Afterhours

afterhours is the ninth studio album by British recording artist Alesha. The album is the follow-up to her self-titled eighth studio album, which was released in 2014 after a three-year hiatus and became the best-selling album of Alesha's extensive career. Alesha began writing for afterhours as soon as the previous album was released. The album was released via Fusion Records in August 2015, fifteen months after Alesha.

Following the commerciality of her previous album, Alesha wanted to challenge herself creatively while maintaining a pop sensibility. afterhours is a synthpop album drawing sonic inspiration from varying 1980s and 1990s pop trends such as deep house and New Wave. Lyrically, Alesha explores themes of acceptance, equality, sexuality and social stigma and alludes to historical occurrences, placing herself in the queer counterculture of the time. Alesha has described afterhours as a concept album.

The album received universal praise from contemporary music critics, who regarded it as one of Alesha's most adventurous albums. The album was preceded by the diamond single "In Love Today" and accompanied upon release by "M4M", both topping the singles chart. afterhours debuted on the albums chart at number one also, selling 119,000 copies in its first week of release. It spent three weeks at number one and spent 42 consecutive weeks in the top 10, shifting over 2.7 million copies. afterhours was further promoted by the Cruising World Tour and singles "Rogue Smoke", "New York Cab" and "Cruising".

Development
In 2014, Alesha returned from a three-year hiatus with her self-titled eighth studio album. Alesha became her fastest- and best-selling album to date, spawning a string of platinum hit singles including the chart-toppers "Opulence"/"Unbeknownst" (with Paulo Araujo) and "Number One". As soon as the album was released in May 2014, Alesha began writing for her tenth studio album. After striving for commerciality with her self-titled release, Alesha hoped to challenge herself creatively by recording a pop concept album.

Alesha recorded over 30 tracks for the album over the course of a year. For inspiration, Alesha recalled music from her early childhood. She found herself particularly drawn to the music of the late 1980s and early 1990s, as well as its historical context. The sound of the early '90s, specifically house music, had already played a role in influencing certain tracks from Alesha and, more noticeably, the "Gianni" EP (2015).

The first song written for the album was "In Love Today", influenced by '80s synthpop duo Pet Shop Boys. Following this, Alesha worked on a series of house-inspired songs, such as the title track and a batch of other songs that failed to make the final cut. In these early stages, the album had been mostly inspired by '90s dance and pop music. In the midst of recording sessions, Alesha became influenced by New Wave bands such as Depeche Mode and New Order, which reshaped much of the album's sound. Alesha originally toyed with releasing the album in two installments, M4M and M4M: Black Leather. Ultimately, the album grew to showcase late '80s and early '90s synthpop with heavy influences coming from house and New Wave.

Title and design
The album initially had a working title of Post-AIDS, but Alesha thought it may be deemed offensive and imply that HIV/AIDS is no longer a pertinent issue. Alesha said that she felt a "deep admiration" for gay men living during the HIV/AIDS crisis in the '80s and '90s. For much of the album's creation, it was tentatively titled M4M, which is used in U.S. personals ads to indicate men seeking men. With assistance from friends Putanovska and Shell Ruin, Alesha eventually settled on afterhours, which she felt reflected the sexual nature of certain tracks and the darkness of other compositions. afterhours features an overarching theme of human sexuality and romance, while exploring LGBTQ motifs. However, other songs also take on a more confessional tone.

The cover art features an image of Alesha embossed on silver aluminium. The artwork was conceived by a German designer whose work Alesha observed in Berlin. The metal cover was Alesha's idea. Fusion Records bought about 1,500,000 pounds (680,000 kg) of aluminium for initial shipments of the album, a quarter of a pound for each copy. The designers had to do the front and the back covers, while rolling, stamping and ionizing the metal.

Inside the booklet, on lightweight pages, Alesha is photographed in black-and-white wearing a black leather jacket and black hot pants as she straddles a motorcycle, as well as in a black dress with leather paneling. One photo depicts Alesha talking to a man in a black leather jacket and tight black jeans. In some photos, Alesha wears a police officer's hat. These photos appear on alternating pages with images lifted from vintage gay erotica.

Alesha also wanted to explore the notion of power in afterhours. Brannigan said that the artist wanted to talk about "gentle and hard, soft and violent. She was playing out all those elements. That was reflected in the materials: uncoated, soft paper on the inside and hard metal coating on the outside." The deluxe edition arrives wrapped and sealed in a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) Mylar bag, reminiscent of a condom wrapper.

Music and lyrics
The album begins with "M4M", a dance-pop song with deep house and disco influences about no-strings-attached sex. The song was described as a "smut–glam anthem" with "swirling disco synths." Inspired by gay hook–up culture, Alesha thought about her time spent in Chueca, a popular area for Madrid's gay community. The album's titled is mentioned in the lyric "The sun is rising in Madrid, but afterhours starts at seven". Track two, "Count on", is a song about love in the face of adversity, referencing historical events from the early '90s such as the fall of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Soviet Union. While lyrically straightforward, "Count on" is sonically inspired by the Madchester music scene that grew out of Manchester in the late '80s into the early '90s. "Black leather" is one of two songs that samples Depeche Mode, incorporating elements of the New Wave band's track "Strangelove" (1987) into its chorus. The song references BDSM, leather culture, and separating the self from societal norms.

Track four is lead single "In love today", whose dramatic, overblown production is a tribute to the English synthpop duo Pet Shop Boys. The song's narrator (Alesha) fondly acknowledges the progress of the gay rights movement in the Western world, but mourns those who were not alive to see the changes. Alesha described the song as the album's "mission statement." "Keeping me alive" is an atmospheric ballad with synthesized strings, which Alesha has stated mourns a (fictitious) lover lost to AIDS. "I really tried to imagine myself being put in that situation," Alesha commented. The track has been compared to Alesha's 2010 single "Good Mourning". "Devil-may-care" is a brooding New Wave track about the recklessness of falling in love too young. Alesha's website described it as "gloomy post–punk" comprised of guitars, drums, piano and "a clever use of cello."

"Rogue smoke" was written by Aurora Reed, who Alesha approached at the end of recording sessions in March 2015. Alesha said that she had "long admired" Reed's songwriting. The song was co-produced by Alesha and Reed, consisting of slow, droning synths and sharp stabs of guitar. According to Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone, "Alesha's voice finds itself somewhere between an introspective whisper and a seductive come-on." "Repressed" contains samples of Depeche Mode's "Enjoy the Silence" (1990) and exhibits their brooding synthpop influence. The "pulsating, uptempo track" is about giving into repressed desires or urges. "New York cab" has been called both an "art rock" and a New Wave song, driven by a "relentless bass" and layered with Firelight synthesizer, dramatic drums and layered vocals.

"Die alone" was described by Alesha as the "anti-'In love today'" because of its dark subject matter but similarly overblown, cinematic sound. She also called it her "thinking driving into the median moment." Alexis Petrifies of The Guardian called the track "synth–driven melodrama." "2 years" is an alternative dance track reminiscent of English band New Order, noted in particular for its songwriting. "Cruising" contains elements of "Being Boring" (1990) by the Pet Shop Boys and does indeed discuss the act of cruising. Unlike songs like "M4M", the song is less brazen. "A lot of people see promiscuity and things like cruising as lewd or immoral and I wanted to paint it in a more beautiful light," Alesha said. "Another American" was influenced by the French dance-pop song "Desenchantée" by Myléne Farmer, although it is written from the perspective of misunderstood figures such as drag queens. The song was originally titled "Illusion".

The deluxe edition features the bonus tracks "Modern loving" and "Immortal". Both straightforward synthpop songs, the narrator of the former song struggles with monogamy while the latter deals with the demise of a relationship.

Critical reception
afterhours garnered universal acclaim from music critics, holding a score of 81/100 on Metacritic based on 48 professional reviews. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic called it "ambitious" and noted that afterhours contains some of Alesha's best and most accomplished music. Paul Verna from Billboard considered it her most varied and creatively challenging collection to date. Yahoo! Music editor John Myers stated that the album is musically some of Alesha's best work and offers intelligent insight into the taboos people have been taught to be afraid to speak of, combined with equally clever musical arrangements. "afterhours has been expertly designed to hit a dance/rave audience while achieving mainstream pop crossover," observed The Independent.

In another four out of five stars review, Alexis Petridis of The Guardian says the album "deals in undeniable melodies and huge, perfectly turned choruses and nagging hooks. Its sound is a lovingly done reboot of the kind of early 90s dance-pop sung by the Pet Shop Boys, New Order and Madonna." The New York Times referred to the album as "endlessly entertaining." Andy Kellman of Allmusic called the album "a career highlight" and "her most entertaining and sexually charged work, yet substantive in every respect." Mikael Wood of Los Angeles Times believed the album presented a desire to push creative boundaries and particularly praised "how the music similarly blends the intimate and the extravagant."

The Sunday Times, on the other hand, only gave afterhours two and a half stars out of five. Christopher R. Weingarten from The A.V. Club gave it a negative review, stating: "This album of insta-dated synth-pop anthems and half-cocked lyrics probably won't help her cause." afterhours was nominated for Best Album at the 27th Urapopstar Awards but lost to Aurora Reed's Tabula Rasa (2015).

Commercial response
afterhours entered the official albums chart at number one, with 119,421 copies sold in its first week of sale. This marks Alesha's highest first-week sales frame for an album, surpassing her 2014 self-titled LP (105,715 copies). The album spent a second week at number one, shifting an additional 105,389 copies. In its third week, afterhours held steady at the top – this is Alesha's first album to spend three weeks at number one since her first number one album Buried Underneath (2005). The album sold an additional 87,131 copies, amounting to 311,941 copies sold in three weeks. The following week, despite selling more copies (94,499) than the week before, the album fell to number two behind a new release from Tobias. Total sales reached 406,440 – outselling Alesha's first two studio albums in just four weeks. In its fifth week on the chart, afterhours slipped to number three behind Shell Ruin's number one album Play, which Alesha co-wrote and produced, and Tobias respectively. The album sold a further 91,658 copies. In its sixth week on the chart, Alesha slipped once more as Syd Wolfe's fifth studio album Adore bumped Ruin, Tobias and Alesha down a position respectively. With 76,991 further copies sold, the total number of units shifted amounted to 575,089, earning the album a gold certification (indicating sales of over 500,000 copies). afterhours stayed in the top ten for another seven weeks (including three weeks in the top five). It was awarded a platinum certification for sales of over 750,000 copies in its ninth week of release.

With the release of "Rogue Smoke", afterhours returned to the top three in its 14th week on the chart. With a further 117,779 units shifted, afterhours had already sold over a million copies. It remained in the top five for another two weeks, even with the release of Alesha's box set The Albums: 2003-2014, before settling into the top ten. After 18 weeks, afterhours was certified diamond (indicating 1.5 million copies sold). By its 20th week of release, afterhours had yet to leave the top ten – it spent two weeks at number nine before returning to the top five following the release of "New York Cab". This time, afterhours spent six weeks in the top five. In its 30th week on the chart, afterhours had sold over 2 million copies. afterhours returned to number two on the albums chart for the week ending May 1, 2016 (its 35th week), as fifth single "Cruising" topped the singles chart. As of July 3, 2016, afterhours had spent the entirety of its chart run (44 weeks) inside the top ten and sold 2,839,957 copies. Following the release of the Exile in Nashville soundtrack and "How to Disappear", afterhours began its descent into the top 40. Following its 63rd week of release, the album had officially sold over 3 million copies. Following Alesha, afterhours became Alesha's second album to be certified diamond twice-over.

Promotion
Alesha began discussing the album in interviews as early as 2014. In January 2015, she told Base magazine that the album was inspired by the 1980s and '90s. She told fans to "expect black leather and New York, deep house and synthpop, cigarettes and after-hours bars." It was revealed that Alesha would headline Governors Ball at Randalls Island Park in New York City. Shortly afterwards, Alesha announced a string of festival appearances during summer 2015; the appearances were dubbed the Black Leather Festival Tour. On June 5, Alesha kicked off her series of gigs with her headlining slot at Governors Ball. Alesha appeared at Bonnaroo a week later, performing a set comprised of the more alternative moments in her back catalog – mostly songs from Bigger Than God (2009) and The Martyr (2011). Alesha also appeared at a slew of other festivals, including Glastonbury, Lollapalooza and Eurockéenes. She also appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone to promote the festival shows and her impending album.

Details of the album were formally announced on July 20. afterhours was unlocked track by track on Alesha's official website beginning with the premiere of second single "M4M". Alesha hosted an exclusive album listening party for Fusion Records employees and artists at London restaurant 34 in August. Upon the album's release (on August 31), Alesha hosted a larger album launch event at Christie's auction house in London, England, where the gallery was decorated with giant framed images of Alesha. Meanwhile, Alesha covered the September issue of Harper's Bazaar U.S. and continued her festival tour with shows at V Festival and Reading & Leeds Festival in the United Kingdom.

On New Years Eve 2015, Alesha kicked off the Cruising World Tour at London's O2 Arena. After being hospitalized due to exhaustion at the tail end of her previous tour Alesha: Renaissance Live (2014–15), Alesha and tour promoters Live Nation Entertainment opted for a "residency-style" approach to touring. Alesha visited 28 cities worldwide, performing multiple gigs at each venue. For example, she performed six nights in London, followed by five gigs in Saint-Denis, France (outside of Paris) a week later. During the show, Alesha would perform every song from afterhours, with the exception of bonus track "Modern Loving", and seven of her hit singles. Following the death of musical icon David Bowie on January 10, Alesha incorporated a tribute medley into the show. An HBO concert special afterhours, en vivo was aired in April 2016, followed by a home media release in June.

Singles
"In love today" was released as the first single from afterhours on June 22, 2015. Its premiere and subsequent release unintentionally coincided with the overturning of same-sex marriage bans in Ireland and the United States. Bolstered by the premiere of a music video inspired by Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, the single shifted a massive 142,000 copies in its first week of release. It spent two weeks atop the official singles chart. Within four weeks, "In love today" had shifted 400,000 copies. Ultimately, the single went on to sell in excess of one million copies in the UK. As one of the best-selling singles of all-time, "In love today" is Alesha's first single to be certified diamond. "In love today" was given the Urapopstar Award for Best Single, Alesha's third victory in the category (following 2009's "Apocalypse City" and 2010's "The Last Temptation").

The album's release was accompanied by the second single "M4M". Peter Robinson of Popjustice called the album's first two singles "the biggest one–two punch in recent pop history." The music video, directed by Joseph Khan, was filmed in Madrid, Spain, and reflected the song's sexually suggestive lyrics. It premiered on August 28, 2015. After weeks of increased streaming and radio play, "M4M" was formally released on August 31, 2015 alongside the album. The single charted at number one, selling 119,000 copies in its debut week and eventually shifting over 775,000 copies. "Black leather" was released as a promotional single on October 5, 2015.

Alesha co-hosted the 27th Urapopstar Awards with Aurora Reed on October 25. Towards the end of the show, Reed joined Alesha for a world premiere performance of new single "Rogue smoke". The single version of "Rogue smoke" updates the song for 2015, replacing the live drums with a trap-influenced beat and incorporating new verses from Reed. A music video was filmed but remains unreleased. In 2016, Alesha released "New York Cab" and "Cruising" as the fourth and fifth singles from afterhours. "Cruising" became the third chart-topper from the album, following a controversial music video directed by Larry Clark. It ended the year as the best selling single of 2016. All five of the album's singles have sold over 700,000 copies.

Track listing

 * Notes
 * "Black leather" contains an interpolation of Depeche Mode's "Strangelove".
 * "Repressed" contains an interpolation of Depeche Mode's "Enjoy the Silence".
 * "Cruising" contains a sample of the Pet Shop Boys' "Being Boring".