Blue Lips | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 17 November 2017 | |||
Recorded | October 2016 – July 2017 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 44:24 | |||
Label | Island | |||
Producer |
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Tove Lo chronology | ||||
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Alternative cover | ||||
Singles from Blue Lips | ||||
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Blue Lips [a] is the third studio album by Swedish singer Tove Lo. It was released on 17 November 2017 by Island Records. [1] Blue Lips is considered the second half of a two-piece concept album that describe "highs,lows and ultimate demise of a relationship." [2] Its chapters "Light Beams" and "Pitch Black" succeed the chapters "Fairy Dust" and "Fire Fade" from her previous album Lady Wood (2016). [3]
In addition to the return of songwriter-producers such as the Struts,Ali Payami and Joe Janiak,the album features new collaborations with Alex Hope and Lulou,among others. Daye Jack is the only featured artist on the album. Musically,the album has been described as "sharply conceived dance-pop" [4] and it is noted to follow the "hypnotizing electro-pop vein" of the preceding album that also features hip-hop and trap-influenced production. [5] [6]
A short film of the same name was released on 19 October 2018 to accompany the album. [7]
Tove Lo's previous album, Lady Wood ,was released on 28 October 2016 to positive critical reviews and fair commercial success,with it eventually becoming her highest-charting album in the United States to date. In press interviews in support of the album's release,Tove Lo alluded to another album of thematically similar material slated for release the following year that was tentatively titled Lady Wood:Phase II. [8] In early 2017,Tove Lo began the Lady Wood Tour in further support of the album,and during press interviews she said she was working on new material to be included with the portion that was already recorded during the Lady Wood sessions. [9] She explained to Billboard ,"There's a lot of songs that I wanted on [Lady Wood],but I didn't want to cram in 20 songs... so I decided to divide it into a double album,and release the second half a little bit later on". [10]
The Blue Lips track "Bitches",originally titled "What I Want for the Night (Bitches)",was previewed through Tove Lo's short film Fairy Dust in October 2016 [11] and a live version was released through Spotify in November 2016. [12] Tove Lo also previewed the track "Struggle" (then titled "The Struggle") during her performance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April 2017. [13]
During the months leading up to the album's release,Tove Lo said that thematically Blue Lips would be a "dramatic" and "highly emotional" sister to Lady Wood, [14] and it would have two contrasting chapters:"Light Beams" and "Pitch Black". [2] The album's official title was announced in conjunction with its lead single "Disco Tits" on 7 September 2017. [15] The album's artwork was released on Tove Lo's social media on 31 October 2017.
Tove Lo began teasing the release of her third studio album since the release of Lady Wood in 2016. During January 2017,she suggested that the album would be released in the spring of that year, [16] but on 31 October 2017 she confirmed that Blue Lips would be officially released on 17 November 2017. [17] On the night of the album's release,Tove Lo hosted a release party concert at Elsewhere in Brooklyn,New York City. [18]
The lead single "Disco Tits" was released on 7 September 2017. [15] It reached number 55 in Tove Lo's native Sweden,and topped the US Dance Club Songs Chart. [19] [20]
Tove Lo announced a remix of "Bitches" featuring Charli XCX,Icona Pop,Elliphant and Alma as the second single from Blue Lips. [21] It was released on 7 June 2018. [22]
Aggregate scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AnyDecentMusic? | 7.1/10 [23] |
Metacritic | 74/100 [24] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [25] |
DIY | [26] |
Financial Times | [4] |
Metro | [27] |
The Observer | [28] |
Pitchfork | 7.1/10 [6] |
Renowned for Sound | [29] |
Rolling Stone | [30] |
Blue Lips received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic,which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics,the album has an average score of 74 based on six reviews,indicating "generally favorable reviews". [24]
Frank Guan of Vulture called Blue Lips "the best album of her career" and said that "it's indisputable that the tracks on Blue Lips hit harder than their predecessors". [31] Will Hermes,in his short review of the album for Rolling Stone ,stated "Like much of Tove Lo's work,it's admirably uncensored,but may leave you craving a shower,however close to home it lands." [32] Cameron Cook of Pitchfork noted that "Blue Lips is not a straight-up disco record,but Lo uses that genre's soft focus sheen to recall an era grown from the sexual liberation of the '60s,while sheltered from the excesses of the '80s". He praised the "Light Beams" section of the album but criticized "Romantics",stating that "'Romantics',with its trendy trap beats and distorted vocals,pale slightly next to the wild ride of the album's first half."
Critic/Publication | List | Rank | Ref. |
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Melty | Best Pop Albums of the Year | 7 | |
Rolling Stone | 20 Best Pop Albums of 2017 | 13 | [34] |
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes [35] and Tidal [36]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Light Beams" |
| The Struts | 1:07 |
2. | "Disco Tits" |
| The Struts | 3:43 |
3. | "Shedontknowbutsheknows" |
| The Struts | 3:16 |
4. | "Shivering Gold" |
|
| 3:35 |
5. | "Don't Ask Don't Tell" |
| Payami | 3:46 |
6. | "Stranger" |
| Payami | 3:54 |
7. | "Bitches" |
| Payami | 2:17 |
8. | "Pitch Black" |
|
| 0:53 |
9. | "Romantics" (featuring Daye Jack) |
|
| 3:31 |
10. | "Cycles" |
| The Struts | 3:28 |
11. | "Struggle" |
| The Struts | 3:46 |
12. | "9th of October" |
| The Struts | 3:25 |
13. | "Bad Days" |
| Vernet | 3:26 |
14. | "Hey You Got Drugs?" |
| Hope | 4:18 |
Total length: | 44:24 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Cool Girl" (Timbaland remix) |
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2. | "WTF Love Is" (Karma Fields remix) |
|
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3. | "Cycles" (MK remix) |
|
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4. | "Bitches" (featuring Charli XCX, Icona Pop, Elliphant, and Alma) |
| Payami |
Chart (2017) | Peak position |
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Canadian Albums (Billboard) [39] | 78 |
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [40] | 86 |
French Digital Albums (SNEP) [41] | 61 |
New Zealand Heatseeker Albums (RMNZ) [42] | 4 |
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [43] | 39 |
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [44] | 15 |
UK Album Downloads (OCC) [45] | 71 |
US Billboard 200 [46] | 138 |
Region | Date | Format(s) | Label | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
Various | 17 November 2017 | Island | [47] | |
17 December 2018 | LP (with Lady Wood ) | [38] |
Ellinor Miranda Salome Olovsdotter, known professionally as Elliphant, is a Swedish singer, rapper and songwriter. Her sound was initially created together with the Swedish production duo Jungle, which consists of Tim Denéve and Ted Krotkiewski. The music they created together caught the attention of TEN Music Group, to which Elliphant signed in 2011. Elliphant also supported Major Lazer, the side project of American producer and DJ Diplo, on their 2015 European tour.
Ebba Tove Elsa Nilsson, known professionally as Tove Lo, is a Swedish singer and songwriter. She has been called "Sweden's darkest pop export" by Rolling Stone. She is known for her raw, grunge-influenced take on pop music. Out referred to her autobiographical lyrical content as making her "the saddest girl in Sweden".
"Habits (Stay High)" is a song recorded by Swedish singer Tove Lo from her debut extended play (EP), Truth Serum, and her debut studio album, Queen of the Clouds (2014). It was written by Lo with Ludvig Söderberg and Jakob Jerlström, while it was produced by the latter two under the production name the Struts. Initially, the singer self-released the song under the title "Habits" on 15 March 2013 as her second independently released single. After Lo was signed to Universal Music, the track was re-released on 6 December 2013 under the title of "Habits (Stay High)" as both the second single from Truth Serum and the lead single from Queen of the Clouds. Musically, it is a pop and electropop song which features a minimal and upbeat electronic instrumentation. Its lyrics delve into the singer's attempts to forget her previous boyfriend through substance abuse, drinking and other hedonistic practices. Consequently, some critics and Lo herself noted a contrast between the song's production and its lyrical content.
Queen of the Clouds is the debut studio album by Swedish singer Tove Lo, released on 24 September 2014 by Island Records. The album follows her first extended play Truth Serum (2014) and includes the successful singles "Habits " and "Talking Body". Lo worked with several writers and producers such as The Struts, Klas Åhlund, Alexander Kronlund, Alx Reuterskiöld, and Captain Cuts. Musically, Queen of the Clouds is primarily a electropop, dance-pop and synth-pop record. Lyrically, the album's themes center on the stages of a relationship, including passion, love and break-ups.
Swedish singer and songwriter Tove Lo has released five studio albums, three extended plays (EP), 33 singles, seven promotional singles and 37 music videos. Lo started her career as the lead singer and songwriter in math rock band Tremblebee from 2006 until 2009. In 2011, she signed a publishing deal with Warner/Chappell Music, and started recording songs. She self-released "Love Ballad" as her debut single in October 2012. The next year, Lo released "Habits", which received positive feedback from music blogs and led her to sign a record deal with Universal Music Group. Lo's first EP, Truth Serum, was released under the label on 3 March 2014, and entered the top 20 in Norway and Sweden. Three singles were released from the EP, including a remixed version of "Habits" by production duo Hippie Sabotage, re-titled as "Stay High". The track peaked at number 13 in Sweden and reached the top ten of the charts in Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.
"Cool Girl" is a song recorded by Swedish singer-songwriter Tove Lo for her second studio album Lady Wood (2016). Lo co-wrote the song with its producers Jakob Jerlström and Ludvig Söderberg, who are known collectively as The Struts. The track was released for digital download and streaming on 4 August 2016 as the album's lead single. It was released to contemporary hit radio stations in the United States on 23 August and three days later in the United Kingdom.
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"Cycles" is a song by Swedish singer-songwriter Tove Lo, from her third studio album, Blue Lips. It was released on 17 November 2017 as a promotional single. It was written by Tove Lo, Joe Janiak, Ludvig Söderberg and produced by The Struts. Lyrically, it talks about being trapped in a never-ending relationship loop. A music video directed by Malia James was released on 4 December 2018.
"Bitches" is a song by Swedish singer Tove Lo from her third studio album, Blue Lips (2017). The official remix featuring Charli XCX, Icona Pop, Elliphant and Alma was released on 7 June 2018 as a single.
Blue Lips is a 2018 short film co-produced, co-written and starring Swedish singer-songwriter Tove Lo. The film was released on YouTube and Vevo on 19 October 2018, and features ten songs, nine from Lo's third studio album, Blue Lips (2017), and one from her second studio album, Lady Wood (2016). It was directed and written by Malia James with Lo working on the screenplay as well while Nathan Scherrer and Laura Haber served as executive producers.
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