"Uprising"
Cover art by Storm Thorgerson.
Single by Muse
from the album The Resistance
B-side
Released4 August 2009 (2009-08-04)
Recorded2008–09
StudioStudio Bellini (Lake Como, Italy)
Genre
Length
  • 5:03 (album version)
  • 4:08 (international radio edit)
  • 3:35 (US radio edit)
Label
Songwriter(s)Matt Bellamy
Producer(s)Muse
Muse singles chronology
"Map of the Problematique"
(2007) 		"Uprising"
(2009) 		"Undisclosed Desires"
(2009)
7-inch single cover art

"Uprising" is a song by the English rock band Muse. It was released on 4 August 2009 as the lead single from the band's fifth studio album, The Resistance (2009). The song was written by band member Matt Bellamy, produced by the band, and mixed by Spike Stent.[1] "Uprising" peaked at number 37 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and peaked in the top 10 in seven countries. It was certified platinum in the United Kingdom, gold in four countries, platinum in five countries, and double-platinum in the United States, making it Muse's best-selling single. The song is based off of the 1949 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, written by George Orwell.[2]

Composition

"Uprising" was described as an alternative rock,[3] space rock,[4] and glam rock song,[5] with elements of industrial.[6] It is composed in the key of D minor with a tempo of 132 beats per minute.[7] Several critics likened it to the theme music from the science fiction TV show Doctor Who.[8] Muse produced "Uprising" themselves.[9]

Release

It was revealed in July 2009 that the band would perform at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. They played at the theatre across the street from where the VMAs were held, and were introduced by Gerard Butler.[10]

"Uprising" won Best Single at the 2010 Music Producers Guild Awards.[9] Accepting the award, the songwriter, Matt Bellamy, said: "We produced something!" He thanked John Leckie, the producer of their first two albums, for "teaching us how to produce".[9]

Commercial performance

"Uprising" peaked in the top 10 in Belgium (Wallonia), Denmark, Finland, Norway, Scotland, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. It was certified silver by the BPI in the United Kingdom, gold by the ARIA in Australia, BEA in Belgium, MC in Canada, and FIMI, platinum by SNEP in France and IFPI in Switzerland, and double-platinum by the RIAA in the United States.

After being released to radio in the United States, the single reached number one on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart on 9 September 2009,[11] becoming Muse's sixth top 10 single and first number one on that chart, eventually spending 17 weeks at number one, becoming the second longest-running number one song ever on the chart (now third longest). It also became one of three songs at the time to almost concurrently break the 52-week record held by 30 Seconds to Mars' "The Kill", Red Jumpsuit Apparatus's "Face Down", and Finger Eleven's "Paralyzer". As songs on the chart are retired for charting out of the top 10 beyond week 52, it was initially removed for a week after logging its 52nd week for missing the top 10. However, the following week it gained enough points to return to the top 10, returning it to the chart for a 53rd week, which would mark its final tally. In 2013, it was ranked the top song of all time in the magazine's 25th anniversary list of the top 100 songs to grace the chart;[12] an updated ranking for the chart's 35th anniversary in late 2023 saw "Uprising" drop to number three, after the success of All Time Low's "Monsters" and Lovelytheband's "Broken" in the late 2010s and early 2020s.[13][14] It became Muse's first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 (and first top 40 single), peaking at number 37 on the week ending 3 October 2009 and spent 20 weeks on the Hot 100. It remains the band's only top 40 single. It has sold 2,170,000 copies in the US as of April 2013.[15]

Music video

The music video, directed by American collective Hydra (Sam Stephens, John Hobbs and others), appeared on 4 August 2009.[16] The band performs through a miniature city in the bed of an old, small truck, with a lit fuse following behind. At times, they are also seen performing inside a miniature airstream trailer, which seems to be exploding. Through the window of a store, the band at one point looks at TVs with teddy bears (with reptilian eyes, sharp claws, and fangs) on the screens; Matt smashes the window and TVs with his guitar. At the end of the video, a group of teddy bears, similarly looking to the teddy bears seen on the TVs, rise up from the ground and start destroying the miniature city, only to all fall down at the end of the video. This is said to pay homage to the climactic scene in Ghostbusters, with one shot even mirroring the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man's introduction.[17]

The video won "Best Special Effects" in the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, but lost "Best Rock Video" to Thirty Seconds to Mars' "Kings and Queens."

Personnel

Muse
Additional Personnel

Track listing

7-inch

No.TitleLength
1."Uprising"5:04
2."Who Knows Who" (with Mike Skinner)3:24

CD

No.TitleLength
1."Uprising"5:04
2."Uprising" (Does It Offend You, Yeah? Mix)4:00

Download

iTunes release[18]
No.TitleLength
1."Uprising"5:04
2."Uprising" (Does It Offend You, Yeah? Mix)4:00
3."Uprising" (Live from Teignmouth)5:37

Charts

Certifications and sales

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[54] Gold 35,000^
Belgium (BEA)[55] Gold 15,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[56] Gold 40,000*
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[57] Platinum 90,000‡
France (SNEP)[58] Diamond 333,333‡
Italy (FIMI)[59] Platinum 50,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[60] Gold 7,500*
Portugal (AFP)[61] Platinum 20,000‡
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[62] Platinum 60,000‡
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[63] Platinum 30,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[64] Platinum 600,000‡
United States (RIAA)[65] 2× Platinum 2,170,000[15]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "Uprising" (Back sleeve). Muse. Warner Music Group. 2009. WEA458.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  2. ^ "New Muse album 'inspired' by 1984". BBC News. 4 August 2009. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  3. ^ Nattress, Katrina (22 November 2019). "30 Alternative Rock Songs That Defined the 2010s". iHeartMedia. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  4. ^ Fletcher, Alex. "Muse: 'Uprising'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  5. ^ Collis, Clark (18 September 2009). "Music Review: The Resistance (2009)". Entertainment Weekly. No. 1065–1066. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
  6. ^ Rosen, Jody. "The Resistance". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  7. ^ "Uprising". Musicnotes. 7 December 2009.
  8. ^ "BBC – Chart Blog: Muse – 'Uprising'". Retrieved 28 March 2018.
  9. ^ a b c Paul Stokes (11 February 2010). "Muse thank Rick Rubin for teaching them 'how not to produce' at Music Producers Guild Awards". NME. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  10. ^ "Adam Lambert on VMA Performers Muse: 'Their Music Is Unbelievable'". MTV. 17 July 2009. Retrieved 20 July 2009.
  11. ^ "Mediabase – Account Login".
  12. ^ "Alternative Chart 25th Anniversary: Top 100 Songs". Billboard Magazine. 9 September 2013. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  13. ^ Rutherford, Kevin (7 September 2023). "Alternative Airplay Chart's 35th Anniversary: Foo Fighters Remain No. 1 Act, 'Monsters' New Top Song". Billboard. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
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  15. ^ a b Paul Grein (3 April 2013). "Week Ending March 31, 2013. Songs: "Thrift Shop" Sets First Quarter Record". Yahoo Music (Chart Watch). Retrieved 10 April 2013.
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