Angels Ain't Listening

"Angels Ain't Listening" is a song by Swedish musician Basshunter, released as a single on 29 May 2020 by Central Station Records, nextBird Records, Planetworks, PowerHouse, Roton, Teta Records, and Yeni Dünya Müzik. It was written by Basshunter, Jimmy Joker, Thomas G:son, and Bilal Hajji, and produced by Jimmy Joker.

"Angels Ain't Listening"
Single by Basshunter
Released29 May 2020
GenreCold wave
Length2:49
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Jimmy Joker
Basshunter singles chronology
"Home"
(2019)		 "Angels Ain't Listening"
(2020)
Audio sample
  • file
  • help

Description

"Angels Ain't Listening" is two minutes and 49 seconds long, and has a tempo of 153 beats per minute.[1] The song was written by Basshunter, Jimmy Joker, Thomas G:son, and Bilal Hajji, and produced by Jimmy Joker.[2] It reveals the emotional side of Basshunter and was inspired by the pop music of the 1980s.[3] It is Basshunter's first song in seven years.[4] He said he had lost his will to sing and did not have much self-confidence, having found the competition from other singers, whom he felt had more personality and were better at singing than he was, too fierce. When he recorded "Angels Ain't Listening", he felt he could actually sing.[4]

Basshunter described the song as being about having to find oneself before devoting one's life to someone else. He realized that having a good relationship with oneself is needed before becoming involved in a relationship. He said everyone makes mistakes and learns the hard way, but it is important to maintain a positive attitude and have fun throughout life.[5]

Release

Basshunter's previous single, "Home", had been released on 27 September 2019.[6] Basshunter announced his new song "Angels Ain't Listening" and previewed a fragment during a 24 April 2020 interview with Scott Mills on BBC Radio 1.[7] A fragment of the song was also played on the radio programme P3 Musikdokumentär broadcast by Sveriges Radio.[8]

"Angels Ain't Listening" was released as a promotional single on 27 May 2020 by Central Station Records.[9] Two days later, the song was publicly released by Central Station Records,[10] nextBird Records,[11] Planetworks,[12] PowerHouse,[13] Roton,[14] Teta Records,[15] and Yeni Dünya Müzik.[1]

The track was added to the Swedish top download and stream playlist on 5 June 2020.[16][17] "Angels Ain't Listening" became one of the most-downloaded foreign tracks by radio stations in Russia.[18] It was also added to the lists of the best songs of the week by Dagens Nyheter and Zero Music Magazine.[19][20]

Lyric video

A lyric video for "Angels Ain't Listening" directed by Jay Jayveesualz[2] was released by Basshunter on 29 May 2020.[21] It stars Oskar Sternulf as a man who is trying to deal with his loneliness and to nurture self-love and self-acceptance.[2] Jayveesualz was looking for a man aged 35–50 years who could play a mentally unstable person, and used the comic-book character Joker played by Joaquin Phoenix in the 2019 film of the same name as an example.[22] He received 40 applications and he and the record label chose Sternulf. Sternulf that said many people hide their negative emotions and pretend to be happy. He also said the director of the video hoped to alleviate the problem of mental illness during the COVID-19 pandemic.[22] The video was filmed between 15 and 16 May in Södermalm, Stockholm.[23]

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Mix 1[24]

The release of "Angels Ain't Listening" was covered by the media including Aftonbladet,[4] Bohusläningen,[25] Bravo Net,[26] Scandipop,[27] and TV4 (Efter fem).[28] Jonathan Currinn from CelebMix was impressed by Basshunter's deep vocal that allows listeners to sense his honesty and integrity. He said the song feels like one from the 1980s and with its disco-themed vibes it reminds him of the music of Pet Shop Boys. Currinn described the new side of Basshunter as interesting and said he was excited about further developments.[2]

Mandy Rogers from EQ Music said the song's lyrics are quite dark and serious in comparison with the light-hearted topics covered on Basshunter's previous songs. Rogers said "Angels Ain't Listening" has themes of acceptance and loneliness; she also said she liked this more daring approach that conveys a huge, empowering message.[29] Povel Arwidson from Hallandsposten said that the song could conceivably be about his own marriage, which lasted less than a year before his divorce in 2018.[30]

Track listing
Digital download, streaming (29 May 2020)[13]
No.TitleLength
1."Angels Ain't Listening"2:49

Personnel
Thomas G:son was one of the writers of "Angels Ain't Listening".

Credits

Charts
Chart (2020) Peak
position
Switzerland (Swiss Dance Chart)[31] 27

Release history
Date Format Label
29 May 2020
Central Station Records[10]
nextBird Records[11]
Planetworks[12]
PowerHouse[13]
Roton[14]
Teta Records[15]
Yeni Dünya Müzik[1]
5 June 2020
  • Digital download
  • streaming
 Artistars[32]
PowerHouse[33]

References
  1. "Basshunter – Angels Ain't Listening". Juno Download. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  2. Jonathan Currinn (3 June 2020). "Basshunter Releases New Single 'Angels Ain't Listening'". CelebMix. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  3. Andreea Mihalache (2 June 2020). "Basshunter – Angels Ain't Listening". Star Gossip Magazine (in Romanian). Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  4. Torbjörn Ek (29 May 2020). "Coronaskägget gör svenska världsstjärnan oigenkännlig" [The corona beard makes the Swedish world star unrecognizable]. Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  5. Robert Skowronski (29 May 2020). "Svenska ikonen Basshunter gör comeback med ny musik" [The Swedish icon Basshunter makes a comeback with new music]. Mynewsdesk (in Swedish). Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  6. "Home – Single". Apple Music. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  7. "Scott Mills - 24/04/2020". BBC. 24 April 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  8. "Basshunter – datanörden som blev en världsstjärna" [Basshunter - the computer geek who became a world star] (MP3 file requires download). Sveriges Radio (in Swedish). April 2020. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  9. "Basshunter - Angels Ain't Listening". Inflyte. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  10. "Angels Ain't Listening – Single". Apple Music. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  11. "Angels Ain't Listening – Single". Apple Music. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  12. "Basshunter – Angels Ain't Listening". Juno Download. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  13. "Angels Ain't Listening – Single". Apple Music. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  14. "Basshunter – Angels Ain't Listening". Juno Download. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  15. "Angels Ain't Listening – Single". Apple Music. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  16. "Swedish Top 20 – Download (June 5th, 2020)". Daily Play MPE. 4 June 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  17. "Swedish Top 20 – Stream (June 5th, 2020)". Daily Play MPE. 4 June 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  18. "Самые скачиваемые радиостанциями треки за предыдущую неделю (1-7 июня)" [Most downloaded tracks by the radio stations for the previous week (June 1–7)]. Tophit (in Russian). 9 June 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  19. "Här är veckans bästa låtar, vecka 24". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). 12 June 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  20. "Bäst just nu – Topp 30". Zero Music Magazine (in Swedish). 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  21. Basshunter (29 May 2020). "Basshunter – Angels Ain't Listening (Official Lyric Video)". YouTube. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  22. Anders Öhrman (2 June 2020). "Det är många i samhället som sätter på sig en mask för att låtsas må bra" [Many people in society put on a mask to pretend to feel good]. QX (in Swedish). Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  23. Ingemar Lönnbom (2 June 2020). "Oskar Sternulf agerar i världsstjärnans musikvideo" [Oskar Sternulf acts in the world star's music video]. Kultur & nöje. Blekinge Läns Tidning (in Swedish). p. 26.
  24. "Basshunter – Angels Ain't Listening". Mix 1 (in German). June 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  25. Povel Arwidson (14 July 2020). ""Basshunter" sjunger själv på nya låten" ["Basshunter" sings himself on the new song]. Kultur & nöje. Bohusläningen (in Swedish). p. 29. Retrieved 14 July 2020 – via PressReader.
  26. "Basshunter a lansat videoclipul piesei "Angels Ain't Listening"" [Basshunter and launch video clip called "Angels Ain't Listening"]. Bravo Net (in Romanian). 2 June 2020. Archived from the original on 3 June 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  27. "Song: Basshunter - 'Angels Ain't Listening'". Scandipop. 9 June 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  28. "Basshunter: "14 år och 1000 intervjuer och ni säger fortfarande 'båten'"" [Basshunter: "14 years and 1000 interviews and you still say 'the boat'"]. TV4 (in Swedish). 5 June 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  29. "Watch 'Angels Ain't Listening' by Basshunter". EQ Music. 22 June 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  30. Povel Arwidson (2 June 2020). "Basshunter släpper nytt – sjunger själv igen" [Basshunter releases new - sings itself again]. Kultur & nöje. Hallandsposten (in Swedish). p. 29. Retrieved 2 July 2020 – via PressReader.
  31. "Ausgabe 35-2020" [Issue 35-2020]. Swiss-Dance-Charts (in German). Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  32. "Angels Ain't Listening – Basshunter". Deezer. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  33. "Angels Ain't Listening - Single". Apple Music. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
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