''Icarus Falls'' is the second solo studio album by English singer-songwriter Zayn. It was released on 14 December 2018, as a double album by

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

. Originally planned for 2017, the album was delayed so that Zayn could focus on the aesthetic and sound the album would adopt, marking a shift from the visual identity used on his debut studio album, ''

Mind of Mine ''Mind of Mine'' is the debut studio album by English singer-songwriter Zayn, released on 25 March 2016 by RCA Records. Primarily an R&B and alternative R&B, the album blends elements from a number of genres, including pop, folk, dub, soul, fu ...

'' (2016). ''Icarus Falls'' is a concept album influenced by

Greek Mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...

and Icarus, addressing themes such as self-love, finding yourself again as a person, and hope. Influenced by the double album structure, Zayn incorporated several sonic elements in addition to R&B, such as pop,

funk rock Funk rock is a fusion genre that mixes elements of funk and rock. James Brown and others declared that Little Richard and his mid-1950s road band, The Upsetters, were the first to put the funk in the rock and roll beat, with a biographer stat ...

trap A trap is a mechanical device used to capture or restrain an animal for purposes such as hunting, pest control, or ecological research. Trap or TRAP may also refer to: Art and entertainment Films and television * ''Trap'' (2015 film), Fil ...

and electropop. He recruited Alan Sampson, MakeYouKnowLove and Malay, who had already worked with Zayn on his previous album, adding Brian Lee,

Dan Grech Dan or DAN may refer to: People * Dan (name), including a list of people with the name ** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark * Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa **Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivoi ...

Timbaland Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer, rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. He has received widespread acclaim for his innovative production work and distinc ...

and the duo Saltwives to the production team. Zayn did not promote the album through press interviews and live performances, which he had done on his previous releases. Six international singles—" Let Me", "

Entertainer An entertainer is someone who provides entertainment in various different forms. Types of entertainers * Acrobat * Actor * Archimime * Athlete * Barker * Beatboxer * Benshi * Bouffon * Circus performer * Clown * Club Hostess/Host * Co ...

, "

Sour Diesel Sour Diesel is a hybrid strain of ''Cannabis sativa'' In popular culture Sour Diesel has appeared in works by Ryan David Jahn and Toby Rogers. The strain gave its name to two rap albums by Doap Nixon, as well as a single by Dame Grease. The Fl ...

", " Too Much" featuring Timbaland, "

Fingers A finger is a limb of the body and a type of digit, an organ of manipulation and sensation found in the hands of most of the Tetrapods, so also with humans and other primates. Most land vertebrates have five fingers (Pentadactyly). Chambers 1 ...

", and " No Candle No Light" featuring

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated Flow (rapping), flow in her rapping, alter e ...

—supported the album; the first peaked at seventy-three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. "Rainberry" and "Good Years" preceded the album as promotional tracks. ''Icarus Falls'' received generally positive reception from critics, and peaked at 61 on the US ''

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of ar ...

'' and 77 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

. The Japanese version of the album features the previously released singles, "

Still Got Time "Still Got Time" is a song by English singer and songwriter Zayn featuring Canadian rapper and singer PartyNextDoor. It was released on 24 March 2017 by RCA Records, and it appears on the Japanese edition and the 2020 digital re-release of Zayn's ...

", featuring

PartyNextDoor Jahron Anthony Brathwaite (born July 3, 1993), known professionally as PartyNextDoor (stylized as PARTYNEXTDOOR), is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and record producer. PartyNextDoor was the first artist signed to Drake's OVO Sound record labe ...

, and " Dusk Till Dawn", featuring

Sia Sia Kate Isobelle Furler ( ; born 18 December 1975) is an Australian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Adelaide, she started her career as a singer in the acid jazz band Crisp in the mid-1990s. In 1997, when Crisp disbanded, she rel ...

. In August 2020, Zayn also added "

" featuring

and "Dusk Till Dawn" featuring Sia to the album tracklist.

Background

Icarus Falls was originally scheduled to be released in 2017. The CEO of

, Peter Edge, said the album would consist of a "more optimistic tone to it after coming through that more challenging time", referring to Malik's time as a member of

One Direction One Direction, often shortened to 1D, are an English-Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010. The group are composed of Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and previously Zayn Malik until his departure from the g ...

. In November 2017, Malik stated that the album was "90 percent completed", and would include

as one of its producers. Speaking about why the album was delayed, Zayn said: In early 2018, Malik revealed snippets of clips from the album on Instagram, captioned with "Taster z2". ''Icarus Falls'' is a concept album inspired by the

Greek myth A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities of d ...

of Icarus. He recalls the story of Icarus, who flew too close to the sun, and compares it to the ups and downs of his relationship. Many people assume that Zayn could be using the title as a metaphor for how he feels he "escaped" from One Direction, but the ensuing scrutiny from the media over his relationships and career was too much, and caused him to step away from the spotlight.

Songs

Opening track and lead single "Let Me" is an upbeat pop and R&B track featuring "a slick, easygoing production" as well as "buoyant throwback synths, finger snaps and strumming guitar". Despite there being a censored version of the album, "Common" is still explicit and features the f-word in the track once on the CD format. However, the platform version of the album that features the edited version replaces the f-word with "individual". "There You Are" is an upbeat pop song that was compared to material released during his time in

. "Good Guy" opens the second disc of the album. The track interpolates " Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)", originally released by Cher in 1966, and "swirls with striking atmosphere".

Release and promotion

The album's release was confirmed on 30 November 2018, and released on 14 December 2018.

Singles

" Let Me" was released on 12 April 2018 as the lead single from the album and peaked at number 20 on the UK Singles Chart. "

" was released as the album's second single on 23 May and peaked at number 95 in the UK. "

" was released as the album's third single on 18 July. " Too Much" featuring

was released as the album's fourth single on 2 August and charted at number 79 in the UK. "

" was released as the album's fifth single on 18 October. " No Candle No Light" featuring

was released as the album's sixth single on 15 November.

Promotional singles

"Rainberry" was released as the album's first

promotional single A promotional recording, or promo, or plug copy, is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as ...

on 30 November 2018 after the album became available to pre-order on iTunes. On 6 December, the song "Good Years" was released as the second promotional single. "There You Are" was released on 11 December as the third promotional single from the album.

Other songs

" featuring

was released as a single on 24 March 2017 and peaked at number 24 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. " Dusk Till Dawn" featuring

was released on 7 September 2017 and peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart. These songs were included only on the Japanese edition of the album. A music video for "Satisfaction", directed by Bouha Kazmi, was released on 9 January 2019. It follows the story of a romance that is plagued by the hardships of war. On 29 July 2018, Zayn, via his official

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account, released a three minute long cover of Beyoncé's " Me, Myself and I" as a taster for his fans. The cover would go on to have as many as 1.7 million views. On 14 April 2019, Malik released the music video for the song "Stand Still".

Critical reception

The album holds an aggregate score of 70 out of 100 on

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

based on nine reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". In a positive review, Helen Brown of ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'' stated that with "his maturing soulful falsetto,

melisma Melisma ( grc-gre, μέλισμα, , ; from grc, , melos, song, melody, label=none, plural: ''melismata'') is the singing of a single syllable of text while moving between several different notes in succession. Music sung in this style is refer ...

tic yearnings that check his heritage, and muzzy, midnight mutterings", listeners "following the shining thread of Malik's voice will be led through winding passages of hope, dope, seduction and evasion." Madison Spira of ''

Who Who or WHO may refer to: * Who (pronoun), an interrogative or relative pronoun * Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism * World Health Organization Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Who, a creature in the Dr. Seuss book '' Horton He ...

'' gave the album a positive review, stating that it is "different to anything we've seen from Zayn before, and that's what makes this album so beautiful" and there "are so many songs I'm convinced most people will relate to on a personal level." Dhruva Balram of ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' called it a "27-track mosaic to be poured over time and again" where Zayn "really strikes upon his potential." Rea McNamara of ''

Now Now most commonly refers to the present time. Now, NOW, or The Now may also refer to: Organizations * Natal Organisation of Women, a South African women's organization * National Organization for Women, an American feminist organization * Now ...

'' gave it a "great" rating of 4 out of 5, praising how "Zayn grapples with toxic masculinity" and how it "reminds us that sometimes life's lows help us appreciate love's highs". Malvika Padin of '' Clash'' gave it a favourable review, calling it a "relentlessly creative" album that "begins the journey to realising his full potential". Neil Yeung of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

stated that, with "his gorgeous voice and a batch of irresistibly seductive gems, he approaches greatness" but criticised the length, concluding that it "deserves some attention if there's time and patience to spare." Maura Johnston of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

'' gave it a favourable review, stating that, while long, it as a fine " high-concept pop album" that "hinges on the idea of excess and its trickery" while referring to Zayn as "a skillful interpreter of pop" and "one of teen idoldom's most enigmatic artists." Tara Joshi of ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

'' gave it a favourable review, stating that, despite "the intimidating length", there is "plenty here to appreciate" such as vocals "pouring forth a gorgeous falsetto" and often channelling "melismatic

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

qawwali Qawwali (Punjabi language, Punjabi: (Shahmukhi), (Gurmukhi); Urdu: (Nastaʿlīq, Nasta'liq); Hindi: क़व्वाली (Devanagari); Bengali language, Bengali: কাওয়ালি (Bengali alphabet, Bengali)) is a form of Sufi Isl ...

-style singing", a "glossy production," and "a variety of styles", concluding that "Malik is defying expectations, remaining in ascent." Conversely, ''

Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook ...

''s Wren Graves praised some of the songs and Zayn's vocals but criticised the album as a long "half-baked concept album" that is "repetitive and dull," while Pryor Stroud of '' Slant Magazine'' deemed it "bloated" and "forgettable, albeit expertly produced".

Track listing

Notes * signifies a co- producer * signifies an additional producer * signifies a vocal producer * Khaled Rohaim, MakeYouKnowLove, Saltwives, and Henrique Andrade are also credited as vocal producers for the songs they produced. Sample credits * "Good Guy" contains an interpolation of " Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" (1966), written by

Sonny Bono Salvatore Phillip "Sonny" Bono (; February 16, 1935 – January 5, 1998) was an American singer, actor, and politician who came to fame in partnership with his second wife Cher as the popular singing duo Sonny & Cher. A member of the Republica ...

and originally performed by Cher.

Personnel

Credits adapted from

Tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * Tidal (servic ...

. Track listing refers to the 2020 digital re-release. Performers * Khaled Rohaim – drums * Lewis Allen – guitar * Michael Hannides – piano , background vocals , drums * Saltwives – drums, guitar, keyboards, programming * Match Anderson – guitar * Anthony Hannides – background vocals * Dan McDougall – bass * Levi Lennox – drums, piano * Alex Al – bass * Donnell Spencer, Jr. – drums *

Vinnie Colaiuta Vincent Peter Colaiuta (born February 5, 1956) is an American drummer who has worked as a session musician in many genres. He was inducted into the '' Modern Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 1996 and the ''Classic Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 2014. Cola ...

– drums *

Tim Pierce Tim Pierce (born 1959 in Albuquerque) is an American session guitarist. He has worked for artists such as Joe Cocker, Crowded House, Goo Goo Dolls, Michael Jackson, Beth Hart, Roger Waters, Alice Cooper, Johnny Hallyday, Phil Collins, and the ...

– guitar *

Jamie Muhoberac Benjamin Edward "Jamie" Muhoberac is an American session keyboardist with numerous credits. He is best known for his work with Seal and Was (Not Was). Biography Muhoberac has worked with acts including The All-American Rejects, Fleetwood Mac, B ...

– keyboards * Malay – guitar * Richard Saunders – background vocals *

Dave Eggar Dave Eggar is an American cellist, pianist and composer. Early life Eggar was a musical prodigy as a child, beginning to play the cello and piano at age three and performing as a singer and actor on Broadway and at the Metropolitan Opera at ...

– cello, strings * Taylor Johnson – drums, guitar * Phil Faconti – strings * Donnie Reis – violin * Matt Kirkwood – bass *

Greg Kurstin Gregory Allen Kurstin (born May 14, 1969) is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2017 and 2018, and written and produced four songs ...

– drums, guitar, keyboards, piano, programming Technical *

Serban Ghenea Șerban Ghenea (born October 13, 1969) is a Grammy award-winning Romanian-Canadian audio engineer and mixer. Early life and education Ghenea was born in Bucharest, Romania in 1969. In 1976 he moved to Montreal with his family. He later attended ...

–

mixing engineer A mixing engineer (or simply mix engineer) is responsible for combining ("mixing") different sonic elements of an auditory piece into a complete rendition (also known as "final mix" or "mixdown"), whether in music, film, or any other content of a ...

* Erik Madrid – mixing engineer * Khaled Rohaim – mixing engineer *

Manny Marroquin Manny Marroquin (born September 21, 1971) is an American mixing engineer.Daley, Dan (May 2005).Manny Marroquin. ''Sound on Sound''. Retrieved February 10, 2007 He has received ten Grammy awards for his professional audio work. Life and career ...

– mixing engineer * Chris Galland – mixing engineer *

Dan Grech-Marguerat Daniel James Grech-Marguerat, also known as Dan Grech, (born 11 July 1981 in Bedford), is an English / Maltese recording engineer, record producer and mixer. His production style pulls together a blend of alternative and pop genres. He is recogn ...

– mixing engineer * Saltwives – mixing engineer , engineer, recording engineer * Josh Gudwin – mixing engineer * Vinnie Colaiuta – mixing engineer * James F. Reynolds – mixing engineer *

Jaycen Joshua Jaycen Joshua is a mix engineer and music producer who owns the revered Canton House Studios in Studio City, California. Joshua started his mix career in 2005 when he became partners with his mentor Dave Pensado and formed The Penua Project. Joshu ...

– mixing engineer * John Haynes –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

* Zeke Mishanec – engineer , assistant engineer * Beatriz Artola – engineer * John Francis Meehan – engineer * Daryl "D-Zone" Johnson – engineer * Alex Pasco – engineer * Greg Kurstin – engineer * Julian Burg – engineer * Malay – recording engineer * Paul Norris – recording engineer , assistant engineer * Henrique Andrade – recording engineer * Rob Marks – recording engineer * Richard Saunders – recording engineer * Aubry "Big Juice" Delaine – recording engineer * Brian Lee – recording engineer * Sawyr – recording engineer *

Tushar Apte Tushar Apte is an Australian record producer and songwriter based in Los Angeles, best known for his work with Chris Brown (on "Zero"), BTS (on "Home"), Blackpink (on " Love to Hate Me"), Demi Lovato (on " Sober"), Zayn Malik and Nicki Minaj (on ...

– recording engineer * William Binderup – assistant engineer * Jack Thomason – assistant engineer * Robin Florent – assistant engineer * Scott Desmarais – assistant engineer * Pier Giacalone – assistant engineer * Hunter Jackson – assistant engineer * Matthew Sim – assistant engineer * Ludovick Tartavel – assistant engineer * Brian Judd – assistant engineer * David Nakaji – assistant engineer * Ivan Jimenez – assistant engineer * Nick Valentin – assistant engineer * Jacob Richards – assistant engineer * Michael Seaberg – assistant engineer * Rashawn Mclean – assistant engineer * Jamie Peters – assistant engineer * Loren McLean – assistant engineer

Charts

Certifications

Release history

References

Footnotes Citations {{Authority control 2018 albums Albums produced by Frank Dukes Albums produced by Greg Kurstin Albums produced by Malay (record producer) Albums produced by Murda Beatz Albums produced by Timbaland Concept albums Classical mythology in music RCA Records albums Zayn Malik albums