It was a good idea at the time

It was a good idea at the time. is the solo debut studio album by Swiss singer and socialite Darius Costel. It was released 2 October 2020 by Blank Recordings, a major European record label owned by Costel's father Anton Starek. In an interview with Popshots prior to the album's release, Costel described the album as a "pure fuckboy pop" record. Primarily a pop record, it incorporates elements of alternative pop, folk pop, and R&B while having experimental undertones.

Costel only wrote one song on the album as it was primarily written by his primary personally hired songwriters which were members of his musical collective, his "creative glam squad team"; some of the songs were also written by Costel's wife Beastette and his friend and mentor Greg Preston. The album was primarily produced by Albanian-American producer Xhesika XH, his primary producer and a member of his "creative glam squad team". Though mainly written by his personal songwriters, the lyrics were based on personal experiences of Costel who came up with themes and ideas for songs and then asked the songwriters to write them. With the exception of Xhesika XH and his primary videographer, everyone in his "creative glam squad team" severed professional ties with him once the album was completed. One of his primary songwriters, Octavia Cesare, eventually came back days after she quit.

It was a good idea at the time. received mixed to mostly positive critical reception, with critics agreeing on their surprise of the album's overall sound and outcome, citing it as "unexpected" and completely different from Costel's prior description of the album as "fuckboy pop record".

It was a good idea at the time. debuted at number one on the URAPS Top 40 Albums Chart in the UK, selling 109,691 units in its first week, staying at the summit for a total of two consecutive weeks. Costel, expressing his gratitude for the album's success, described the album as a "pleasant surprise hit". To date, the album has been certified Silver by Urapopstar Recording Association Phonographic Society (URAPS) and has sold over 475,000 units in the UK. The album also peaked at number four on the Swiss albums chart and debuted at number fourteen on the US Billboard 200 albums chart before peaking at number six.

The album has yielded one single, "Bad Decisions", a cover of Costel's sister Theodora's 2016 hit single. A second single, "Questions", was to be released in November 2020 but was cancelled in favor of Costel promoting his follow-up EP, CANDY instead.