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Never Close Our Eyes

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"Never Close Our Eyes"
Single by Adam Lambert
from the album Trespassing
ReleasedApril 14, 2012
RecordedLos Angeles, California, United States
(Conway Recording Studios,
Eightysevenfourteen Studios,
Henson Recording Studios, and
Levcon Studios)
GenreElectropop
Length4:08
LabelRCA
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Adam Lambert singles chronology
"Better Than I Know Myself"
(2011) 		"Never Close Our Eyes"
(2012) 		"Trespassing"
(2012)
Music video
"Never Close Our Eyes" on YouTube

"Never Close Our Eyes" is a song by American singer Adam Lambert from his second studio album, Trespassing.[1] The song was released as the album's second single on April 14, 2012. It was written and produced by Bruno Mars, Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine, Dr. Luke, and Cirkut. The song was met with glowing reviews for the most part, as critics praised it for being a much better offering than previous single "Better Than I Know Myself". The single performed moderately well on the charts. Unlike singles past, "Never Close Our Eyes" is Lambert's first top twenty hit in the United Kingdom, debuting and peaking at number seventeen. The song is also Lambert's second US top ten club hit peaking at number six on the chart.

Background and release

After the moderate impact that "Better Than I Know Myself" had on the charts, Lambert postponed his second album Trespassing for a May release.[2][3] Later, on April 11, 2012, Lambert announced that "Never Close Our Eyes" will be the second single and included a photo of the single's artwork.[4] The song premiered the following day through his SoundCloud profile.[5] The song was released on April 16, 2012.[6]

Composition

"Never Close Our Eyes" was written by Bruno Mars, Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine, Henry Walter, Lukasz Gottwald, all of whom also helmed production for the track, with Gottwald and Walter working under their respective production names Dr. Luke and Cirkut, and Mars, Lawrence, and Levine working in their production team, The Smeezingtons.[2][7] It is an electropop song, with strong elements of dance-pop and Europop.[8] As noted by Scott Shetler of Pop Crush, the track features a hint of Dr. Luke's up-tempo dance sound while retaining Bruno Mars' melodic pop sensibility.[8]

Lyrically, the carpe diem-themed song is about living life to the fullest and partying until the break of dawn.[7] The song is also about enjoying time with a special someone.[8] In the chorus, Lambert sings: "But you know I wish that this night would never be over/ There's plenty of time to sleep when we die/ So let's just stay awake until we grow older/ If I had my way we'd never close our eyes, our eyes, never!".[7] According to Lambert himself, the song is "about all of US. A community. A movement."[9]

Critical reception

Contessa Gayles of AOL Music Blog called the song an "infectious dance track",[7] while TJ of NeomLimelight called Lambert's vocals "impeccable".[10] Writing for the MTV Buzzworthy blog, Jenna Rubenstein gave the song a positive review, writing: "Set to a pop-rooted dance beat, Adam's rock-tinged pipes carry the entire song as he sings about staying awake 24/7 to enjoy the hell out of his life."[11] Robbie Daw of Idolator wrote that "while the song boasts the slickest pop production since 'Moves Like Jagger', the selling point is, as usual, Adam's angelic rocker vocals, which soar above and loop through the melody with ease."[12] Joe Lynch of Fuse referred to the song as "magnificently theatrical," while writing that "'Never Close Our Eyes' is a satisfying negotiation between an electro-pop banger and romantic anthem. It's the kind of song that's tailored both for the dance floor and at home/in the car sing-alongs."[13]

Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone gave the song three out of five stars, writing, "'Never Close Our Eyes' is that calculated – right down to the lyric, which aims for the same party-at-the-edge-of-doom vibe as recent smashes like 'I Gotta Feeling' and 'Till the World Ends' [...] The magnificence of his strident vocals defies all formulas and precepts, mathematical and otherwise."[14] DJ Ron Slomowicz of About.com praised his voice, writing: "His voice carries a lot of strength, and when he hits the falsetto in 'Never Close Our Eyes', we are once again reminded of how well he handled those upper registers on his debut album."[15] A negative review came from Katharine St. Asaph of Pop Dust, who wrote that "The prechorus, in particular, sounds like nobody could decide whether it called for a dubstep breakdown, spot of synth claps or Travie McCoy interjecting with his acoustic guitar."[16] However she realized that "the problem's not him, it's the material–which is particularly baffling, considering there are at least five better singles on this thing. One of them is right after this."[16]

The song was listed at number ten on Pop Crush's top 10 songs of the year so far.[17]

Music video

The music video was directed by Dori Oskowitz and premiered on May 29, 2012, on Lambert's official Vevo page. It shows Lambert in a monitored futuristic prison where prisoners are manipulated by pills that take away their individuality. Lambert, however, appears to be immune to the pills. When broken, the pills release a blue haze. In the course of the video, Lambert and some of the prisoners retaliate and escape the prison with a neon-soaked dance routine. The video ends with them running through the gates.

Speaking about the video, Lambert said, "The one thing that I was really excited about was maybe something sort of science fiction. Something kind of New World Order, in the future. Something not of this reality. When we put that out there, a gentleman called Dori Oskowitz came back with an amazing treatment. This director is a really cool guy, totally on the same page as me."[18][19]

Track listing

  • Digital download[20]
  1. "Never Close Our Eyes" – 4:08
  1. "Never Close Our Eyes" (Almighty Radio) – 3:57
  2. "Never Close Our Eyes" (Almighty Club) – 6:34
  3. "Never Close Our Eyes" (Almighty Dub) – 6:34
  4. "Never Close Our Eyes" (Digital Dog Radio) – 4:25
  5. "Never Close Our Eyes" (Digital Dog Club) – 7:41
  6. "Never Close Our Eyes" (Digital Dog Dub) – 5:34
  7. "Never Close Our Eyes" (Sunship Radio) – 3:13
  8. "Never Close Our Eyes" (Sunship Extended) – 4:57
  9. "Never Close Our Eyes" (Sunship Dub) – 5:12

Charts

Radio and release history

Country Date Format Label
Finland April 14, 2012[36] Digital download
United States April 17, 2012[20]
United States May 29, 2012[37] Mainstream radio airplay
United Kingdom July 8, 2012[38] Digital download

References

  1. ^ "Global Superstar Adam Lambert To Release Highly Anticipated Second Album 'Trespassing' On March 20th, 2012". RCA Records. Archived from the original on 2012-01-07. Retrieved 2011-12-15.
  2. ^ a b Lamb, Bill (April 12, 2012). "Adam Lambert's "Never Close Our Eyes" Boosts the Tempo". About.com. Archived from the original on April 3, 2013. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
  3. ^ Bein, Becky (February 16, 2012). "Adam Lambert Announces "Mapril" Release Of 'Trespassing'". Idolator. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
  4. ^ "Adam Lambert's photo "2nd Single off of Trespassing..." on WhoSay". WhoSay. April 11, 2012. Archived from the original on May 16, 2012. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
  5. ^ "Never Close Our Eyes by adamofficial on SoundCloud". SoundCloud. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
  6. ^ "iTunes - Music - Never Close Our Eyes - Single by Adam Lambert". iTunes. Apple Inc. 16 April 2012. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
  7. ^ a b c d Contessa Gayles (2012-04-13). "Adam Lambert 'Never Close Our Eyes' Song Debuts, Co-Penned by Bruno Mars - AOL Music Blog". Blog.music.aol.com. Retrieved 2012-05-08.
  8. ^ a b c Shetler, Scott (April 17, 2012). "Adam Lambert, 'Never Close Our Eyes' - Song Review". Pop Crush. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
  9. ^ "Twitter / @adamlambert: To me, NCOE is about all of US. A community. A movement". April 17, 2012. Retrieved May 10, 2012 – via Twitter.
  10. ^ "New Music: Adam Lambert Debuts Full Album Version Of "Never Close Our Eyes"". Neon Limelight. April 12, 2012. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
  11. ^ "New Song: Adam Lambert, 'Never Close Our Eyes'". Buzzworthy.mtv.com. 2012-04-12. Retrieved 2012-05-08.
  12. ^ Daw, Robbie (April 12, 2012). "Adam Lambert's "Never Close Our Eyes": Listen". Idolator. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
  13. ^ Joe Lynch. "Hear Adam Lambert's Bruno Mars-Penned New Single - Music News - Fuse". Fuse.tv. Retrieved 2012-05-08.
  14. ^ Jody Rosen (2012-04-26). "Never Close Our Eyes | Song Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on April 30, 2012. Retrieved 2012-05-08.
  15. ^ Slomowicz, DJ Ron (May 8, 2012). "Song of the Day: Adam Lambert - "Never Close Our Eyes"". About.com. Archived from the original on January 16, 2013. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
  16. ^ a b St. Asaph, Katharine (May 8, 2012). "Adam Lambert's "Trespassing" Reviewed: "Never Close Our Eyes" - Popdust". Popdust. Retrieved May 10, 2012.
  17. ^ "Top Songs of 2012".
  18. ^ Lansky, Sam (2012-05-30). "Adam Lambert unveils 'Never Close Our Eyes' behind-the-scenes video". Retrieved 2012-05-30.
  19. ^ "Video Premiere: Adam Lambert – Never Close Our Eyes". 2012-05-30. Archived from the original on 2012-07-20. Retrieved 2012-05-30.
  20. ^ a b "Never Close Our Eyes: Adam Lambert: MP3 Downloads". Amazon. Retrieved 2012-05-08.
  21. ^ "Adam Lambert – Never Close Our Eyes" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  22. ^ "Adam Lambert – Never Close Our Eyes" (in Dutch). Ultratip.
  23. ^ "Adam Lambert Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard.
  24. ^ "Adam Lambert: Never Close Our Eyes" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat.
  25. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Rádiós Top 40 játszási lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége.
  26. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot 100". Billboard. Billboard. Retrieved 2012-05-09.
  27. ^ "Adam Lambert – Never Close Our Eyes". Top 40 Singles.
  28. ^ "Russia Airplay Chart for 2012-07-23." TopHit. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  29. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201241 into search.
  30. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  31. ^ "Ukraine Airplay Chart for 2012-08-27." TopHit. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  32. ^ "Adam Lambert Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard.
  33. ^ "Adam Lambert Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard.
  34. ^ "Adam Lambert Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard.
  35. ^ "Top Radio Hits Russia Annual Chart 2012" (in Russian). TopHit. Archived from the original on March 16, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  36. ^ "Never Close Our Eyes – Adam Lambert" (in Finnish). Download Store. Retrieved 2012-05-30.
  37. ^ "Top 40/M Future Releases | Mainstream Hit Songs Being Released and Their Release Dates". Allaccess.com. Retrieved 2012-05-08.
  38. ^ "Adam Lambert's 'Trespassing' UK release delayed". 2012-06-14. Retrieved 2012-06-14.
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