"Lazarus" | |
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Single by David Bowie | |
from the album Blackstar | |
Released | 17 December 2015 |
Recorded | 2015 |
Studio |
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Genre | |
Length |
|
Label |
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Songwriter(s) | David Bowie |
Producer(s) |
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Blackstar track listing | |
Music video | |
"Lazarus" on YouTube |
"Lazarus" is a song by English rock musician David Bowie. Released on 17 December 2015 as a digital download, it was the second single from his twenty-sixth and final studio album, Blackstar (2016). It is Bowie's last single to be released during his lifetime. The single received its world premiere on BBC Radio 6 Music's Steve Lamacq on the day of its release as a single. [4] In addition to its release on Blackstar, the track is used in Bowie's off-Broadway musical of the same name. [5] The official music video, directed by Johan Renck, was released on 7 January 2016, three days before Bowie's death.
Bowie never performed the song live, but on 17 December 2015, Michael C. Hall appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert , singing "Lazarus" to promote both the single's release and the musical running at New York Theatre Workshop starring Hall. [6]
"Lazarus" was Bowie's first top 40 hit single on the Billboard Hot 100 in more than 28 years, landing at number 40 in the week after his death. [7]
Billboard ranked "Lazarus" at number 40 on their "100 Best Pop Songs of 2016" list. [8] Pitchfork listed "Lazarus" on their ranking of the 100 best songs of 2016 at number 5. [9] In the annual The Village Voice 's Pazz & Jop mass critics poll of the year's best in music in 2016, "Lazarus" was ranked at number 8. [10]
"Lazarus" is a swan song. According to Bowie's producer Tony Visconti, the lyrics and video of "Lazarus" and other songs on the album were intended to be a self-epitaph, a commentary on Bowie's own impending death. [11] [12] [13] The song's reference to Lazarus has been interpreted as referring to Bowie's prediction of increased fame following his death. [14]
The official music video for "Lazarus", featuring a shorter edit of the song lasting just over four minutes, was uploaded on 7 January 2016 to Bowie's Vevo channel on YouTube. [15] The video was directed by Johan Renck (who also directed the music video for Bowie's previous single, "Blackstar") in November 2015; during the week of shooting, doctors reportedly informed Bowie the cancer was terminal and that they were ending treatment. [16] The filming location was a studio in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. [17] The video is shown in a 1:1 aspect ratio and prominently features Bowie, appearing with a bandage and buttons sewn over his eyes, lying on a deathbed. A director's cut exists restoring the original widescreen aspect. [18]
The video finishes with Bowie retreating into a dark wardrobe. In the scenes featuring the wardrobe, Bowie is wearing a diagonally striped suit as seen on the back cover of the 1991 CD reissue of the Station to Station album, where he is pictured sitting on the floor drawing the kabbalistic Tree of Life. [19] [20] The Tree of Life is also referenced in the Station to Station lyrics, a "magical movement from Kether to Malkuth". [21] [22]
The video was nominated for three awards: Best Direction, Best Cinematography and Best Editing, at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards. [23]
In 2020, American rapper G-Eazy covered the song for his compilation album Everything's Strange Here .
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Lazarus" | 6:22 |
Personnel adapted from Blackstar liner notes. [24]
Chart (2015–2016) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [25] | 72 |
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) [26] | 38 |
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [27] | 10 |
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia) [28] | 45 |
Canada (Canadian Hot 100) [29] | 14 |
Finland Download (Latauslista) [30] | 22 |
France (SNEP) [31] | 35 |
Germany (Official German Charts) [32] | 77 |
Hungary (Single Top 40) [33] | 8 |
Ireland (IRMA) [34] | 48 |
Israel (Media Forest) [35] | 10 |
Italy (FIMI) [36] | 23 |
Japan (Japan Hot 100) [37] | 89 |
Mexico Ingles Airplay ( Billboard ) [38] | 35 |
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [39] | 32 |
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [40] | 32 |
New Zealand Heatseekers (Recorded Music NZ) [41] | 9 |
Portugal (Hung Medien) [42] | 13 |
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [43] | 83 |
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) [44] | 42 |
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) [45] | 16 |
UK Singles (OCC) [46] | 45 |
US Billboard Hot 100 [47] | 40 |
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs ( Billboard ) [48] | 3 |
Chart (2016) | Rank |
---|---|
US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard) [49] | 68 |
Region | Date | Format | Label |
---|---|---|---|
Worldwide | 17 December 2015 | Digital download |
|
Italy [50] | 18 December 2015 | Contemporary hit radio | Columbia |
David Robert Jones, known professionally as David Bowie, was an English singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, particularly for his innovative work during the 1970s. His career was marked by reinvention and visual presentation, and his music and stagecraft had a significant impact on popular music.
During his lifetime, English singer-songwriter David Bowie (1947–2016) released 26 studio albums, nine live albums, two soundtrack albums, 26 compilation albums, eight extended plays, 128 singles and six box sets. Since his death, one further studio album, 13 live albums, one soundtrack album, one compilation album, four extended plays and six box sets have been released. Bowie also released 28 video albums and 72 music videos. Throughout his lifetime, Bowie sold at least 100 million records worldwide. In 2012, Bowie was ranked ninth best selling singles artist in United Kingdom with 10.6 million singles sold. As of January 2016, 12.09 million Bowie singles had been sold in Britain. In a period of 24 months since his death, five million records were sold in UK, 3.1 million singles and two million albums.
"Space Oddity" is a song by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It was first released on 11 July 1969 by Philips Records as a 7-inch single, then as the opening track of his second studio album, David Bowie. Produced by Gus Dudgeon and recorded at Trident Studios in London, it is a tale about a fictional astronaut named Major Tom; its title and subject matter were partly inspired by 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and Bowie's feelings of alienation at that point in his career. One of the most musically complex songs he had written up to that point, it represented a change from the music hall-influenced sound of his debut to a sound akin to psychedelic folk and inspired by the Bee Gees.
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"Fame" is a song recorded by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It was released on his 1975 album Young Americans and was later issued as the album's second single by RCA Records in June 1975. Written by Bowie, Carlos Alomar and John Lennon, it was recorded at Electric Lady Studios in New York City in January 1975. It is a funk rock song that represents Bowie's dissatisfaction with the troubles of fame and stardom.
Best of Bowie is a greatest hits album by English recording artist David Bowie. Released in October 2002, four months after the critical and commercial success of the Heathen album, the songs range from his second album, David Bowie (1969) to Heathen (2002). A DVD, also titled Best of Bowie, was also released.
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