Lights (musician) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lights
Lights performing in April 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 Valerie Anne Poxleitner-Bokan (born Valerie Anne Poxleitner; April 11, 1987) is a Canadian musician, singer, and songwriter. She is known by her single 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 and included the song "Toes".

Lights has won many awards, including Juno Awards. Her albums Little Machines (2015) and Skin & Earth (2018) both won Pop Album of the Year. Her newest album, PEP, was released in 2022.

History

Early Life and Music Beginnings (1987–2007)

Lights was born Valerie Anne Poxleitner in Timmins, Ontario, Canada, on April 11, 1987. Her parents, Virginia and Eric Poxleitner, were missionaries. This meant she lived in many different places as a child, including the Philippines and Jamaica.

She was taught at home by her mother, and her father taught her how to play the guitar. In 2001, when she was 14, Lights created her very first song called "Saturn's Rings." She used a special recording machine she bought with money she inherited from her grandmother.

When she was in high school, Lights played guitar and sang in a metal band called Shovel Face. She also gained many fans through her Myspace page, which was a popular social media site back then. At 18, she moved to Toronto and officially changed her name to Lights. This was a nickname she got from her last name.

Lights started her music career by writing songs for a company called Sony/ATV Music Publishing. She also wrote music for the TV show Instant Star. For example, she helped write the song "Perfect" for the show. In 2007, she began working with a manager to help guide her career.

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

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

Her first collection of songs, called an EP, was released in July 2008. Another one of her songs, "February Air", was used in a commercial and sold about 12,000 copies. In March 2009, she released a third song, "Ice", with a video she made herself.

Because her EP and singles were so successful, Lights was able to release her first full album, The Listening, in September 2009. To promote the album, she released a music video for "Saviour" in August. The album's cover art was inspired by comics and movies like Watchmen and Sailor Moon.

Lights performing in Toronto, 2010

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, meaning it sold a lot of copies! She also sang on songs for other bands, like Ten Second Epic and Silverstein.

From January to May 2010, Lights toured with the artist Owl City in North America and Europe. In July 2010, she released an acoustic EP called Acoustic. This EP featured softer, unplugged versions of her songs. She also sang on songs for the band Bring Me the Horizon.

In June 2011, Lights performed three new songs at a music festival: "Toes", "Where the Fence is Low", and "Everybody Breaks a Glass". "Toes" was released as a single to promote her second album, Siberia. This album had a "heavier" sound than her previous work. Siberia was released in October 2011 and received good reviews. It reached number 3 on the Canadian Albums Chart and sold over 10,000 copies in its first week. It was certified gold in Canada in 2012.

In March 2013, Lights released an acoustic version of "Cactus in the Valley," which featured Owl City. She then released an acoustic album called Siberia Acoustic in April 2013, which reached number 7 in Canada. She toured North America to support this album.

Little Machines and Skin & Earth (2014–2019)

Lights live at the NorVA 2015

In July 2014, Lights announced her third album, Little Machines. The main song from the album, "Up We Go", was available for download early. The full album was released on September 23 in the US and Canada. It reached number 5 in Canada. Other songs like "Running with the Boys" also became popular on the radio. In October, Lights decided to part ways with her long-time manager.

Lights continued to tour a lot in 2015 to support Little Machines. On April 8, 2016, she released another acoustic EP called Midnight Machines. This EP had acoustic versions of six songs from Little Machines and two brand new songs. Lights and her band were even featured in a video game called LOUD on Planet X in 2016.

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

In April 2017, Lights announced her fourth album, Skin & Earth. This album was special because it came with a comic book series that Lights herself drew and wrote! A new song was released with each comic book issue every month. Twenty One Pilots drummer Josh Dun worked with Lights on some songs for the album, like "Savage" and "Almost Had Me."

The song "Giants" and its music video were released in June. This song became very popular, reaching number 18 on a Billboard chart. Lights even released "Giants" in different languages, including French, Japanese, Tagalog, and Spanish. The album Skin & Earth was released on September 22, 2017. One of its songs, "Fight Club," is featured in the video game Just Dance 2018.

In January 2018, Lights started the "We Were Here Tour," playing 46 shows across North America. She also joined Young the Giant's tour in October. In November 2018, Lights worked with the famous DJ Deadmau5 on his song "Drama Free." In early 2019, she also collaborated with other artists like Felix Cartal and Sleepy Tom. In May 2019, she signed with a new record label, Fueled by Ramen, and released Skin&Earth Acoustic in July, which included three new songs.

Recent Work: Pep and dEd (2020–present)

On June 11, 2020, Lights released an album of instrumental music called How to Sleep When You're on Fire. This album featured synthwave music, which is a style of electronic music. All the money made from this album was donated to the Black Lives Matter organization in Vancouver. On July 9, 2020, Lights released the song "Dead End" with its music video.

In 2021, Lights started releasing music under a different name, or pseudonym, called Lūn. Lūn is a character from her Skin & Earth comic book series. She released an EP called haha i like it as Lūn in April 2021. That same month, Lights released the song "Beside Myself."

In October 2021, she released "Prodigal Daughter" as the first song from her album Pep, which came out on April 1, 2022. To support Pep, Lights went on her "Baby I'm Back Tour" in 2022 and 2023. In November 2021, her album Warehouse Summer with i_o was released. In April 2023, she released a new version of Pep called dEd.

Musical Style and Influences

Lights is known for her electropop and synth-pop music. These styles use electronic sounds and synthesizers to create catchy tunes. Her music has also been described as electronic rock. Lights once said her music sounds like an "electronic landscape of moody sunset times."

Her first album, The Listening, was described as gentle electronic music with an alternative rock feel. Her second album, Siberia, had a "heavier" sound. Reviewers said that Little Machines showed how Lights had grown as an artist, moving beyond her earlier, softer electronic style. Lights has said that artists like Björk, Genesis, and Supertramp have 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, and Lights added "Bokan" to her last name. They even got matching tattoos to remember their wedding day. Lights and Beau welcomed their first child, a daughter, on February 15, 2014.

In the notes for her album The Listening, Lights thanked "Jesus for giving me everything I have." However, in a social media post in 2022, Lights shared that she no longer identifies as religious.

Discography

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

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