English singer-songwriter Birdy premiered brand new single ‘Surrender‘ last Friday. The release came alongside the exciting announcement of her upcoming fourth studio record Young Heart expected on 30 April this year via Atlantic Records and 14th Floor Records. The album will mark five years since Beautiful Lies from 2016, her last full-lenght release that peaked at #4 in the Official Album Charts and has sold more than 100,000 copies since.
Young Heart is already available to pre-save across all digital streaming platforms and pre-order on CD, LP and casette here, alongside various merch bundles and an exclusive coloured vinyl made from 100% recycled plastic. Following the announcement, Birdy shared the message: “It’s been a long journey bringing this album to life, it’s definitely my favourite so far and every part of my little soul has gone into making it!”
My new album Y O U N G H E A R T will be out on 30th April!!!
It’s been a long journey bringing this album to life, it’s definitely my favourite so far and every part of my little soul has gone into making it!
If you’d like to, you can pre-order now: https://t.co/QBMuE3uKYu pic.twitter.com/8HmQXdH0un— Birdy (@birdy) January 22, 2021
Young Heart will feature a total of 16 tracks including her latest single ‘Surrender‘. For her upcoming album Birdy is collaborating with co-writers and producers Daniel Tashian and Ian Fitchuk, the renowned duo behind Kacey Musgraves’ critically acclaimed Golden Hour (2018), as well as the singles ‘Can’t Help The Way I Feel‘ by Lily & Madeline, and ‘Best Days‘ and ‘Castles‘ by Lissie. For her next project Birdy is embarking on a personal journey inspired by the likes of Jon Mitchell and Nick Drake, and stated:
“I’m so proud of this album, my last record was a lot more theatrical – there was a lot going on, it was a big production. Whereas this is quite stripped back – anything that didn’t need to be there, isn’t. There’s no decoration. This album just feels very personal – I’ve grown up a lot over the past five years and have experienced new things that have shaped my understanding of the world, but also of who I am as an artist. This album means a lot to me – I want to protect it.”
‘Surrender‘ is the first promotional single off Young Heart and premiered on 22 January with an intimate music video directed by the Sophie Muller herself on “the beautiful shores of St Leaonard’s” in West Sussex. A prolific director with extensive videography, Muller has produced an endless list of iconic videos such as Annie Lennox’ ‘Why‘ and No Doubt’s ‘Don’t Speak‘ and has worked with the likes of Kylie Minogue, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Selena Gomez, Bebe Rexha, Shakespears Sister, Blur, and many more. Muller and Birdy have previously collaborated for ‘Skinny Love‘, ‘Wings‘ and ‘Words as Weapons‘.
Born Jasmine van den Bogaerde, Birdy started her music career very young and released her critically acclaimed self-titled debut in 2011 when she was only 15. Widely admired for her beautiful voice and gentle piano melodies, she quickly rose to fame and shared two follow-up records Fire Within (2013) and Beautiful Lies (2016) in quick succession before taking an extended break from music. Last November she made a stellar comeback with the beautiful EP Piano Sketches – a selection of intimate tracks written over the course of the previous years with personal significance to the young songwriter.
Most recently, Birdy shared the standalone track ‘Blue Skies‘ on 20 November last year, followed by a re-imagined cover of the classic ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas‘ in December, and a surprising collaboration with the Italian rapper Mr.Rain for ‘Non c’è più musica‘ that premiered just a week ago.
