“Godlight” by Noah Kahan

According to Noah Kahan, a “godlight” is an actual thing, being a term he’s become familiar with via his participation in the music industry. And what it actually refers to is the light during a live performance which is fixated on the primary vocalist him or herself. 

And relatedly, in the first verse what Noah is noting is how fans can be cheering for you one moment and like screaming for your blood the next. Indeed we’ve come across quite a few songs throughout the years which are subjected on the fickleness of fandom. However, such does not appear to entirely be the case with “Godlight” but again is just what the first verse is about.

Rather what Noah Kahan appears to be speaking to, as implied by the title of the overall project this track is featured on, is how he himself has changed throughout the years. Being the recipient of the “godlight” – an experience we can say most people never go through – has had a profound effect on him internally. 

Is the “Godlight” a good thing?

Based on the chorus he does not necessarily perceive this transformation as a good thing. Along those same lines, as revealed by the second verse, he seems to imply that he has not changed for the better. According to him, he has rather become conceited. Furthermore, he has become someone whom his own family can’t recognize. And this is a far cry from his humbler days as an up-and-comer.

Romance?

There also appears to be a romantic element to this song, or the vocalist, at points, addressing a romantic interest. Such a notion especially comes through in the pre-chorus, where he mentions “black heels” and refers to the addressee as “honey”. But such an idea is theoretical. 

Rather what may actually be going down is something like Noah playing around with pronouns.  In other words at certain points he may be speaking as himself, and at others he may be playing the role of someone else speaking to him, or something like that.

But at the end of the day, the thesis sentiment of this piece appears to center on the vocalist acknowledging the power of the “godlight”. Simply put, Noah Kahan, someone who has blown up in his own right, is affirming that fame does in fact change you.

Who is Noah Kahan

Noah Kahan is a singer from Vermont whose discography dates back to 2017. Between then and now he’s come out with two EPs. These EPS are 2018’s Hurt Somebody and 2020’s Cape Elizabeth. His debut full-length titled Busyhead came out in 2019. None of these projects appear as if they have done exceptionally well commercially.

In between 2017 and 2020 he has also come out with over 10 singles with one of them, False Confidence (2018), making it onto the top 10 of Billboard’s Adult Alternative Songs chart. His most successful song to date though is actually a collaboration with Julia Michaels entitled Hurt Somebody (2017), which went quadruple-platinum in Australia.

Busyheads

However despite never really landing what would be considered a big hit in his homeland, Noah Kahan still boasts of loyal following to the point that they even have their own moniker, that being “Busyheads”. 

He has also appeared on one of the biggest stages in the United States, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, as early as 2018.  Moreover, Kahan has been a Republic Records’ signee since 2016.  So even though he may not necessarily read like a big artist, Noah is apparently one of those types whose popularity exceeds his commercial accomplishments.

Facts about “Godlight”

Noah Kahan is the sole author of Godlight, which is also a product of Republic Records. And the producers of the song are Mark Rankin and New Zealand’s Joel Little, the latter of whom played a number of instruments throughout the track.

“Godlight” appears to be the second single from what is shaping up to be Noah Kahan’s sophomore full-length, entitled “I Was / I Am”. And the first was a track that came out earlier in 2021 called “Part of Me”. And as implied by the name of the album, this project is somewhat of an introspective piece whereas the singer is comparing who he is now to who he was prior to becoming a music star.

As of the release of this track on 30 June 2021, Noah Kahan is 24 years old. That means when he first became professionally active, he would have just been graduating from high school. And in fact it has been noted that he has been writing and promoting his own music since his prepubescent years.