This article is about the Amy Macdonald album. For the Aurora song, see Aurora (singer).
Under Stars
studio
ArtistAmy Macdonald
CoverAmy Macdonald - Under Stars.png
Released17 February 2017
RecordedOctober 2015 – August 2016
StudioRAK Studios (London)
GenrePop rock · soft rock
Length38:59
LabelMelodramatic · Mercury · Vertigo
ProducerCam Blackwood · Tim Bran · Roy Kerr · Andrew Britton · Ash Howes · Mikey Rowe
Prev year2012
Next year2017

Under Stars is the fourth album by Scottish singer-songwriter Amy Macdonald, and was released on 17 February 2017. The album's lead single, "Dream On", was released on 6 January 2017, and achieved some commercial success, notably in her native Scotland where it peaked at number twenty-eight on the official Scottish Singles Charts.[1] In continental Europe, it achieved commercial success particularly in Belgium and Switzerland.[2]

Macdonald's official website and official Facebook fanpage confirmed the album for release on 25 November 2016. Album title and tracklist were confirmed the same day by both sites.[3] The album went onto achieve considerable commercial success, reaching number one in Switzerland,[4] number two in the United Kingdom, Scotland and Germany,[5] and the top ten in both Austria and New Zealand.[6]

Background

Macdonald began writing songs for the album in early 2014, two years after the release of Life in a Beautiful Light. In May 2014, she performed four new songs live.[7] She also sang "Leap of Faith" during the Scottish independence referendum in September 2014.[8] In March 2015, Macdonald announced via Twitter she was finishing the songwriting of the album, but had not yet started recording.[9] On 28 October 2015, she announced via Twitter she started the recording sessions for the album.[10] Later, she stated on 9 December 2015 via her Instagram account that she had finished the songwriting for the album and that she hoped the album would be finished sometime in 2016.[11] On 9 August 2016, Macdonald announced via Instagram her fourth album was finished and would be released early 2017.[12]

Macdonald said although it was two and a half years in the making, which is the longest she has ever taken with an album, she was glad to have taken the time and she feels the album has "the TLC that it deserves".[3]

Critical reception

The album up to now has gathered mixed to positive reviews, receiving a score of 3 out of 5 stars at the London Evening Standard, describing the album as "a tuneful collection that doesn't mess with the formula".[13]

Singles

"Dream On" was released as the lead single from the album on 6 January 2017. The song has peaked to number 37 on the Scottish Singles Chart. The song also charted in Belgium.

"Automatic" was released as the second single off the album on 24 March 2017. The accompanying music video was released on her Vevo channel on 17 March 2017.

"Down by the Water" was released as the third single from the album on 11 July 2017, on the same day as the accompanying music video. An acoustic version of the song was previously released in late 2016 as a promotional single from the album before its release.

Track listings

Super deluxe box set

A super deluxe box set was also released that contains:[14]

  • Deluxe edition of the album
  • DVD of 8 live acoustic versions
  • 4 art images (one signed by Macdonald)
  • Handwritten printed lyric sheets
  • Embossed black envelope

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2017)Peak
position
New Zealand Heatseeker Albums (RMNZ)[15]10

Year-end charts

Chart (2017)Position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[16]74
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[17]184
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[18]199
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[19]54
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[20]17

References

  1. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart on 24/2/2017". Official Charts. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  2. ^ "Amy Macdonald - Dream On - ultratop.be". www.ultratop.be. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  3. ^ "Announcing 'Under Stars' – the new album!". Amy Macdonald official Facebook fanpage. Retrieved 18 February 2017. – via Facebook.
  4. ^ "Amy Macdonald - Under Stars". Swiss Charts. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  5. ^ "Official Albums Chart on 24/2/2017". Official Charts. 25 February 2017. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  6. ^ "Explore our 50 year history". aotearoamusiccharts.co.nz. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  7. ^ "The 4th Album". Amy Macdonald Daily. 15 June 2016. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  8. ^ "Scottish independence: Musicians back independence". The Scotsman. Catriona Webster. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
  9. ^ "Amy Macdonald on Twitter: "@alan_ferg pretty much finished the writing. Just need to record and plan now but no idea how long that will take"". Twitter. Amy Macdonald. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  10. ^ "Amy Macdonald on Twitter: "Album 4 recording session. Day 1!"". Twitter. Amy Macdonald. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
  11. ^ "Amy Macdonald on Instagram: "Final writing session in the bunker. The album should be finished early next year. Exciting times..."". Instagram. Amy Macdonald. Archived 25 December 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
  12. ^ "Amy Madonald on Instagram: "FINALLY!!! After many months of hard work yesterday my new album was officially finished. I'm so proud of it..."". Instagram. Amy Macdonald. Archived 25 December 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
  13. ^ Smyth, David (17 February 2017). "Amy Macdonald - Under Stars review: 'a tuneful connection'". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  14. ^ "Limited Edition Deluxe CD Box Set (Signed)". Amy MacDonald. Archived from the original on 18 February 2017. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
  15. ^ "NZ Heatseeker Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 27 February 2017. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  16. ^ "Ö3 Austria Top 40 – Album-Charts 2017". oe3.orf.at. Archived from the original on 21 June 2018. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  17. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 2017". Ultratop. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  18. ^ "Rapports Annuels 2017". Ultratop. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  19. ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  20. ^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade Alben 2017 – hitparade.ch". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 December 2017.