"Polaroid" is a song by English DJ and record producer

Jonas Blue Guy James Robin (born 2 August 1989), known professionally as Jonas Blue, is an English DJ and music producer. Career 2015–2017: Breakthrough and ''Jonas Blue: Electronic Nature – The Mix 2017'' In 2015, Blue released a tropical hous ...

, English singer and songwriter

Liam Payne Liam James Payne (29 August 1993 – 16 October 2024) was an English singer and songwriter. He was a member of the pop band One Direction, one of the best-selling boy bands of all time, alongside Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, and Loui ...

and Canadian singer

Lennon Stella Lennon Ray Louise Stella is a Canadian singer and actress. She portrayed Maddie Conrad on the musical-drama series ''Nashville'' (2012–2018). Before going solo in 2018, Stella performed with her sister as the duo Lennon & Maisy. Stella rele ...

. It was released as a digital download on 5 October 2018 via

Virgin EMI Records Virgin EMI Records was a British record label owned by the Universal Music Group that was formed in 2013. In June 2020, the label was rebranded as EMI Records, and operates Virgin Records as an imprint of the new EMI Records. History Virgin ...

as the eighth single from Blue's compilation album ''

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB color model, RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB color model, RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between Violet (color), violet and cyan on the optical spe ...

''. It is also included on Payne's debut studio album '' LP1''. To date, it has sold two million units worldwide.

Background and composition

On 4 October 2018,

released the cover art and a preview for "Polaroid". Written by

Ed Drewett Edward James Drewett (born 1 April 1988) is a British singer and songwriter who is best known for his contributions and collaborations with acts such as One Direction, Little Mix, Jonas Blue, The Wanted, Olly Murs, and SG Lewis. Early life D ...

, Sam Roman, Blue and John Paul Cooper, the track has been described as R&B

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

with an anthemic chorus and an irresistible groove. The song was also produced by Blue. The song is about the concept of finding love at first sight. When Blue started writing the track, he felt that "only Liam could sing it." The song was originally going to feature

and

Cheryl Cheryl is a feminine given name with multiple origins. The name might have originated as a combination of the name Beryl with the prefix ''Cher-'' from the French ''chérie'', meaning ''darling'' (from the past participle of the verb ''chérir'' ...

, however due to the two splitting back in June, Blue chose

instead.

Critical reception

BroadwayWorld BroadwayWorld is a theatre news website based in New York City, New York. Launched in 2003, the site covers Broadway, Off-Broadway, regional, and international theater productions, with sections devoted to particular countries, cities, or regi ...

'' called the track a "heaven sent slice of R&B pop replete with a truly anthemic chorus and an irresistible groove". Idolator felt the song had "shimmering production", an "irresistible chorus", and that Payne and Stella have "striking vocals" and chemistry.

Music video

A music video to accompany the release of "Polaroid" was shot in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...

on 21 August 2018. It was officially released onto

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

on 19 October 2018 and was directed by Jay Martin. The video features a couple falling in love after taking a Polaroid picture together, and also features appearances by all three artists. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' commented that the video brings the "romantic dance song to life".

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Liam Payne 2018 songs 2018 singles Jonas Blue songs Lennon Stella songs Liam Payne songs Number-one singles in Israel Songs written by Romans (musician) Songs written by Ed Drewett Songs written by Jonas Blue Songs written by JP Cooper