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"Moth to a Flame"
Single by Swedish House Mafia and The Weeknd
from the album Paradise Again and Dawn FM (Alternate World)
Released	22 October 2021 (2021-10-22)
Genre	Synth-pop
Length	3:54
Label	Republic
Songwriter(s)	Axel Hedfors Steve Angello Sebastian Ingrosso Abel Tesfaye Carl Nordström
Producer(s)	Swedish House Mafia Carl Nordström
Swedish House Mafia singles chronology
"Lifetime" (2021) "Moth to a Flame" (2021) "Redlight" (2022)
The Weeknd singles chronology
"Hurricane" (2021) "Moth to a Flame" (2021) "One Right Now" (2021)
Music video
"Moth to a Flame" on YouTube

"Moth to a Flame" is a song by Swedish house supergroup Swedish House Mafia and Canadian singer-songwriter The Weeknd. It was released on 22 October 2021 through Republic Records as the third single from the former's debut studio album Paradise Again, and was later included on the "Alternate World" edition of the latter's fifth studio album Dawn FM; both released in 2022

Background and release

A potential collaboration between Swedish House Mafia and the Weeknd was first speculated when the group signed with the Weeknd's longtime manager Wassim "Sal" Slaiby in April 2021. It was later teased by the Weeknd during an episode of his Apple Music 1 radio show Memento Mori, in which he stated in the introduction "The Swedes just landed in L.A." A snippet of "Moth to a Flame" was then revealed by Swedish House Mafia during their performance at the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards in September. On 19 October, the group and the singer teased the single once again before announcing that it would be released on 22 October. In celebration of its release, Swedish House Mafia hosted the twentieth episode of Memento Mori.

Critical reception

Dani Blum of Pitchfork named "Moth to a Flame" the best song on Paradise Again, writing that the "tingling production is more elegant than Swedish House Mafia seemed capable of a decade ago." Robin Murray of Clash described it as "a sizzling 80s tinged burner that places within an electronic orchestra." Thomas Stremfel of Spectrum Culture wrote that "equally unique framing and biblical stakes elevate the track to a pop epic." Billboard's Starr Bowenbank compared "Moth to a Flame" to the Weeknd's "Blinding Lights", highlighting its synth as being menacing in a manner akin to the song.

Chart performance

In the United Kingdom, "Moth to a Flame" debuted at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart with first-week sales of 19,853 units, making it Swedish House Mafia's seventh top 20 single and the Weeknd's 19th. In the United States, "Moth to a Flame" entered the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart at number two with 12.9 million streams, 1.7 million radio impressions and 3,800 downloads sold in its opening week. It marked Swedish House Mafia's third top 10 single on the chart and was the highest debut on the chart since Kygo and Whitney Houston's "Higher Love" in July 2019.

Music video

The music video for the song premiered on 22 October 2021 alongside the single's release and was directed by Alexander Wessely. The music video ends with a snippet of "Mafia", the track that follows "Moth to a Flame" on Paradise Again.

Live performances

Swedish House Mafia and the Weeknd performed "Moth to a Flame" at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on 17 April 2022. Starting on 10 June 2023, "Moth to a Flame" served as the closing track for the Weeknd's After Hours til Dawn Tour.

Track listing

• Digital download and streaming

1. "Moth to a Flame" – 3:54

• Digital download and streaming – Extended Mix

1. "Moth to a Flame" (Extended Mix) – 5:00

• Digital download and streaming – Chris Lake Remix

1. "Moth to a Flame" (Chris Lake Remix) – 4:38

• Digital download and streaming – Tourist Remix

1. "Moth to a Flame" (Tourist Remix) – 4:53

• Digital download and streaming – Moojo Remix

1. "Moth to a Flame" (Moojo Remix) – 7:14

• Digital download and streaming – Adriatique Remix

1. "Moth to a Flame" (Adriatique Remix) – 6:29

Personnel

• Swedish House Mafia – production, keyboards, bass, drum programming
• Carl Nordström – production, keyboards, bass, drum programming
• Shin Kamiyama – mixing
• Mike Dean – mastering
• The Weeknd – vocals

Charts

Certifications

Release history

References

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External links

• Moth to a Flame (Trailer) on YouTube
• Moth to a Flame (Lyric video) on YouTube
• Moth to a Flame (Vevo Footnotes video) on YouTube
• Moth to a Flame (Behind the Scenes video) on YouTube

v t e The Weeknd songs
Discography Songs
Trilogy	House of Balloons "High for This" "House of Balloons / Glass Table Girls" "The Morning" "Wicked Games" "Twenty Eight" Thursday "The Zone" "Rolling Stone" Echoes of Silence "D.D" "Echoes of Silence"
Kiss Land	"Belong to the World" "Live For" "Wanderlust" "Kiss Land" "Odd Look"
Beauty Behind the Madness	"Tell Your Friends" "Often" "The Hills" "Acquainted" "Can't Feel My Face" "Earned It" "In the Night" "Prisoner"
Starboy	"Starboy" "Party Monster" "False Alarm" "Reminder" "Rockin'" "Secrets" "Stargirl Interlude" "Sidewalks" "Six Feet Under" "A Lonely Night" "All I Know" "Die for You" "I Feel It Coming"
My Dear Melancholy	"Call Out My Name" "Try Me" "Wasted Times" "I Was Never There" "Hurt You"
After Hours	"Alone Again" "Too Late" "Hardest to Love" "Scared to Live" "Snowchild" "Escape from LA" "Heartless" "Faith" "Blinding Lights" "In Your Eyes" "Save Your Tears" "Repeat After Me (Interlude)" "After Hours" "Until I Bleed Out"
Dawn FM	"Gasoline" "How Do I Make You Love Me?" "Take My Breath" "Sacrifice" "Out of Time" "Here We Go... Again" "Is There Someone Else?" "I Heard You're Married" "Less than Zero" "Moth to a Flame"
The Idol	"Double Fantasy" "Popular" "One of the Girls"
Hurry Up Tomorrow	"Dancing in the Flames" "Timeless" "São Paulo"
Other songs	"Crew Love" "Remember You" "One of Those Nights" "Sexodus" "Elastic Heart" "Or Nah" "King of the Fall" "Love Me Harder" "Might Not" "Nocturnal" "FML" "Low Life" "6 Inch" "Wild Love" "Some Way" "Comin Out Strong" "Lust for Life" "A Lie" "Curve" "Pray for Me" "What You Want" "Skeletons" "Wake Up" "Lost in the Fire" "Price on My Head" "Power Is Power" "Smile" "Over Now" "Off the Table" "Hawái" "You Right" "Better Believe" "One Right Now" "La Fama" "Die for It" "Hurricane" "Tears in the Club" "Poison" "Creepin'" "Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength)" "K-pop" "Circus Maximus" "Another One of Me" "Young Metro" "We Still Don't Trust You"
Category

• 2021 singles
• 2021 songs
• The Weeknd songs
• Swedish House Mafia songs
• Songs written by the Weeknd
• Songs written by Axwell
• Songs written by Sebastian Ingrosso
• Songs written by Steve Angello
• Republic Records singles
• Synth-pop songs