B-side "Ecstasy" Genre Electropop
dance | Format CD
digital download Length 3:47 | |
Released 20 October 2014 (2014-10-20) Recorded 2014; Fly Eye Studio
(London, England) | ||
"Outside" is a song by Scottish DJ and record producer Calvin Harris from his fourth studio album, Motion (2014). The song features English singer Ellie Goulding and was released on 20 October 2014 as the fourth single from the album. It marks the second collaboration between Harris and Goulding, following the internationally successful single "I Need Your Love" (2013). "Outside" is included on the deluxe edition of Goulding's third studio album, Delirium.
Contents
Composition
With a tempo of 128 beats per minute, "Outside" is composed in the key of D minor. It follows a chord progression of B♭-Gm-Dm-C.
Critical reception
The song received very 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 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 commented that on "Outside", Harris "finds the perfect balance between [Goulding's] vulnerable warble and the warping synths underneath". Idolator'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 felt that the track "doesn't quite recapture the magic of [Harris and Goulding's] previous work but does make the most of her deceptively powerful soprano, this time in a more upbeat setting." Slant Magazine's James Rainis opined that "[t]he most notable characteristic of 'Outside' [...] is that the hook's cadence is exactly the same as the Carly Rae Jepsen/Owl City 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, 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 ten with 33,208 copies sold.
In the United States, the single became Harris' eighth number-one single on Billboard's Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart the week ending 7 March 2015, surpassing both David Guetta and Madonna, who along with Harris were tied with seven. In addition, it also gives Goulding her third number-one on this chart as well. On the Billboard Hot 100, the song has peaked at twenty-nine, making it Harris' eighth and Goulding's fifth top-forty single.
Music video
The music video for "Outside" was directed by Emil Nava 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.
Credits and personnel
Credits for "Outside" adapted from CD single liner notes