Brightest Blue is the fourth studio album by English singer and songwriter Ellie Goulding, released on 17 July 2020 by Polydor Records. Originally scheduled for 5 June 2020, the album's release was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The album was preceded by three singles: "Worry About Me", "Power" and "Slow Grenade", and features guest vocals from Blackbear, Diplo, Juice WRLD, Lauv, serpentwithfeet and Swae Lee. It is Goulding's first album since Delirium (2015). Brightest Blue received generally positive reviews from music critics. The album was also a commercial success. It became Goulding's third album to peak at number one on the UK Albums Chart and fourth album to debut inside the top three on the chart. The album also peaked inside the top ten in several other countries. To promote the album, Goulding was set to embark on the Brightest Blue Tour on 28 April 2021, but it was pushed back to 5 October 2021 due to COVID-19 restrictions in the United Kingdom.^[5]

In January 2017, Goulding announced that work on new music had begun.^[6] In April of the same year, producer BloodPop revealed on social media he was in the studio with Goulding.^[7] That same month, Goulding released a collaboration with Kygo entitled "First Time".^[8] On 24 October 2018, she released "Close to Me" with Diplo and Swae Lee.^[9] She told The Guardian in early 2019, "It's very much written by me." She further discussed three new songs: "Flux", "Love I'm Given" and "Electricity".^[10] "Flux" was released on 1 March of the same year.^[11]

In July 2019, Goulding stated that her next material to be released would be the songs "Woman I Am" and "Start".^[12] In November, she released her rendition of Joni Mitchell's Christmas song "River", which topped the UK Singles Chart, becoming her third UK number-one single and the last UK number one song of the 2010s.^[13] In a March 2020 interview with Heart, Goulding revealed that the album "kind of comes in two parts," adding that she plays the guitar, bass and piano on the project.^[14] During an appearance on The Late Late Show with James Corden, she described the album as having two sides, revealing that the first side will features songs written entirely by her, while the second is described as being "like an alter ego" and contains the majority of singles released from 2018 to 2020.^[15]

On 27 May 2020, Goulding announced Brightest Blue as the album's title, alongside its cover artwork, release dates and formats, and track listing. The album's pre-order was made alongside the announcement.^[16] The first side, Brightest Blue, features 13 total tracks, while the second EG.0, features the previously-released "Close to Me", "Hate Me" and "Worry About Me", as well as two new tracks.^[17] Originally scheduled for release on 5 June 2020,^{[citation needed]} it was later delayed to 12 June, and later to 17 July of the same year.^[18] On 13 July of the same year, she released a trailer for the album on YouTube.^[19] In support of the album, Goulding embarked on the Brightest Blue Tour, which began on the 28 April 2021.^[20]

For the album's physical release, Goulding and her team opted to have copies manufactured with as many environmentally-friendly materials as possible. According to Goulding's official digital store, a regular single-disc CD is packaged in a Digisleeve manufactured with FSC-certified recycled cardboard and is sealed in a "plant-based" wrap.^[21] Variations of formats such as cassette tapes and vinyl records have also been manufactured with minimised or recycled plastic materials and packaging. Goulding added "[...] great progress has been made on this and I'm pleased we've been able to push the industry forwards, but we are still pushing to do more."^[22]

More information Aggregate scores, Source ...

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	6.7/10[38]
Metacritic	74/100[39]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[40]
musicOMH	[41]
Pitchfork	6.4/10[42]
Evening Standard	[43]
The Arts Desk	[44]
The Independent	[45]
The Telegraph	[46]
Slant Magazine	[47]
The Line of Best Fit	[48]
Exclaim!	[49]

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Brightest Blue received generally favourable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from professional critics, the album received a weighted average score of 74, based on ten reviews.^[39] Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave the album a 6.7 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.^[38]

Reviewing the album for AllMusic, Neil Z. Yeung called the album, "a powerful reclamation of self that recaptures the simplicity of her debut and the vulnerability of Halcyon", as well as a statement that "has growth and maturity at its core".^[40] Rachel MacGrath for Evening Standard also praised Goulding's maturity as an artist, stating that her "signature attributes are present and correct on her first album in five years. But this time around, there’s a confidence in her vocals and songwriting that wasn’t always there before."^[50] Dave Beech for The Line of Best Fit appreciated the record honesty, finding it to be Goulding's "most heartfelt" body of work. Particularly, complementing the standard tracks for being the "most rounded", as well the "most accomplished" side. ^[51]

Several critics were divided with the inclusion of the B-Side, EG.0, with some stating that the inclusion was unnecessary. Damien Morris on his review for The Guardian, said that Goulding needs to be more confident with herself, stating that: "she might need more ego, but she doesn’t need EG.0."^[52] Dave Beech for The Line of Best Fit added to his positive review that Brightest Blue is another proof that Goulding is at her best when she refuses the urge of making chart-topping collaborations, in favour of the "idiosyncratic pop on which she first made her name."^[51] In contrast, Katie Tymochenko for Exclaim! was more receptive with the double-side album, as she felt that it allows the singer to grow artistically while at the same time keeping her "pop throne as pop royalty."^[53]

Associated Press included Brightest Blue on their Best Albums of 2020 year-end list.

Brightest Blue became Goulding's third number-one album in the United Kingdom, debuting with sales of 14,820 units.^[55] It also became Goulding's fourth number-one album on the UK Album Downloads Charts,^[56] her second number-one on the UK Physical Album Chart,^[57] and her first chart-topper on the UK Album Sales Chart.^[58] Brightest Blue also reached the top 10 in Scotland and Ireland.^[59]

Musicians

Technical

• List of UK Albums Chart number ones of the 2020s
• List of UK Album Downloads Chart number ones of the 2020s