Hurt Lovers

"Hurt Lovers"
Single by Blue
from the album Roulette
Released 4 January 2013
Format CD single, digital download
Recorded 2012
Genre Pop
Length 3:54
Label Island
Writer(s) Alexander Zuckowski, Martin "Fly" Fliegenschmidt, Jez Ashurst, David Jost
Producer(s) Robin Grubert, Alexander Zuckowski, Martin Fliegenschmidt, Kiko Masbaum
Blue singles chronology
"I Can"
(2011)
"Hurt Lovers"
(2013)
"Without You"
(2013)

"Hurt Lovers" is a song recorded by English boy band Blue for their fourth studio album, Roulette (2013). It was released in Austria, Germany and Switzerland as the album's lead single on 4 January 2013, three weeks prior to the release of the album.[1] It was Blue's first official single in two years, following the release of their Eurovision 2011 entry, "I Can", in May 2011.

The song became Blue's sixth top 10 hit in Germany, where it peaked at number seven. The song also serves as the official theme for the German film Schlussmacher.[2]

"Hurt Lovers" was released in the United Kingdom on 22 April 2013. It charted at number 70 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming their lowest-charting single to date in the UK.

Background

Blue began recording new material in July 2010, three months after they first got back together, after a five-year break from the music industry. In an interview, the band claimed that "Hurt Lovers" was one of the first tracks they recorded after reuniting, and that it was an obvious choice for the band's reunion single. The track was written by Alexander Zuckowski, Martin "Fly" Fliegenschmidt, Jez Ashurst, and David Jost.

Blue first premiered "Hurt Lovers" during a concert in China on 22 June 2012. It received positive reception across Asia, before being officially premiered in Germany on 6 October 2012. Thus, the creators of the film Schlussmacher approached the band, and asked if the song could be used as the official theme for the film. Thus, the track received an early release in Germany on 4 January 2013, before being released across the world later in the year. In promotion of the single, Blue performed it live on The Voice of Romania in December 2012, as well as embarking on an acoustic radio tour across six cities in Germany.[3] They also performed it on The Late Late Show in Ireland on 26 April 2013.

Music video

Two versions of the music video have been filmed. The first was filmed towards the end of October 2012, and preview images released to the band's official Facebook page show the band performing the track on the edge of a grassy cliff, with Lee Ryan and Duncan James in puffy fur coats, and Anthony Costa and Simon Webbe wearing shirts and ties. This version of the video was released on 15 March 2013, as the video to accompany the release of the single on the British market.[4]

The second version of the video, filmed towards the end of November 2012, was released to Blue's official YouTube account on 13 December 2012, at a total length of three-minutes and fifty-six seconds. The video it set in a giant shopping centre, where Blue have a chance meeting with the stars of the film Schluss Macher. The video also features a number of clips from the film, intertwinned with the footage of Blue. This version of the video was filmed exclusively for the German market.[5]

Track listing

  1. "Hurt Lovers" - 3:54
  2. "Risk It All" - 3:43
  3. "Hurt Lovers" (TroyBoi Remix) - 3:57
  4. "Hurt Lovers" (BootSlap's Club Mix) - 6:05
  5. "Hurt Lovers" (Video) - 3:54
  1. "Hurt Lovers" - 3:54
  2. "Risk It All" - 3:43

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Roulette.[8]

Charts

Chart (2012/13) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[9] 27
Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[10] 89
Germany (Media Control Charts)[11] 7
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[12] 70
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[13] 22
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[14] 70

Release history

Regions Dates Format(s) Label(s)
Germany[7] 4 January 2013 CD, digital download Island Records
United Kingdom[15] 21 April 2013 Digital download

References