Brightest Blue

Brightest Blue is the fourth studio album by English singer Ellie Goulding, released on 17 July 2020 by Polydor Records.

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.

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.

[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.

[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.

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.

Encore Notes Cancelled Dates Brightest Blue received generally favourable reviews from music critics.

[43] 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.

"[50] Dave Beech for The Line of Best Fit appreciated the record honesty, finding it to be Goulding's "most heartfelt" body of work.

"[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.

[57] Brighest Blue: Music for Calm is the second remix album by English singer and songwriter Ellie Goulding, mixed by Matthew Pauling released on streaming platforms 8 January 2021 under Polydor Records.

[68] The album was released exclusively for the app, Calm on July 2020, and was made available on streaming platforms in January 2021.