Black Summer (song)

* John Frusciante
* Anthony Kiedis

"**Black Summer**" is a song by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers and is the first single from their twelfth studio album, *Unlimited Love*. The single was released on February 4, 2022 and it was their first song in 16 years to feature guitarist John Frusciante, following his return to the band in 2019.

"Black Summer" quickly became a number-one single for the band on Alternative Airplay, giving them their 14th number-one single and 26th top ten single, both of which are records for any artist on the Alternative Songs chart; it also gave the band a number-one single in four different decades on the Alternative Songs chart, tying them with Green Day for the most ever by an artist."Black Summer" is nominated for a 2022 MTV Video Music Award for Best Rock Video.

## Reception

The song received positive reviews from critics, although Kiedis' vocals drew confusion from critics, with some likening it to an Irish accent or pirate accent. Kiedis explained that the accent was a tribute to Welsh singer-songwriter Cate Le Bon, whom the band's former guitarist Josh Klinghoffer had recorded with on her fifth studio album, *Reward*, and performed with in the experimental musical collective Banana. *Vulture* praised the song, saying that it has "everything you'd want with a Chilis joint — ethereal riffs noodling along, wonderfully nonsensical lyrics, and a music video that has Anthony Kiedis disrobing at the midway point".

Frusciante's guitar work was particularly praised, and was likened to his work on the band's 2006 album *Stadium Arcadium*. *Consequence* lauded Frusciante's "signature guitar sound", noting that it "links perfectly with Flea’s energetic bass work and steps out for multiple solos. And not only that, Frusciante's anthemic backup vocals have returned, amplifying the song's chorus to create a wide screen, stadium worthy effect."

Producer Rick Rubin's return was also highlighted by *Clash*, who compared the single to the band's earlier work, with its "funky melodies and heavy rock weaved throughout".

## Music video

A music video was released simultaneously with the single, directed by Deborah Chow.

The music video for "Black Summer" is nominated for a 2022 MTV Video Music Award for Best Rock Video. It marked the band's 29th nomination at the MTV Video Music Awards since 1990 and their first nomination since 2006 when they were nominated for "Dani California".

## Live performances

The song made its live debut on April 1, 2022 on *The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon*.

## Personnel

**Red Hot Chili Peppers**

* Anthony Kiedis – lead vocals
* Flea – bass guitar
* Chad Smith – drums, tambourine
* John Frusciante – guitar, backing vocals

**Additional musicians**

* Matt Rollings – piano

## Charts

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Chart performance for "Black Summer"
 Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan) | 3

## Release history

Release history for "Black Summer"
* streaming

## References

1. ↑ Strauss, Matthew (February 4, 2022). Red Hot Chili Peppers Announce New Album Unlimited Love, Share Video for New Song "Black Summer".
2. ↑ Astley-Brown, Michael (March 13, 2022). Red Hot Chili Peppers return to laid-back, wah-driven funk with new single, Poster Child. Guitar World.
3. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
4. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
5. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
6. ↑ Best Rock Video (en).
7. ↑ Ivie, Devon. Anthony Kiedis Debuts Hot and Confusing Irish Accent.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Red Hot Chili Peppers Fans React to Anthony Kiedis's Weird Pirate Singing on "Black Summer" | Exclaim!.
9. ↑ How the Red Hot Chili Peppers rediscovered the best version of themselves (en-US) (2022-03-31).
10. ↑ Hear the new Red Hot Chili Peppers song Black Summer (en) (February 4, 2022).
11. ↑ Song of the Week: Red Hot Chili Peppers Welcome Us To a "Black Summer" (en-US) (February 4, 2022).
12. ↑ Red Hot Chili Peppers' 'Black Summer' Locates Their Harmonious Best (en).
13. ↑ RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS Release Music Video For New Single 'Black Summer' (February 4, 2022).
14. ↑ Best Rock Video (en).
15. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
16. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
17. ↑ Top Singles (Week 6, 2022). SNEP.
18. ↑ Tónlistinn – Lög (is). Plötutíðindi.
19. ↑ Media Forest charts. *9*. Media Forest (2022).
20. ↑ Billboard Japan Hot Overseas 2022/02/16. Billboard Japan.
21. ↑ 2022 6-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100) (lt). AGATA (February 11, 2022).
22. ↑ NZ Hot Singles Chart. Recorded Music NZ (February 14, 2022).
23. ↑ ČNS IFPI. IFPI ČR.
24. ↑ Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 6. Sverigetopplistan.
25. ↑ Spotify – Black Summer.
26. ↑ Red Hot Chili Peppers "Black Summer" | (Radio Date: 04/02/2022) (it).
27. ↑ Alternative Radio Future Releases. All Access.
28. ↑ Rock Radio Future Releases. All Access.