Vanilla Twilight

"Vanilla Twilight" is a song by American electronica act Owl City. The song was released on January 26, 2010 as the second single from his second studio album Ocean Eyes.^[1] "Vanilla Twilight" attained chart placement prior to the release date, following the success of Owl City's previous single "Fireflies".

"Vanilla Twilight"
Single by Owl City
from the album Ocean Eyes
Released	January 26, 2010
Genre	Synth-pop[citation needed]
Length	3:51 (album version) 4:04 (top 40 edit)
Label	Universal Republic
Songwriter(s)	Adam Young
Producer(s)	Adam Young
Owl City singles chronology
"Fireflies" (2009) "Vanilla Twilight" (2010) "Umbrella Beach" (2010)
Audio sample
file help
Music video
"Vanilla Twilight" on YouTube

Background

In an interview with Female First, Adam Young stated that the song is "about a girl."^[2] He further explained the song's meaning in an interview with Buzzgrinder: "I met the most charming girl imaginable when I was in high school and most of my 'cozy' songs are about her. She moved away to college for a few years and we kind of lost touch. She and I recently started talking to each other again and life has a way of reshaping sometimes. I'm absolutely crazy about her."^[3]

Composition

Written and produced by Young, the track runs at 166 BPM and is in the key of B major.^[4] Young's range in the song spans from the notes F#4 to Gb5.^[5] The song is one of the oldest tracks from Ocean Eyes as it was written in 2007. When the album needed a ballad, Young tweaked some lyrics and it "fitted perfectly."^[6] According to Young via Twitter, he stated, "'Vanilla Twilight' is about telling the person you love the most, 'I wish you were here with me.'"^[7]

Music video

The music video for "Vanilla Twilight" premiered on March 22, 2010. The video uses the album version of the song and features a cameo appearance by Shaquille O'Neal.^[8] The video was directed by Steve Hoover and was filmed on location in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and at the Marblehead Lighthouse in Ohio.^[9]

The video shows various people and a dog witness in awe, staring at a swirling mammatus cloud formation associated with a squall line.^[10] It has a well-defined vortex which is lit by a veiled sun on an overcast day after a snowfall has blanketed the area, displaying a vanilla twilight. Midway through the video the storm and a lighthouse glimmer with aurora colors.^[10] Towards the end of the video O'Neal lifts his arms towards the cloud and mouths "Take me with you."^[11]

Chart performance

On the chart of November 7, 2009, the same week "Fireflies" hit No. 1, "Vanilla Twilight" debuted on No. 95 in the Billboard Hot 100.^[12] It has since re-entered and peaked on the Hot 100 at No. 72.^[13]

"Vanilla Twilight" first entered the Australian Singles Chart at No. 50 on the week ending January 11, 2010, which happened to coincide with "Fireflies" holding its reign as the No. 1 hit single.^[14] The song later peaked at No. 44.^[15]

Following the release of Ocean Eyes, "Vanilla Twilight" entered the UK Singles Chart at a current peak of No. 94, making it Owl City's second consecutive single to enter the UK Top 100.^[16]

Track listing

European CD single

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Vanilla Twilight" (radio version)	4:04
2.	"Vanilla Twilight" (extended radio version)	4:17

Digital download^[17]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Vanilla Twilight" (radio edit)	4:04

7" vinyl

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Fireflies" (UK radio edit)	3:14
2.	"Vanilla Twilight" (US extended radio edit)	4:20

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for "Vanilla Twilight" Chart (2009–10) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[15] 44 Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[18] 2 Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia)[19] 17 Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[20] 74 Czech Republic (Rádio – Top 100)[21] 37 Denmark (Tracklisten)[22] 24 Italy Radio Airplay (EarOne)[23] 95 Latvia (European Hit Radio)[24] 27 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[25] 20 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[26] 36 Scotland (OCC)[27] 66 UK Singles (OCC)[16] 94 US Billboard Hot 100[13] 72 US Dance Singles Sales (Billboard)[28] 9 US Pop Airplay (Billboard)[29] 36 US Rock Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[30] 14

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for "Vanilla Twilight" Chart (2010) Position Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[31] 135 US Rock Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[32] 42

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[33]	Platinum	1,000,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release dates for "Vanilla Twilight"

Region	Date	Format	Label	Ref.
United States	January 26, 2010	Contemporary hit radio	Universal Republic	[1]
Various		Digital download		[34]
Australia	February 15, 2010	CD single		[15]