Lights Down Low
by Max (featuring Gnash)

Album: Hell's Kitchen Angel (2016)
Charted: 20
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Maxwell George "Max" Schneider is an American actor, model, dancer, songwriter, and singer from Manhattan, New York. His acting roles include playing Zander in the Nickelodeon TV series How To Rock and Charlie Prince in the Nickelodeon original film Rags. This folky song was his first single to be released under the name MAX.
  • Max wrote this sultry slow jam with Nathaniel Motte and Liam O'Donnell in 2016. After recording it for his second album Hell's Kitchen Angel, he played the passionate love song to his then-girlfriend, Emily, to ask her to marry him; she accepted. Max said:

    "I proposed to her singing the song where we had our first date. We always say because the song came from a place of love it will always stand for love whether someone is gay, straight, bisexual, or transgender. It started as our little wedding song and it's so beautiful that we get to share it with the world."
  • A remix featuring Los Angeles rapper Gnash was released as a standalone single on October 14, 2016. It was this version that gave Max his first hit song as a lead artist. (He'd previously previously reached the top 50 of Billboard's dance chart in 2016 as a featured artist on Whethan's release "Savage"). Max explained to Billboard why he decided on the collaboration with the "I Hate U I Love U" artist:

    "I had this moment where I was like, 'Well, I kind of hear [gnash's] voice on 'Lights Down Low.' I never considered a rapper, it's a ballad, but you know what? I'm just gonna talk to him.' I told him the story, everything behind it. And the verse you hear is the same verse he wrote the day I told him the story. No switches, the exact recording. It's always been about sharing it honestly.

    I think that it definitely both brought it to another level and added a new twist to the song. It of course became something really beautiful with his addition to the song but didn't change the intent or the feeling of the song, which is the only thing I really cared about. I think that it definitely got to so many more people because he joined. I'm grateful for him becoming a part of it because he has such a unique voice, and we became best friends."
  • The music visual stars Max and his wife, Emily and follows the relationships that take place in an apartment over the course of many years. The clip was directed by Crush Music and Christian Snell. Crush musical director Jade Ehlers explained that "the music video depicts what one's life might look like if they lived in one apartment their whole life."
  • The love song had its very own Snapchat filter for Valentine's Day in 2018, which saw stars such as Alicia Keys and Kim Kardashian posting about it on social media.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

80s Video Director Jay Dubin

80s Video Director Jay DubinSong Writing

Billy Joel and Hall & Oates hated making videos, so they chose a director with similar contempt for the medium. That was Jay Dubin, and he has a lot to say on the subject.

Motley Crue

Motley CrueFact or Fiction

Was Dr. Feelgood a dentist? Did the "Crüecifixion" really happen?

Dwight Twilley

Dwight TwilleySongwriter Interviews

Since his debut single "I'm On Fire" in 1975, Dwight has been providing Spinal-Tap moments and misadventure.

Rufus Wainwright

Rufus WainwrightSongwriter Interviews

Rufus Wainwright on "Hallelujah," his album Unfollow The Rules, and getting into his "lyric trance" on 12-hour walks.

Jesus In Pop Hits: The Gospel Songs That Went Mainstream

Jesus In Pop Hits: The Gospel Songs That Went MainstreamSong Writing

These overtly religious songs crossed over to the pop charts, despite resistance from fans, and in many cases, churches.

Steven Tyler of Aerosmith

Steven Tyler of AerosmithSongwriter Interviews

Tyler talks about his true love: songwriting. How he identifies the beauty in a melody and turns sorrow into art.