The Lockdown Sessions | ||||
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Studio album by Elton John and various artists | ||||
Released | 22 October 2021 | |||
Recorded | 2020–2021 | |||
Length | 65:32 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer |
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Elton John chronology | ||||
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Singles from The Lockdown Sessions | ||||
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The Lockdown Sessions is a collaborative studio album by English musician Elton John, released through EMI in the United Kingdom and Interscope Records in the United States on 22 October 2021. [1] It was recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic, after John was forced to pause his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour due to lockdown. [2] The album includes three singles: "Cold Heart (Pnau remix)" with Dua Lipa, "After All" with Charlie Puth, and "Finish Line" with Stevie Wonder. A 2022 reissue of the album includes "Merry Christmas" with Ed Sheeran and "Hold Me Closer" with Britney Spears.
The Lockdown Sessions was a critical and commercial success, being praised for its performances and diversity. "Cold Heart (Pnau remix)" topped the UK Singles Chart while "Hold Me Closer" reached number 3; both singles also reached the top 10 in the US.
The album features several previously released tracks: "Learn to Fly", released in June 2020; "Chosen Family", John's duet with Rina Sawayama on her Sawayama album; [3] the Gorillaz' track "The Pink Phantom" from their 2020 album Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez , on which John appears as a guest alongside 6lack; John's cover of the Pet Shop Boys' "It's a Sin" along with Years & Years, released in May 2021; [3] Miley Cyrus' version of "Nothing Else Matters" featuring John alongside various other guests (including Andrew Watt, Yo-Yo Ma, Robert Trujillo and Chad Smith), released in June 2021 from the Metallica tribute album The Metallica Blacklist ; and John's collaboration with Lil Nas X "One of Me", from Lil Nas X's debut studio album Montero .
Besides these, the record also features collaborations with other artists including Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder, Brandi Carlile, Charlie Puth, Stevie Wonder, Nicki Minaj, Young Thug, Stevie Nicks, and Glen Campbell. [4] [5] [3]
John explained the project in a statement: "Some of the recording sessions had to be done remotely, via Zoom, which I'd obviously never done before. Some of the sessions were recorded under very stringent safety regulations: working with another artist, but separated by glass screens. But all the tracks I worked on were really interesting and diverse, stuff that was completely different to anything I'm known for, stuff that took me out of my comfort zone into completely new territory. And I realised there was something weirdly familiar about working like this. At the start of my career, in the late 60s, I worked as a session musician. Working with different artists during lockdown reminded me of that. I'd come full circle: I was a session musician again. And it was still a blast." [6]
When talking about his collaboration with Surfaces on the song "Learn to Fly", John tweeted: "When the guys first sent me the song, I just loved it. It was an honour to lend my vocals and some piano." [7] In a statement, Surfaces said: "After a series of Zoom studio sessions, we were able to record together from quarantine. Working with Elton felt like the idea of winning a Grammy. He was so passionate and driven and we couldn’t have wished for a more effortless collaboration." [8] A music video to accompany the release of "Learn to Fly" was released onto YouTube on June 24, 2020. [9] It was made in collaboration with director and illustrator Ivan Dixon, who also provided the visuals for Surfaces' song "Bloom", and was produced by Sean Zwan from Studio Showoff. [10]
When the album hit number-one in the UK Albums Chart on 29 October 2021, John said "I am so proud of what we have created" [11] and wrote on his social media accounts:
"This album is all about the capacity for music to bring people together to form new friendships and connections and right now I couldn't feel more connected to my amazing fans in the UK who made this happen.
When I started collaborating with some of my favourite artists at the start of the pandemic, I couldn't have dreamt in my wildest dreams it would lead to a number one album. I am so proud of what we have created and thrilled that it has connected with our fans to such a degree. It shows the spirit of collaboration and togetherness that can still happen in the most trying circumstances.
Thank you to everyone who helped bring this album to life—I love you all. ❤"
— Elton John [12]
The lead single, "Cold Heart (Pnau remix)" with Dua Lipa, combines elements of John's 1989 song "Sacrifice", his 1972 single "Rocket Man", his 1976 album track "Where's the Shoorah?" from Blue Moves and his 1983 single "Kiss the Bride", and was released on 13 August 2021. On 15 October 2021, the single peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart. This was John's first UK number one in 16 years, since 2005's posthumous Tupac Shakur collaboration "Ghetto Gospel". [13]
The album's official second single, "After All", is a collaboration with American singer Charlie Puth. It was released on 22 September 2021. [14] [15] [16]
The album's official third single, "Finish Line", is a collaboration with American singer Stevie Wonder. It was released on 30 September 2021. [17] [18] "Finish Line" failed to chart on the Official UK Top 100, but debuted at number 73 on the Official UK Singles Sales Chart Top 100 on 28 January 2022 [19]
Aggregate scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AnyDecentMusic? | 6.8/10 [20] |
Metacritic | 70/100 [21] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
The Independent | [22] |
Mojo | [23] |
NME | [24] |
The Observer | [25] |
PopMatters | 8/10 [26] |
Rolling Stone | [27] |
Uncut | 6/10 [28] |
The Lockdown Sessions received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 70 based on ten reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [21] Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 6.8 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus. [20]
Gary Ryan from NME gave it four out of five stars, saying: "All in all, The Lockdown Sessions' all-bets-off stylistic game of spin-the-bottle feels attuned to 2021's post-genre Spotify world, as Elton continues to further his musical universe". [24] Rich Wilhelm of PopMatters also gave the album a positive review, giving it a rating of 8/10. Praise was directed at the wide variety of collaborators and genres John works with on the album; Wilhelm also credits Wott's production on many of the album's tracks as contributing to its success. [26]
The album was released on 22 October 2021, and in the OCC's UK midweek chart update on 25 October, the album was described as being in a "four way battle" with Duran Duran's Future Past , Lana Del Rey's Blue Banisters and Biffy Clyro's The Myth of the Happily Ever After for the number-one position. [29] It later became John's eighth number-one album in the UK on 29 October 2021, his first number-one album since 2012's Good Morning to the Night . [30]
The Lockdown Sessions achieved 31,000 chart sales in the UK, 84% of which were physical (CD and vinyl) sales in the first week. It was John's second number one in the UK in less than a month – "Cold Heart (Pnau remix)" with Dua Lipa reached number one on the UK Singles Chart earlier in the month. [31] In the United States, the album debuted at number ten on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 29,000 album-equivalent units, 17,000 of that sum were pure album copies, it went straight to number four on the U.S. Top Album Sales chart. [32] [33]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Cold Heart (Pnau remix)" (with Dua Lipa) | Pnau | 3:39 | |
2. | "Always Love You" (with Young Thug and Nicki Minaj) |
|
| 4:17 |
3. | "Learn to Fly" (Surfaces featuring Elton John) |
| 3:31 | |
4. | "After All" (with Charlie Puth) |
| Puth | 3:28 |
5. | "Chosen Family" (with Rina Sawayama) |
| Harle | 4:40 |
6. | "The Pink Phantom" (Gorillaz featuring Elton John and 6lack) |
| 4:13 | |
7. | "It's a Sin" (with Years & Years) | 4:44 | ||
8. | "Nothing Else Matters" (Miley Cyrus featuring Watt, Elton John, Yo-Yo Ma, Robert Trujillo and Chad Smith) | Watt | 6:35 | |
9. | "Orbit" (with SG Lewis) | SG Lewis | 3:28 | |
10. | "Simple Things" (with Brandi Carlile) |
| Watt | 4:11 |
11. | "Beauty in the Bones" (with Jimmie Allen) |
|
| 3:50 |
12. | "One of Me" (Lil Nas X featuring Elton John) |
|
| 2:41 |
13. | "E-Ticket" (with Eddie Vedder) |
| Watt | 3:18 |
14. | "Finish Line" (with Stevie Wonder) |
| Watt | 4:24 |
15. | "Stolen Car" (with Stevie Nicks) |
| Watt | 5:37 |
16. | "I'm Not Gonna Miss You" (with Glen Campbell) |
| Raymond | 2:56 |
Total length: | 65:32 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
17. | "Cold Heart" (PS1 remix, with Dua Lipa) |
|
| 2:47 |
Total length: | 68:19 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Merry Christmas" (with Ed Sheeran) |
| Mac | 3:28 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Hold Me Closer" (with Britney Spears) |
|
| 3:22 |
18. | "Merry Christmas" (with Ed Sheeran) |
| Mac | 3:28 |
Total length: | 72:22 |
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Italy (FIMI) [68] | Gold | 25,000‡ |
Poland (ZPAV) [69] | 2× Platinum | 40,000‡ |
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) [70] | Gold | 10,000‡ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [71] | Gold | 100,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
This section is missing information about the 2022 reissue.(June 2023) |
Region | Date | Format | Label | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
Various | 22 October 2021 | Vinyl | [72] [73] [74] | |
Japan | CD | Universal Music Japan | [75] | |
Brazil | 3 December 2021 | CD | Universal Music Brasil | [76] |
Pnau is an Australian dance music trio originating from Sydney. The trio, a duo before 2016, consists of the musicians Nick Littlemore, Peter Mayes and Sam Littlemore (production), with the latter joining in 2016. Pnau first gained recognition through their 1999 debut album Sambanova, which later won an ARIA Music Awards for Best Dance Release. Their third album, Pnau (2007), brought them further critical acclaim and success. Pnau is also recognised for a heavily publicised apprenticeship under the musician Elton John, who signed the duo after listening to the Pnau album. Several of Pnau's later projects have had John's involvement, such as the album Soft Universe and an album of Pnau recreations of Elton John's hits called Good Morning to the Night.
Peachtree Road is the twenty-seventh studio album by English musician Elton John, released on 9 November 2004. The album was named after Peachtree Road, the northern part of Peachtree Street in Atlanta, where one of John's four homes is located. This is the only album during his long career on which John has sole credit as producer, although on some previous projects he was listed as a co-producer, with Clive Franks, or Greg Penny. It was recorded in January 2004.
Greatest Hits 1970–2002 is a career-spanning compilation album of popular songs by English musician Elton John, released on UTV Records in 2002. It debuted on the Billboard 200 chart at number 12 on 30 November 2002, for a total run of 67 weeks. It was certified gold and platinum in December 2002, double platinum in March 2003, triple platinum in August 2004, four- and five-times platinum simultaneously in February 2011, and 6× platinum in April 2016 by the RIAA.
The singles discography of British singer, songwriter and pianist Elton John consists of 140 official singles as main artist, 22 as a featured artist, as well as 56 other non-single guest appearances, 2 charity singles, and 3 other charted songs.
Sam Littlemore, also known as Sam La More,, is an Australian record producer, songwriter and recording artist working in Sydney and Los Angeles. Littlemore, a member of dance music trio Pnau, is best known for the international number one song Cold Heart by Elton John & Dua Lipa (2021) which he and fellow members of Pnau co-wrote and produced. He is also known for his involvement in the production of "What You Waiting For?" (2004) by Gwen Stefani, Pnau songs "Go Bang", "Chameleon" and "Changes" (2013) by Faul & Wad Ad vs. Pnau, "Can't Get Better Than This" (2012) by Parachute Youth, "High" (2013) and "Fire" (2018) by Peking Duk, "Don't Hold Back" (2007) by The Potbelleez and songs with Nellee Hooper, Rick Nowels, Nelly Furtado on Loose (2006), Arthur Baker, Pnau and Tonite Only. He has won multiple ARIA and APRA Awards.
Charles Otto Puth Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. His initial exposure came through the viral success of his song covers uploaded to YouTube. Puth signed with the record label eleveneleven in 2011 after performing on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, during which he contributed songwriting and production work for other artists.
Good Morning to the Night is the first remix album by Elton John and Pnau, released in July 2012. The album's tracks are created from samples of various early John songs mixed together to form completely new songs. The album debuted at number 1 on the UK Albums Chart, marking John's chart-topper since The Very Best of Elton John in 1990.
The album discography of British singer, songwriter, and pianist Elton John consists of 32 studio albums, 5 live albums, 10 soundtrack albums, 16 compilation albums, 4 extended plays, 3 tribute albums, 4 collaboration albums, and 2 holiday albums.
Nine Track Mind is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Charlie Puth. It was released on January 29, 2016, by Artist Partner Group and Atlantic Records, after being scheduled to be released on November 6, 2015.
Dua Lipa is an English and Albanian singer and songwriter. Her accolades include seven Brit Awards and three Grammy Awards. Time magazine included her in its list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2024.
Dua Lipa is the debut studio album by English singer Dua Lipa. It was released on 2 June 2017 through Warner Bros. Records. The album is a dance-pop, electropop, and R&B record with elements of disco, hip hop, and tropical house. It includes a sole guest appearance from Miguel, as well as additional vocals from Chris Martin of Coldplay.
English and Albanian singer Dua Lipa has released three studio albums, two reissues, one remix album, one live album, five extended plays (EPs), thirty-six singles, ten promotional singles, two charity singles, and thirty-five music videos. After signing with Warner Bros. Records, she released her debut single "New Love" in 2015. The following year, she gained recognition through the singles "Hotter than Hell" and "Blow Your Mind (Mwah)". In 2017, Lipa released her self-titled debut studio album, which reached the top 10 charts in Australia, Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The album's chart-topping hits "Be the One", "New Rules" and "IDGAF" propelled Lipa to international fame.
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Sì is the sixteenth studio album by Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, released on 26 October 2018. It is Bocelli's first album of original material in 14 years, his last being Andrea (2004). Bocelli duets with his son Matteo Bocelli on "Fall on Me", and Ed Sheeran provides vocals on and also co-wrote "Amo soltanto te", which marks the second collaboration between Bocelli and Sheeran after the latter's "Perfect Symphony" in 2017. Dua Lipa and Josh Groban also appear on the album.
Future Nostalgia is the second studio album by English and Albanian singer Dua Lipa. It was released on 27 March 2020 by Warner Records. Lipa enlisted writers and producers including Jeff Bhasker, Ian Kirkpatrick, Stuart Price, the Monsters & Strangerz, and Koz to create a "nostalgic" pop and disco record containing influences from dance-pop and electronic music. The album was inspired by the music that Lipa enjoyed during her childhood.
"Prisoner" is a song by American singer Miley Cyrus featuring English and Albanian singer Dua Lipa. It was released on November 19, 2020, through RCA Records as the second single from Cyrus' seventh studio album Plastic Hearts (2020). It was also included on the re-issue of Lipa's second studio album Future Nostalgia: The Moonlight Edition (2021). It is a dance, dark-pop, disco-punk, disco-rock, glam rock and nu-disco song produced by Andrew Watt and the Monsters & Strangerz.
"Cold Heart (Pnau remix)" is a song by English singer and songwriter Elton John and English and Albanian singer Dua Lipa from the former's 32nd studio album, The Lockdown Sessions (2021). It was released on 13 August 2021 as the lead single from the album for digital download and streaming in various countries by EMI and Mercury. Created during the COVID-19 pandemic, the collaboration between the artists was a testament to their friendship, which was established in November 2020. The song is a medley of four songs written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, as well as Andrew Meecham, Dean Meredith, Nicholas Littlemore, Peter Mayes and Sam Littlemore, with the production completed by the latter three as part of the dance music group Pnau. Interpolating John's songs "Rocket Man" (1972), "Kiss the Bride" (1983), "Sacrifice" (1989) and "Where's the Shoorah?" (1976), the remix is an upbeat contemporary synth-pop, dance, dance-pop and pop song describing the decline of a relationship.
"Kiss the Bride" is a song by English musician Elton John, from his 17th studio album, Too Low for Zero, written by John and Bernie Taupin. Released as the album's third single, the upbeat song was a top 40 hit in many countries. It reached No. 20 on the UK Singles Chart, No. 25 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, No. 25 in Australia, No. 37 in Canada, No. 17 in Ireland, and No. 32 in New Zealand. In Germany, the song peaked at No. 58.
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An Evening with Dua Lipa is a television special by English and Albanian singer Dua Lipa. The programme aired on British broadcast network ITV1 on 8 December 2024. Consisting of solo performances and a selected duet with British singer Elton John, it was part of the promotion from her third studio album Radical Optimism (2024). The special was recorded on 17 October 2024 at the Royal Albert Hall located in London, England.