Sam Smith returns to the limelight with his brand new single “Too Good At Goodbyes”, his first single since 2015’s Golden Globe winning song “Writing’s On The Wall” the theme song to “Spectre” the James Bond film. The new single written by Jim Napes and the successful Stargate team, “Too Good At Goodbyes” marks the return of one of the worlds most celebrated artists. Sam Smith said in a statement “This song is about a relationship I was in and it’s basically about getting good at getting dumped, It’s been a long while since I’ve put any music out and I feel that this first single sets the tone of what is to come.”
Smith says the song evolved after he realized he was getting “really good at getting dumped. Very sad, very truthful, but I feel like its empowering. When I’m sad and confess things, I believe it is brave. I genuinely believe it’s one of the best things ever written, and the vocal performance on that track is the best thing I’ve ever heard in my entire life.” Smith did go on the speak a bit about his upcoming LP saying that it was going to be “a bit more personal” but he did not give any clues away to the title of the project. “It was so important when I was writing this record for me to just challenge myself and be scared again,” he explained of the process and added that he loved working with Jimmy Napes again (they’ve previously co-written several songs, including “Stay With Me” and “Writing’s on the Wall”).
To promote the up coming album Smith will embark on a intimate four show tour in Los Angeles (September 11th), New York (September 13th), London (September 15th) and Berlin (September 18th). Smith will announce specific venues at a later date. This new album will follow his 2014 mega world wide breakout album “In The Lonely Hour”, in my opinion one of the best albums I’ve heard in the last decade. The record went two-times platinum and spawned three Top 10 hits, “Stay With Me,” “I’m Not the Only One” and “Lay Me Down”, as well as stemming four Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist and Record of the Year and Song of the Year for “Stay With Me.”
If his debut album is anything to go by, and judging by this first single I think fans can expect the same emotional journey on this new LP. This is one album myself and all his fans will be highly anticipating. “Too Good At Goodbyes” is out now.
*Image Source: peopledotcom.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AX8-YzMKZhQ
Zayn Malik isn’t wasting any time getting to work on releasing his second solo album not even 18 months after releasing his debut effort “Mind Of Mine”. Malik now returns with his new single which is a collaboration with pop songstress Sia entitled “Dusk ‘Til Dawn”. The single was co-written by the pair and the 2017 Grammy producer of the year Greg Kurstin, and like all Sia singles the song contains a signature chorus and also a big budget music video directed by Marc Webb who’s work includes “The Amazing Spider-Man”.
Zayn’s debut album ‘Mind of Mine’ was a global #1 record, featuring the highly acclaimed lead single ‘Pillowtalk’ which saw him become the first British male to gain a #1 in both the UK and US with their debut track. ‘Mind of Mine’ was released in March 2016 to positive reviews , receiving high distinctions from the likes of NME, The Guardian and Entertainment Weekly. When talking about his forthcoming album Malik said “I feel like my songwriting definitely developed, just because I’ve been doing it so much, I feel like the songs are a bit more organized, where I felt like, before, that Mind of Mine was a brainstorm … This one is more thought out. I had more time to process everything and go through it all.”
Over the past few years the focus for singer/songwriter Newton Faulkner has been about change. Once dubbed the ‘British Jack Johnson’ Faulkner has developed an acoustic sound that is truly his own. With his newly creative sound in hand he released the new music video for his latest single “Hit The Ground Running”. The visuals show Newton performing the track in an intimate setting whilst his animated sidekick Minewton causes chaos around him. The video which was created by animator and illustrator Michael William Lester, proves just how brilliant artistic collaboration can be put together with music. Newton here also does well to show that, despite being six studio albums deep into his career, he can maintain elements of surprise and excitement within his work.
When asked about the video Michael Lester said “The ‘Hit The Ground Running’ design started with animated typography that shifted in form as it reacted to gravity, a nod to lyrics from the title track. When it came to creating an illustration style to sit with the campaign, I imagined what the abstract worlds would look like under a microscope and what would inhabit them – that’s when our little character was born.”
Rather than solely relying on his guitar, which still sends waves of tranquility through you, there is more percussion evident on this single and the harmonies just complete it’s effectiveness effortlessly. Faulkner has crafted a song that not only conveys his emotion but showcases his talented vocals. This October Faulkner will kick off a tour of the UK and Ireland, starting things off on October 14 at Limelight 2 in Belfast, before wrapping up the gigs with a final date at Assembly Hall in Worthing on December 1. “Hit The Ground Running” is out now.
