Petroleum

"Petroleum" is a song by British recording artist Alesha. The song was written and produced by Alesha for her tenth studio album, The White Album (2016). "Petroleum" was released as the album's lead single in October 2016.

Background and composition
In 2016, Alesha began recording her tenth studio album The White Album. Stepping away from the '80s synthpop that dominated her previous effort afterhours (2015), Alesha found herself influenced by an eclectic mix of genres, including electronica, dream pop, folk and soul music. In the midst of writing and recording sessions, Alesha penned "Petroleum", which she said had "a dorky, white disco funk." Alesha previously experimented with disco and funk on collaborator Shell Ruin's 2015 album Play, particularly lead single "Feel Alive". However, "Petroleum" also shows indie and psychedelic pop influences.

Lyrically, "Petroleum" uses the rise and fall of a romantic relationship as a metaphor for the exploitation of finite natural resources such as oil. Alesha makes references to "black water", as well as magnolia flowers, historically associated with the oil-rich Southern United States.

Reception
"Petroleum" entered the official singles chart at number one, Alesha's third consecutive number one single and 21st overall (tying her with Jack Stevens as the artist with the most number one singles). It sold 89,816 copies in its debut week. "Petroleum" slipped to number two the following week, although sales increased (93,808 copies). With the release of The White Album, "Petroleum" returned to the pole position for a second week as another 92,478 units were shifted. The single returned to number two in its fourth week on the chart, although it enjoyed its highest week of sales, selling 106,260 copies (earning a gold certification). "Petroleum" ultimately spent five weeks in the top five and four additional weeks in the top ten. By the release of Alesha's next single "Winter", "Petroleum" was still in the top twenty and had sold over 700,000 copies (Alesha's seventh consecutive single to do so).