Lazarus (David Bowie song)

"Lazarus"
Single by David Bowie
from the album Blackstar
Released17 December 2015
Recorded2015
Studio
  • Magic Shop, New York City
  • Human Worldwide, New York City
Genre
Length
  • 6:22 (album version)
  • 4:05 (video edit)
Label
Songwriter(s)David Bowie
Producer(s)
Blackstar track listing
7 tracks
  1. "Blackstar"
  2. "'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore"
  3. "Lazarus"
  4. "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)"
  5. "Girl Loves Me"
  6. "Dollar Days"
  7. "I Can't Give Everything Away"
Music video
"Lazarus" on YouTube

"Lazarus" is a song by English rock musician David Bowie. Released on 17 December 2015 as a digital download, it was the second single from his twenty-sixth and final studio album, Blackstar (2016). It is Bowie's last single to be released during his lifetime. The single received its world premiere on BBC Radio 6 Music's Steve Lamacq on the day of its release as a single.[4] In addition to its release on Blackstar, the track is used in Bowie's off-Broadway musical of the same name.[5] The official music video, directed by Johan Renck, was released on 7 January 2016, three days before Bowie's death.

Bowie never performed the song live, but on 17 December 2015, Michael C. Hall appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, singing "Lazarus" to promote both the single's release and the musical running at New York Theatre Workshop starring Hall.[6]

"Lazarus" was Bowie's first top 40 hit single on the Billboard Hot 100 in more than 28 years, landing at number 40 in the week after his death.[7]

Billboard ranked "Lazarus" at number 40 on their "100 Best Pop Songs of 2016" list.[8] Pitchfork listed "Lazarus" on their ranking of the 100 best songs of 2016 at number 5.[9] In the annual The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop mass critics poll of the year's best in music in 2016, "Lazarus" was ranked at number 8.[10]

  1. ^ "The best songs of 2016". Daily Times. 16 December 2016. Archived from the original on 14 March 2017. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  2. ^ West, Michael J. (11 January 2016). "Review: David Bowie's "Blackstar"". JazzTimes. Archived from the original on 16 February 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  3. ^ Gallucci, Michael (16 January 2019). "The Best Song From Every David Bowie Album". Ultimate Classic Rock. Archived from the original on 29 June 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  4. ^ "David Bowie launches trailer of new single Lazarus". The Guardian. 14 December 2015. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  5. ^ Brandle, Lars (18 December 2015). "David Bowie Shares New Song 'Lazarus': Listen". Billboard. Archived from the original on 18 December 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  6. ^ Matthew Strauss (18 December 2015). "Michael C. Hall Performs David Bowie's "Lazarus" on "Colbert"". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 24 July 2021. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
  7. ^ Gary Trust (19 January 2016). "David Bowie Scores First Top 40 Hot 100 Single Since 1987 With 'Lazarus'". Billboard. Archived from the original on 9 April 2016. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  8. ^ "Billboard's 100 Best Pop Songs of 2016: Critics' Picks". Billboard. 12 December 2016. Archived from the original on 13 December 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  9. ^ "The 100 Best Songs of 2016". Pitchfork. 12 December 2016. Archived from the original on 13 December 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  10. ^ "PAZZ+JOP 2016". Village Voice. 25 January 2017. Archived from the original on 3 February 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2017.