Motion is the fourth studio album by Scottish DJ and record producer Calvin Harris, released on 31 October 2014 by Fly Eye and Columbia Records. The album includes collaborations with Ellie Goulding, Gwen Stefani, John Newman, Tinashe, Big Sean, Alesso, R3hab, Ummet Ozcan, Firebeatz, Hurts, Haim and All About She.
The album received mixed responses from critics. Motion debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart, with 37,325 copies sold in its first week. It debuted at number five on the Billboard 200 in the United States, and became Harris's second consecutive number-one album on the Dance/Electronic Albums chart. The album's first three singles—"Under Control", "Summer" and "Blame"—all topped the UK Singles Chart. Other singles released from the album include "Outside", "Open Wide" and "Pray to God".
Background
The album's title, artwork and release date were officially revealed on 25 September 2014. On 5 October, Harris took to Twitter to announce a list of collaborators on the album, including Ellie Goulding, Ummet Ozcan, Big Sean, R3hab, Gwen Stefani, Haim, Tinashe and All About She.
Singles
"Under Control", a collaborative track with Swedish DJ Alesso and English duo Hurts, was released on 7 October 2013 as the first single from Motion. The song debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart, and charted inside the top 10 in Finland, Ireland, Norway and Sweden.
"Summer" was released on 14 March 2014 as the album's second single. It reached number one in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and charted within the top five in countries such as Australia, Canada, Germany, Norway and Sweden. It also became Harris's highest-charting solo single on the Billboard Hot 100 at the time, peaking at number seven.
"Blame" features vocals from English singer John Newman and was released on 7 September 2014 as the album's third single. The song earned Harris his fifth number-one single as a lead artist (and seventh in total) on the UK Singles Chart. Internationally, "Blame" peaked at number one in Finland, Norway and Sweden, and reached number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Outside" was released on 20 October 2014 as the album's fourth single, featuring English singer Ellie Goulding. The single reached number six on the UK Singles Chart. It also peaked at number one in Germany and Finland, while charting inside the top five in Ireland, Norway and Sweden, the top 10 in Australia and New Zealand, and the top 30 in the United States.
"Open Wide", which features Big Sean, was originally released as the second promotional single from the album on 27 October 2014. It is a vocal mix of the instrumental track "C.U.B.A", which was released on Beatport on 21 July 2014. The song peaked at number 23 on the UK Singles Chart. "Open Wide" was sent to rhythmic contemporary radio in the United States on 27 January 2015 as the album's fifth single.
"Pray to God", featuring American band Haim, was released on 6 March 2015 as the album's sixth and final single overall. The song reached number 10 on the Australian Singles Chart and number 35 on the UK Singles Chart.
Promotional singles and other songs
"Slow Acid" was released as the first promotional single from the album on 15 October 2014. The song reached number 86 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Burnin'", a collaboration with Dutch DJ R3hab, was released as the album's second promotional single on 29 October 2014 through Beatport.
"Overdrive", a collaboration with Dutch DJ Ummet Ozcan, was released as the album's third promotional single on 22 December 2014 through Beatport. It was renamed to "Overdrive (Part 2)" because it was slightly remixed.
Despite not being released as a single, "Faith" reached number 31 on the US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart, number 33 on the UK Dance Singles Chart and number 178 on the French Singles Chart.