[Intro] [Verse] Thousands of faces beneath the studio lights Countless names disappearing into the night Silhouettes of a million extras in line All chasing the moment when the stars align Broken promises painted on dressing-room doors Dreams traded cheaply for a chance at the score The streets are paved with secrets nobody tells Every stairway to heaven has a highway to hell They come with their photographs, their hopes, and their lies With a little bit of hunger burning deep in their eyes The city keeps turning while the dreamers arrive And the spotlight keeps watching them fight to survive [Pre-Chorus] The lights can make you beautiful The lights can make you blind They'll show the world your brightest side And leave the rest behind [Chorus] Studio lights, shining like a promise Studio lights, calling out your name Everybody wants forever Everybody wants the flame Studio lights, nothing stays a secret Studio lights, every dream gets tried You can lose yourself inside them They can take your dreams higher [Verse] You came here with a suitcase and a picture in your hand A room above the boulevard, a future loosely planned You learned the names of casting men, the places people go And how to smile like you belong before they say hello You wore your best dress to the studios downtown Waited through the afternoon while the sun went down They told you, “Keep believing,” then they asked you to be patient And every small rejection felt like one more invitation Years pass like reels of film beneath a projector beam You start to wonder where you end and where begins the dream But somewhere in the waiting, you still hear that distant sound The part of you that brought you here refusing to back down [Pre-Chorus] The lights can make you beautiful The lights can make you blind They'll show the world your brightest side And leave the rest behind [Chorus] Studio lights, shining like a promise Studio lights, calling out your name Everybody wants forever Everybody wants the flame Studio lights, nothing stays a secret Studio lights, every dream gets tried You can lose yourself inside them They can take your dreams higher [Guitar Break] [Verse] Now you're standing in the doorway with your moment in your hands One more chance to take the shot, one more place to make a stand The spotlight turns its eye toward you, revealing every scar And all the things the city knows are hidden where you are It has seen the deals and secrets, seen the hopeful disappear Seen the ones who kept on climbing, seen the ones who stayed too near It has watched a thousand dreams become a name above the door And watched a thousand others leave without knowing what for You step into the brightness, and the room begins to rise There are promises before you and a thousand watching eyes The camera starts a rolling, and the people hold their breath Then the studio lights spotlight you—and nothing's left to chance [Breakdown] Studio lights... Keep shining... Some dreams disappear... Some dreams keep rising... [FINAL CHORUS] Studio lights, shining like a promise Studio lights, calling out your name Everybody wants forever Everybody wants the flame Studio lights, nothing stays a secret Studio lights, every dream gets tried You can lose yourself inside them They can take your dreams higher Studio lights... Keep shining on her tonight [Outro]
