimented the simplicity and cohesion with the song's message. It received the Loudwire Music Award for Best Rock Video and was nominated for Best Cinematography at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards. Thirty Seconds to Mars performed a piano rendition of the song at the 2014 iHeartRadio Music Awards. "City of Angels" was included in the setlist of the band's Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams Tour and subsequent Carnivores Tour.

Recording and inspiration

"City of Angels" was written by lead vocalist Jared Leto, who also produced the song with Steve Lillywhite. The latter had previously worked with Thirty Seconds to Mars on the production of the band's third studio album, This Is War (2009). The song was engineered by Jamie Reed Schefman and mixed by Serban Ghenea. John Hanes engineered it for mixing at Mixstar Studios in Virginia Beach, Virginia. It was recorded at The International Centre for the Advancement of the Arts and Sciences of Sound in Los Angeles, California and mastered by Howie Weinberg and Dan Gerbarg at Howie Weinberg Mastering. Thirty Seconds to Mars unveiled six songs from their fourth studio album Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams, including "City of Angels", during a preview held at the Electric Lady Studios in New York City on March 14, 2013. Shannon Leto revealed that it was the oldest song written for the album and took a long time to make.

While writing the song, Leto was influenced by the culture of Los Angeles and inspired by his relationship with it. He explained that pursuing his creative ambitions in Los Angeles had led to a "love/hate relationship" with the city. Leto told Interview magazine, "the song is about people coming to the City of Angels to live their dreams and to make their dreams their reality. It's about how the other people they've met in the city have helped them—you know, a group of people all kind of joining together into a community of outsiders, of mavericks, of freaks, of artists. It's about coming to a place to do something different and something special."

Composition and theme

"City of Angels" is a synthrock song with influences and elements from experimental music. It opens with an instrumental section and "gently burbling" synthesizers. It follows with the sounds of drum beats, including taiko drums, then transitions into a piano melody. After the first verse, the chorus follows, with Leto singing, "Lost in the City of Angels / Down in the comfort of strangers / I found myself in the fire burned hills / In the land of a billion lights". During the bridge, he ornaments his vocal lines with melodic crescendos, affirming "I am home". After the final chorus, the song reaches a drum-heavy climax. Emily Zemler from Billboard cited "City of Angels" as an example of variety and experimentation in Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams. She described the song as a "pulsating, subtler track that employs a blipping electronic beat rather than the band's usual rock backdrop".

In a preview of the record, Jeff Benjamin from Fuse acknowledged the 1980s influences that resonated throughout the track and noted that "hard rock guitars and percussion come crashing in on the chorus." Sarah O' Hara, while reviewing Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams for Lowdown, compared the song to "Kings and Queens", a track with a similar structure included on This Is War featuring sparse verses and slow atmospheric builds to the chorus. In an interview with Loudwire, Leto described "City of Angels" as a very personal song about a specific place. He said, "It's the story of my brother and I going to Los Angeles to make our dreams come true. It's a love letter to that beautiful and bizarre land." Leto later explained that the song could refer to any place a person goes to fulfill his or her own dreams. Mary Ouellette, writing for Loudwire, felt that the song "tells a passionate tale of finding comfort in calling the city of Los Angeles home."

Release In the United States, "City of Angels" was sent to rock music radio as a promotional single from Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams on July 30, 2013. Following its release, the song debuted at number 47 on the Rock Airplay chart and reached a peak of number 18 on the issue dated November 23. It entered the Alternative Songs chart at number 40, becoming a "Hot Shot Debut". Over the following weeks, it gradually ascended the chart to a peak of number eight on the issue dated November 9. It also debuted on the Hot Rock Songs chart at number 39 and peaked at number 31 the following week. In March 2014, the iTunes Store offered a free download of "City of Angels" for a limited time in North America. An acoustic version of the song was released on the soundtrack of Dallas Buyers Club (2013), a film in which Jared Leto starred. A percentage of the proceeds from the sales was donated to the AIDS relief charity Project Red's Global Fund.

"City of Angels" impacted mainstream radio in Europe in November 2013, after the release of "Do or Die". In Finland, the song entered the national airplay chart at number 83. It jumped to number 69 the following week and peaked at number 32 on December 22. In Portugal, it reached a peak of number 17 and was later certified gold by the Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa (AFP), denoting sales of over 10,000 units throughout the country. A remixed version of the song by German music producer Markus Schulz became commercially available for downloading in June 2014.

Polydor Records released "City of Angels" in the United Kingdom on December 2, 2013. The song had initially entered the UK Rock Chart during the release of Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams for one week, but later re-entered after its single release, peaking at number 21. It also peaked in the top 100 on several national record charts, including Australia, Germany, Czech Republic, and Italy. A piano version of "City of Angels" was released in digital format in July 2014.

Critical reception "City of Angels" was met with general acclaim from music critics. Dan Slessor of Alternative Press named it a stand-out track from the album and found it "compelling from start to finish, building from ethereal beginnings to an enormous, drum-heavy climax". Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic praised it as one of the album's highlights. Rick Pearson from the Evening Standard acknowledged the influences of U2 and complimented Leto's vocals. Markos Papadatos, writing for Digital Journal, stated that the song proves that Jared Leto is one of the finest vocalists and songwriters in the modern rock genre of music. Johan Wippsson from Melodic chose the song as a highlight on Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams, and commended its "bombastic and huge choruses".

John Gentile from Rolling Stone was impressed with the song, noticing that it is built in volume and complexity until Leto "was yelling at the top of his lungs." Reviewing the piano version of the song, Gentile commented that "it focuses on delicate piano until a breathy Leto gently enters and spins the tale of his decision to move to Los Angeles and his earliest days there." He wrote that "the song rises and falls until finally, it locks into a snapping beat and Leto exclaims, 'I am home! Alex Lai from Contactmusic gave the song a positive review, finding the band in a "less aggressive mood" as they move toward "U2-style stadium rock" and Leto tones down his vocal delivery. Lai described it as "essentially a love song for the city of Los Angeles on which the sentiment seems genuine". Alternative Addiction ranked "City of Angels" at number 11 on its list of the 100 Best Songs of 2014.

Kaitlyn Hodnicki from Stature magazine noted the intimacy featured in the track despite its anthemic quality. She considered it "a major leap forward in terms of Jared Leto's song writing", saying that the lyrics "lay the often enigmatic frontman bare" as he pays homage to Los Angeles. She also felt that "Leto's love of U2 is no secret and displayed to full effect in this uplifting song with the piano, electronics, vocals and drums all weaving together effortlessly." In a mixed review, John Watt from Drowned in Sound called it a "soulless slab of soft-rock". Brent Faulkner from PopMatters wrote that the song "isn't too shabby, filled with minimalistic ideas and pummeling drums." Chris Maguire of AltSounds criticized the influences of U2 featured in the track, while Andy Baber from musicOMH called it a "corny ballad" which makes Thirty Seconds to Mars a "love-them-or-hate-them band". Writers of 91X named "City of Angels" the 33rd best song of 2013.

Music video

Development

In August 2013, Jared Leto told MTV News that he was preparing to shoot a short film for "City of Angels". While he did not reveal much about the music video concept, he added: "It's going to be powerful and emotional and definitely something special." The shooting took place from August 16–17 in Los Angeles, filming multiple monoliths and murals. Leto interviewed celebrities who joined the three members of Thirty Seconds to Mars in sharing their visions about Los Angeles. He also recruited Michael Jackson and Marilyn Monroe impersonators as well as homeless people in the production of the video. After filming, Leto talked about the inspiration behind the video, stating, "Telling stories is a big part of what I do, so it was a really natural and comfortable thing. I think because I did all the interviews myself—I talked to fellow artists and they felt really comfortable. They shared a side of themselves that we don't share very often." Footage from the song's lyric video, which was shot atop the Hollywood Hills, was used for a part of the short film that featured Leto singing the song against the backdrop of a Los Angeles sunset.