Villains

Villains is the debut studio album by English YouTuber and musician Emma Blackery. It was released on 31 August 2018 by RWG Records. After releasing independently five extended plays and gaining attention from Apple Inc.'s reveal of the iPhone X when one of her songs was used in the reveal, Blackery began writing for her debut album in September 2017. Villains is an electropop record whose recurring theme is Blackery's distrust within her social circle. She documented its recording process on her YouTube channel. Blackery worked with producers Peter Hutchings and Toby Scott among others. Villains garnered a positive response from music critics, who complimented its sound. Commercially, the album peaked within the top thirty in Scotland and the United Kingdom and the top twenty on Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart. The album was preceded by four singles"Dirt", "Agenda", "Icarus" and "Take Me Out"the first of which reached number 47 on the Official Charts Company's (OCC) Official Singles Sales chart. To promote the album, Blackery did live signings for it at HMV stores in the United Kingdom and also embarked on a European supporting tour in October 2018. Background and release Blackery (born 1991) played in local bands since she was 18 until she decided to pursue a solo career in 2012, when she also opened her YouTube channel. She posted a variety of things such as original songs and comedy skits. Prior to releasing her debut album, Blackery released independently five extended plays; Human Behaviour (2012), Distance (2013), Perfect (2013), Sucks to Be You (2015) and Magnetised (2017). The cover artwork of Magnetised, as well as its song of the same, were used during Apple Inc.'s reveal of the iPhone X in September 2017. Following the event, Blackery's manager stated that she gained attention from certain media as well as "renewed interest" from record labels he talked to previously. In the same month, she revealed that she began working on her debut album. Blackery was set to embark on the Emma Blackery European Tour in March 2018, however it was postponed due to delays regarding the album's recording. On 22 May, Blackery unveiled the album's title alongside its cover artwork, track listing and release date (31 August) on her Twitter account. During the summer of the same year, Blackery documented the recording process of the album on her YouTube channel. Villains was released on 31 August 2018 through RWG Records for digital download and streaming.