Delirium
Physical standard edition artwork[1][a]
Studio album by
Ellie Goulding
Released6 November 2015 (2015-11-06)
Recorded2014–2015
Studio
Genre
Length56:31
LabelPolydor
Producer
Ellie Goulding chronology
Halcyon Days
(2013) 		Delirium
(2015) 		Brightest Blue
(2020)
Alternative cover
Japanese cover
Japanese cover
Singles from Delirium
  1. "On My Mind"
    Released: 17 September 2015
  2. "Army"
    Released: 15 January 2016
  3. "Something in the Way You Move"
    Released: 19 January 2016

Delirium is the third studio album by English singer and songwriter Ellie Goulding, released on 6 November 2015 by Polydor Records. Music critics were generally impressed by the overall production of the record, although they were ambivalent in regards to its originality. It debuted at number three on the UK Albums Chart and the US Billboard 200, earning Goulding her highest-charting record in the latter country and her highest first-week sales figures in both territories. The album spawned three singles: "On My Mind", "Army" and "Something in the Way You Move".

Background

Goulding has stated that the sound of the album is more pop-oriented than her previous releases. Speaking in an interview, she said: "A part of me views this album as an experiment, to make a big pop album; I made a conscious decision that I wanted it to be on another level".[7]

Singles

"On My Mind" was released as the album's lead single on 17 September 2015. The song received positive reviews and performed well commercially, reaching the top 10 in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, and number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100.

"Army" was sent to Italian radio on 15 January 2016 as the album's second single.[8] The song was released to contemporary hit radio in the United States on 19 April 2016.[9]

The third and final single from the album, "Something in the Way You Move", impacted contemporary hit radio in the United States on 19 January 2016.[10]

Other songs

"Lost and Found" was released on 23 October 2015 as a promotional single from Delirium.[11] During the week before the album's release, several radio stations premiered different tracks from the album. "Don't Panic" premiered on Graham Norton's BBC Radio 2 show on 31 October 2015,[12] while "Keep On Dancin'" debuted on Annie Mac's BBC Radio 1 show on 2 November 2015.[13]

The album includes Goulding's song "Love Me like You Do", which was originally released as a single from the soundtrack to the 2015 film Fifty Shades of Grey and became a commercial success worldwide. The deluxe edition also includes Goulding's collaboration with Scottish DJ Calvin Harris, "Outside", released as a single from his 2014 album Motion. The North American deluxe edition contains Goulding's collaboration with American electronic music trio Major Lazer (also featuring American-Jamaican singer Tarrus Riley), Powerful, released as a single from their 2015 album Peace is the Mission.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic70/100[14]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[15]
Clash2/10[16]
Entertainment WeeklyB−[17]
NME3/5[18]
The Observer[19]
Pitchfork7.2/10[6]
PopMatters[5]
Q[20]
Rolling Stone[21]
Spin7/10[22]

Delirium received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 70, based on 15 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[14] Peter Robinson of Q remarked that the album "seems to enjoy pushing pop's boundaries, and six years into her career feels like Goulding's first true superstar moment", while noting that her "nuanced lyrics steer Delirium away from homogeneity".[20] Michael Cragg of The Observer wrote that the album "goes straight for the pop jugular, unleashing a relentless barrage of bangers that almost always hit the spot."[19] Matt Collar of AllMusic opined that "it's the unexpectedly appealing combination of Goulding's distinctive voice and the melismatic R&B bent of the songs on Delirium that makes for such an ecstatic listen."[15] Eve Barlow of Spin commented, "Finally, [Goulding is] embracing the responsibility to provide stone-cold tunes without pretense", adding, "Perhaps she's finally come to terms with playing in the major leagues because she's sussed out the sweet spot between pop homogeneity and experimentation."[22] Despite criticising Goulding for copying pop trends and stating the "darker, deeper tones" may have been "a better fit for Meghan Trainor than Goulding", Pitchfork's Hazel Cills commended the singer for her "evocative storytelling and ability to craft great dance music".[6]

Jon Dolan of Rolling Stone compared Goulding's change in musical direction to "the country-to-pop transformation her pal Taylor Swift pulled off with 1989", stating that "[t]he songwriting on Delirium doesn't always feel worthy of her ambitions, but Goulding is technically peerless and versatile, maintaining her power and flare throughout and crushing every glassy jam she's put in front of."[21] Similarly, Mark Allister of PopMatters pointed out the album's "rather limited scope of lyric subjects" and concluded, "Goulding's sound has gained an even greater sheen and expectations have grown, and we'll see, in the coming months, whether Delirium is the big album that Goulding is aiming for."[5] Entertainment Weekly's Kyle Anderson viewed Delirium as "too well-constructed and honestly ambitious, and the tracks that land in Goulding's comfort zone [...] rank among her best work. But the album also fails to elevate Goulding to her desired plateau, ultimately making it a narrow and sometimes frustrating miss."[17] Matthew Horton of NME felt that "[t]here's something disappointing about [the album], however undeniable the quality of material."[18] In a negative review for Clash, Joe Rivers expressed that Goulding's voice is "too wispy to hold its own versus the maximalist rave-pop of the day. Throughout Delirium, her vocals are often double-tracked in an attempt to circumvent this, but it largely fails, and the singing is forever fighting for attention amid a swamp of crashing beats and over-zealous synths."[16]

Commercial performance

Delirium debuted at number three on the UK Albums Chart and at number one on the UK Album Downloads Chart, with 38,429 copies sold in its first week, marking the biggest first-week sales of Goulding's career so far.[23] In Australia, Delirium charted at number three, becoming her second album to land within the top 10 and her highest-charting album in the country.[24]

In the United States, the album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 with 61,000 album-equivalent units (42,000 in pure album sales), earning Goulding her highest-charting album yet.[25] As of February 2016, the album had sold 117,000 copies in the US.[26]

Track listing

Standard edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Intro (Delirium)"
  • Kearns
  • Ketley
1:54
2."Aftertaste"
Kurstin3:46
3."Something in the Way You Move"
  • Goulding
  • Kurstin
Kurstin3:47
4."Keep On Dancin'"
  • Tedder
  • Zancanella
  • Anders Kjær[a]
  • Synthomania[a]
3:46
5."On My Mind"
  • Martin
  • Ilya
3:33
6."Around U"
3:17
7."Codes"
  • Goulding
  • Martin
  • Kotecha
  • Salmanzadeh
Ilya3:16
8."Holding On for Life"
Kurstin4:15
9."Love Me like You Do"
  • Martin
  • Payami
4:12
10."Don't Need Nobody"
  • Svensson
  • The Struts
3:33
11."Don't Panic"
  • Goulding
  • Kurstin
  • McDonald
Kurstin3:16
12."We Can't Move to This"
  • Goulding
  • Fred Gibson
  • Alex Gibson
  • Kurstin
  • McDonald
3:28
13."Army"
  • Goulding
  • Martin
  • Kotecha
  • Payami
  • Martin
  • Payami
3:57
14."Lost and Found"
3:36
15."Devotion"
  • Åhlund
  • Payami
3:46
16."Scream It Out"
3:09
Total length:56:31
Deluxe edition (bonus tracks)[2]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
17."The Greatest"
Little3:31
18."I Do What I Love"
  • Goulding
  • Pourkarim
Pourkarim2:51
19."Paradise"
  • Goulding
  • Little
  • Kurstin
  • Little[a]
3:44
20."Winner"
  • Goulding
  • Pourkarim
  • Pourkarim
  • Gustaf Thörn[c]
3:20
21."Heal"
  • Lawrence
  • Jimmy Napes
4:52
22."Outside" (Calvin Harris featuring Ellie Goulding)
  • Calvin Harris
  • Goulding
Harris3:47
Total length:78:36
North American deluxe edition (bonus tracks)[27][28]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
23."Powerful" (Major Lazer featuring Ellie Goulding and Tarrus Riley)
3:25
Total length:82:01
Target exclusive deluxe edition (bonus tracks)[29]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
24."Let It Die"GouldingKearns3:31
25."Two Years Ago"
  • Goulding
  • Eliot
Eliot5:01
Total length:34:03

Notes

Sample credits

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of the deluxe edition of Delirium.[30]

Musicians

Technical

Artwork

Charts

Certifications

Certification for Delirium
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Austria (IFPI Austria)[62] Platinum 15,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[63] 2× Platinum 160,000‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[64] Gold 10,000‡
Mexico (AMPROFON)[65] Platinum+Gold 90,000^
Norway (IFPI Norway)[66] 2× Platinum 40,000*
Poland (ZPAV)[67] 2× Platinum 40,000‡
Singapore (RIAS)[68] Platinum 10,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[70] Platinum 389,000[69]
United States (RIAA)[71] Platinum 1,000,000‡

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Deluxe pressings feature a golden typeface colour.[2][3] Both digital versions (standard and deluxe) use a different typeface.[3][4]
  2. ^ Track 1
  3. ^ Track 1; vocals on tracks 6 and 8; choir on tracks 8, 16 and 17; strings on track 16
  4. ^ Tracks 2, 3, 6, 8, 11, 12, 16 and 19
  5. ^ a b Track 4
  6. ^ Tracks 5, 7, 9, 10, 13–15, 18 and 20
  7. ^ Tracks 5, 7, 9, 10, 13 and 15
  8. ^ Vocals on track 6
  9. ^ Strings on track 9
  10. ^ Track 9
  11. ^ Track 10
  12. ^ Tracks 12 and 17
  13. ^ Track 14; vocals on track 13
  14. ^ Track 14
  15. ^ Track 15
  16. ^ Vocals on track 16
  17. ^ Tracks 17 and 19
  18. ^ Track 17
  19. ^ Tracks 18, 20 and 22
  20. ^ Track 21
  21. ^ Track 22

References

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  2. ^ a b "Delirium Deluxe CD Album". Universal Music Store. Archived from the original on 7 November 2018. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  3. ^ a b "Delirium (Deluxe) by Ellie Goulding". iTunes Store. United Kingdom. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  4. ^ "Delirium by Ellie Goulding". iTunes Store. United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 26 November 2015. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  5. ^ a b c Allister, Mark (24 November 2015). "Ellie Goulding: Delirium". PopMatters. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
  6. ^ a b c Cills, Hazel (5 November 2015). "Ellie Goulding: Delirium". Pitchfork. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  7. ^ Renshaw, David (17 September 2015). "Ellie Goulding confirms details of new album 'Delirium' – hear first single 'On My Mind'". NME.
  8. ^ "Ellie Goulding "Army"". Radio Airplay Italia (in Italian). Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  9. ^ "Top 40/M Future Releases". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on 10 April 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  10. ^ "Top 40/M Future Releases". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on 15 January 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  11. ^ Corner, Lewis (23 October 2015). "Ellie Goulding releases sparkling new song 'Lost and Found'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  12. ^ "New Music: Ellie Goulding – "Don't Panic" [Full Audio / Review]". Direct Lyrics. 31 October 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  13. ^ Carley, Brennan (2 November 2015). "Ellie Goulding Preps for 'Delirium' With Dizzying 'Keep On Dancin". Spin. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  14. ^ a b "Reviews for Delirium by Ellie Goulding". Metacritic. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  15. ^ a b Collar, Matt. "Delirium – Ellie Goulding". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  16. ^ a b Rivers, Joe (2 November 2015). "Ellie Goulding – Delirium'". Clash. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  17. ^ a b Anderson, Kyle (6 November 2015). "Delirium by Ellie Goulding: The EW review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  18. ^ a b Horton, Matthew (30 October 2015). "Ellie Goulding – 'Delirium'". NME. Archived from the original on 4 November 2015. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  19. ^ a b Cragg, Michael (8 November 2015). "Ellie Goulding: Delirium review – straight for the pop jugular". The Observer. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  20. ^ a b Robinson, Peter (January 2016). "Fever Pitch". Q. No. 354. p. 107. ISSN 0955-4955.
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  65. ^ "Certificaciones" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. 3 August 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2016. Type Ellie Goulding in the box under the ARTISTA column heading and Delirium in the box under the TÍTULO column heading.
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