Lights

The singer in her natural habitat.

"Capture something invisible, organize it, give it movement, then spit it back from whence it came. Music is a dark, dark art." —LIGHTS

Lights is a Canadian pop singer (born in 1987 as Valerie Anne Poxleitner) known for performing songs such as "February Air", "Saviour", "Ice" and "Second Go" during the late 2000s. She released her self-titled debut EP in 2008, and her first full-length album The Listening in late 2009.

She also wrote a song called Perfect, but you probably didn't know that.

Her official website: http://iamlights.com

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Main Studio Discography

• 2008: LIGHTS EP
• 2009: The Listening
• 2010: Lights.Acoustic
• 2011: Siberia

Tropes used in Lights include:

• An Aesop: The song "Everybody Breaks A Glass" seems like it's meant to convey the message of "Hey, nobody's perfect, so don't sweat your flaws."
• Author Avatar/Adam Westing: Captain Lights
• Auto-Tune: In the verses of "Saviour" and in the middle-eight of "The Listening".
• A Wild Rapper Appears: "Everybody Breaks a Glass" and "Flux and Flow" on Siberia. He either makes the tracks better or is extremely out of place.
• Becoming the Mask / Don't Call Me Valerie: She actually had her name legally changed to Lights, and prefers that people no longer address or refer to her by her born first name Valerie.
• Canada, Eh?
• Catch Phrase: Captain Lights says "Damn..." at the end of nearly every episode (almost always because a new threat is revealed). When Lights sees Earth in the last episode, she says it again, but this time in admiration.
  • The exception is Issue Four, where Captain Lights instead listens to the voices of the Wah-Wah's and reflects on the uniqueness and beauty of each voice.
• Celebrity Endorsement: She lent some of her songs to (and even appeared in) an Old Navy TV ad campaign in early 2008. Possibly an Inverted since these commercials actually introduced her to many of her fans.
• Darker and Edgier: Siberia compared to The Listening. That said, some of its songs ("Toes" and "Peace Sign" being some prime examples) wouldn't feel out of place on The Listening, and it generally doesn't feel too dark.
• Distaff Counterpart: Owl City
• Dye Hard: Although naturally a dirty blonde, she dyes her hair darker, often to a jet-black color.
• The End of the World as We Know It: The Song of Anti-Creation would cause this in Audioquest: A Captain Lights Adventure
• Fan Service: Both “Saviour” and “Toes” have her wearing a visible black bra not to mention the shorts.
• Genki Girl: She has elements of this.
• Iconic Item / Cool Headband: Early on in her career Lights would wear a brightly-colored headband; not these days.
• Lyrics Video Mismatch: "Ice". The lyrics are about a boyfriend who's a male Ice Queen, the music video is about Lights fighting her cloaked Evil Twin.
• Mega Neko: Just look at the thing!!!!
• Mind Screw: The ending of the video for "Ice". A Split Personality Merge? The Bad Guy Wins? What?
• Mirror Match: Near the end of "Ice," with her Evil Counterpart.
• Motor Mouth: She admits to being a naturally fast speaker. Also applies to her vocals in the middle-eight section of "Ice" (the 'Leonard Bernstein' of which you can find in the Shout Out trope listed further down the page).
  • Particularly impressive in this
  • For those who are wondering, the full lyrics from the middle-eight of "Ice" are as follows:

Lights: Looking at you looking at me, what can I do but say sorry, it's a little late but you know I just want you to be happy, what I gotta say to make you let me get away with it this time? I know you're upset and that you're happy just to sit and hate me, but I'll make a bet that you'd be better to forget about me, even better yet I'll let a little light melt the ice, ice baby!

• New Sound Album: Siberia.
• One of Us / Proud to Be a Geek: She's an avid gamer as well as a fan of comic books and other nerd culture, and it really shows in some of her music videos. It's also worth mentioning that her song "Lions!" was inspired by one of her favorite computer games, World of Warcraft.
  • She once joked that her middle name was Two-Handed Weapons, Lights Two-HandedWeapons Poxleitner
  • She also made her own animated Comic Book on YouTube called Audioquest: A Captain Lights Adventure.
• Perky Goth: Her appearance and love for metal music would make up the 'Goth' part of this trope, while her own music and personality make up the 'Perky' part. Go figure.
• Shout-Out: In "Ice" she pays a brief lyrical homage to Vanilla Ice ("...I'll let a little light melt the Ice Ice Baby!") followed by a musical quote.
  • "Timing is Everything" has this line:

In the interim, the princess was in another castle

• Special Guest: Showed up on the Fast Food Meatloaf episode of EPICMEALTIME.
• Sympathy for the Devil: In episode four of her "Captain Lights" adventures, her fictional self expresses pity for "those who sought to silence others, preferring quiet obedience to creative expression." (Much like the villain of the story, Lotar.)
• The Oner: The video for "Second Go".
• Unkempt Beauty: Even with hair that is often unruly (except for her trademark combed-over fringe) and a minimal amount of makeup (she is rarely seen without eyeliner), Lights still retains a natural cuteness. Many fans can't help but fall in love with her, especially When She Smiles.
• Woman in White: In the video for "Second Go". Until she gets covered in paint, anyway.