No Angels

"No Angels" is a song performed by Liechtensteinian singer-songwriter Dahlia. It is the official debut single from her debut album, Chasing Shadows (2013). Dahlia herself wrote the song, with Lester Mendez acting as the songs producer. It's about "loosing someone close to you, and being left with only material and emotional reminders of the past." The song had received mixed to positive reviews from music critics who praised the storyline of the song.

The single was released via Next Generation Records in the United Kingdom on 24 June and debuted at #03 on the singles chart.

Composition
Dahlia stated the song is about "the first and last love of her life". In an interview about the song, Dahlia stated "I've been in love once in my life. It was probably the only time I was ever happy. However unfortunately nothing lasts forever, and my love was taken from me in tragic circumstances. Through his death, I've lost my belief in love, and the song sings about the emotions I went through then, and still feel now."

Release and reception
Dahlia was first introduced to the British public on 10 May 2013 through a press release. On 17 May, "No Angels" was revealed to be the title of her debut single. The single officially premiered on Radio 1 on Thursday 06 June 2013.

Digital Spy gave the song a positive review, stating: ''"Coming from Liechtenstein, Dahlia has a pretty big job, of being the first act in history to represent the country on international charts. But Dahlia Kõiv, seemingly a woman apart, seems desperate to break down any positive attributes and introduce us to the cold hard truths of life. If you're after a soggy pop hankie of hurt and regret then this single is truely blub-worthy.

As short, staccato violins approximate the stabbing pain in her heart, Dahlia unveils a raw, desperate tail of unrequited love. "Why'd they take you from me, when I was so golden," she sighs as her first love passes away under tragic circumstances. This might not be to everyone's taste, but the combination of pristine electropop and raw, unbridled emotion make 'No Angels' a pretty staggering and unique pop single. We may have just found our new favourite artist of 2013."''

Music video
The official music video premiered on 02 July, 2013 in a bid week to boost second week sales for the single.

The video starts off following a blood red trail. As it reaches the end of the trail, it is shown to be at an empty wedding, where Dahlia is the bride. She stands looking facing her husband-to-be as the priest is seen to be speaking. The groom pulls back Dahlia's veil, as she doesn't look very happy, and looks more like she's in a lot of emotional pain. Suddenly the camera slowly pans out from her face, and she is shown to be looking at nobody, as only her and the priest are stood at the alter, and the groom is nowhere in sight. In the background of the church is a photo of the grooms face, symbolising that his funeral has recently taken place, or is about too. Dahlia sings that there are No Angels on earth as she pulls out a gun and points it at the priest. The priest doesn't react, and simply bows his head as Dahlia walks past him and over to the photo of her deceased partner. She takes the vase where someone's ashes are traditionally kept it, and empties it out, where a heart shaped arrow falls out, representing the last of the love she is able to take from the partner. The priest is now nowhere in sight as Dahlia is left alone in the church. She sits down and starts to inject the arrows “love” into her arm.

As the final drop of love is injected into Dahlia, she looks up and realises the day has turned to night and realisation hits her as she realises she is now alone. She looks around the empty building, as the love she injected into herself is shown to be leaking out of her arm, and dripping down onto the already red floor. Dahlia faces the door, and is then shown collapsing to the floor.

The next scene shows Dahlia outside. She looks onto a body, and lays down a match, setting a stream of fire around the dead body. The camera shows the deceased person is actually Dahlia, after dying in the last scene. Dahlia looks on as her body corpse body sets alight, with the glow of the fire shining against her. This represents Dahlia letting go off the person she once was, and ready to leave her past and move on to becoming the person she now is.

Performances
Dahlia will be performing the single at UrapsFest in August.

Chart performance
The song was released on 24 June 2013, and debuted at #03 on the singles chart, behind new releases from Honey and Isaac Bellamy. It sold 78,054 copies in it's first week. On 09 June 2013, "No Angels" debuted at #09 on the first ever Pre-release chart. The week before the singles release it peaked at #02. The track debuted at #22 on the Airplay chart, becoming the week's greatest gainer. The following week it rose to #17 and then #13. "No Angels" also debuted at #02 on the download chart.