“Shine” by Years & Years, Saturday, June 24, 2023

 

Years & Years may not be much in America, but the once Olly Alexander-fronted electronic pop band charted very well in their homeland of the UK. The singles from the band's first album, Communion, built up the band's momentum. The band's fourth single, "King," reached number 1 on the U.K.'s singles chart, and their fifth, today's song, "Shine," reached number 2. And while the band, now just Alexander's solo act, may not be matching their debut record's success, Years & Years seems to tell something about the difference in The U.K. and U.S. music markets, particularly regarding openly queer artists.

I'M FOLLOWING LIGHTNING. I'm not going to accuse U.S. pop charts of being Puritanical when it comes to queer artists, far from it. But in 2015 when Years & Years debuted, U.S. charts were still very much in a “don’t say gay” era, in which openly queer artists faced a disadvantage in sales and radio play. It wasn’t until 2019 when the Hot 100 got its first openly gay artist topping the charts with Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road.” Of course, many artists who would later come out as have topped the Hot 100 when they were closeted, but Lil Nas X never hid his sexual identity from the start of his career. There’s a lot of discussion on why “Old Town Road” was such a big hit from the vitality of TikTok and the crossover blend of Country and Hip-Hop that made the song appeal to vastly different audiences, but 2019 paved the way for other LGBTQ+ artists to make an impact on the chart. But what about the UK? It seems that Years & Years topping the UK Singles chart in 2015 with “King” seems to show that an artist’s sexuality is irrelevant to the music that artists produces. Both “King” and “Shine” are pop songs that are on the boring side of pop, meaning there’s no profanity, no shocking sexually-charged lyrics. Yet, both singles don’t try to “sound straight” but rather shine in what they are—songs written by a gay man about gay matters. And somehow, by focusing on what is true to himself, Alexander is able to write a song that everyone can relate to.

WHEN I SAW YOU ON THAT STAGE. Unlike many of the song on Communion, “Shine” is a positive reflection on Years & Years’ frontman Olly Alexander’s relationship with the violinist from the classical-pop crossover band, Clean Bandit, Neil Milan Amin-Smith. The relationship didn’t last long because of the bands’ busy touring schedules. The lyrics of the synth-based song depict love as something to be celebrated, even showed off. And in turn, the speaker of the song is shining. Like the video for “Foundation,” the video for “Shine” also delves into the supernatural. The band was inspired by three films: E.T.-The Extra-Terrestrial, Poltergeist, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind and features the band mates encountering strange happenings in a glowing house. The song charted in fifteen countries and reached the top ten in three, including the UK, Scotland, and Ireland. The song was even used when  the Irish television channel RTÉ covered the 2016 Irish general election. “Shine” is a beautiful song celebrating love for what it is. As Pride month begins to wrap up, it’s important to remember to celebrate love throughout the year. Let your light shine.

Read the lyrics on Genius.