"Lighter" is a song by Swedish electronic artist Galantis, French DJ David Guetta and Australian pop rock band 5 Seconds of Summer. It was released on 1 March 2024, as a single from Galantis' fourth studio album, Rx, via Big Beat Records.
Background Speaking about the song, Christian Karlsson stated,
Composition "Lighter" first came up when a writer of Karlsson's played him a raw recording of the track around two years ago. Though interested, Karlsson almost scrapped the track before finding David Guetta and 5 Seconds of Summer to help work on the song. According to guitarist Michael Clifford, the idea of the collaboration was brought up a year ago.
The track was written by Bloodshy, Henrik Jonback, David Saint Fleur, Aukoustics, David Guetta, Kyle Reynolds, David Brook, Benjamin Samama, Embody, Luke Hemmings, Michael Clifford, Calum Hood and Ashton Irwin, while production was handled by Karlsson, Guetta, Clifford, Jonback, Fleur, Aukoustics, Misha K and Embody.
Critical reception "Lighter" was met with positive reviews from music critics. Shannon Garner of EUPHORIA stated, Lighter' is a foray into dance music [...] incorporating their distinct styles, the dreamy track is produced in a way that ascends you into another reality with its breezy, danceable beats and infectious sing-along choruses." Hannah Gadd of Redbrick remarked, "The lyrics are on the simpler side, something which is unusual from 5SOS' recent music but works with this genre. The message is clear; the song details the comfort in which time spent with a lover can bring and thus feeling 'lighter'."
Personnel
Musicians Luke Hemmings – lead vocals, piano Michael Clifford – vocals, guitar Calum Hood – vocals Ashton Irwin – vocals
Additional musicians Boerd – double bass Dan Trapp – drums Henrik Jonback – bass Aukoustics – bass, guitar, piano, backing vocals Benjamin Samama – piano, backing vocals David Brook – backing vocals Kyle Reynolds – backing vocals Vicky Sayles, Tove Lund, Paul Waltman, Patrik Swedrup, Lola Torrente, Oscar Treitler, Kristina Ebbersten, Fredrik Syberg, Daniel Migdal, Danial Shariati & Carl Vallin – violin Pelle Hansen, Filip Lundberg & Andreas Lavotha – cello Mikael Sjögren, James Opie, Erik Holm & Christopher Öhman – viola Stockholm Studio Orchestra – strings
Production Christian Karlsson – producer, mixing Henrik Jonback – producer David Saint Fleur – producer Aukoustics – producer Misha K – producer, mixing David Guetta – producer Embody – producer Michael Clifford – producer Cass Irvine – mastering Erik Arvinder – conductor, strings arrangement, strings recording engineer James Musshorn – engineering Willem Bleeker – strings recording engineer John Feldmann – drums recording engineer Lemon Blue – vocal recording engineer Juan Arguello – assistant vocal recording engineer
Charts
Weekly charts +Weekly chart performance for "Lighter" Chart (2024) Peakposition Australia (ARIA) 99 Belarus Airplay (TopHit) 49 Estonia Airplay (TopHit) 29 Japan (Japan Hot Overseas) 13 Latvia Airplay (LaIPA) 19 Lithuania Airplay (TopHit) 7 New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ) 7 Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100) 17 Spain Airplay (TopHit) 95 Sweden Heatseaker (Sverigetopplistan) 1
Year-end charts +Year-end chart performance for "Lighter" Chart (2024) Position Belarus Airplay (TopHit) 198 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) 66 Lithuania Airplay (TopHit) 56 US Dance/Mix Show Airplay (Billboard) 25
References