Uprising (song)

This article is about the Muse song. For the Sabaton song, see Coat of Arms (Sabaton album).

"Uprising" is a song by the English rock band Muse, released on 4 August 2009 as the lead single from their fifth studio album, The Resistance (2009). It was written by Matt Bellamy, produced by Muse and mixed by Spike Stent.

"Uprising"
Single by Muse
from the album The Resistance
B-side	"Who Knows Who" Does It Offend You, Yeah? mix
Released	4 August 2009 (2009-08-04)
Recorded	2008–09
Studio	Studio Bellini (Lake Como, Italy)
Genre	Alternative rock space rock glam rock
Length	5:03 (album version) 4:08 (international radio edit) 3:35 (US radio edit)
Label	Warner Bros. Helium-3
Songwriter(s)	Matt Bellamy
Producer(s)	Muse
Muse singles chronology
"Map of the Problematique" (2007) "Uprising" (2009) "Undisclosed Desires" (2009)

"Uprising" reached number 37 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and the top 10 in seven countries. It was certified platinum in the UK, gold in four countries, platinum in five other countries, and double platinum in the United States, making it Muse's best-selling single.

Composition

"Uprising" was described as an alternative rock,^[1] space rock,^[2] and glam rock song,^[3] with elements of industrial.^[4] It is composed in the key of D minor with a tempo of 132 beats per minute.^[5] Several critics likened it to the theme music from the science fiction TV series Doctor Who.^[6] Uncut said "Uprising" combines a "Goldfrapp-style" schaffel beat, the riff from the 1980 Blondie song "Call Me" and "leftist sloganeering".^[7] The songwriter, Matt Bellamy, said it "sums up how a lot of people feel and it's that we need change".^[8]

Music video

The music video was released in September 2009.^[9] It features a giant teddy bear destroying buildings, which Rolling Stone interpreted as a homage to the 1984 film Ghostbusters.^[10] The video won "Best Special Effects" in the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards and was nominated for "Best Rock Video".^{[citation needed]}

Release

In September 2009, Muse performed "Uprising" for the first time at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.^[11] "Uprising" won Best Single at the 2010 Music Producers Guild Awards.^[12] Accepting the award, Bellamy thanked John Leckie, the producer of their first two albums, for "teaching us how to produce".^[12] He also thanked the producer Rick Rubin "for teaching us how not to produce", which some sources took to mean Muse had fired Rubin after a failed collaboration.^[13] Bellamy later said his comment had been misconstrued and that Muse had never worked with Rubin; instead, he said Muse had been inspired by stories of his "hands-off" production style.^[14]

"Uprising" reached the top 10 in Belgium (Wallonia), Denmark, Finland, Norway, Scotland, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. It was certified silver in the United Kingdom, gold in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Italy and New Zealand, and platinum in France and Switzerland and double-platinum in the United States.^{[citation needed]}

"Uprising" was Muse's first entry on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching number 37 on the week ending 3 October, and spent 20 weeks on the Hot 100. It had sold 2,170,000 copies in the US as of April 2013^[update].^[15]

"Uprising" reached number one on the US Billboard Alternative Songs chart on 9 September 2009.^[16] It was Muse's sixth top-10 single and first number one on the chart, and spent 17 weeks at number one, becoming the second longest-running number one song ever on the chart at the time. As songs on the chart are retired for charting out of the top 10 beyond week 52, "Uprising" was 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.

In 2013, Billboard named "Uprising" number one in its 25th-anniversary list of the top 100 songs to enter the chart.^[17] It was ranked number three on an updated version of the list in 2023, after the success of All Time Low's "Monsters" and Lovelytheband's "Broken" in the late 2010s and early 2020s.^[18][19]

Bellamy expressed discomfort that "Uprising" was used in YouTube videos advocating for conspiracy theories, saying "the conspiracy theory subculture has been hijacked by the right to try to take down people like Obama and put forward rightwing libertarianism".^[20] Muse refused requests from American politicians to use "Uprising" in their rallies.^[20]

Personnel

Muse

• Matthew Bellamy – lead vocals, guitars, synthesisers, production
• Chris Wolstenholme – bass guitar, backing vocals, production
• Dominic Howard – drums, percussion, production

Additional personnel

• Tom Kirk – handclaps, backing vocals
• Adrian Bushby – engineering, handclaps, backing vocals
• Paul Reeve – additional vocal production, handclaps, backing vocals

Track listing

7-inch

• Warner Bros. — WEA458

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

CD

• Warner Bros. — WEA458CD

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

Download

iTunes release^[21]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Uprising"	5:04
2.	"Uprising" (Does It Offend You, Yeah? Mix)	4:00
3.	"Uprising" (Live from Teignmouth)	5:37

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2009–2010) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[22] 23 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[23] 29 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[24] 12 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[25] 6 Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[26] 28 Canada Rock (Billboard)[27] 9 Denmark (Tracklisten)[28] 5 Europe (European Hot 100)[29] 17 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[30] 8 France (SNEP)[31] 74 Germany (GfK)[32] 40 Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)[33] 3 Ireland (IRMA)[34] 11 Italy (FIMI)[35] 14 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[36] 22 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[37] 22 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[38] 12 Norway (VG-lista)[39] 4 Scotland (OCC)[40] 2 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[41] 13 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[42] 8 UK Singles (OCC)[43] 9 US Billboard Hot 100[44] 37 US Adult Pop Airplay (Billboard)[45] 14 US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[46] 2

Year-end charts Chart (2009) Position Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[47] 95 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[48] 43 Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)[49] 61 Italy (FIMI)[50] 59 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[51] 59 UK Singles (OCC)[52] 161 US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[53] 33 Chart (2010) Position US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[54] 49 US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[55] 2 Decade-end charts Chart (2010–2019) Position US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[56] 30

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[57]	Gold	35,000^
Belgium (BRMA)[58]	Gold	15,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[59]	Gold	40,000*
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[60]	Platinum	90,000‡
France (SNEP)[61]	Diamond	333,333‡
Italy (FIMI)[62]	Platinum	50,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[63]	2× Platinum	60,000‡
Portugal (AFP)[64]	Platinum	20,000‡
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[65]	Platinum	60,000‡
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[66]	Platinum	30,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[67]	Platinum	600,000‡
United States (RIAA)[68]	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.