Heart & Soul (Blue album)

Last updated

Heart & Soul
Heart & Soul (Blue album).jpg
Studio album by
Released28 October 2022 (2022-10-28)
Length30:26
Label
Producer
Blue chronology
Colours
(2015)
Heart & Soul
(2022)
Reflections
(2026)
Singles from Heart & Soul
  1. "Haven't Found You Yet"
    Released: 25 May 2022 [1]
  2. "Dance with Me"
    Released: 29 June 2022 [1]
  3. "Magnetic"
    Released: 16 September 2022 [2]
  4. "Heart & Soul"
    Released: 4 October 2022 [3]

Heart & Soul is the sixth studio album by English boy band Blue, released on 28 October 2022 through Tag8 and BMG. Their first album in seven years, the group renuited with their former producer and A&R manager Hugh Goldsmith to work on the album, which also involves production from Steve DuBerry, Lewis Shay Jankel, and Ronny Svendsen, among others. Recordings took place primarily in London, where, due to COVID-19 restrictions, the band members recorded their vocals separately from one another.

Contents

Critics praised Heart & Soul as a strong comeback for Blue, highlighting the band's signature harmonies, chemistry, and blend of nostalgic and contemporary styles, with some calling it their best work in years despite a few tracks feeling slightly dated. On charts, Heart & Soul opened and pekaed at number 22 on enered the UK Albums Chart, becoming Blue's lowest yet, while still reaching number 4 on the UK Independent Albums Chart and number 18 in Scotland. The album's release was preceded by two singles, including "Haven't Found You Yet" and "Dance with Me," a cover version of the 112 song.

Background

In March 2015, Blue released Colours , their fifth studio album, through Sony Music. A commercial disappointment, the album missed the top 10 on the UK Albums Chart, ultimately resulting in the premature termination of their two-album deal with the label, signed in November 2014. [4] Following their departure from Sony, the band shifted their focus solely to touring over the following years, while also pursuing individual projects, with Antony Costa and Duncan James concentrating on their acting careers and Lee Ryan and Simon Webbe releasing solo music. [5] By 2019, the group confirmed they had no intention of releasing new material, choosing instead to continue performing live. [6]

In early 2020, Blue flew to Sweden to write new music with Dsign Music members Anne Judith Wik and Ronny Svendsen. [7] While the band had no plan to do another album, the sessions produced five finished songs, including what would become lead single "Haven't Found You Yet." [8] Satisfied with the output, the band felt motivated to continue recording, though they were later forced to relocate recording to London due to the COVID-19 pandemic, [7] with much of their vocals recorded separately. [7] Speaking about the album, Blue said while they never expected to make another album, they ended up working with their old producer Hugh Goldsmith again, saying: "Our career started with Hugh so it's nice to come back and work with him again. He's got an amazing understanding of music." [9]

Promotion

"Haven't Found You Yet," which the band has described as "the album's strongest contender, a mix of the classic blues with a great modern twist," [7] was released as the album's first single on 25 May 2022. [1] Accompanied by a music video directed by Jackson Ducasse, [10] [11] it debuted and reached number 61 on the UK Singles Downloads Chart. [12] "Dance with Me," a cover version of the 2001 song by American group 112, was released as the album's second single on 29 June 2022. [1] The band has cited their version as an homage to "Too Close," another R&B cover that Blue had recorded in 2001. [7] "Magnetic," serving as the album's third single, was released on 16 September 2022, [2] followed by a fourth single, the title track "Heart & Soul," for which a lyric video, also directed by Ducasse, [13] was issued on 4 October 2022. [3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
musicOMH Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [14]
Retro PopStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [15]

Retro Pop said "Covering a range of styles inherent to the band's repertoire, Heart & Soul sees Blue do what they do best and on Heart & Soul they succeed in regrouping for an album that dabbles in nostalgia while continuing to push their sound." [15] Ben Devlin from musicOMH found that on Heart & Soul, the "re-energised boyband's natural chemistry finds them putting their own spin on a pot-luck array of contemporary styles." [14] Pip Ellwood-Hughes, writing for Entertainment Focus, called Heart & Soul "their best album in years" and "one of, if not the, best pop album of 2022 (so far)." He found that the album "sees the four-piece getting back into the groove mixing classic elements of the Blue sound with contemporary sounds." [16] Lucy Case from Renowned for Sound found that while a few songs "do feel slightly dated," Heart & Soul was "a great new collection of modern hits [...] showcasing their powerful harmonies and working on a more modern sound to suit 2022." [17]

Chart performance

The Official Charts Company predicted that Heart & Soul would enter the UK Top 100 Albums Chart at number 10. In doing so, Blue would score their highest album chart entry since 2003's Guilty . [18] However, when the official chart for that week was announced on 4 November 2022, it showed Heart & Soul had debuted at number 22 on the UK Top 100; making it the group's lowest-charting album to date. [19] Heart & Soul also reached number 4 on the UK Independent Albums chart, [20] and peaked at number 18 on the Scottish Albums Chart. [21]

Track listing

Heart & Soul track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Haven't Found You Yet"
3:20
2."Dance with Me"
2:40
3."This Could Be Love"
  • Chris Young
  • Ryan
  • Nermin Harambasic
  • Young
  • Svendsen
2:56
4."Let's Get Sad"
  • Collier
  • Paul Visser
3:32
5."Heart & Soul"
Jankel2:42
6."Man Do"
  • Wik
  • Ryan
  • Svendsen
Svendsen2:58
7."Magnetic"
  • Joseph Barboza
  • Costa
  • James
  • Ryan
  • Webbe
  • David Ferguson
  • Benjamin Roberts
  • Paul Visser
Visser3:14
8."Gravity"
  • Costa
  • James
  • Ryan
  • Webbe
  • Steve Duberry
Duberry3:13
9."Ultraviolet"
  • James
  • Visser
  • Ria Jaggard
Visser2:15
10."Stop"
  • Diondria Thornton
  • Christopher Thornton
  • Fabio Filos Franceschi
  • Costa
  • Roger Hayes
  • Bruce Parham, Jr.
  • James
  • Ryan
Duberry3:36
Total length:30:26

Notes

Tour

DateCityCountryVenue
4 December, 2022 Cardiff Wales Motorpoint Arena
5 December, 2022 Manchester England AO Arena
7 December, 2022 Leeds First Direct Arena
9 December, 2022 Birmingham Resorts World Arena
11 December, 2022 Liverpool M&S Bank Arena
12 December, 2022 Brighton Brighton Centre
13 December, 2022 London The O2 Arena
15 December, 2022 Bournemouth Bournemouth International Centre
16 December, 2022 Nottingham Motorpoint Arena
18 December, 2022 Aberdeen Scotland P&J Live
19 December, 2022 Glasgow OVO Hydro
20 December, 2022 Newcastle England Utilita Arena

Personnel

Performers and musicians

Technical

Charts

Chart performance for Heart & Soul
Chart (2022)Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [22] 44
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [23] 200
Scottish Albums (OCC) [21] 18
UK Albums (OCC) [19] 22
UK Independent Albums (OCC) [20] 4

Release history

Heart & Soul release history
RegionDateLabelFormatRef(s)
Various28 October 2022
CD, cassette, digital [24] [25] [26]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Blue Reveal New Single "Dance with Me"". Total Ntertainment. 29 June 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  2. 1 2 ""Magnetic" is out TOMORROW (we promise 🥲)". Twitter. 16 September 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  3. 1 2 "Blue drop their new single 'Heart & Soul' along with the music video". Planet Radio. 4 October 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  4. "Blue dropped by record label Sony". Digital Spy . 8 April 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  5. Knight, Kathryn (11 July 2017). "Boyband Blue making musical RETURN and are in process of recording new album as Simon Webbe says he's proud of group members' solo success". OK! . Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  6. Akingbade, Tobi (28 January 2019). "Blue becomes face of Ideal Boilers in 'quirky ads' after bankruptcy hits". Metro . Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 "Blue: "Unsere Stärken hatten wir immer zusammen"". bleistiftrocker.de (in German). 11 October 2022. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  8. "UK boyband Blue team up with MNEK on new album 'Heart & Soul'". outinperth.com. 7 November 2022. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  9. "Blue release first album in 7 years Heart and Soul". Music-news. October 2022. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  10. Ellwood-Hughes, Pip (26 May 2022). "Music: Blue debut new single "Haven't Found You Yet"". entertainment-focus.com. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  11. "Blue – Haven't Found You Yet (Official Video)" . Retrieved 24 November 2022 via YouTube.
  12. "Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100 (15 July 2022 – 21 July 2022 )". Officialcharts.com . Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  13. "Blue - Heart & Soul (Lyric Video)" . Retrieved 24 November 2022 via YouTube.
  14. 1 2 Devlin, Ben (26 October 2022). "Blue – Heart & Soul". musicOMH . Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  15. 1 2 "Blue – Heart & Soul". Retro Pop. 26 October 2022. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  16. Ellwood-Hughes, Pip (27 October 2022). "Blue – 'Heart & Soul' album review". entertainment-focus.com. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  17. Case, Lucy. "Album Review: Blue – Heart & Soul". Renowned for Sound . Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  18. Griffiths, George (31 October 2022). "The Beatles' Revolver re-release challenges Taylor Swift's Midnights in race for UK's Number 1 album". Official Charts. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  19. 1 2 "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  20. 1 2 "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  21. 1 2 "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  22. "Ultratop.be – Blue – Heart & Soul" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  23. "Ultratop.be – Blue – Heart & Soul" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  24. Hulton, Anna Sky (11 April 2022). "Blue announce brand new album and rescheduled tour dates for 'Heart & Soul'". Hits Radio . Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  25. Ellwood-Hughes, Pip (27 October 2022). "Blue – 'Heart & Soul' Album Review". Entertainment Focus. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  26. "Blue – Heart & Soul". Retro Pop Magazine. 27 October 2022. Retrieved 1 November 2022.