Delirium is the third studio album by English singer-songwriter Ellie Goulding. It was released on 6 November 2015 by Polydor Records. The album was produced by a range of collaborators including Max Martin and Greg Kurstin. Delirium marked a shift towards a more mainstream pop sound for Goulding, incorporating elements of electropop, synth-pop, dance, house, and R&B. She described it as a turning point in her career and sought to create "bigger songs" while drawing on the more positive period of her life at the time.

Three singles supported Delirium—"On My Mind", "Army", and "Something in the Way You Move"—as well as the promotional single "Lost and Found". The album also features "Love Me like You Do" from the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack, which was a worldwide commercial success. Collaborations with Calvin Harris and Major Lazer appear on the deluxe editions. To promote the album, Goulding embarked on the Delirium World Tour, performing across Europe and North America, including in various music festivals.

Critical reception was generally favourable; some reviewers praised Goulding's vocal range and the album's polished production and pop-oriented sound, while others criticised its songwriting and likened its sound to pop trends. The record topped the albums chart in the Belgian region of Flanders and reached the top five in Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Delirium also received multi-platinum certifications in multiple territories.

Background and development After the release of her second studio album, Halcyon (2012), Ellie Goulding sought to expand her audience and establish herself more firmly as a pop artist. Halcyon modest commercial performance, particularly in the United States, contributed to her decision to pursue a more contemporary pop sound on her third studio album, Delirium. On this album, Goulding worked with various producers including Max Martin and Greg Kurstin.

Goulding indicated that Delirium title had been associated with the project as early as April 2013, when she posted the word on Twitter more than two years before the album's release. Goulding also said that her mood and happiness shifted following the success of her 2013 single "Burn"; she ultimately saw Delirium as an exploration of happiness and the creation of "bigger songs", calling it a "go hard or go home" moment in her career. Goulding felt that Delirium encapsulated everything she had been through up to that point, saying that it reflects contrasting emotions, as it could describe either "a really happy, crazy state" or its "complete opposite", as she often found herself "in a state of delirium".

Delirium was recorded and produced in various locations such as London, Herefordshire, Los Angeles, Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Auckland. While in Los Angeles, Goulding found herself mingling with people she greatly admired, describing her time in the city as "clean and stress-free" and attributing the upbeat sound of Delirium in part to her positive experiences there. She contrasted its sound with Halcyon darker mood, which she wrote during an intense depressive period.

Composition Influence

Goulding attributed the distinctiveness of her sound to her voice and her upbringing around electronic music, citing her mother's interest in rave music as an early influence. She described the sound of Delirium as more pop-oriented than her previous releases, stating: "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." Goulding depicted Delirium as a more collaborative project that represented her identity as a pop artist, while incorporating her classical, folk, and particularly electronic influences. She shaped the album with live performance in mind and chose co-writers to exchange lyrical ideas, as opposed to Halcyon where she brainstormed the lyrics mainly by herself.

Nylons Hayden Manders argued that the involvement of high-profile producers did not obscure her personality but instead amplified it across dance-oriented songs. He viewed Goulding's approach to pop as an expansion of the sound associated with her previous electronic collaborations, describing Delirium as making pop feel comparable to the EDM acts she had previously worked with.

Production and vocals A pop and electropop album, Delirium replaces the orchestral and indie-electro elements that were prominent on Halcyon with production typical of pure pop; Delirium features elements of synth-pop, electronic, dance, and R&B, with influences from 1980s-style pop.

In Delirium, Goulding's voice spans three and a half octaves. During the sessions, Martin encouraged her to experiment with vocal techniques she had not previously explored, including singing in a lower register. Goulding consequently switches between higher and lower registers throughout the album. This lower register is prominent on tracks like "Love Me like You Do". Much of the vocals in Delirium are also double-tracked.

Songs

Delirium opens with "Intro (Delirium)", on which Goulding sings in her upper register before transitioning into lower-pitched, melismatic vocals over a synth-based and string-layered arrangement. The next track is "Aftertaste", a song that features a disco-influenced rhythm. The album continues with "Something in the Way You Move", which has lyrics centred on heartbreak and a production that consists of a steady beat and delicate piano. A tropical-influenced song, "Keep On Dancin incorporates whistling sounds. "On My Mind" is an electropop and R&B track that blends electronic elements with brisk guitar riffs and rhythmic vocal phrasing. The lyrics, which address a past relationship, have been interpreted as a possible response to Ed Sheeran's 2014 single "Don't"; Goulding stated that it was not written about any specific person, saying that anybody could interpret it however they want. The next track, "Around U", is a synth-pop and doo-wop track, with critics comparing it to the music of Grimes and CeeLo. "Codes" addresses relationship struggles and has a shimmering electro-pop arrangement; "Holding On for Life" is a disco-inflected power ballad with a two-step rhythm and gospel sounds.

"Don't Need Nobody" incorporates house influences and features elements of 1990s house, electro-pop, and trap. In "Don't Panic", Goulding describes repeatedly breaking hearts without reflecting on whether the behaviour is right or wrong, while the techno and house-reminiscent "We Can't Move to This" features candid lyrics centred on romantic relationships. An EDM song, "Army" is dedicated to Goulding's best friend, celebrating their bond and mutual support. Goulding described it as "honest, real, [and] electric" and explained that it reflects how their friendship gives her strength and confidence. "Lost and Found" has a pop-oriented sound, drawing critics' comparisons to the music of Of Monsters and Men or Lorde. "Devotion" features UK garage elements, and the final track of the standard edition, "Scream It Out", was inspired by a period in which Goulding learned to be more open with expressing her emotional struggles.

Promotion Marketing and packaging

During the week before Deliriums release, multiple radio stations premiered different tracks from the album. "Don't Panic" premiered on Graham Norton's BBC Radio 2 show on 31 October 2015, while "Keep On Dancin debuted on Annie Mac's BBC Radio 1 show on 2 November. Delirium also includes "Love Me like You Do", which was originally released as a single from the soundtrack to the 2015 film Fifty Shades of Grey and became a commercial success worldwide.

Featuring 16 songs, the standard edition was released through Polydor Records in the United Kingdom on 6 November 2015 to digital platforms. The 22-track deluxe edition was also released to vinyl, including Goulding's collaboration with Scottish DJ Calvin Harris, "Outside", while the North American deluxe edition contains "Powerful"—a collaboration with American electronic music trio Major Lazer (also featuring American-Jamaican singer Tarrus Riley). Both were released on the same day as the standard edition.

Singles Goulding began teasing Deliriums lead single, "On My Mind", via her Twitter account on 15 September 2015. It was released on 17 September, the same day Goulding officially announced the album. The song premiered earlier that day on The Radio 1 Breakfast Show with Nick Grimshaw. Goulding performed "On My Mind" live for the first time at the Apple Music Festival in September, where she opened the event with the song. Its accompanying music video, directed by Emil Nava and filmed in Las Vegas, was unveiled simultaneously with the song's release. "On My Mind" received positive reviews and performed well commercially, reaching the top 10 in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, and number 13 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Delirium promotional single, "Lost and Found", was released on 23 October. A week later, "Army" became available through the album's pre-order. It was released to Italian radio and US contemporary hit radio stations on 15 January and 19 April 2016, respectively, becoming the album's second single. "Army" peaked at number 20 on the UK Singles Chart and the top 20 in Scotland. In the United States, it peaked at number 33 on the Pop Airplay chart. "Something in the Way You Move" was released on 9 October 2015 in digital formats and impacted contemporary hit radio in the United States on 19 January 2016, becoming the album's third single. Goulding released a live performance of the song on 23 February. "Something in the Way You Move" peaked at numbers 51 and 43 in the United Kingdom and the United States, respectively.

Tour

In September 2015, the European legs of the Delirium World Tour was announced. It began on 24 September in Dubai and concluded on 24 March 2016 in London. In November 2015, Goulding announced the tour's North American leg, which began in Vancouver on 1 April 2016 and concluded in New York on 21 June. The tour's shows also spanned the United States, including a stop in Seattle and appearances at the Coachella, Bonnaroo and Hangout festivals. Critics highlighted Goulding's vocal delivery and the balance between the high-energy electropop performances and the more stripped-back moments.

Critical reception Reviews

Delirium received generally positive reviews from music critics. According to the review aggregator Metacritic, the album received "generally favorable reviews" based on a weighted average score of 70 out of 100 from 15 critic scores.

Critics focused on Delirium embrace of mainstream pop while discussing its accessibility and experimentation. Q magazine's Peter Robinson viewed the album as an expansion of Goulding's pop ambitions, while finding that its "nuanced" lyrics kept it from becoming homogeneous. Eve Barlow of Spin found a balance between pop uniformity and experimentation, while Zach Hollwedel of Under the Radar viewed it as Goulding's successful attempt to create a "big pop album". The Observers Michael Cragg similarly noted that the album directly pursues pop sounds, and praised its songs for "almost always hit[ting] the spot". Writing for AllMusic, Matt Collar attributed the album's appeal to the combination of Goulding's "distinctive voice" and the songs' R&B influences. Pitchforks Hazel Cills, however, felt that some tracks merely followed pop trends and suggested that the album's "darker, deeper tones" might have suited Meghan Trainor better. She nevertheless commended Goulding's ability to create dance music. Billboard author Carl Wilson praised the album's energy and regarded it as a successful experiment, but felt that it lacked the "sustained ambience" of Halcyon.