Valerie Anne Poxleitner was born on April 11, 1987, to missionary parents Virginia and Eric Poxleitner.[5] She has one older sister, Jess.[6] She spent her childhood in many parts of the world, including the Philippines, Jamaica, and Chesley, Ontario.[7][8] She was home-schooled by her mother, and was taught guitar by her father. Lights produced her first song "Saturn's Rings" with an eight-track recorder she purchased with inheritance money from her grandmother in 2001.[7]
"Lights has always been my nickname for starters and it does come out of my last name. It's kind of what people have been calling me for so long and it totally explains what my music is about, it's about lightening people's moods and stuff. I’ve always loved writing L's and my real name does not start with an L."
In high school, Lights played the guitar and sang in the metal band Shovel Face[9] and accumulated a following through herMyspace page. She moved toToronto at the age of 18 and changed her name to Lights, a nickname derived from her surname.[7] Although there was already a signed band named "Lights", officially changing her name allowed her to use it despite the prior claim.[7][10][11]
In early 2008, Lights toured cities in theGreat Lakes region, in Canada and the United States. Around the same time, her song "Drive My Soul" rose toNo. 18 on theCanadian Hot 100 chart.[14] In late 2008, she toured the United States.[15] In August 2008, Lights signed a record deal with Toronto-based labelUnderground Operations and an American partnership deal with Warner Bros. andDoghouse Records.[16] Herself-titled EP was released on iTunes in July and on vinyl in September. Her second single, "February Air", which had been used in a commercial forOld Navy in early 2008,[8] was released in December and sold about 12,000 copies.[17] She released a third single, "Ice",[18] accompanied by a homemade video in March 2009.[19]
The commercial success of the EP and its singles enabled Lights to release the full-length albumThe Listening in September 2009.[20] She promoted the album with the August 10 release of a music video for "Saviour",[21] the first single from the album. The single was released on September 22 in Canada.[22] Its US release was held until October 6 while she left Underground Operations for her own record label, Lights Music Inc.[23] Lights re-recorded "Ice" for the new album and released a new video on November 10.[24] According to Lights, the artwork for the album cover was inspired byWatchmen,28 Days Later, andSailor Moon.[23] Lights won the 2009Juno Award forNew Artist of the Year.[25][26]The Listening sold more than 80,000 copies and was certified gold in Canada.[27] In September 2009, Lights toured with the British bandKeane on their Canadian/Pacific Northwest tour.[21] She also contributed vocals toTen Second Epic's song "Every Day".[28] Its music video was nominated for Best Independent Music Video at the 2010MuchMusic Video Awards.[29] She is also featured on the soundtrack (songs "Ben" and "Climbing") for the 2008 Canadian filmOne Week, starringJoshua Jackson.[30] She was a guest vocalist on the albumA Shipwreck in the Sand, released in 2009 by post-hardcore bandSilverstein fromBurlington, Ontario.[31]
Lights performing in Toronto at Sonic Boom Records, 2010
At the June 2011 Utopia Music Festival, Lights performed three new songs, "Toes", "Where the Fence is Low", and "Everybody Breaks a Glass". The first of these songs was released as a single in August, to promote her second studio album,Siberia. She had signed withLast Gang Records, and concerns by label executives about her shift in style to a more gritty sound delayed the album's release to October 4 in Canada and the US, and later that month in Australia.Siberia received positive reviews and was nominated for aJuno Award for Best Pop Album of the Year.[38] It debuted at No. 3 on theCanadian Albums Chart, and sold more than 10,000 units in its first week.[39][40] Sales surpassed 40,000 and the album was certified gold in Canada on April 27, 2012.[41] She was also featured in "The Yacht Club" on Owl City's 2011 albumAll Things Bright and Beautiful, and appeared in his music video for "Deer in the Headlights".[42]
In March 2013, Lights released an acoustic version of "Cactus in the Valley", featuring Owl City, as a single in the UK.[43]Siberia Acoustic was released in April 2013, and reached No. 7 in Canada. She toured North America in support of the album,[44] withDear Rouge opening some dates andLianne La Havas opening others.[45]
In July 2014, Lights's third studio album,Little Machines, became available for pre-order on iTunes with its lead single, "Up We Go", available to download.[46] The album was released on September 23 in the US and Canada.[47] It debuted at No. 5 in Canada.[48] "Running with the Boys" received radio play in early 2015 as the second official single, while "Portal" and "Same Sea" received promotional releases.[49] In October, Lights parted ways with her long-time manager Ghomeshi.[50]
Lights continued touring extensively in support ofLittle Machines into 2015.[51][52] On April 8, 2016, she released the acoustic EPMidnight Machines, which included acoustic versions of six songs fromLittle Machines and two new songs: "Follow You Down" and "Head Cold".[53] Lights and her band were featured in the 2016 video gameLOUD on Planet X, as character avatars and with their songs "Same Sea" and "Up We Go".[54][55]
Lights performing live in Los Angeles, California, on August 10, 2019
In April 2017, Lights announced the forthcoming release of her fourth studio album,Skin & Earth.[56] The album was released with acomic book series drawn and written by Lights, one song per issue, starting in July. New music was released with each edition on a monthly basis until the album was released in full.[56]Twenty One Pilots drummerJosh Dun collaborated on the album tracks "Savage" and "Almost Had Me".[57][58] The song "Giants" and its accompanying music video were released on June 23.[59] The song peaked at No. 18 on theBillboard Adult Top 40 chart.[60] She later released versions of the song inFrench,Japanese,Tagalog andSpanish.[61] On July 14, Lights released the promotional single "Skydiving".[62] The album was made available for pre-orders on August 11 and was released on September 22, 2017.[63] Lights released the song "Savage" on August 11,[64] followed by "New Fears" on September 15, 2017. The album track "Fight Club" is featured in the video gameJust Dance 2018.[65]
In January 2018, Lights launched the "We Were Here Tour" withChase Atlantic and DCF, playing 46 shows across North America in support of the album.[66] On February 2, Lights released the music video for her song "We Were Here".[67] She joinedYoung the Giant's fall tour in October as the supporting act.[68] In November 2018, Lights collaborated withDeadmau5 on his track "Drama Free",[69] which was released on hisMau5ville: Level 2 EP. In early 2019, she collaborated withFelix Cartal on the track "Love Me"[70] and withSleepy Tom on the track "Amateurs".[71] On May 12, 2019, it was announced that she had signed toFueled by Ramen, which would releaseSkin&Earth Acoustic supported by a North American concert tour.[72] The acoustic album was released on July 12 with three new songs.[73]
On June 11, 2020, she released a seven-track instrumentalsynthwave album onBandcamp titledHow to Sleep When You're on Fire. Proceeds from this album would be donated to theBlack Lives Matter Vancouver branch.[74] On July 9, 2020, Lights released the song "Dead End", alongside its music video. The song was part of a remix EP of the same name, released in collaboration with MYTH on August 7.[75][76]
In 2021, Lights began releasing music under thepseudonym Lūn, a character that appeared in herSkin & Earth comic in 2017, explaining "Lūn is a musician in the Skin&Earth universe. Though she is never actually mentioned, she appears all through the comic."[77] The EP titledhaha i like it was released by Lūn in April 2021.[78] That same month, Lights released the song "Beside Myself".[79]
In October, she released "Prodigal Daughter"[80] as the lead single from her albumPep, released on April 1, 2022.[81] On November 16, 2021, in support of the album, Lights announced she would begin her "Baby I'm Back Tour" starting with shows in the US throughout the month of April and May 2022.[82] She ended the tour with a leg of shows in Canada from late January to February 2023.[83] In November, her albumWarehouse Summer withi_o was released after his death.[84] In April 2023, she released a re-imagined chillwave version ofPep titleddEd.[85]
On February 9, 2024, Felix Cartal and Lights released another track together, titled "Feel Less".[86] She also appeared on thePVRIS track "The Blob", released June 20, 2024. It was announced that Lights would be appearing at the inaugural All Your Friends festival in Burls Creek, ON, on August 24, 2024 alongside artists likeBilly Talent andSilverstein.[87] Lights also appeared at several shows ofDeadmau5's retro5pective tour, celebrating 25 years of his career.[88]She also teased on her social media clips of her working on new music in Berlin, Germany.[89]
A new single, "Damage", was released on September 27, 2024. Alongside the release, she released a video featuring her cutting her hair off to shoulder length, after years of having longer distinct hairstyles.[90] Lights performed on September 28, 2024 at theCanadian Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony atMassey Hall, honouring inducteeSarah McLachlan, where she covered Sarah's track "Building A Mystery".[91]
Lights announced her sixth record,A6, would be released on May 2, 2025. She also released a second single from the record, "Alive Again", on February 7, 2025. "Alive Again" is Lights's first track to chart on the Modern Rock charts in Canada.[92] Interacting music videos were put out alongside the singles "Surface Tension" and "White Paper Palm Trees" on April 4, 2025, ahead of the record's release.[93] A tour across North America in support of the record began on May 8, 2025 in Victoria, BC.[94]
Lights is known for herelectropop and contemporarysynth-pop tunes.[95][5][96] Her musical style has been described as electropop,electronic rock and synth-pop.[97][98] Lights described her own music as an "electronic landscape of moody sunset times".[99]The Listening was characterized as gentle indie-electronic alt-rock.[100]Siberia was characterized by a "heavier" sound than her previous works.[101]Allmusic's review ofLittle Machines described it as a "mature, electro-punk affair that proved Lights had grown beyond the twee, synth-and-folk artist she started out as."[102] Lights stated that her artistic influences wereBjörk,Genesis andSupertramp.[10]
In 2010, Lights was introduced toBeau Bokan, the lead vocalist ofmetalcore bandBlessthefall, at aTaking Back Sunday concert in Los Angeles, and quickly started dating.[119] After becoming engaged in September 2011,[120] they were married on May 12, 2012, and Lights added "Bokan" to her last name (now stylized as Poxleitner-Bokan).[121] They received matching tattoos to commemorate their wedding date.[122] Lights gave birth to their first child, a daughter, on February 15, 2014.[123][124]
In December 2017, Lightscame out as bisexual during an interview withPeople magazine.[125]
The liner notes forThe Listening thank, among others: "Jesus for giving me everything I have" as well asSkate4Cancer andWonder Woman.[126] In a Twitter post in 2022, Lights clarified that she no longer identifies as religious.[127]
^abStevenson, Jane (October 22, 2009)."Small-town girl follows Lights".Jam!/Sun Media. Archived from the original on May 24, 2012. RetrievedMay 17, 2010.
^Lights (March 25, 2009)."Lights' Video Blog 25". YouTube.Archived from the original on November 17, 2021. RetrievedNovember 9, 2020. Discussion of "Ice" video begins at 2:00 mark.
^The Listening (liner notes). Lights. Universal Music Canada. 2009. 0252712881.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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