Out Of The Blue

"Out Of The Blue" is a song recorded by English/Canadian recording artist Aimee Stevens and was released as the lead single from the singers EP Colours (2016). The song was also written by Stevens. It was released on 05 September, 2016 and charted at #5 on the UK singles chart.

Writing and inspiration
Initially Aimee was a working on a country album to follow her debut album "Papermade Hearts", and around April 2014, the album was rumoured to be complete. In November 2014, it was revealed Aimee had scrapped the country album and was building a new album from scratch, although she described the writing and recording process as "very slow". By February 2016, Aimee stated the album was complete but she was too busy to release it. In August 2016, Aimee then surprised everyone with the announcement of her EP "Colours", suggesting she had scrapped two entire albums before releasing the EP.

Critical reception
Nick Levine of Digital Spy gave the song a positive review, awarding it four out of five stars. Levine praised the synths and strings present on the track, as well as Åhlund's production. He commented that the lyrics made the song "not just touching, but utterly, utterly life-affirming". Fraser McAlpine of BBC Music noted its modern synthpop sound mixed with heartfelt lyrics gave it a distinctive feel. McAlpine noted that the song made you want to start dancing but also feel "lonely/upset" at the same time, and wrote that Aimee Stevens has created a "devastating happysad feeling". McAlpine awarded the song four out five stars, and gave it "special points" for its "faux-classical synth solo" in the middle. Emma Gaedeke of Billboard highlighted the songwriting and praised it for being emotionally honest, without "generic pop cheesiness". Molly Lambert of Pitchfork wrote a positive review of the song, saying that the drum machines on the track contrast well with the qualities of her voice. Lambert wrote, "“Out Of The Blue” encapsulates the kind of freedom Aimee sings about; freedom from reductionist categories, unfair expectations, and life's daily indignities."

Paul Davey of Drowned in Sound wrote that the song "shows a level of maturity not seen in Aimee's previous tacky singles "Heels" and "Cherryade". Jonathan Keefe of Slant Magazine praised the song's production and named it one of Aimee's best singles. Christian Hoard of Rolling Stone gave it three and a half out of five stars, and wrote that "Aimee sings an uncommonly elegant Europop melody". Evan Sawdey of PopMatters criticised the song calling it "simple" and "lifeless".

Music video
The music video premiered on 26 August 2016. The video begins showing Aimee walking across a beach, hand in hand with a man. They throws stones into the water making them bounce across the surface, before running into the water themselves, splashing one another in the water. The next scene shows them in their home together. Aimee turns on the CD player and the pair dance, laugh and play fight to the music, constantly laughing and embracing throughout. Scenes of the couple being intimate, kissing and holding one another in bed and also in the shower are shown, flashing quickly between each scene. Finally, the couple are seen enjoying a romantic meal together. The pair laugh, eat and hold hands.

Suddenly the beach scene is showing, where waves come crashing in and storms brew. The scenes are all once again shown in reverse. At the meal, the man gets up and walks out, with no explanation, leaving Aimee sat at the table alone, unsure and heartbroken. In the bed, while sleeping beside the man, his figure fades, leaving Aimee alone in the bed. The same thing happens in the shower. In Aimee's home where she was once dancing with the man, the man is no longer there, and she turns off the CD player and stands there alone. Aimee is then shown again on the beach, this time alone staring out in the stormy sea.

Aimee suddenly touches the back of her head whilst at the beach and feels blood. Sat at the table alone, the wine glass beside Aimee explodes. When in bed, the window beside her explodes. In her home, the CD player explodes. In the shower, the glass shatters all around Aimee. Back at the beach, with her blonde hair getting a distinctive streak of blood across it, Aimee walks alone in the ocean, and disappears under the tide.

Chart performance
The song was released on 05 September 2016. The song charted at #5 on the UK singles chart, with first week sales of 71,112 copies sold, a somewhat disappointing amount. It debuted at #26 on the AirPlay chart and rose to #16 the next week before peaking at #5. On the Digital chart it debuted at a somewhat disappointing #5 with downloads of 19,883.