Wikipedia

Free (Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding song)

"Free" is a song by Scottish DJ Calvin Harris and English singer and songwriter Ellie Goulding, from Harris' first compilation album, 96 Months.[1] "Free" marks the fourth collaboration between Harris and Goulding,[2] and the duo's first collaboration since the 2023's trance song "Miracle", which saw massive critical and commercial success.[3] "Free" was released on 26 July 2024, under Sony Music UK to widespread critical acclaim from music critics who praised the duo's longtime creative partnership.[4][5]

"Free"
Single by Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding
from the album 96 Months
ReleasedJuly 26, 2024 (2024-07-26)
Genre
Length3:32
LabelSony UK
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Calvin Harris
Calvin Harris singles chronology
"Lovers in a Past Life"
(2024) 		"Free"
(2024)
Ellie Goulding singles chronology
"Brightest Blue (Nature remix)"
(2024) 		"Free"
(2024)
Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding singles chronology
"Miracle"
(2023) 		"Free"
(2024)

Composition

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"Free" is a dance-pop track, which is built around a piano house refrain.[4][6][7] Robin Murray from Clash magazine described the production as it "leans back on Millennial pop touchstones, while also overhauling them". As well noticing elements that "touches on trance production, while also nodding to hyper-pop". Andrew Wescott from Dork said that the "heartfelt" lyrics "echoes the euphoric, singalong vibe that characterizes their past hits".[8] "Free" marks the first song from the duo that doesn't feature writing credits from Goulding.[9]

Critical reception

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"Free" was met with critical acclaim upon its release. Robin Murray from Clash magazine praised both Harris and Goulding's contributions to the track, highlighting Goulding's emotional vocal performance and Harris production style, calling it pleasingly "the way the duo re-interpolate these 00s tropes, while retaining a wonderful pop song at its core".[10] Tom Skinner from NME dubbed the song as "The rousing summer anthem".[11] Rolling Stone included "Free" on their "Songs You Need to Know" which highlight the best new tracks of the week.[12] Jason Heffler from EDM.com praised Harris and Goulding stating that their "latest anthem "Free" reinforces the fact that some artistic partnerships are simply destined for greatness".[13] ThatGrapeJuice called "Free" an "electrifying anthem", and praised the blending of Goulding's ethereals vocals with Harris production "making it an instant hit for the summer".[14]

Commercial performance

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"Free" entered at number thirty-six on the UK Singles Chart, marking the duos fourth consecutive top-40 hit single.[15] Eventually it peaked at number thirthy-five on its third week.[16] Overrall, the song achieved moderate commercial success, in contrast of their previous efforts.[17]

Live performance

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Harris' unveiled the track for the first time during his DJ set at Ushuaïa Ibiza, he shared a preview to his Instagram account with the caption: "Trying out the new one @ushuaiaibiza!".[18] On July 20, Goulding made a surprise appearance at Harris' Ushuaïa set to perform "Free" live for the first time.[19][20]

Music video

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A lyric video was released the same day the song dropped on Harris, YouTube channel.[21][22] As August 18, a music video for the song has not been released or teased, making "Free" Harris and Goulding first collaboration to not feature a proper music video, instead a recording of Harris and Goulding's first-time live performance of "Free" at Usuahia Ibiza served as an official visualizer.[23]

Credits and personnel

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Credits adapted from Apple Music:[24]

Charts

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Chart performance for "Free"
Charts (2024) Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[25]
60
New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)[26]
8
UK Singles (OCC)
35
UK Dance (OCC)[27]
5
UK Singles Sales (OCC)[28]
13
UK Singles Downloads (OCC)[29]
12

Release history

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Release history and formats for "Free"
Region Date Format Label Ref.
Worldwide 26 July 2024
Sony UK [30][31]

References

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  1. ^ Bain, Katie (2024-08-09). "Calvin Harris Releases Hits-Spanning Compilation Album '96 Months': Stream It Now". Billboard. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
  2. ^ "Calvin Harris & Ellie Goulding Share New Song "Free": Listen". Stereogum. 2024-07-26. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
  3. ^ "Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding reunite for 4th single collaboration, 'Free' - Exron Music". 2024-07-12. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
  4. ^ a b Heffler, Jason (2024-07-26). "Listen to Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding's Walk-On-Air Dance Anthem, "Free"". EDM.com - The Latest Electronic Dance Music News, Reviews & Artists. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
  5. ^ Okechukwu, Nmesoma (2024-07-28). "Calvin Harris – Free (with Ellie Goulding)". EUPHORIA. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
  6. ^ Mendez, Chris Malone. "Calvin Harris And Ellie Goulding Reunite For New Single 'Free'". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
  7. ^ "Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding share new single, 'Free': Listen". DJ Mag. 2024-07-26. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
  8. ^ Wescott, Andrew (2024-07-18). "Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding's new team up 'FREE' is coming next week". Dork. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
  9. ^ "Who wrote "Free" by Calvin Harris & Ellie Goulding?". Genius. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
  10. ^ Magazine, Clash; Murray, Robin (2024-07-26). "Calvin Harris, Ellie Goulding Re-Unite On 'Free' | News". Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
  11. ^ Skinner, Tom (2024-07-26). "Listen to Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding's euphoric new single 'Free'". NME. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
  12. ^ Stone, Rolling (2024-07-26). "Ice Spice, Halsey, Post Malone, and All the Songs You Need to Know This Week". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
  13. ^ Heffler, Jason (2024-07-26). "Listen to Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding's Walk-On-Air Dance Anthem, "Free"". EDM.com - The Latest Electronic Dance Music News, Reviews & Artists. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
  14. ^ "The Pop Stop: Ellie Goulding & Calvin Harris, MGK, & More Deliver This Week's Hidden Gems - That Grape Juice". thatgrapejuice.net. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
  15. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100 on 2/8/2024". Official Charts. 2024-08-08. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
  16. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100 on 16/8/2024". Official Charts. 2024-08-18. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
  17. ^ "FREE". Official Charts. 2024-08-08. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
  18. ^ @calvinharris, Calvin Harris (7 July 2024). "Trying out the new one @ushuaiaibiza ! 👀 🎹". Instagram. Retrieved 2024-08-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  19. ^ @calvinharris, Calvin Harris (20 July 2024). "Got to perform Free for the first time with @elliegoulding in Ibiza!!! @ushuaiaibiza". Instagram. Retrieved 2024-08-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  20. ^ Bain, Katie (2024-07-23). "Calvin Harris & Ellie Goulding Debut Their Forthcoming Collab in Ibiza". Billboard. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
  21. ^ CalvinHarrisVEVO (2024-07-25). Calvin Harris, Ellie Goulding - Free (Official Lyric Video). Retrieved 2024-08-18 – via YouTube.
  22. ^ Taylor, Sam (2024-07-26). "Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding's new collaborative single 'Free' is out now". Dork. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
  23. ^ CalvinHarrisVEVO (2024-08-01). Calvin Harris, Ellie Goulding - Free (Live at Ushuaïa Ibiza 2024). Retrieved 2024-08-18 – via YouTube.
  24. ^ Free by Calvin Harris & Ellie Goulding on Apple Music, 2024-07-26, retrieved 2024-08-18
  25. ^ "IRMA - Irish Charts". www.irma.ie. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
  26. ^ "The Official New Zealand Music Chart". THE OFFICIAL NZ MUSIC CHART. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
  27. ^ "Official Dance Singles Chart on 2/8/2024". Official Charts. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
  28. ^ "Official Singles Sales Chart on 9/8/2024". Official Charts. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
  29. ^ "Official Singles Downloads Chart on 9/8/2024". Official Charts. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
  30. ^ Calvin Harris, Ellie Goulding (26 July 2024). "Free (with Ellie Goulding)". Spotify. Retrieved 2024-08-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  31. ^ Calvin Harris - Topic (2024-07-25). Free. Retrieved 2024-08-18 – via YouTube.
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