Songfacts®:

• Cee-Lo explained the meaning of this blue-collar anthem to MTV News: "This song, I think, just has a broader appeal, because it's just not talking about me, it's talking about us, he explained. "It's a song about the nightlife and just kinda being out and living for the weekend.
  (And) it's kinda got that 'working-class hero' quality too; I reference, you know, songs like Johnny Kemp's (1988 hit) 'Just Got Paid.' So it's a story that's been told before, and it's so true to life. We all work pretty hard throughout the week, and Friday and Saturday, you know, will always be special, so this is just a song to commemorate that."
• The song borrows elements of the bass line from Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean."
• The video finds Cee Lo in the back of a car cruising through the streets of New York, interspersed by various adventures.
• This is Cee-Lo's favorite track on The Lady Killer. He explained why in an interview with Concreteloop.com: "There's a part of me that wants to jam, so 'Bright Lights' is not about love, not about emotions. It's about style. It's about lifestyle and nightlife and people, and it's just about being social and sociable. It's about having fun. It's got this kind of general, all-inclusive quality to it."