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" is a loosely disco and funk song that details the rise and fall of a romantic relationship, comparing it to the exploitation of oil. On October 10, 2016, it was released as the lead single from the album by Fusion Records. It charted at number one for two nonconsecutive weeks, becoming Alesha's record-tying 21st number one single.

Two music videos were created for the song. The first one, directed by Alesha with filmmaker Gus van Sant, depicts a young boy and girl torn apart by socioeconomic and racial barriers amidst a catastrophic oil spill. The second music video is an "interactive multimedia experience" in which fans create their own music videos using different clips. Much of the archival footage available to use comes from oil-related natural disasters and wars in the Middle East. The song was performed during Alesha's Netflix concert special Midwinter (2016) and her Ceremony world tour (2017).

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. The song features three distinct variations on its chorus.

Critical reception
Jude Adam of Third Way magazine gave the song a positive review, considering it as "quirky, sunny, and sweet in perfect measures." Stephen Thompson of The A.V. Club considered the song as "actually catchy". "Petroleum" appeared on many critics' year-end lists of the best songs of 2016. Consequence of Sound ranked the song second-best of the year, calling it a "grand statement", "meticulously arranged", and "one of the boldest album openers of the year". The publication also said, "It's the best song [Alesha's] ever written from the best album she's ever made." Paste placed it ninth on their year-end song rankings, calling it the album's "thesis statement" and saying, "The song's multiple movements swell and bloom into a new dimension". Popmatters ranked it eleventh-best of the year, calling it "both the album's overture and its thematic peak" while praising it for "hit[ting] a pinnacle for a contemporary indie pop more indebted to classic disco records than Pavement or the Pixies".

Commercial performance
"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). The single ultimately sold 805,329 copies during its top 40 run. Following "Number One", "In Love Today" and "Cruising", "Petroleum" was Alesha's fourth single to sell over 800,000 copies.

Music video
Two music videos for "Petroleum" were released. The first music video, billed as a "four-minute short film", was directed by Alesha in collaboration with Exile in Nashville filmmaker Gus van Sant. The video follows two young children from different socioeconomic backgrounds (a Native American boy and a blonde white girl). They spend the summer playing together on the beach, but cultural and familial differences – his family is penniless, while her father is an oil exec – separate the children, as well as a catastrophic oil spill that muddies waters and washes up wildlife on the beach.

The second video is an "interactive multimedia experience" designed by innovative director Chris Milk and digital production company B-Reel. Fans are led to create their own music video by splicing different clips together. There is footage of Alesha performing "Petroleum" against a black backdrop, covered in and dripping with black liquid (i.e. oil), as well as in a paint-splattered overshirt against a white backdrop. Users have the option to select from archival footage and B-roll, taking scenes from offshore oil platforms, oil well fires, oil spills, and war in the Middle East. Fans can also apply various effects and filters to the video as a whole, or to specific clips, and share their final products. Although funded by Fusion Records and its streaming service BLOC, the video experience lived at its own URL, petrole.um.

The music videos caused a slight controversy due to their political views, which were seen as liberal or left-leaning. However, it was noted by Entertainment Weekly that the videos would have been "much more controversial" over a decade earlier in the wake of the Iraq War. The Gus van Sant-directed video and a "master edit" of the interactive video were featured on The White Album: Visual Edition, released in June 2017.

Live performances
Alesha avoided making any promotional appearances on television ahead of The White Album's release. In December 2016, Alesha and Netflix premiered the concert special Midwinter, which contained the first performances of material from The White Album. "Petroleum" was included as the third track of the set, mirroring the album's tracklisting. It was later included in the first set of Alesha's Ceremony world tour, which reached stadiums worldwide between June and December 2017.

Track listing and formats

 * Digital EP
 * 1) "Petroleum"
 * 2) "Petroleum" (Goldroom Remix)
 * 3) "Petroleum" (Lido Remix)
 * 4) "Petroleum" (Soulwax Remix)
 * 5) "Petroleum" (Yeasayer Remix)


 * 7" vinyl
 * 1) "Petroleum"
 * 2) "Complacent" (prev. unreleased)