Colours

Colours is the first EP release from American singer-songwriter Aimee Stevens and will be released Septemer 12, 2016. The lead single to the EP, titled "Out Of The Blue" was released the week before. Upon release, "Colours" charted at #1 on the UK album chart giving Aimee her first ever chart topper. The album spent two weeks at #1.

Background and production
Aimee Stevens began recording for her sophomore album in early 2014. She had a country album completely done around April 2014 and was ready to put it out, although she decided against it. She discarded the tracks from the finished album and began working on new music. In November 2014, Aimee revealed she was working on her second studio album, although she revealed it was a 'very slow process' as she is experimenting with many different genres and finding which sound to incorporate with. In February, 2015 Aimee released her first single in two years, "Desire", recorded for the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack. Following this, she became a judge on the Canadian version of The Uraps Factor, and then began starring as Glinda in the West End Production of Wicked. In February 2016, Aimee stated: "There is a completed album, it's been completed for over a year, but unfortunately I just don't have the time to commit to it right now."

On 15 August, 2016, Aimee shocked everyone by announcing she would be releasing a new conceptual seven track Extended Play titled "Colours" on 12 September, with a single being released on 5 September, suggesting she had discarded another album. She also revealed alongside the standard edition of the album, a 21 track remix album of the EP would be released.

Concept
The EP is a conceptual Extended play, with it's conceptual themes focusing upon colours. Every song on the EP has a colour within the title.

Critical Reception
"Colours" garnered mixed reviews, with critics noticing the lack of personality. Robert Copsey of Digital Spy called the album "a compilation of perfectly serviceable pop" but felt that "Aimee sounds somewhat lost." Elliot Robinson of So So Gay wrote that the record "occasionally perpetuate[s] faceless dance pop" and that it "does feel rather calculated at times with some generic filler tracks." However, he called it "an enjoyable romp" and "an improvement over previous effort On Your Radar." Christopher Toh of Today wrote that "it’s not the best album of the year by any means, but it is great as background music for your weekend party, so in that sense, it works. The reviewer of the Shields Gazette noticed the same problem, but found the second half "inconsequential as opposed to horrid," saying that "it lacks personality in places, but it’s a better effort than many would expect from a girl who's never really been taken seriously as an artist." Matthew Horton of Virgin Media noted that the album contains Aimee's "most creative music ever" but otherwise felt that it "drags" and that "a full album would have been better." Angus Quinn of York Vision felt the same way, stating that the record "is creative and that's commendable, but it's just a gimmic that gets old quick" and that "the album tracks could fit into almost anyone else's repertoire." Patrick Gough of the Bournemouth Daily Echo found that "Aimee has bags of charm and style but her identity gets a little lost towards the end of this album." Darryl Sterdan of the Canadian Winnipeg Sun gave a negative review, describing the album as "instantly forgettable pop, R&B and dance piffle about boys" and saying that the EP's intro "was the worst piece of music in the last ten years." A more favorable review came from AllMusic's Matt Collar, who noticed that "Colours" "attempts to build upon the singer's heightened profile with a bevy of infectious pop, soul, and electronic dance-club cuts that showcase Aimee’s resonant vocal chops" and described it as "an album of delicious pop" that "goes a long way toward helping Aimee achieve her dreams of worldwide diva domination." Daniel Falconer of female-oriented webzine FemaleFirst wrote that "Aimee's always been underrated, but this new EP is so creative and unique that this really should be the release that finally puts her on the map" and awarded the album four out of five stars.

Commercial Performance
The album was released on 12 September 2016. It charted at #1 in the UK album chart with huge first week sales of 114,123 copies sold. In it's second week, the album remained at #1, selling a further 97,545 copies.

Overall sales: 281,947