Free Spirit (Khalid album) explained

Free Spirit
Type:studio
Cover:Khalid - Free Spirit.png
Artist:Khalid
Genre:
Length:57:13
Label:RCA
Prev Title:Suncity
Prev Year:2018
Next Title:Scenic Drive
Next Year:2021

Free Spirit is the second studio album by American singer Khalid, released on April 5, 2019, through RCA Records. It is a follow-up to his 2017 and 2018 releases American Teen (2017) and Suncity (2018).[1] and includes the single "Talk".[2] [3] Khalid also announced a short film directed by Emil Nava to accompany the album, which was released on April 3.[4] The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 and received mixed reviews from music critics.

Background

Khalid announced the title on social media on February 28. He had previously shown the van pictured on the cover in various posts.[5]

Short film

A short film accompanying the album was released on Khalid's YouTube channel on the same day of the album's release.[6]

Singles

"Talk" was released on February 7, 2019, as the album's lead single.[2] "Right Back" featuring A Boogie wit da Hoodie was released on August 2 as the album's second single.

Promotional singles

On March 7, "My Bad" was released with the album pre-order as a promotional single. "Self" was released on March 29, 2019.[7] On April 3, "Don't Pretend", featuring Safe, was released with the launch of Free Spirit Radio on Beats 1.[8]

Other songs

The album also includes the singles "Better" and "Saturday Nights" from Khalid's 2018 EP Suncity.

Critical reception

Free Spirit was met with mixed reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 58, based on 15 reviews.

Reviewing for The Guardian, Alexis Petridis found the album less original than Khalid's previous work, with the singer having little new to add to the theme of anxiety explored in other "fretfully self-examining R&B", instead showing "a tendency to fall back on cliche". With regards to its musical aspect, the critic complained of a lengthy, "somnambulant pace", but observed some "great pop songs", like "Alive" and "My Bad".

More positive was Robert Christgau, who wrote in his column for Vice that while Khalid's new "privileges and woes" may be foreign to most listeners, he "retains the gift of expressing his feelings in songs that cut star-time inevitabilities down to human scale", observing truisms in lyrics such as "Couldn't have known it would ever be this hard", "I didn't text you because I was workin'", and "If the love feels good it'll work out". Christgau also pointed out that "because Khalid now enjoys access to pricier musical materials than when he was in high school, the hooks pack more texture than tune, making this the rare album that comes fully into its own when you up the volume."

Commercial performance

Free Spirit debuted atop the US Billboard 200 with 202,000 album-equivalent units (including 85,000 pure album sales) in its first week. It is Khalid's first US number-one album.[9]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2019)Peak
position
Latvian Albums (LAIPA)[10] 4
Lithuanian Albums (AGATA)[11] 2
South Korean Albums (Gaon)[12] 56
US Billboard 2001

Year-end charts

Chart (2019)Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[13] 15
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[14] 200
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[15] 9
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[16] 46
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[17] 40
Irish Albums (IRMA)[18] 26
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[19] 8
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[20] 81
UK Albums (OCC)[21] 63
US Billboard 200[22] 13
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[23] 7
Chart (2020)Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[24] 49
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[25] 31
US Billboard 200[26] 55
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[27] 37
Chart (2021)Position
US Billboard 200[28] 109

Decade-end charts

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Khalid Announces New Album "Free Spirit" With Cover Art & Release Date. HotNewHipHop. Zidel. Alex. February 28, 2019. March 1, 2019. February 28, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190228234720/https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/khalid-announces-new-album-free-spirit-with-cover-art-and-release-date-news.73278.html. live.
  2. Web site: Khalid & Disclosure Drop New Single 'Talk': Listen. Billboard. March 1, 2019. February 8, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190208063403/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/8496385/khalid-new-song-talk-release-date. live.
  3. Web site: Khalid announces new album Free Spirit. The Fader. Darville. Jordan. February 28, 2019. March 1, 2019. March 1, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190301074520/https://www.thefader.com/2019/02/28/khalid-new-album-free-spirit. live.
  4. Web site: Here it goes! I shot a short film for the album! ❤️ In theatres worldwide on April 3rd for ONE day only and includes an album listening!!! Tickets/more info coming soon! Love u guys. Twitter. February 28, 2019. March 1, 2019.
  5. Web site: Khalid Announces New Album 'Free Spirit' & Release Date. HipHop-N-More. February 28, 2019. March 1, 2019. March 1, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190301135901/http://hiphop-n-more.com/2019/02/khalid-announces-new-album-free-spirit-release-date/. live.
  6. Web site: Khalid Announces Sophomore Album 'Free Spirit,' Short Film. Rolling Stone. February 28, 2019. April 6, 2019. April 6, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190406125104/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/khalid-sophomore-album-free-spirit-short-film-800891/amp/. live.
  7. Web site: Khalid Announces New Track 'Self' From Upcoming 'Free Spirit' Album. Billboard. Rowley. Glenn. March 26, 2019. March 28, 2019. March 27, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190327131007/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/hip-hop/8504196/khalid-announces-new-song-self. live.
  8. Web site: Khalid Releases Silky New Track 'Don't Pretend,' Launches Free Spirit Radio on Beats 1. Billboard. 2019-04-04. 2019-04-03. https://web.archive.org/web/20190403203301/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/hip-hop/8505501/khalid-dont-pretend-free-spirit-radio-beats-one. live.
  9. Web site: Khalid's 'Free Spirit' Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart. Billboard. Caulfield. Keith. April 14, 2019. April 15, 2019. February 27, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200227084627/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8507048/khalid-free-spirit-debuts-at-no-1-on-billboard-200-albums-chart. live.
  10. Web site: Mūzikas Patēriņa Tops/ 15. nedēļa. lv. LAIPA. November 28, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191010115057/https://www.parmuziku.lv/muzikas-zinas/latvija/muzikas-paterina-tops-14-nedela-7896. October 10, 2019.
  11. Web site: Savaitės klausomiausi (TOP 100). lt. AGATA. April 12, 2019. December 3, 2019. October 9, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191009192528/https://www.agata.lt/lt/naujienos/savaites-klausomiausi-w09-2-2-2-2-2-2/. dead.
  12. Web site: Gaon Album Chart – Week 14, 2019. Gaon Chart. ko. April 11, 2019. 2019-04-27. https://web.archive.org/web/20190427153031/http://gaonchart.co.kr/main/section/chart/album.gaon?nationGbn=T&serviceGbn=&targetTime=14&hitYear=2019&termGbn=week. dead.
  13. Web site: ARIA End of Year Albums Chart 2019. Australian Recording Industry Association. January 10, 2020. January 11, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200111013510/https://www.ariacharts.com.au/annual-charts/2019/albums-chart. live.
  14. Web site: Jaaroverzichten 2019. Ultratop. December 20, 2019. February 22, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200222160730/https://www.ultratop.be/nl/annual.asp?year=2019&cat=a. live.
  15. Web site: Top Canadian Albums – Year-End 2019. Billboard. December 6, 2019. December 5, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191205180940/https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2019/top-canadian-albums. live.
  16. Web site: Album Top-100 2019. Hitlisten. da. January 15, 2020. January 14, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200114175340/http://hitlisten.nu/top2019.asp. live.
  17. Web site: Jaaroverzichten – Album 2019. dutchcharts.nl. January 5, 2020. January 11, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200111043645/https://dutchcharts.nl/jaaroverzichten.asp?year=2019&cat=a. live.
  18. Web site: Ireland's Official Top 50 biggest albums of 2019. Official Charts Company. White. Jack. January 9, 2020. January 11, 2020. January 11, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200111011636/https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/irelands-official-top-50-biggest-albums-of-2019__28107/. live.
  19. Web site: Top Selling Albums of 2019. Recorded Music NZ. December 21, 2019. February 22, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200222160744/https://nztop40.co.nz/chart/albums?chart=4790. live.
  20. Web site: Årslista Album, 2019. Sverigetopplistan. January 14, 2020. March 22, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200322185410/https://www.sverigetopplistan.se/chart/83?dspy=2019&dspp=1. live.
  21. Web site: End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2019. Official Charts Company. January 4, 2020.
  22. Web site: Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2019. Billboard. December 6, 2019. December 4, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181204224411/https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2018/top-billboard-200-albums. live.
  23. Web site: Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2019. Billboard. June 18, 2020. December 5, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191205173349/https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2019/top-r-and-b-hip-hop-albums. live.
  24. Web site: ARIA Top 100 Albums for 2020. Australian Recording Industry Association. January 15, 2021.
  25. Web site: Top Selling Albums of 2020. Recorded Music NZ. December 7, 2020.
  26. Web site: Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2020. Billboard. December 4, 2020.
  27. Web site: Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2020. Billboard. December 15, 2020.
  28. Web site: Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2021. Billboard. December 3, 2021.
  29. Web site: Decade-End Charts: Billboard 200. Billboard. November 15, 2019. March 20, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200320084752/https://www.billboard.com/charts/decade-end/billboard-200. live.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Free Spirit (Khalid album)".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.