Blame
by Calvin Harris (featuring John Newman)

Album: Motion (2014)
Charted: 1 19
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The follow-up to Calvin Harris' hit tune "Summer," this was released on September 7, 2014, coinciding with the DJ's headline set at the iTunes Festival in London on the same night.
  • The song features vocals by John Newman. Though best known for his solo international hit "Love Me Again," the British blue-eyed soul singer first came to prominence as the featured vocalist on Rudimental's hit singles "Feel The Love" and "Not Giving In."
  • The song was Calvin Harris' fifth UK #1 single as a lead artist following "I'm Not Alone," "Sweet Nothing," "Under Control" and "Summer." The Scottish dance producer has also featured on UK chart-toppers by Dizzee Rascal ("Dance Wiv Me") and Rihanna ("We Found Love").

    John Newman had previously reached the UK peak position with his 2012 Rudimental collaboration "Feel The Love" and 2013's "Love Me Again."
  • The accompanying music video was directed by Emil Nava and filmed in Los Angeles. It sees Harris create an underwater club night and cozying up with Aarika Wolf.

    American model Aarika Wolf became Calvin Harris' love interest for real in 2018. They dated for four years, but called a day on their relationship in 2022.
  • The song was performed live for the first time by Harris and Newman at the iHeartRadio Music Festival on September 20, 2014.
  • This broke the record for the most-streamed song in a single day on Spotify with over 1.8 million during September 12, 2014.

    The song also became the first one ever to break ten million streams in a week on Spotify. The record was set during the seven days of September 8 to September 14, 2014.
  • Billboard magazine commented to John Newman that Calvin Harris' EDM sound is much different to his usual soul-pop material. He responded: "My songwriting varies depending on who I am working with. And Calvin is not just this EDM producer - he's got a grand piano in his house. He's a real musician. We can step into each other's worlds."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Tom Johnston from The Doobie Brothers

Tom Johnston from The Doobie BrothersSongwriter Interviews

The Doobies guitarist and lead singer, Tom wrote the classics "Listen To The Music," "Long Train Runnin'" and "China Grove."

Rickie Lee Jones

Rickie Lee JonesSongwriter Interviews

Rickie Lee Jones on songwriting, social media, and how she's handling Trump.

Jon Anderson of Yes

Jon Anderson of YesSongwriter Interviews

From the lake in "Roundabout" to Sister Bluebird in "Starship Trooper," Jon Anderson talks about how nature and spirituality play into his lyrics for Yes.

Lori McKenna

Lori McKennaSongwriter Interviews

Lori's songs have been recorded by Faith Hill and Sara Evans. She's performed on the CMAs and on Oprah. She also has five kids.

Chris Frantz - "Genius of Love"

Chris Frantz - "Genius of Love"They're Playing My Song

Chris and his wife Tina were the rhythm section for Talking Heads when they formed The Tom Tom Club. "Genius of Love" was their blockbuster, but David Byrne only mentioned it once.

Richard Butler of The Psychedelic Furs

Richard Butler of The Psychedelic FursSongwriter Interviews

Psychedelic Furs lead singer Richard Butler talks about their first album since 1991 and explains what's really going on in "Pretty In Pink."