Roulette (album)

Roulette is the fourth studio album by English boy band Blue, released on 25 January 2013.[1] The album was preceded by the release of the lead single, "Hurt Lovers", on 4 January 2013, and also includes the band's Eurovision entry single, "I Can". The album was released in Germany and certain other European territories on 25 January. It was released in the United Kingdom on 28 April 2013.[2] The album was re-released on 4 November 2013 in the form of a deluxe tour edition, containing a bonus disc featuring a number of remixes of tracks from the album.[3]

Roulette
Studio album by
Blue
Released25 April 2013
Recorded2010-12;
Los Angeles, United States
New York, United States
London, United Kingdom
Genre
LabelIsland, Blueworld
ProducerBeatGeek, Cufather & Joe, Da Beatfreakz, Daniel Davidsen, Steve DuBerry, The Fives, Martin Fliegenschmidt, Jason Gill, Robin Grubert, Wayne Hector (exec.), Troy Henry, Kiko Masbaum, RedOne, Lucas Secon, Geo Slam, Julian Vasquez, Mark Walton (exec.), Ali Zuckowski
Blue chronology
Guilty
(2003)		 Roulette
(2013)		 Colours
(2015)
Singles from Roulette
  1. "I Can"
    Released: 1 May 2011
  2. "Hurt Lovers"
    Released: 7 January 2013
  3. "Without You"
    Released: 16 May 2013
  4. "Break My Heart"
    Released: 5 August 2013
  5. "Broken"
    Released: 2 February 2014
  6. "Ayo"
    Released: 2 February 2014

Background

Blue began recording new material in July 2010. They revealed during an interview in March 2011 that they had recorded a collaboration with American R&B superstar Bruno Mars for their upcoming, fourth studio album. Discussing the record with Digital Spy, Lee Ryan said: "We've been writing with Ne-Yo, and I've written at least a couple of songs on my own that will probably make the album. We've also been working with Bruno Mars on a song called 'Black & Blue' – he's sending his parts over from a demo we recorded a while ago. It's got some haunting notes on the chorus." They also revealed that three tracks on the album had been produced by RedOne, and that they felt that the material was "their best work to date".[4] During February 2012, the band embarked on a small tour across Manila, performing with fellow boyband A1 and Jeff Timmons in three special concerts, two of which included the Smart Araneta Coliseum on 25 February 2012, and the Singapore Indoor Stadium on 28 February. The tour was billed as "Boybands: The Greatest Hits Tour".[5]

On 22 June 2012, the band premiered their new single, "Hurt Lovers", during a concert in China. In an interview shortly after the concert, the band claimed that "Hurt Lovers" was one of the first tracks they recorded after re-uniting, and that it was an obvious choice for their comeback single. The track was co-written by the band, along with Jez Ashurst, David Jost, Martin Schmidt and Alexander Zuckowski.[6] It received positive reception across Asia, before being officially premiered in Germany on 6 October 2012. Thus, the creators of the film Schlussmacher approached the band, and asked if the song could be used as the official theme for the film. Thus, the track will receive an early release in Germany on 4 January 2013, before being released across the world later in the year. In promotion of the single, the band performed it live on Vocea României on 4 December 2012,[7] as well as embarking on an acoustic radio tour across six cities in Germany.[8] In October 2012, the group confirmed via their official Facebook page that the title of their fourth studio album would be Roulette. It was also revealed that the album will receive an early release in Germany, being made available from 25 January 2013. The band shot the album's artwork in a deserted casino in November 2012.[9]

Singles

"I Can" was released as the band's comeback single. The track was also used as the United Kingdom's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2011, which was held in Düsseldorf, Germany. The song came 11th in the contest, scoring 100 points.[10] The single was released on 1 May 2011 as a digital download, with the physical release the day after.[11] The track peaked at number 16 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Blue's lowest-charting single in the United Kingdom to date.[12] The song was written by group members Duncan James and Lee Ryan with Ciaron Bell, Ben Collier, Ian Hope, Liam Keenan, and Norwegian production team StarSign. It was produced by Ronny Svendsen and Hallgeir Rustan, the latter who previously produced several of Blue's hit singles.

"Hurt Lovers" was released as the official lead single from the album on 4 January 2013, in Germany, three weeks prior to the release of the album in the country.[13] The track also serves as the official theme for the German film Schlussmacher. In an interview, the band claimed that "Hurt Lovers" was one of the first tracks they recorded after re-uniting, and that it was an obvious choice for the band's reunion single. The track was co-written by the band, along with Jez Ashurst, David Jost, Martin Schmidt and Alexander Zuckowski.[6] The band first premiered the song during a concert in China on 22 June 2012. It received positive reception across Asia, before being officially premiered in Germany on 6 October 2012. The creators of the film Schluss Macher approached the band, and asked if the song could be used as the official theme for the film. Thus, the track received an early release in Germany on 4 January 2013, before being released across the world later in the year. In promotion of the single, the band performed it live on The Voice of Romania, as well as embarking on an acoustic radio tour across six cities in Germany.[8]

"Without You" was released as the second single from the album on 16 May 2013 only in Germany, Swiss and Austria. The music video premiered the same day.

"Break My Heart" was released as the third single from the album on 29 June for radio premiere and 5 August 2013 for digital download. The single was released as official single only in Germany and promotional radio single on United Kingdom.[14] The music video was premiered on 18 August. The song was released as the third single in the United Kingdom as part of the 'Roulette Summer Edition EP' on 2 September 2013.[15]

"Broken" and "Ayo" was released as the fourth and fifth single in the United Kingdom and Ireland in the same day: 2 February 2014.[16] The music video for "Broken" premiered on 31 January 2013.[17]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Hurt Lovers"Ali Zuckowski, Martin "Fly" Fliegenschmidt, Jez Ashurst, David JostRobin Grubert, Zuckowski, Martin Fliegenschmidt[a], Kiko Masbaum[a]3:56
2."Without You"Wayne Hector, Mich Hansen, Jason Gill, Daniel Davidsen, Lee Ryan, Duncan James, Anthony Costa, Simon WebbeCutfather, Gill, Davidsen3:27
3."Break My Heart"Novel Jannusi, George Wallen, Ryan, James, Costa, WebbeBeatGeek, Julian Vasquez[a]4:06
4."Ayo"Saif Naqui, Troy Henry, Ryan, James, Costa, WebbeHenry3:50
5."Risk It All"Lucas Secon, HectorSecon3:42
6."Heart on My Sleeve"Hector, Hansen, Gill, DavidsenCutfather, Gill, Davidsen3:51
7."We've Got Tonight"Jannusi, Hector, Wallen, Pat Devine, Ryan, James, Costa, WebbeBeatGeek3:39
8."Paradise"Jannusi, Geo Slam, Ryan, James, Costa, WebbeBeatGeek, Geo Slam[a]3:46
9."Black Box"Hector, Secon, Hansen, Jonas JebergCutfather, Jeberg3:28
10."Broken"Devine, Carl Haley, Greg Haley, Charlie Platt, Rafael Haley, Jake Isaac, Ryan, James, Costa, WebbeThe Fives3:56
11."Break You Down"Hi W. Jackson, Obi Ebele, Uche Ebele, Ryan, James, Costa, WebbeDa Beatfreakz, Steve DuBerry3:38
12."All I Need"DuBerry, Ryan, James, Costa, WebbeDuBerry3:27
German bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
13."I Can"James, Ryan, Ben Collier, Ciaron Bell, Ian Hope, Liam Keenan, StarSignRonny Svendsen, Hallgeir Rustan3:01
International bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
13."Sing for Me"Novel Jannusi, Teddy SkyRedOne3:18
German iTunes Store deluxe edition bonus tracks[18]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
14."Give Me a Shot"Uche Ebele, Obi Ebele, Andres Gill, Zachary Maxey, Ryan, James, Costa, Webbe, Mario BaylissDa Beatfreakz, Steve DuBerry3:32
15."Sing for Me"Novel Jannusi, Teddy SkyRedOne3:18
International iTunes Store deluxe edition bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
14."Give Me a Shot"Uche Ebele, Obi Ebele, Andres Gill, Zachary Maxey, Ryan, James, Costa, Webbe, Mario BaylissDa Beatfreakz, Steve DuBerry3:32
Deluxe tour edition bonus remix disc
No.TitleLength
1."Break My Heart" (Tracy Young's Ferosh Radio Mix - Dirty) 
2."Break My Heart" (Radio Edit - No Rap) 
3."Break My Heart" (Tracy Young's Ferosh Extended Dub Mix) 
4."Break My Heart" (Tracy Young's Ferosh Extended Mix) 
5."Break My Heart" (Tracy Young's Ferosh Radio Mix - Clean) 
6."Break My Heart" (Radio Edit - With Rap) 
7."Break My Heart" (Single Mix) 
8."Hurt Lovers" (Radio Edit) 
9."Hurt Lovers" (BootSlap's Club Mix) 
10."Hurt Lovers" (TroyBoi Remix) 
11."Hurt Lovers" (Acapella) 
12."Sing for Me" (Tracy Young's Ferosh Radio Mix) 
13."Sing for Me" (Tracy Young's Ferosh Extended Mix) 
14."Paradise" (Tracy Young's Ferosh Radio Mix) 
15."Paradise" (Tracy Young's Ferosh Extended Mix) 
16."Ayo" (Tracy Young's Ferosh Radio Mix) 
17."Ayo" (Tracy Young's Ferosh Extended Mix) 

Notes

  • ^a signifies a co-producer

Charts
gollark: Cross product? What would the dot product be?
gollark: How ubiquitous.
gollark: Well, I *am* omnipresent and inevitable.
gollark: [REDACTED]
gollark: It really is a rather cool triumph of technology and economics that they can be so small and cheap.
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