Blackout Lyrics - In the Heights

Song Overview

Song Credits

• Featured Ensemble: Mandy Gonzalez, Christopher Jackson, Karen Olivo, Robin de Jesús, Olga Merediz, Lin-Manuel Miranda & company
• Composer & Lyricist: Lin-Manuel Miranda
• Arrangers & Orchestrators: Alex Lacamoire, Bill Sherman
• Producers: Joel Moss, Kurt Deutsch, Andres Levin, Bill Sherman, Alex Lacamoire, Lin-Manuel Miranda
• Musical Director: Alex Lacamoire
• Release Date: June 3, 2008
• Genre: Broadway hip-hop / salsa / pop collage
• Instruments: Congas, brass section, piano montuno, electric bass, Latin percussion, rap-beat drum kit
• Label: Ghostlight Records
• Length: 4 min 22 sec (cast-album cut)
• Language: English & Spanish (rapid code-switching)
• Album: In the Heights (Original Broadway Cast Recording) – Track 12
• Copyright © 2008 5000 Broadway Productions & Razor & Tie

Song Meaning and Annotations

The lights snap off, the clave keeps ticking, and suddenly Washington Heights is working by moon glow alone. Blackout isn’t a ballad; it’s a street-corner documentary shot in four frantic minutes. Miranda layers shouted directions, bilingual panic, and Benny-versus-traffic ad-libs over a salsa-house groove that refuses to quit even when Con Edison does. Think of it as a musical time-lapse: storefronts slam, fireworks bloom, romances spark (literally and figuratively), all while the power grid takes a coffee break.

Under the hood it’s a rhythmic relay race. Each character grabs the melodic baton and sprints eight bars before tossing it onward. Kevin yells for taxis, Sonny guards the bodega with a Louisville Slugger, Graffiti Pete flashes Roman candles like uptown signal flares, and Abuela Claudia quietly hands Usnavi a fortune that could change the block forever. The arrangement mirrors the frenzy: percussion rattles like loose subway screws, horns stab, then the music drops to near silence for Claudia’s revelation—one of those stage moments where an audience forgets to swallow.

Lyrically the number juggles triple meanings: a literal power outage, a metaphor for the barrio’s political “powerlessness,” and good old theatre jargon—scene ends, lights out, blackout. Meanwhile Pete’s fireworks explode over the GWB like improvised chandeliers, giving the chorus its hypnotic hook: “Look at the fireworks.” Darkness never looked so neon.

Opening Shouts

“¿Oye, qué pasó? / Blackout, blackout!”

An on-beat census of confusion. The crowd’s Spanish reaction collides with Usnavi’s English headline—cultural gears grinding but meshing.

Middle Chorus

“We are powerless!”

Triple-meter chant morphs into social commentary. Sonny’s voice cracks under both puberty and politics.

Claudia’s Secret

“Usnavi, please promise me / You’ll guard this with your life”

The heartbeat drops out, leaving strings and whispered disbelief. The barrio’s grandmother becomes its lottery fairy.

Final Tableau

“En Washington Heights!”

The ensemble hits a unison cry, fireworks crescendo, stage lights pulse back—curtain. End of Act I-style cliff-hanger amped on candle smoke.

Similar Songs

1. “One Day More” – Original London Cast (Les Misérables)
   Both numbers herd half a dozen plotlines into one pulsing super-chorus. The Les Mis march stacks marching drums and revolutionary zeal; Blackout swaps drums for timbales and revolution for brown-out survival. In each, characters sing individual motives simultaneously, creating a sonic Venn diagram of conflict.
2. “Non-Stop” – Hamilton Original Broadway Cast
   Miranda loves an over-crowded finale. Non-Stop races through four years of law school, duels, and Federalist Papers with interlocking hooks, while Blackout covers four minutes of uptown anarchy. Both marry hip-hop cadences to Broadway counterpoint, leaving listeners gasping at the ride.
3. “The Rumor” – Fiddler on the Roof
   Gossip spreads through Anatevka like wildfire; a literal wildfire lights up Blackout. Tevye’s villagers trade half-truths over klezmer clarinets, whereas the Heights residents shout rumors in Spanglish over salsa piano. Different address, same human megaphone effect.

Questions and Answers

Is the blackout based on a real New York event?

Yes—the 1999 Uptown blackout that cut power to 200,000 residents for 18 humid hours inspired the mayhem.

Why include fireworks during a power outage?

Graffiti Pete’s pyrotechnics provide light, distraction for would-be looters, and a literal illumination of the song’s hook.

Does the ensemble sing in strict harmony?

No—Miranda crafts overlapping spoken-sung lines, creating organized chaos that mirrors the street scene.

What musical styles collide in the number?

Hip-hop narration, salsa horn punches, Latin jazz piano, and classic Broadway ensemble writing share the same tight apartment.

How does the song move the plot?

Claudia’s lottery reveal, Nina and Benny’s first real kiss, and Sonny’s conscience all detonate here, propelling Act II stakes.

Awards and Chart Positions

While Blackout itself never hit radio charts, its parent cast album won the 2009 Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album. The original production claimed four Tony Awards in 2008, with this ensemble piece cited by critics as the act-end showstopper that sealed the win.

Fan and Media Reactions

“When the fireworks break through the darkness, I get goosebumps every single play.” – @StageDoorKid, YouTube

“Living in the Heights during the 1999 outage, this song is basically journalistic truth set to clave.” – Mariela V., blog comment

“The cross-talk verses make my brain feel like Times Square on New Year’s.” – @BroadwayNerd42

“Abuela’s quiet ‘promise me’ hits harder than any high note.” – Playbill forum user ‘LightsOutLenny’

“Miranda turns a neighborhood crisis into a carnival—only he could write a blackout you’d pay to relive.” – Javier Castillo, theatre critic