"Ugly" is a song by British singer and songwriter Tom Odell. It was released on 8 August 2025 through UROK and Virgin Music, as the third single from his seventh studio album, A Wonderful Life (2025)
Background and release "Ugly" was written by Tom Odell, Laurie Blundell, and Josefina Proto. The track was co-produced by Odell with Cityfall, and appears as the seven track on A Wonderful Life. The songs tackles Odell's body image issues, and his self-confidence struggles.
In the single's press release, Odell said of the track:
It was released alongside an accompanying music video directed by Alex Leggatt on 8 August 2025.
Reception Upon its release, "Ugly" was met with positive reviews from music critics, who praised the "honest and personal" lyrical content. We Love That Sound noted that the song felt like Odell's "unofficial answer to Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful"," while dubbing it as "one of [his] Odell's strongest songs" to date. Nadine Kloppert of MonkeyPress described the track as a "deeply personal piece that opens up a view directly into the heart of the longplayer."
Track listing
Digital download and streaming
"Ugly" — 4:31
Digital download and streaming – Tidal
"Ugly" — 4:31 "Don't Cry, Put Your Head On My Shoulder" — 3:51 "Don't Let Me Go" — 4:52
Personnel Credits adapted from TIDAL.
Tom Odell — vocals, producer, composer, acoustic guitar, piano Laurie Blundell — composer, synthetizer Josefina Proto — composer Cityfall — producer, mixing engineer Christoph Skiri — assistant mixing engineer, assistant sound engineer Max Goff — bass guitar Toby Couling — drums Max Clilverd — electric guitar Richard Jones — violin Greg Calbi — mastering engineer Steve Fallone — mastering engineer
Release history +"Ugly" release historyRegionDateFormat(s)LabelVarious8 August 2025
References