Villains (Emma Blackery album)

Villains is the debut studio album by English singer-songwriter Emma Blackery, released on 31 August 2018 under her RWG Records label.[1][2] Four tracks were also published as singles. Toby Scott was the main producer of all songs.

Villains
Studio album by
Emma Blackery
Released31 August 2018 (2018-08-31)
RecordedOctober 2017 - April 2018
StudioVarious
Genre
Length39:24
LabelRWG Records
ProducerToby Scott

Blackery promoted several Villains tracks as music videos, at VidCon in the US, and with HMV in the UK. In October, she went on the Villains Tour with fifteen concerts in northern Europe and the UK.

Background

The album contains songs written in collaboration with Toby Scott, Maxwell Cooke and Peter Hutchings.[3][4] BroadwayWorld noted that "Petty" "flirts with tropical house",[5] and the Express & Star cited elements of power pop.[6] Lisa Hafey, praising "Third Eye"'s "upbeat disco sound" and "nice ABBA-y vibe", called Villains "a bit of a feminist album".[1] In June, Blackery performed "Third Eye" live at the 9th VidCon Night of Awesome.[7] Blackery then partnered with HMV for a UK tour. Villains reached number 24 on the UK Albums Chart and number 18 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart.[8][9][10]

All of the songs from the album were previewed in some form prior to its release. Blackery's YouTube series 'In Pursuit Of A Dream' (IPOAD) showcased occasional glimpses of the recording of vocals for the album as well as the production as she worked primarily with producer Toby Scott.[11] The album was released under digital download, CD, LP and cassette formats together with limited yellow and red vinyl editions.

Singles
Emma Blackery, 2018

On 16 March 2018, RWG Records released "Dirt", produced by Toby Scott.[12][5] The song, on Spotify's New Music Friday UK playlist,[13][14] was described by Record of the Day as a "slick combination of Scandi-pop" and "sassy American pop";[12] Blackery described "Dirt" as "best served cold".[15] She also released "Agenda" that month with a lyric video on Vevo,[16] followed by "Icarus" and "Take Me Out".[5][17][18][19]

Villains Tour

The European Villains Tour planned for March 2018 was postponed until October.[20][21][22] The three-week tour began at Oslo's Parkteatret on 4 October, followed by performances in Stockholm, Copenhagen, Sugarfactory (Amsterdam), Hamburg, Berlin, Vienna, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Academy 2 (Manchester), O2 Institute2 (Birmingham), The Garage (Glasgow) and Tramshed (Cardiff) before ending at KOKO in London on 25 October.[23][24][25] A Never Enough Notes reviewer at KOKO saw "angst, passion, and energy in every word" and wrote that Blackery has "a knack for live shows; full of attitude, high energy and a phenomenal vocal performance".[26]

Track listing
No.TitleMusicDedication1Length
1."Villains Pt. 1"Emma BlackeryFor My Captor3:37
2."Dirt"
  • Blackery
  • Toby Scott
For the Judas3:18
3."Agenda"
  • Blackery
  • Scott
For the Excluders3:16
4."Fake Friends"
  • Blackery
  • Scott
For the Narcissist3:36
5."Icarus"
  • Blackery
  • Scott
For the Fool3:36
6."Take Me Out"
  • Blackery
  • Scott
For the Suspected3:06
7."Petty"
  • Blackery
  • Scott
For the Big Mouth2:48
8."Third Eye"
  • Blackery
  • Maxwell Cooke
For the Manipulator4:24
9."What I Felt With You"
  • Blackery
  • Scott
For the One I Loved3:52
10."Burn The Witch"
  • Blackery
  • Scott
For the Purge of Hatred3:11
11."Villains Pt. 2"
  • Blackery
  • Peter Hutchings
For the Worst Of Them All4:47
Total length:39:24
1: The album's vinyl artwork features messages telling the listener what or who each track is about.
Charts (2018) Peak Position
UK Albums Chart[27] 24
UK Album Sales[28] 14
UK Album Downloads[29] 19
UK Indie Albums[30] 6
UK Physical Albums[31] 15
US Heatseeker Albums[32] 18
Scottish Albums[33] 21
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References
  1. Lisa Hafey (30 August 2018). "Emma Blackery's New Album 'Villains' Is Deeply Introspective And Conceptual". Essentiallypop.com. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. It's a rollercoaster of a listen, but it'll appeal to both fans and the casual listener alike.
  2. Chris Stokel-Walker (10 August 2018). "How Emma Blackery went from YouTube fame to IRL music career". Music. Wired UK. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019.
  3. Katrina Rees (1 September 2018). "Album review: Emma Blackery – 'Villains'". CelebMix.com. Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Emma has declared 'Third Eye' as her favourite track
  4. "Emma Blackery Villains". AllMusic. 2018. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019.
  5. TV News Desk (22 June 2018). "Emma Blackery Releases New Single 'Icarus'". BroadwayWorld. Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Emma is forced to consider her own part in her downfall
  6. Leigh Sanders (18 September 2018). "Emma Blackery, Villains – album review". Express & Star. Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. The big synths and invasive percussion in the chorus are enough to get anybody flailing limbs in a dance frenzy.
  7. Hailey Mim (3 July 2018). "Girl Report | VidCon 2018". GSSGC. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
  8. "Emma Blackery". Official Charts. 2019. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019.
  9. "Heatseekers Albums". Top Heatseekers. 15 September 2018. Archived from the original on 13 September 2018.
  10. "Emma Blackery Releases Empowering New Single CUTE WITHOUT YOU". BroadwayWorld. 12 April 2019. Archived from the original on 12 April 2019.
  11. Emma Blackery (30 April 2018). Videos from Vloggery playlist on YouTube.
  12. "Dirt". recordoftheday.com. 20 March 2018. Archived from the original on 1 January 2019. Her previous releases have clocked up over 6 million combined streams
  13. Joanna Turner (22 March 2018). "Emma Blackery Releases New Single Dirt". TenEightyMagazine.com. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019.
  14. Annemarie Cutruzzola (19 March 2018). "Emma Blackery Returns With Sassy New Single "Dirt"". CelebMix.com. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019.
  15. "We Talk Music in Our EXCLUSIVE Interview With Emma Blackery!". TrendingAllDay.com. March 2018. Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. The cover art of you holding a lemon is honestly iconic
  16. Emma Blackery (3 May 2018). Agenda (Lyric Video) on YouTube.
  17. Katrina Rees (23 June 2018). "Emma Blackery releases new single 'Icarus'". CelebMix.com. Archived from the original on 1 April 2019.
  18. Jon Stickler. "Emma Blackery Shares New Song Take Me Out From Upcoming Debut Album 'Villains' – Stereoboard". Stereoboard.com. Archived from the original on 1 April 2019.
  19. Rafael Jóvine Frometa (10 August 2018). "Emma Blackery releases new single 'Take Me Out'". Ventsmagazine.com. Archived from the original on 1 April 2019.
  20. Beth Jefferies (28 November 2017). "Emma Blackery Announces European Tour". TenEightyMagazine.com. Archived from the original on 3 January 2018.
  21. Felix Goth (29 January 2018). "Spotlight05/18: Emma Blackery". Eventim (in German). Archived from the original on 27 April 2019.
  22. Beth Jefferies (12 February 2018). "Emma Blackery Postpones European Tour". TenEightyMagazine.com. Archived from the original on 15 February 2018.
  23. "Emma Blackery European Tour 2018". wizpro.com (in German). 27 November 2017. Archived from the original on 28 January 2019. Plus Guest Lilly Ahlberg
  24. Helen Payne (4 May 2018). "Emma Blackery Unveils New Single Agenda". stereoboard.com. Archived from the original on 29 January 2019.
  25. "Emma Blackery - Beta". dancedeets.com (in Danish). 2018. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  26. Amy Butcher (19 November 2018). "LIVE | Emma Blackery at KOKO, London | 29 October 2018". neverenoughnotes.co.uk. Retrieved 30 March 2019. Emma Blackery's live performance delivered intoxicating synth melodies and passionate vocals at London's KOKO
  27. "Official Albums Chart Top 100 | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  28. "Official Albums Sales Chart Top 100 | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  29. "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100 | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  30. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50 | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  31. "Official Physical Albums Chart Top 100 | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  32. "Emma Blackery". Billboard. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  33. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100 | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
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