Uprising (song)

Background and composition

The title "Uprising" was first revealed on 3 July 2009, when the album's track listing was released sporadically on the band's Twitter page; the song was unveiled as the opening track of the album, preceding the title track "Resistance". In a pre-release review, French media source JudeBox described the song as follows:

Matt Bellamy’s voice is more serious and academic than usual. However it is delivered in a similar vein: Conspiracy, Apocalypse … He announces a “union”, speaks of “victory” that “they do not control.” Sound is still very heavy and dense, accompanied by mounted synthesizers. The structure of the song is simple for once.

"Uprising" is a synth-rock and glam rock song. The song is often considered to be partly inspired by the hit Blondie song "Call Me", because of the thumping bass line and the occasional lead guitar riff (Blondie have in turn referenced this in their 2010 live performances by singing the lyrics of "Call Me" whilst covering the music of "Uprising"). However, "Uprising" can be argued to have more in common with the Black Sabbath song "Children of the Grave" which Blondie's "Call Me" may have been based on. Many journalists have mentioned that "Uprising" is similar to the theme music for Doctor Who, and the 1988 hit single "Doctorin' the Tardis" by The KLF.

Music video

The music video, directed by American collective Hydra (Sam Stephens, John Hobbs and others), first aired on MTV2 on 17 September 2009. 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 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 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.

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."

Release

While "United States of Eurasia" was initially thought by the Muse fan community to be the first single due for release, Muse revealed, via their Twitter page, that it would in fact be "Uprising". 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. On 28 July 2009 Zane Lowe played a 32-second sample on BBC Radio 1 ahead of its first play in full on 3 August 2009. The song peaked at No. 9 on the UK Singles Chart and is the band's fourth top 10 single on that chart. The song was a huge success in Poland, going up to number 1 on the Singles Chart.

"Uprising" won the Best Single award at the 2010 Music Producers Guild Awards in London.

7"

CD

Commercial performance

"Uprising" had a very positive commercial performance. It peaked within the top ten 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 No. 1 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart on 9 September 2009, becoming Muse's 6th Top 10 single and first No. 1 on that chart, eventually spending 17 weeks at No. 1, becoming the second longest running No. 1 song ever on the chart. 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. It became their first Billboard Hot 100 single (and Top 40 single), peaking at No. 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 to date. It has sold 2,170,000 copies in the US as of April 2013.