Delirium (Ellie Goulding album)

Goulding stated that the sound of the album would be 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".^[5][6] About the album's title, Goulding explained that Delirium reflects contrasting emotions, saying that it could describe either a euphoric state or its complete opposite, as she often finds herself "in a state of delirium."^[6]

Following the release of the lead single "On My Mind", media outlets and fans speculated that the song was written about Ed Sheeran, who was rumoured to have penned the 2014 track "Don't" about his relationship with Goulding.^[7] However, she denied the speculation in an interview with MTV News, saying, "I'm sorry for all the people who want it to be about someone, it's not. It's like a myth, there's no one to be thinking about. It's just a fun song and that's the first of its kind because I do like to write about my own experiences."^[8][9]

Delirium is a pop^[10] and electro-pop^[11] album that emphasises large-scale, radio-friendly production.^[10] While the album isn't devoid of its characteristic electronic atmosphere, it adopts a more mainstream tone and expands Goulding's sonic palette with melodically catchy, R&B-infused songs.^[12] Delirium replaces the orchestral elements that were prominent on Goulding's second album, Halcyon (2012), with production typical of mainstream pop.^[13] It incorporates influences from 1980s-style pop and contemporary electronic trends, with the elements of synth-pop, electronic, and dance music.^[13] The album was characterised by expansive arrangements, layered vocals, and polished studio production,^[10] reflecting a shift from the indie-electro fusion which characterised her earlier work.^[13]

"On My Mind" was released as the album's lead single on 17 September 2015,^[20][21] with the album's announcement.^[22][23][5] Produced by Max Martin, Ilya, Ali Payami, and Calvin Harris,^[24] the song premiered earlier that day on The Radio 1 Breakfast Show with Nick Grimshaw.^[6] Goulding performed "On My Mind" live for the first time at the Apple Music Festival in September 2015,^[25] where she opened the event with the song.^[24][26] The accompanying music video, directed by Emil Nava^[27] and filmed in Las Vegas,^[28] was released the same day.^[24] Before its release, Goulding teased the song via her Twitter.^[29] "On My Mind" received positive reviews and performed well commercially, reaching the top 10 in Australia,^[30] Canada,^[31] New Zealand^[32] and the United Kingdom,^[33] and number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100.^[34] "Army" was sent to Italian radio on 15 January 2016 as the album's second single.^[35] The song was released to contemporary hit radio in the United States on 19 April.^[36] 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.^[37] Goulding teased the song through her Facebook page, featuring 13-second video.^[38]

More information Aggregate scores, Source ...

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	70/100[43]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[12]
Clash	2/10[44]
Entertainment Weekly	B−[45]
NME	3/5[46]
The Observer	[47]
Pitchfork	7.2/10[10]
PopMatters	7/10[18]
Q	[48]
Rolling Stone	[49]
Spin	7/10[50]

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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".^[43]

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".^[48] 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."^[47] 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."^[12] 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."^[50] 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".^[10]

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."^[49] 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."^[18] 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."^[45] Matthew Horton of NME felt that "[t]here's something disappointing about [the album], however undeniable the quality of material."^[46] 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."^[44]

Delirium debuted at number three on the UK Albums Chart^[55] and at number one on the UK Album Downloads Chart,^[56] with 38,429 copies sold in its first week, marking the biggest first-week sales of Goulding's career so far.^[57] In Australia, Delirium charted at number three,^[58] becoming her second album to land within the top 10 and her highest-charting album in the country.^[59]

In the United States, the album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200^[60] with 61,000 album-equivalent units (42,000 in pure album sales), earning Goulding her highest-charting album yet.^[61] As of February 2016, the album had sold 117,000 copies in the US.^[62]

Credits were adapted from the liner notes.^[68]

• List of 2015 albums
• List of number-one albums of 2015 (Belgium)
• List of UK top-ten albums in 2015
• List of UK Album Downloads Chart number ones of the 2010s