Owl Metropolis’s hit single “Fireflies” is the most recent to affix Spotify’s Billions Membership, which celebrates songs which have eclipsed multiple billion views on the streaming platform. This marks Owl Metropolis’s first track to achieve this milestone.
“Fireflies” is the debut single from the synth-pop music venture shaped by Adam Younger. In 2008, the Owatonna, Minnesota native self-released his debut album Perhaps I’m Dreaming, which he additionally recorded and produced himself. Whereas “Fireflies” didn’t make the tracklist, it was ideated in the course of the recording course of.
“I found myself battling some insomnia, which was really mostly the inspiration for ‘Fireflies,’” Younger stated of the track’s inspiration. Fairly than merely mendacity in mattress “frustrated because I wasn’t getting sleepy,” the musician used his sleepless nights as inspiration. “I wrote down the things that I was imagining during those bouts of insomnia, and those kinds of musings became the lyrics of the song.”
In 2009, “Fireflies” was launched in North America and Australia (a European launch adopted in 2010) because the lead single from Owl Metropolis’s second album, Ocean Eyes. It topped the Billboard Sizzling 100 for 2 non-consecutive weeks and likewise hit No.1 within the UK, Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Eire, and Sweden. The accompanying video revs up Younger’s endearing inspiration for the track: the fireflies he witnessed throughout a tenting journey in northern Minnesota. It showcases the artist enjoying the track on a Lowrey spinet organ in a classic toy-filled bed room, with the toys quickly coming to life.
“Fireflies” was licensed Diamond by the RIAA in 2023, making it the second-ever Dance/Digital track to realize this certification, following Avicii’s signature smash “Wake Me Up” that includes Aloe Blacc.
“When ‘Fireflies’ came out, it was met with such a positive reception that I was absolutely floored, and I still am just completely blown away,” Younger stated of the worldwide hit’s success. “It’s harder as time goes on [to understand] how a song that I wrote without a second thought – really, I had no agenda when I wrote the song – can be beloved by so many people around the world.”
Take heed to Owl Metropolis’s “Fireflies” now.
