“Fireflies” by Owl City ft. Matt Thiessen, Tuesday, July 25, 2023

In 2023, so many hit songs come from what we call "bedroom pop" artists. It's been that way for several years. Bedroom pop refers to artists who get famous from self-releasing music, recorded in a home studio using equipment and software that was once prohibitively expensive.  In 2009, Owl City released their breakthrough album Ocean Eyes, which contained their number one single "Fireflies." Although the record was released on Universal Republic Records, the song came from singer-songwriter Adam Young, a 22-year-old composing melodies in his parents' basement while he battled insomnia when working at the local Coca Cola plant. 

I'M FAR TOO TIRED TO FALL ASLEEP. Owl City, Adam Young's musical alias, posted his compositions and blogs on MySpace and started gathering a following. Young's following, according to a 2011 interview in Hit Quarters with manager Steve Bursky, was based on the singer-songwriter's engagement with fans. Bursky states: "People feel like they know him, like they've got a direct connection to him because of how he approaches his connection with them online." The following grew from independent singles and the EPs Of June and I'm Only Dreaming, the latter charting at number 13 on Billboard's Dance/Electronic Albums, to a soundtrack placement in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland and a record deal with Universal Republic. The first single from his debut album Ocean Eyes was also Owl City's biggest hit, "Fireflies." The song comes from a camping trip Young took in his home state of Minnesota. That summer night, rather than fireflies, Adam witnessed an awe-inspiring meteor shower. 

A FOXTROT ABOVE MY HEAD.  Recording with producer Matt Thiessen of the band Relient K, Adam Young co-produced the track. Owl City worked with Relient K on their album Forget and Not Slow Down and toured with the band. Thiessen can be heard on the bridge of the song. Critics were mixed on “Fireflies,” some praising the song’s imagery and use of the genres of vaporwave and Twee, while other criticizing the song’s simplistic lyrics. Some critics even said that Young's vocal style in "Fireflies" was an imitation of Ben Gibbard's voice in his side project The Postal Service, specifically the song "Such Great Heights." Today, Owl City isn't a hitmaker, but Young continues to create music under that moniker. The hits that Owl City has had within the last decade, however, have been for Christian radio--a duet with CCM singer Britt Nicole and a reimagined version of the modern hymn "In Christ Alone.” While Young’s project touches on overtly spiritual themes more in Owl City’s later discography, the music isn’t exclusively Christian nor exclusively secular, with contributions to the Dear Ethan Hanson musical and several notable collaborations. Today, as cheesy as it may sound, we dream about those summer nights where the childhood wonder at fireflies dancing on a clear night. 

Read the lyrics on Genius.