Ceilings (song)

"Ceilings" is a song by American singer-songwriter Lizzy McAlpine. It appeared on her second studio album, Five Seconds Flat, which was released on April 8, 2022. The folk-pop ballad, which has prominent strings in its instrumentation, describes the end of a night with McAlpine's partner that turns out to be a daydream about a relationship that already ended.

"Ceilings"
Single by Lizzy McAlpine
from the album Five Seconds Flat
Released	March 14, 2023
Genre	Folk-pop
Length	3:02
Label	AWAL
Songwriter(s)	Lizzy McAlpine
Producer(s)	Philip Etherington Ehren Ebbage
Lizzy McAlpine singles chronology
"Hate to Be Lame" (2022) "Ceilings" (2023) "Call Your Mom" (2023)

"Ceilings" became McAlpine's breakthrough song after becoming popular on TikTok, where a trend of young women running through the rain and snow to the plot twist in the song's final verse soundtracked hundreds of thousands of videos. "Ceilings" peaked at number 54 on the Billboard Hot 100. Outside of the United States, "Ceilings" peaked within the top ten of the charts in Ireland and the United Kingdom. The song was later released to mainstream radio in the United States on March 14, 2023.^[1]

Background, music video, and TikTok success

 

McAlpine in 2022

"Ceilings" was included on Lizzy McAlpine's second studio album Five Seconds Flat, a folk-pop^[2] record released on April 8, 2022 on AWAL.^[3][4] A music video starring Michael Hanano, McAlpine's boyfriend at the time, was released on February 14, 2023.^[4][5]

In early 2023, a sped-up version of the song's final verse became popular on TikTok, where it was used in over 200,000 videos, mostly of young women lip-syncing to the song while running through the rain or snow.^[6] Its online success led to the song being McAlpine's breakthrough song.^[2] She performed the song during her Tiny Desk Concert for NPR Music in November 2022 and on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in March 2023.^[7][6]

Composition and reception

"Ceilings" is a ballad with prominently featured strings.^[8] The lyrics of "Ceilings" detail the end of a night with McAlpine's partner that she does not want to end and they end with a plot twist that the night was actually a daydream about a relationship that already ended, as McAlpine sings, "But it's not real/And you don't exist/And I can't recall the last time I was kissed" in the song's final verse. She based the song on a relationship she ended in college, as well as her going to London for three months to forget about it.^[3][5]

"Ceilings" was called "doleful" and "a plot-twisty ballad of heart-stomping hallucinations" by Bobby Olivier of Billboard, while Maggie Mancini of PhillyVoice similarly called it a "heartfelt" and "wistful, sometimes hallucinogenic ballad".^[2][6] Dork's Neive McCarthy praised "Ceilings" as "a particular standout" from the songs on Five Seconds Flat.^[8]

Chart performance

"Ceilings" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 on the chart dated March 4, 2023, becoming McAlpine's first song to enter the chart. It also peaked at number eight on the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart.^[4]

In the United Kingdom, "Ceilings" peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart on March 24, 2023 – for the week ending March 30, 2023 – becoming her first top ten song in Britain.^[9]

Cover versions

On April 18, 2023, Niall Horan performed a cover of the song whilst appearing on BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge.^[10]

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for "Ceilings" Chart (2023) Peak position Australia (ARIA)^[11] 19 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)^[12] 63 Canada (Canadian Hot 100)^[13] 29 Germany (Official German Charts)^[14] 71 Global 200 (Billboard)^[15] 29 Iceland (Plötutíðindi)^[16] 29 Ireland (IRMA)^[17] 3 Lithuania (AGATA)^[18] 83 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)^[19] 32 Netherlands (Single Top 100)^[20] 34 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)^[21] 16 Norway (VG-lista)^[22] 16 Portugal (AFP)^[23] 100 Singapore (RIAS)^[24] 27 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)^[25] 62 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)^[26] 60 UK Singles (OCC)^[27] 6 UK Indie (OCC)^[28] 2 US Billboard Hot 100^[29] 54 US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)^[30] 34 US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)^[31] 5 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)^[32] 27

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for "Ceilings" Chart (2023) Position Australia (ARIA)^[33] 92 Canada (Canadian Hot 100)^[34] 92 UK Singles (OCC)^[35] 35 US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)^[36] 13

Certifications

Certifications for "Ceilings"

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)^[37]	Gold	35,000^‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)^[38]	Gold	15,000^‡
United Kingdom (BPI)^[39]	Platinum	600,000^‡
United States (RIAA)^[40]	Platinum	1,000,000^‡
^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. . AllAccess. Archived from the original on March 15, 2023. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
2. Olivier, Bobby (February 15, 2023). "No 'Ceilings': Lizzy McAlpine Is Folk-Pop's Rising Dealer of Devastation". Billboard. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
3. Ahlgrim, Callie (November 23, 2022). "Lizzy McAlpine isn't paying attention to all the attention she's getting lately". Insider. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
4. Zellner, Xander (February 28, 2023). "Hot 100 First-Timers: Lizzy McAlpine Reaches New Heights With 'Ceilings'". Billboard. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
5. Moore, Julia (February 14, 2023). "Lizzy McAlpine Watched 'Ceilings' Go Viral in Real-Time — Even Though She 'Wasn't Expecting' It to Be a Hit". People. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
6. Mancini, Maggie (March 3, 2023). "Lizzy McAlpine performs her single 'Ceilings' on 'The Tonight Show'". PhillyVoice. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
7. Boilen, Bob (November 8, 2022). "Lizzy McAlpine: Tiny Desk Concert". Retrieved March 4, 2023 – via NPR.
8. McCarthy, Neive (April 6, 2022). "Lizzy McAlpine – five seconds flat". Dork. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
9. Griffiths, George (March 3, 2023). "Miley gains longest female UK Number 1 single since Adele". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
10. Aniftos, Rania (April 19, 2023). "Niall Horan's Soothing Rendition of Lizzy McAlpine's 'Ceilings' Will Ease All Your Troubles". Billboard. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
11. "ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. March 27, 2023. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
12. "Lizzy McAlpine – Ceilings" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
13. "Billboard Canadian Hot 100: Week of March 25, 2023". Billboard. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
14. "Lizzy McAlpine – Ceilings" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
15. "Billboard Global 200: Week of March 25, 2023". Billboard. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
16. "Tónlistinn – Lög" [The Music – Songs] (in Icelandic). Plötutíðindi. Archived from the original on March 19, 2023. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
17. "Official Irish Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
18. "2023 11-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. March 17, 2023. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
19. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 13, 2023" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
20. "Lizzy McAlpine – Ceilings" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
21. "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. March 27, 2023. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
22. "Singel 2023 uke 12". VG-lista. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
23. "Lizzy McAlpine – Ceilings". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
24. . RIAS. Archived from the original on March 14, 2023. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
25. "Veckolista Singlar, vecka 12". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
26. "Lizzy McAlpine – Ceilings". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
27. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
28. "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
29. "Billboard Hot 100: Week of March 25, 2023". Billboard. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
30. "Adult Pop Airplay – May 27, 2023". Billboard. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
31. "Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart – March 18, 2023". Billboard. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
32. "Pop Airplay – May 27, 2023". Billboard. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
33. "ARIA Top 100 Singles Chart for 2023". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
34. "Canadian Hot 100 – Year-End 2023". Billboard. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
35. Griffiths, George (December 29, 2023). "The Official Top 40 Biggest Songs of 2023". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
36. "Hot Rock & Alternative Songs – Year-End 2023". Billboard. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
37. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2023 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
38. "New Zealand single certifications – Lizzy McAlpine – Ceilings". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
39. "British single certifications – Lizzy Mcalpine – Ceilings". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
40. "American single certifications – Lizzy McAlpine – Ceilings". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 25, 2023.