Mayer took to Instagram to tease new music, saying "Summer bop drop imminent" on May 8, 2018[6] and announced the release of the new single "New Light" on May 9.

It then features Mayer dancing, playing the guitar and waving to fake zebras at various green screen locations, from the cheap apartment kitchen to the Egyptian pyramids.

Jon Blisten from Rolling Stone said the song crafted "a steady groove reminiscent of Eighties blue-eyed soul and tinged with disco guitars" and praised Mayer's "cheeky and earnest" lyrics.

[3] Billboard ranked "New Light" 27th in their list "The 50 Best Songs of 2018 (So Far)" published in June, calling the song "a sublimely silky pastel palette of keyboard twinkles and polished guitar licks that sounds like it was recorded in the clouds of John's Paradise Valley LP cover.

Their review by Matt Welty said "Mayer put out a legitimate banger in 'New Light,' an '80s-inspired track that still has the introspective side we've come to know and love from the singer/songwriter," stating they see the song "cross over beyond his traditional fan base".