Lights (musician) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lights
Lights in 2022
Born	Valerie Anne Poxleitner (1987-04-11) April 11, 1987 (age 38) Timmins, Ontario, Canada
Occupation	Musician singer songwriter illustrator author
Years active	2001–present
Spouse(s)	Beau Bokan ​ (m. 2012)​
Children	1
Musical career
Genres	Electropop synth-pop electronic rock
Instruments	Vocals synthesizer keytar guitar piano
Labels	Underground Doghouse Sire Lights Music Universal Warner Bros. Last Gang Mau5trap Fueled by Ramen
Associated acts	Artists Against Bullying Bring Me the Horizon i_o Josh Dun Deadmau5

Lights (born Valerie Anne Poxleitner on April 11, 1987) is a Canadian musician, singer, and songwriter. She is also a comic book author and artist. She is known by her stage name, Lights.

Her first album, The Listening (2009), featured popular songs like "Drive My Soul" and "Saviour". Her second album, Siberia, came out in 2011. It included the song "Toes".

Lights has won many awards for her music. These include Canadian Independent Music Awards and Juno Awards. Her third album, Little Machines, won Pop Album of the Year in 2015. Her fourth album, Skin & Earth, also won Pop Album of the Year in 2018. Her fifth album, Pep, was released in 2022. Her newest album, A6, was released on May 2, 2025.

About Lights

Early Life and Music Beginnings (1987–2007)

Valerie Anne Poxleitner was born on April 11, 1987. Her parents, Virginia and Eric Poxleitner, were missionaries. She has an older sister named Jess. Lights lived in many places as a child, including the Philippines, Jamaica, and Chesley, Ontario. Her mother taught her at home, and her father taught her to play guitar.

In 2001, Lights bought an eight-track recorder with money from her grandmother. She used it to create her first song, "Saturn's Rings." In high school, she played guitar and sang in a metal band. She also gained fans through her Myspace page.

When she was 18, Lights moved to Toronto. She changed her name to Lights, which was a nickname from her last name. Even though another band was called "Lights," she was able to use the name after officially changing her own.

Lights started her music career by writing songs for Sony/ATV Music Publishing. She also wrote music for the CTV TV show Instant Star. She helped write the song "Perfect," sung by Alexz Johnson in the show. In 2007, she began working with Jian Ghomeshi, who was her manager for several years.

First Albums: The Listening and Siberia (2008–2013)

In early 2008, Lights went on tour in Canada and the United States. Around this time, her song "Drive My Soul" became popular. It reached number 18 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart. In August 2008, Lights signed a record deal with Underground Operations in Toronto. She also partnered with Warner Bros. and Doghouse Records in the US.

Her first collection of songs, called an EP, was released on iTunes in July 2008. It came out on vinyl in September. Her second song, "February Air", was used in an Old Navy commercial. It was released in December and sold many copies. She released a third song, "Ice", with a homemade video in March 2009.

Because her EP and songs were successful, Lights released her first full album, The Listening, in September 2009. She released a music video for "Saviour" in August to promote the album. The album's artwork was inspired by comics and movies. Lights won the 2009 Juno Award for New Artist of the Year. The Listening sold over 80,000 copies and was certified gold in Canada.

In September 2009, Lights toured with the band Keane. She also sang on Ten Second Epic's song "Every Day." She was a guest singer on the album A Shipwreck in the Sand by the band Silverstein in 2009.

Lights performing in Toronto at Sonic Boom Records, 2010

From January to May 2010, Lights toured with Owl City in North America and Europe. Lights released an acoustic EP called Acoustic in July 2010. She performed a special show at the University of Waterloo, where she found much of her inspiration. Later that month, she started a US tour. In September, she joined Hedley for part of their Canadian tour. Lights also sang on songs for Bring Me the Horizon's 2010 album and The Secret Handshake's song "Used to be Sweet." In October 2010, Lights released the song "My Boots" and began a tour with Jeremy Fisher.

At the Utopia Music Festival in June 2011, Lights performed three new songs. One of these, "Toes", was released as a single in August. This promoted her second album, Siberia. She signed with Last Gang Records. The album was released on October 4 in Canada and the US. Siberia received good reviews and was nominated for a Juno Award for Best Pop Album. It quickly became popular in Canada. The album was certified gold in Canada in April 2012. Lights also sang on "The Yacht Club" for Owl City's 2011 album and appeared in his music video for "Deer in the Headlights".

In March 2013, Lights released an acoustic version of "Cactus in the Valley," featuring Owl City. The acoustic album Siberia Acoustic came out in April 2013. It reached number 7 in Canada. She toured North America to support this album.

New Sounds: Little Machines and Skin & Earth (2014–2019)

Lights live at the NorVA 2015

In July 2014, Lights' third album, Little Machines, was available for pre-order. Its first song, "Up We Go", was available to download. The album was released on September 23 in the US and Canada. It debuted at number 5 in Canada. "Running with the Boys" was played on the radio in early 2015.

Lights continued touring a lot for Little Machines in 2015. On April 8, 2016, she released an acoustic EP called Midnight Machines. It had acoustic versions of six songs from Little Machines and two new songs. Lights and her band were also featured in the 2016 video game LOUD on Planet X.

Lights performing live in Los Angeles, California, on August 10, 2019

In April 2017, Lights announced her fourth album, Skin & Earth. This album came with a comic book series that Lights drew and wrote herself. One song was released with each comic book issue every month. Twenty One Pilots drummer Josh Dun worked on two songs for the album. The song "Giants" and its music video were released on June 23. The song became very popular. Lights later released versions of "Giants" in French, Japanese, Tagalog, and Spanish. The album was released on September 22, 2017. The song "Fight Club" from the album is in the video game Just Dance 2018.

In January 2018, Lights started the "We Were Here Tour." She played many shows across North America. In November 2018, Lights worked with Deadmau5 on his song "Drama Free." In early 2019, she collaborated with Felix Cartal on "Love Me" and with Sleepy Tom on "Amateurs." In May 2019, she signed with Fueled by Ramen. They released Skin&Earth Acoustic on July 12, which included three new songs.

Recent Music: Pep, dEd, and A6 (2020–Present)

On June 11, 2020, Lights released an instrumental album called How to Sleep When You're on Fire. The money from this album was donated to charity. On July 9, 2020, Lights released the song "Dead End" and its music video.

In 2021, Lights started releasing music as Lūn. Lūn is a character from her Skin & Earth comic. The EP haha i like it was released by Lūn in April 2021. That same month, Lights released the song "Beside Myself."

In October 2021, she released "Prodigal Daughter." This was the first song from her album Pep, which came out on April 1, 2022. Lights started her "Baby I'm Back Tour" in April 2022 to support the album. The tour ended in February 2023. In November 2022, her album Warehouse Summer with i_o was released after his passing. In April 2023, she released a new version of Pep called dEd.

On February 9, 2024, Felix Cartal and Lights released another song together, "Feel Less." She also appeared on the PVRIS song "The Blob," released on June 20, 2024. Lights performed at the All Your Friends festival in August 2024. She also joined some shows for Deadmau5's retro5pective tour. Lights shared clips of herself working on new music in Berlin, Germany.

A new song, "Damage," was released on September 27, 2024. With it, she released a video showing her cutting her hair short. Lights performed at the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on September 28, 2024. She honored Sarah McLachlan by covering her song "Building A Mystery."

Lights announced her sixth album, A6, would be released on May 2, 2025. She released a second song from the album, "Alive Again," on February 7, 2025. "Alive Again" was Lights' first song to appear on the Modern Rock charts in Canada. Interactive music videos for "Surface Tension" and "White Paper Palm Trees" were released on April 4, 2025. A tour for the album began on May 8, 2025, in Victoria, BC.

Music Style

Lights is known for her electropop and synth-pop music. Her style has been described as electronic rock and synth-pop. Lights says her music sounds like an "electronic landscape of moody sunset times." Her album The Listening was described as gentle indie-electronic alt-rock. Siberia had a "heavier" sound than her earlier work. The review of Little Machines by AllMusic said it showed Lights had grown as an artist. Lights has said that Björk, Genesis, and Supertramp influenced her music.

Awards and Nominations

Personal Life

In 2010, Lights met Beau Bokan, the lead singer of the band Blessthefall. They started dating and got engaged in September 2011. They were married on May 12, 2012. Lights added "Bokan" to her last name. They got matching tattoos to remember their wedding date. Lights and Beau had their first child, a daughter, on February 15, 2014.

Discography

• The Listening (2009)
• Siberia (2011)
• Little Machines (2014)
• Skin & Earth (2017)
• Pep (2022)
• A6 (2025)

Books

• Skin&Earth: Volume one (2017 graphic novel)
• Skin&Earth: Volume two (2017 graphic novel)
• Skin&Earth: Volume three (2017 graphic novel)
• Skin&Earth: Volume four (2017 graphic novel)
• Skin&Earth: Volume five (2017 graphic novel)
• Skin&Earth: Volume six (2017 graphic novel)
• The Clinic: A Skin&Earth Side Story (2022)

Filmography

See also

In Spanish: Lights (cantante) para niños