| Youth | |
| Cover: | Youth - Foxes.jpg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Foxes |
| Album: | Glorious |
| B-Side: | Home |
| Recorded: | 2011 |
| Genre: | Pop |
| Length: | 4:21 |
| Label: | Sign of the Times |
| Producer: | Jonny Harris |
| Prev Title: | Right Here |
| Prev Year: | 2013 |
| Year: | 2013 |
| Next Title: | Let Go for Tonight |
| Next Year: | 2014 |
"Youth" is the debut solo single by English singer and songwriter Foxes. Initially released as a 7" single through Neon Gold on 16 January 2012,[1] the song was later re-released digitally in the United States on 20 August 2013 and sent to top 40 radio in the United Kingdom on 2 October 2013 as the lead single from her debut studio album Glorious (2014). The song was written by Allen and Jonny Harris, with production from the latter. The song has topped the US Hot Dance Club Songs and peaked at number 12 on the UK Singles Chart.
A music video to accompany the release of "Youth" was first released onto YouTube on 12 August 2013 at a total length of three minutes and thirty-two seconds.[2] The video starts with her in an office, before she breaks free from the grey work environment after a fire burns a hole in the wall.[3] The version of "Youth" used in the music video is 49 seconds shorter than the album version. A radio edit of this song also exists, which is the same as the video version, but with a different and longer ending.
Robert Copsey of Digital Spy gave the song a very positive review stating:
"It was the first song where I thought, 'OK, now I can see the vision, now I can see the album'," Foxes recently said of her new single 'Youth'. We say new, but for the singer – real name Louisa Rose Allen – and serious pop fans, the song's journey from its birth to major label release has been a slow and often painful one, after she delayed its release and spent the intervening months guesting on songs for Rudimental and Zedd. Fortunately, 'Youth' still sounds as fresh and exciting as it did some 18 months after its premiere. "Don't tell me our youth is running out, it's only just begun" she sings over galloping beats and mournful electro throbs that build to a glorious strobing finale that acts as a fitting end to the summer months. Its trajectory may well have been slow and steady, but it looks like Foxes is still on course to win the race. [4]
| Chart (2013) | Peak position | |
|---|---|---|
| Belgium (Ultratop Flanders Dance Bubbling Under) | 7 | |
| US Hot Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[5] | 1 |
| Region | Date | Format | Versions | Label | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Various | 16 January 2012 | 7" single | Original | Neon Gold | |
| United States | 20 August 2013 | Digital download | RCA | [6] | |
| 25 September 2013 | Adventure Club remix | ||||
| United Kingdom | 2 October 2013 | Top 40 radio | Radio edit | [7] [8] | |
| 4 October 2013 | Digital download | EP | |||
| 6 October 2013 | Original | [9] | |||
| United States | 8 October 2013 | EP | RCA | ||
| United Kingdom | 25 October 2013 | Remixes EP | |||
| Various | 1 November 2013 | Orchestral | |||
| United States | 18 November 2013 | Remixes EP |