on 8 may 2014, the collective announced via social media that "burn the bright lights" would be released as their new single. following the announcement, the song's title became the number-two trending topic on twitter. "burn the bright lights" was made available to pre-order on 9 may 2014. it was then released both digitally and physically on 30 may 2014. the physical edition features the collective's cover of "lazy love" by ne-yo as a b-side track. keely kovacevic of optus zoo described "burn the bright lights" as a "slow-burning pop track" that showcases "their impressive vocal talents." my canberra digital wrote that the song "has an impressive strong punch to it which lets us hear just how much the group's vocals have grown and developed." for the week commencing 9 june 2014, "burn the bright lights" debuted at number 34 on the aria singles chart and became the highest new entry that week as well as the collective's eleventh entry on that chart. in its second week, the song dropped thirty-five places to number 69.