Heart & Soul (Blue album)
| Heart & Soul | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 28 October 2022 | |||
| Length | 30:26 | |||
| Label |
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| Producer |
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| Blue chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Heart & Soul | ||||
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Heart & Soul is the sixth studio album by English boy band Blue, released on 28 October 2022 through Tag8 and BMG.[4][5]
Background
[edit]In early 2020, Blue flew to Sweden to write new music with Dsign Music members Anne Judith Wik and Ronny Svendsen.[6] 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."[7] 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,[6] with much of their vocals recorded separately.[6] 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."[8]
Promotion
[edit]"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,"[6] was released as the album's first single on 25 May 2022.[1] Accompanied by a music video directed by Jackson Ducasse,[9][10] it debuted and reached number 61 on the UK Singles Downloads Chart.[11] "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.[6] "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,[12] was issued on 4 October 2022.[3]
Critical reception
[edit]| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| musicOMH |   [13] |
| Retro Pop | [14] |
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."[14] 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."[13] 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."[15] 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."[16]
Chart performance
[edit]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.[17] 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.[18] Heart & Soul also reached number 4 on the UK Independent Albums chart,[19] and peaked at number 18 on the Scottish Albums Chart.[20]
Track listing
[edit]| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Haven't Found You Yet" |
|
| 3:20 |
| 2. | "Dance with Me" |
|
| 2:40 |
| 3. | "This Could Be Love" |
|
| 2:56 |
| 4. | "Let's Get Sad" |
|
| 3:32 |
| 5. | "Heart & Soul" |
| Jankel | 2:42 |
| 6. | "Man Do" |
| Svendsen | 2:58 |
| 7. | "Magnetic" |
| Visser | 3:14 |
| 8. | "Gravity" |
| Duberry | 3:13 |
| 9. | "Ultraviolet" |
| Visser | 2:15 |
| 10. | "Stop" |
| Duberry | 3:36 |
| Total length: | 30:26 | |||
Notes
- ^a signifies a vocal producer
Tour
[edit]| Date | City | Country | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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
[edit]Performers and musicians
|
|
Technical
|
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Charts
[edit]| Chart (2022) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[21] | 44 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[22] | 200 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[20] | 18 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[18] | 22 |
| UK Independent Albums (OCC)[19] | 4 |
Release history
[edit]| Region | Date | Label | Format | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Various | 28 October 2022 |
|
CD, cassette, digital | [23] |
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "Blue Reveal New Single "Dance with Me"". Total Ntertainment. 29 June 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
- ^ a b ""Magnetic" is out TOMORROW (we promise 🥲)". Twitter. 16 September 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
- ^ a b "Blue drop their new single 'Heart & Soul' along with the music video". Planet Radio. 4 October 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
- ^ Ellwood-Hughes, Pip (27 October 2022). "Blue – 'Heart & Soul' Album Review". Entertainment Focus. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ "Blue – Heart & Soul". Retro Pop Magazine. 27 October 2022. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ a b c d e "Blue: "Unsere Stärken hatten wir immer zusammen"". bleistiftrocker.de (in German). 11 October 2022. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
- ^ "UK boyband Blue team up with MNEK on new album 'Heart & Soul'". outinperth.com. 7 November 2022. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
- ^ "Blue release first album in 7 years Heart and Soul". Music-news. October 2022. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
- ^ Ellwood-Hughes, Pip (26 May 2022). "Music: Blue debut new single "Haven't Found You Yet"". entertainment-focus.com. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
- ^ "Blue – Haven't Found You Yet (Official Video)". Retrieved 24 November 2022 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100 (15 July 2022 – 21 July 2022 )". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
- ^ "Blue - Heart & Soul (Lyric Video)". Retrieved 24 November 2022 – via YouTube.
- ^ a b Devlin, Ben (26 October 2022). "Blue – Heart & Soul". musicOMH. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
- ^ a b "Blue – Heart & Soul". Retro Pop. 26 October 2022. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
- ^ Ellwood-Hughes, Pip (27 October 2022). "Blue – 'Heart & Soul' album review". entertainment-focus.com. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
- ^ Case, Lucy. "Album Review: Blue – Heart & Soul". Renowned for Sound. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
- ^ a b "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
- ^ a b "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Blue – Heart & Soul" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Blue – Heart & Soul" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
- ^ Hulton, Anna Sky (11 April 2022). "Blue announce brand new album and rescheduled tour dates for 'Heart & Soul'". Hits Radio. Retrieved 27 August 2022.