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Free Spirit (Khalid album)

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Free Spirit
Studio album by
Khalid
ReleasedApril 5, 2019 (2019-04-05)
Genre
Length57:13
LabelRCA
Producer
Khalid chronology
Suncity
(2018) 		Free Spirit
(2019) 		Scenic Drive
(2021)
Singles from Free Spirit
  1. "Talk"
    Released: February 7, 2019
  2. "Right Back"
    Released: August 2, 2019

Free Spirit is the second studio album by American singer Khalid, released on April 5, 2019, through RCA Records. It is a follow-up to his 2017 and 2018 releases American Teen (2017) and Suncity (2018).[1] and includes the single "Talk".[2][3] Khalid also announced a short film directed by Emil Nava to accompany the album, which was released on April 3.[4] The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 and received mixed reviews from music critics.

Background

[edit]

Khalid announced the title on social media on February 28. He had previously shown the van pictured on the cover in various posts.[5]

Short film

[edit]

A short film accompanying the album was released on Khalid's YouTube channel on the same day of the album's release.[6]

Singles

[edit]

"Talk" was released on February 7, 2019, as the album's lead single.[2] "Right Back" featuring A Boogie wit da Hoodie was released on August 2 as the album's second single.

Promotional singles

[edit]

On March 7, "My Bad" was released with the album pre-order as a promotional single. "Self" was released on March 29, 2019.[7] On April 3, "Don't Pretend", featuring Safe, was released with the launch of Free Spirit Radio on Beats 1.[8]

Other songs

[edit]

The album also includes the singles "Better" and "Saturday Nights" from Khalid's 2018 EP Suncity.

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?5.2/10[9]
Metacritic58/100[10]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
Entertainment WeeklyC+[12]
The Guardian[13]
The Independent[14]
NME[15]
The Observer[16]
Pitchfork4.7/10[17]
Rolling Stone[18]
The Times[19]
Vice (Expert Witness)A−[20]

Free Spirit was met with mixed reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 58, based on 15 reviews.[10]

Reviewing for The Guardian, Alexis Petridis found the album less original than Khalid's previous work, with the singer having little new to add to the theme of anxiety explored in other "fretfully self-examining R&B", instead showing "a tendency to fall back on cliche". With regards to its musical aspect, the critic complained of a lengthy, "somnambulant pace", but observed some "great pop songs", like "Alive" and "My Bad".[13]

More positive was Robert Christgau, who wrote in his column for Vice that while Khalid's new "privileges and woes" may be foreign to most listeners, he "retains the gift of expressing his feelings in songs that cut star-time inevitabilities down to human scale", observing truisms in lyrics such as "Couldn't have known it would ever be this hard", "I didn't text you because I was workin'", and "If the love feels good it'll work out". Christgau also pointed out that "because Khalid now enjoys access to pricier musical materials than when he was in high school, the hooks pack more texture than tune, making this the rare album that comes fully into its own when you up the volume."[20]

Commercial performance

[edit]

Free Spirit debuted atop the US Billboard 200 with 202,000 album-equivalent units (including 85,000 pure album sales) in its first week. It is Khalid's first US number-one album.[21]

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Intro"
Digi3:32
2."Bad Luck"
3:51
3."My Bad"
D'Mile2:43
4."Better"
3:49
5."Talk"
Disclosure3:17
6."Right Back"
  • Stargate
  • Kosiak
  • Riley
  • Digi
  • Charlie Handsome
3:35
7."Don't Pretend" (featuring Safe)
2:45
8."Paradise"
2:54
9."Hundred"
  • Robinson
  • Ari Leff
  • Hill
  • Chammas
  • Jordan Palmer
  • Vojtesak
  • Hill
  • Digi
  • Charlie Handsome
4:37
10."Outta My Head" (with John Mayer)
  • Hill
  • Digi
  • Mayer
2:57
11."Free Spirit"
  • Robinson
  • Chammas
  • Aarons
  • Vojtesak
  • Justin Scott Lucas
  • Digi
  • Charlie Handsome
3:02
12."Twenty One"
  • Robinson
  • Chammas
  • Vojtesak
  • Charlie Handsome
  • Digi
3:04
13."Bluffin'"
  • Robinson
  • Chammas
  • Vojtesak
  • Aarons
  • Digi
  • Charlie Handsome
3:19
14."Self"
Hit-Boy3:49
15."Alive"
Hill2:51
16."Heaven"
3:33
17."Saturday Nights" (bonus track)
  • Robinson
  • Vojtesak
  • Chammas
  • Charlie Handsome
  • Digi
3:29
Total length:57:13
Japanese edition bonus track[22]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
18."Saturday Nights" (with Kane Brown)
  • Robinson
  • Vojtesak
  • Chammas
  • Charlie Handsome
  • Digi
3:29
Total length:60:42

Charts

[edit]

Certifications

[edit]
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[64] Platinum 70,000‡
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[65] 2× Platinum 80,000‡
Canada (Music Canada)[66] 2× Platinum 160,000‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[67] Platinum 20,000‡
Netherlands (NVPI)[68] Gold 20,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[69] 2× Platinum 30,000‡
Norway (IFPI Norway)[70] Platinum 20,000*
Singapore (RIAS)[71] Platinum 10,000*
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[72] Gold 10,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[73] Gold 100,000‡
United States (RIAA)[74] 2× Platinum 2,000,000‡

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

[edit]
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  3. ^ Darville, Jordan (February 28, 2019). "Khalid announces new album Free Spirit". The Fader. Archived from the original on March 1, 2019. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  4. ^ "Here it goes! I shot a short film for the album! ❤️ In theatres worldwide on April 3rd for ONE day only and includes an album listening!!! Tickets/more info coming soon! Love u guys". February 28, 2019. Retrieved March 1, 2019 – via Twitter.
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  68. ^ "Dutch album certifications – Khalid – Free Spirit" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved October 10, 2019. Enter Free Spirit in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 2019 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
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