“Where Are We Now?” is a song by English musician David Bowie. Recorded in secret between September and October 2011 at the Magic Shop in New York City, it was released by ISO and Columbia Records as the lead single of his 24th studio album
The Next Day on iTunes on 8 January 2013, Bowie’s 66th birthday. It was accompanied by a music video directed by Tony Oursler, which was posted on Bowie’s website.
According to producer Tony Visconti, the timing of the release was Bowie’s idea, and the single was simply “dropped” in iTunes for fans to discover, with no prior warning or fanfare.
Upon its release, “Where Are We Now?” received significant news coverage; it was Bowie’s first release of new material since Reality (2003). It garnered acclaim from music critics,
many of whom praised the song’s reflective lyrics and somber quality, and deemed it a welcome return for the artist after a decade-long hiatus. It topped the iTunes charts in numerous countries and peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart,
making it Bowie’s biggest hit since “Absolute Beginners” in 1986 and his last top ten hit before his death in January 2016. The success of the song also meant that Bowie
has had a top ten hit on the UK Singles Chart in five different decades (1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2010s), something which few other artists have managed to achieve.
