"Risk It All" is a standalone single by English singer-songwriter

Ella Henderson Gabriella Michelle Henderson (born 12 January 1996), known as Ella Henderson, is an English singer. She competed in the ninth series of ''The X Factor UK'' in 2012, finishing in sixth place despite being a strong favourite to win. She signed ...

, the House Gospel Choir and producer

Just Kiddin Just Kiddin are a British electronic music production duo composed of Lewis Thompson and Laurie Revell. The duo is from Kettering, Northamptonshire, England, and formed in 2010. Just Kiddin have remixed the likes of Usher, Parachute Youth, and ...

. It was released on 20 August 2021 through Major Tom's /

Asylum Records Asylum Records is an American record label, founded in 1971 by David Geffen and partner Elliot Roberts. It was taken over by Warner Communications (now the Warner Music Group) in 1972, and later merged with Elektra Records to become Elektra/As ...

and

Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...

. Described by

critics A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or governme ...

as an uplifting euphoric

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

and pop song, it features lyrics that speak of facing your fears in life and love, and giving a relationship a second chance. The song was promoted with live performances on

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

's ''

Breakfast Show Breakfast television (Europe, Canada, and Australia) or morning show (United States) is a type of news or infotainment television programme that broadcasts live in the morning (typically scheduled between 5:00 and 10:00a.m., or if it is a lo ...

'' with

Zoe Ball Zoe Louise Ball (born 23 November 1970) is a British radio and television presenter. She was the first female host of both ''Radio 1 Breakfast'' and ''The Radio 2 Breakfast Show'' for the BBC, and presented the 1990s children's show ''Live & K ...

and the homecoming ceremony for

Team GB Team GB is the brand name used since 1999 by the British Olympic Association (BOA) for their British Olympic team. The brand was developed after the nation's poor performance in the 1996 Summer Olympics, and is now a trademark of the BOA. I ...

Paralympics The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaired ...

Team Homecoming. Upon its release, "Risk It All" debuted and peaked at 100 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 ...

Background and composition

In 2015, a year after topping 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 C ...

with her debut album '' Chapter One'', Ella Henderson began working on her second album. Despite completing album number two, Henderson suffered from severe

anxiety Anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil and includes feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is different than fear in that the former is defined as the anticipation of a future threat wh ...

which ultimately led to delays and her departure from

Syco Music Syco Music is a defunct division of Syco Entertainment founded by British entrepreneur and record executive Simon Cowell. Originally founded as S Records, the label launched while Cowell was still employed by BMG, the label oversaw music relea ...

, for a new deal with

Rudimental Rudimental are a British drum and bass band, signed to Asylum Records, Atlantic Records and Black Butter Records. The band consists of Piers Aggett, Kesi Dryden and Leon "Locksmith" Rolle. They were nominated for a Mercury Prize in 2013, and ...

's label Major Tom's and

. It was Rudimental that introduced Henderson to the London-based vocal group House Gospel Choir. Speaking about how "Risk It All" came about, Henderson said "When the Rudimental boys introduced me to House Gospel Choir, I knew I had to work with them. It was such an amazing experience collaborating with them and Just Kiddin on this song. I hope it uplifts you as much as it did us in the studio." "Risk It All" is a

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded danc ...

and pop song with a "vibrant production" that invokes "

euphoria Euphoria ( ) is the experience (or affect) of pleasure or excitement and intense feelings of well-being and happiness. Certain natural rewards and social activities, such as aerobic exercise, laughter, listening to or making music and da ...

" and lyrics that speak of giving a relationship a second chance. Henderson spoke about the song on her social media accounts, saying "it's alllllll about taking risks and not being afraid to face your fears in love and in life" .

Reception

Upon release, "Risk It All" received support from

music streaming A music streaming service is a type of streaming media service that focuses primarily on music, and sometimes other forms of digital audio content such as podcasts. These services are usually subscription-based services allowing users to stream d ...

platforms and radio stations in the UK. It was playlisted by

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

and

, as well as being picked as one "Hottest Record In The World Right Now" on

Charlie Hedges Charlotte Hedges is a British DJ and broadcaster, who presents as part of "Rickie, Melvin and Charlie" on BBC Radio 1. Early life Hedges studied journalism at Harlow College. Career Radio presenting Hedges hosted the breakfast show at Kiss for ...

's ''Dance Anthems'' show. Additionally, it was included on

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

's 'New Music Friday' and 'All New All Now' playlists, as well as

Apple Music Apple Music is a music, audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users select music to stream to their device on-demand, or they can listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the Internet radio stations Apple M ...

's 'New Music Daily' playlist. "Risk It All" received a positive review from

music critic ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of mus ...

Jon Stickler, from ''Stereoboard'', who that said that Henderson's vocals combined with the choir's to "lift the vibe".

Promotion

On the day of release, 20 August 2021, Henderson appeared on

's ''

'' on

for a live acoustic performance of the song. The single's cover art was shot by photographer Matt Pearson and was accompanied by other photos, all taken during the music video shoot atop Seven Sisters Cliffs in

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

, England. Henderson would later appear on 12 September with the House Gospel Choir at the

Paralympics Homecoming Ceremony for a performance of "Risk It All", live on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

Music videos

The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for "Risk It All" features Henderson and the House Gospel Choir atop the Seven Sisters cliffs in

, England. The theme of the video is around a "Last Day on Earth", with a couple departing for the cliffs and mark off activities from their

bucket list Bucket list may refer to: * A list of activities to do before dying ("kick the bucket") * Wish list * ''The Bucket List'', a 2007 comedy film * ''Bucket List'' (2018 film), a 2018 Indian Marathi comedy-drama film * "Bucket List" (song), a 2013 ...

as "an asteroid threatens the Earth". It features scenes of both "pre-Apocalyptic drama" and "young love and a gratitude for being alive", and "touches the

dichotomy A dichotomy is a partition of a whole (or a set) into two parts (subsets). In other words, this couple of parts must be * jointly exhaustive: everything must belong to one part or the other, and * mutually exclusive: nothing can belong simulta ...

of love and fear". The video made its debut on 27 August 2021, and was directed by Lewis Cater. According to ''Promonews''s Rob Ulitski, the video is "brilliantly realised... with a surprising feel-good factor". A music video performance of the acoustic version of "Risk It All" was released on 10 September 2021. It was recorded at The Pool Studios in

Bermondsey Bermondsey () is a district in southeast London, part of the London Borough of Southwark, England, southeast of Charing Cross. To the west of Bermondsey lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe and Deptford, to the south Walworth and Peckham, a ...

, London.

Track listing

Digital single #"Risk It All" (Ella Henderson, The House Gospel Choir, Just Kiddin) – 2:58 Acoustic single #"Risk It All" (Ella Henderson & The House Gospel Choir) – 3:18 #"Risk It All" (Ella Henderson, The House Gospel Choir, Just Kiddin) – 2:58 Just Kidding VIP mix single #"Risk It All" (Just Kidding VIP mix) – 4:27 #"Risk It All" (Club Mix) – 3:24 #"Risk It All" (Ella Henderson, The House Gospel Choir, Just Kiddin) – 2:58 KC Lights remix single #"Risk It All" (

KC Lights KC Lights (real name Kerr Slaven) is a Scottish DJ, record producer and songwriter. History Slaven grew up on the Isle of Bute and attended secondary school in Rothesay. According to Slaven, he initially listened to a mixture of jazz and indie r ...

remix) – 3:21 #"Risk It All" (Ella Henderson, The House Gospel Choir, Just Kiddin) – 2:58

Personnel and credits

Recording locations *The Pool (London, UK) Personnel *Ella Henderson – vocals *House Gospel Choir – vocals *Henri Davies – vocal recording engineer *Sarah Dorgan – assistant engineer (acoustic version) *David Emery – mixing and mastering engineer (acoustic version) *Kevin Grainger – mixing engineer, mastering engineer *Charlotte Haining – background vocals *Billy Halliday – engineer (acoustic version) *Lizzie Jennings – choir arranger *Ben Loveland – assistant engineer *Natalie Maddix – choir director *Robert Sellens – engineer *Lewis Thomson (

) – producer, background vocals

Charts

Release history

References

{{Ella Henderson 2021 songs 2021 singles Asylum Records singles Ella Henderson songs Songs written by Ella Henderson Pop songs Dance music songs Songs written by Robert Harvey (musician)