Outside (Calvin Harris song)
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"Outside" is a song by Scottish DJ and record producer
Calvin Harris Adam Richard Wiles (born 17 January 1984), known professionally as Calvin Harris, is a Scottish DJ, record producer, singer, and songwriter who has released six studio albums. His debut studio album, ''I Created Disco'', was released in June ...
, featuring English singer
Ellie Goulding Elena Jane Goulding ( ; born 30 December 1986) is an English singer and songwriter. Her career began when she met record producers Starsmith and Frankmusik, and she was later spotted by Jamie Lillywhite, who became her manager and Artists and ...
, from Harris's fourth studio album, ''
Motion In physics, motion is the phenomenon in which an object changes its position with respect to time. Motion is mathematically described in terms of displacement, distance, velocity, acceleration, speed and frame of reference to an observer and mea ...
'' (2014). It was released on 20 October 2014 as the album's fourth single. The song also appears on the deluxe edition of Goulding's third studio album, ''
Delirium Delirium (also known as acute confusional state) is an organically caused decline from a previous baseline of mental function that develops over a short period of time, typically hours to days. Delirium is a syndrome encompassing disturbances in ...
'' (2015). "Outside" marks the second collaboration between Harris and Goulding, following the single " I Need Your Love" (2013).


Composition

With a tempo of 128 beats per minute, "Outside" is composed in the key of
D minor D minor is a minor scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative major is F major and its parallel major is D major. The D natural minor scale is: Changes needed for t ...
. It follows a chord progression of B♭-Gm-Dm-C.


Critical reception

The song received positive reviews from music critics, calling it a great follow-up of their previous collaboration, and noting it as a highlight of the album. Brent Faulkner of ''
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
'' praised the song as "one of ''Motion''s crème de la crème records" and wrote that it "latches from a first listen giving the set arguably its strongest pop hit." Kyle Anderson of ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' commented that on "Outside", Harris "finds the perfect balance between oulding'svulnerable warble and the warping synths underneath".
Idolator An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry. Idolater or Idolator may also refer to: Books *''Os Idólatras'', 1968 Portuguese novel by Maria Judite de Carvalho Music * Idolator (website), an American music blog * ''Idolator'' (album), third album ...
's Robbie Daw found the song to be "just as pleasant, if not slightly more so, than Calvin and Ellie's previous outing together, 2012's 'I Need Your Love.' It's good to hear that there's still quite a bit of musical magic when these two hit the studio together." Carolyn Menyes of ''Music Times'' stated, "There's something that works so well about Harris' string effect synth beats and Goulding's whispered ethereal voice. We've heard it before in 'I Need Your Love' and it's back here again in full force for yet another magical combination." Heather Phares 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 databas ...
felt that the track "doesn't quite recapture the magic of arris and Goulding'sprevious work but does make the most of her deceptively powerful soprano, this time in a more upbeat setting." ''
Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...
''s James Rainis opined that " e most notable characteristic of 'Outside' ..is that the hook's cadence is exactly the same as the
Carly Rae Jepsen Carly Rae Jepsen (born November 21, 1985) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. After studying musical theatre for most of her school life and while in university, Jepsen garnered mainstream attention after placing third on the fifth season of ...
/
Owl City Owl City is an American electronic music project created in 2007 in Owatonna, Minnesota. It is one of several projects by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Adam Young, who created the project while experimenting with music in his pa ...
song ' Good Time,' but it lacks that song's cutesy charm." Chase Hunt of AXS viewed the song as "a decent pairing but an expected outcome."


Commercial performance

"Outside" entered and peaked at number six 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 ...
, selling 28,902 copies in its first week. It remained at number six the following week, selling 35,590 copies. In its third week, the song fell to number 10 with 33,208 copies sold. In the United States, "Outside" became Harris's eighth number-one single on ''Billboard''s
Dance/Mix Show Airplay Dance/Mix Show Airplay (formerly Hot Dance Airplay) is a monitored electronic dance music radio chart that is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. History The chart came about as a result of the small but influential impact of electronic d ...
chart for the week ending 7 March 2015, surpassing both
David Guetta Pierre David Guetta ( , ; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ and music producer. He has over 10 million album and 65 million single sales globally, with more than 10 billion streams. In 2011, 2020 and 2021, Guetta was voted the number one D ...
and
Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
, who along with Harris were tied with seven. It also gives Goulding her third number-one on this chart. On the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, the song peaked at number 29, making it Harris's eighth and Goulding's fifth top-40 single.


Music video

The music video for "Outside" was directed by
Emil Nava Emil William Capper Nava (born 29 March 1985) is a British music video director. After leaving school at 16, Emil started his career as a chef. He shot to fame after directing Jessie J's song " Do It Like A Dude". He has since directed over 1 ...
and filmed in Los Angeles on 20 October 2014. The video premiered on 12 November 2014. The video depicts two separate couples in toxic and abusive relationships. Harris and Goulding each play partners in the separate relationships who both appear to be the chief recipient of the abuse. The video is also intercut with shots of Goulding singing directly to the camera in front of a suburban house, surreal images that bend the fore- and background, objects in the frame freezing in time, Goulding being suspended in the air, and Goulding with a floating rectangular mirror that eventually shatters. The video ends with Goulding and Harris together in the house in the midst of a mid-fight freeze frame, leaving the viewer to question which version was reality.


Track listings


Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''
Motion In physics, motion is the phenomenon in which an object changes its position with respect to time. Motion is mathematically described in terms of displacement, distance, velocity, acceleration, speed and frame of reference to an observer and mea ...
''.


Recording

* Recorded at Fly Eye Studio (London) * Mastered at The Exchange Mastering Studios (London)


Personnel

*
Calvin Harris Adam Richard Wiles (born 17 January 1984), known professionally as Calvin Harris, is a Scottish DJ, record producer, singer, and songwriter who has released six studio albums. His debut studio album, ''I Created Disco'', was released in June ...
– all instruments, production, mixing * Ellie Goulding – vocals * Simon Davey – mastering


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


Release history


Notes


References

{{Authority control 2014 songs 2014 singles Calvin Harris songs Columbia Records singles Ellie Goulding songs Number-one singles in Finland Number-one singles in Germany Number-one singles in Hungary Number-one singles in Poland Songs written by Calvin Harris Songs written by Ellie Goulding