Seasons (Waiting on You)

2014 song by Future Islands

"Seasons (Waiting on You)"

Single by Future Islands
from the album  Singles
B-side| "One Day"
Released| February 4, 2014 (2014-02-04)
Recorded| August 2013
Studio| Dreamland Studios
(Hurley, New York)
Genre|

* Synth-pop[1]
* new wave[1]

Length| 3:46
Label| 4AD
Songwriter(s)|

* William Cashion
* Samuel T. Herring
* J. Gerrit Welmers

Producer(s)| Chris Coady
Future Islands singles chronology
| "Tomorrow" / "The Fountain"
(2012)  | "Seasons (Waiting on You)"
(2014)  | "A Dream of You and Me"
(2015)

|
|

Music video
"Seasons (Waiting on You)" on YouTube

"Seasons (Waiting on You)" is a song by American synthpop band Future Islands. It is the opening track on their fourth studio album Singles, and was released as the album's lead single on February 4, 2014.[2] The song received much critical acclaim, topping The Village Voice's annual year-end Pazz & Jop critics' poll[3] and also being named the best track of 2014 by publications such as NME,[4] Pitchfork,[5] and Spin.[6] In 2019, it was named the 34th best song of the 2010s by Pitchfork,[7] and was ranked 94th on Rolling Stone's 100 Best Songs of the 2010s.[8]

## Critical reception

[edit]

### Accolades

[edit]

Accolades for "Seasons (Waiting on You)"  Publication  | Accolade  | Rank

|
|

Consequence of Sound | Top 50 Songs of 2014[9] | 1
Pitchfork | The 100 Best Tracks of 2014[10] | 1
Pazz & Jop | Single of the Year 2014[11] | 1
Spin | The 101 Best Songs of 2014[12] | 1
NME | Top 50 Tracks of 2014[13] | 1
PopMatters | The 75 Best Songs of 2014[14] | 2
Drowned in Sound | 40 Favourite Songs of 2014[15] | 4
Slant Magazine | The 25 Best Singles of 2014[16] | 8
Paste | The 50 Best Songs of 2014[17] | 8
Rolling Stone | 50 Best Songs of 2014[18] | 9
American Songwriter | Top 50 Songs of 2014[19] | 14
Pitchfork | The 200 Best Tracks of the Decade So Far (2010–2014)[20] | 123
Pitchfork | The 200 Best Songs of the 2010s[7] | 34

## Live performances

[edit]

The band's performance of the song on Late Show with David Letterman became an internet hit[21] due to frontman Samuel T. Herring's visual and vocal performance, which included elaborate and angular dance moves and death metal-style growls. Herring also put on a similarly unusual performance during the band's performance of the song on Later... with Jools Holland.[22]

## Track listing

[edit]

* 7-inch single[2]

1. "Seasons (Waiting on You)" – 3:46
2. "One Day" – 4:27

* Digital download (remix)[23]

1. "Seasons (Waiting on You)" (BADBADNOTGOOD Reinterpretation) – 3:43

## Charts

[edit]

Chart performance for "Seasons (Waiting on You)"  Chart (2014)  | Peak
position

|

Australia (ARIA Hitseekers)[24] | 13
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[25] | 50
UK Indie (OCC)[26] | 25
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[27] | 50
US Adult Alternative Songs (Billboard)[28] | 27
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[29] | 37

## Certifications

[edit]

Certifications for "Seasons (Waiting on You)"  Region  | Certification | Certified units/sales

|
|

Canada (Music Canada)[30] | Gold  | 40,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[31] | Gold  | 15,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[32] | Silver  | 200,000‡
United States (RIAA)[33] | Gold  | 500,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

## Release history

[edit]

Release history for "Seasons (Waiting on You)"  Region  | Date  | Format  | Label

|
|
|

United States[2][23] | February 4, 2014  | 7-inch vinyl | 4AD Records
June 30, 2014  | Digital download

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Treble Staff (May 11, 2020). "A History of Synth-Pop in 50 Essential Songs". Treble. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
2. ^ a b c "Seasons (Limited Edition)". Amazon.com. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
3. ^ "The Village Voice's 42nd Pazz & Jop Music Critics' Poll: The Last Word on the Year in Music (Singles)". The Village Voice. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
4. ^ "NME's Top 50 Tracks Of 2014". NME. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
5. ^ "The 100 Best Tracks of 2014". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
6. ^ "The 101 Best Songs of 2014". Spin. December 8, 2014. Retrieved December 25, 2014.
7. ^ a b "the 200 Best Tracks of the 2010s". Pitchfork. 7 October 2019. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
8. ^ Will Hermes; Brittany Spanos; Christian Hoard; Suzy Exposito; Charles Holmes; Claire Shaffer; Jon Freeman; Joseph Hudak; David Browne; Jon Dolan; Rob Sheffield; Joe Levy; Nick Catucci; Simon Vozick-Levinson; Andy Greene; Brenna Ehrlich; Brendan Klinkenberg; Hank Shteamer; Angie Martoccio; Jerry Portwood (December 4, 2019). "The 100 Best Songs of the 2010s". Rolling Stone.
9. ^ "Top 50 Songs of 2014". Consequence of Sound. 5 December 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
10. ^ "The 100 Best Tracks of 2014". Pitchfork. 15 December 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
11. ^ "Single of the Year 2014". Pazz & Jop. The Village Voice. 13 January 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
12. ^ "The 101 Best Songs of 2014". Spin. 8 December 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
13. ^ "Top 50 Tracks of 2014". NME. 26 November 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
14. ^ "The 75 Best Songs of 2014". PopMatters. 22 December 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
15. ^ "40 Favourite Songs of 2014". Drowned in Sound. 8 December 2014. Archived from the original on 2 February 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
16. ^ "The 25 Best Singles of 2014". Slant Magazine. 10 December 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
17. ^ "The 50 Best Songs of 2014". Paste. 2 December 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
18. ^ "50 Best Songs of 2014". Rolling Stone. 3 December 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
19. ^ "Top 50 Songs of 2014". American Songwriter. 3 December 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
20. ^ "The 200 Best Tracks of the Decade So Far (2010–2014)". Pitchfork. 18 August 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
21. ^ "Future Islands - "Seasons" @ Letterman 3/3/14". YouTube. Retrieved 2020-03-22.
22. ^ Published on Sep 30, 2014 (2014-09-30). "Future Islands perform Seasons (Waiting On You) | Later... with Jools Holland - BBC". YouTube. Retrieved 2020-03-22.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
23. ^ a b "Seasons (Waiting On You) [BADBADNOTGOOD Reinterpretation] – Single by Future Islands". iTunes Store. United States. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
24. ^ "ARIA Report: Issue 1302" (PDF). ARIA. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 12, 2015. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
25. ^ "Future Islands – Seasons (Waiting on You)" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
26. ^ "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
27. ^ "Future Islands Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
28. ^ "Future Islands Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
29. ^ "Future Islands Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
30. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Future Islands – Seasons (Waiting on You)". Music Canada. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
31. ^ "New Zealand single certifications – Future Islands – Seasons (Waiting on You)". Radioscope. Retrieved July 27, 2025. Type Seasons (Waiting on You)  in the "Search:" field.
32. ^ "British single certifications – Future Islands – Seasons (Waiting on You)". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
33. ^ "American single certifications – Future Islands – Seasons (Waiting on You)". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved May 2, 2025.

* v
* t
* e

Future Islands

* William Cashion
* Samuel T. Herring
* Gerrit Welmers
* Michael Lowry

* Erick Murillo
* Samuel N. Ortiz-Payero

Studio albums|

* In Evening Air
* On the Water
* Singles
* The Far Field
* As Long as You Are
* People Who Aren't There Anymore

Singles|

* "Seasons (Waiting on You)"

Associated acts|

* Art Lord & the Self-Portraits
* The Snails
* Peals

Related articles|

* Discography

* v
* t
* e

Pitchfork

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* The Pitchfork 500
* The Dissolve
* The Pitchfork Review

Music festivals|

* Intonation Music Festival
* Pitchfork Music Festival

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* "Midnight City" − M83 (2011)
* "Oblivion" − Grimes (2012)
* "Hold On, We're Going Home" − Drake featuring Majid Jordan (2013)
* "Seasons (Waiting on You)" − Future Islands (2014)
* "Alright" − Kendrick Lamar (2015)
* "Ultralight Beam" − Kanye West (2016)
* "Bodak Yellow" − Cardi B (2017)
* "Love It If We Made It" − the 1975 (2018)
* "Cellophane" − FKA Twigs (2019)
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Video of the Year|

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