"Solo" is a song by British electronic music bandClean Bandit, featuring guest vocals from American singer Demi Lovato and pitched backing vocals from Kamille. It was written by Lovato, Kamille, Grace Chatto, Fred Gibson and Jack Patterson, and was produced by Chatto, Gibson, Patterson and Mark Ralph. The song was released on 18 May 2018 by Atlantic Records. Despite underperforming in the United States, "Solo" became an international megahit, topping charts in sixteen countries and becoming certified Platinum or higher in twelve countries, including Diamond in Poland. "Solo" was the most searched song on Shazam in 2018, with 9.1 million tags worldwide.
Background
The song was first revealed when a dancer posted on her Instagram story that she was participating in a Clean Bandit and Demi Lovato music video. Clean Bandit teased the song on 10 May 2018, writing on Twitter: "Really excited to announce our new single Solo with Demi Lovato will be out 18/05". The announcement came with the song's cover art. Camille Purcell also disclosed in a tweet that she has been involved in the making of "Solo". Grace Chatto of Clean Bandit told London Evening Standard that "Solo" was based on her own experience with a "difficult break-up". She also revealed that the song was recorded over FaceTime because the band was unable to schedule a studio session with Lovato. "It was crazy. She was in Alabama in a studio and we were over here. You know when the connection is bad and the speed fluctuates? We couldn't hear that well, but it turned out really well."
Composition
"Solo" is an upbeat EDM song about self-loving in spite of a heartbreak. It is performed in the key of B minor in common time with a tempo of 105 beats per minute, following a progression of Bm–A–Fm–G, and Lovato's vocals span from A3 to D5. Described as a "summer anthem", it opens with a "buoyant production". The chorus consists of a mix of synth and vocoder effects, and it bears a resemblance to Rita Ora's "Anywhere".
Commercial performance
"Solo" reached number one in the United Kingdom, becoming Clean Bandit's fourth UK chart-topper and Lovato's first number-one song in the nation. In Australia, the song has reached number 7, giving Clean Bandit their fourth and Lovato her second top 10 entry in the country. It additionally peaked at number one in Austria, the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Slovakia and Swiss Romandy, as well as the top ten in Australia, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, France, Greece, Latvia, Lebanon, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Scotland, Singapore, Slovenia, Sweden, and Switzerland.
Live performances
The song was added to the set list of the European leg of Lovato's Tell Me You Love Me World Tour. Clean Bandit performed the song during their set at the Capital FM Summertime Ball along with Lovato as a special guest on 9 June 2018.
Music videos
The music video was released on 31 May 2018, starring the members of Clean Bandit and Demi Lovato. The video follows Clean Bandit's Grace Chatto and a "lover", actor George Todd McLachlan as they argue. As the arguments become violent, Chatto grabs her longboard and skates into town where she ends up at a laundromat. Hidden behind the washing machines in an office, she pays an attendant for an unknown concoction. The video then follows Hyojoo, who skates with a longboard down the road, to retrieve this medicine which is being made for her by Jack and Luke Patterson. Before that, Luke suggests choosing the shape of a bearded dragon or a rabbit. Then they make a decision to choose the shape of a dog. In the end, with the help of the medicine, Chatto turns her abusive partner into a rainbow golden Labrador puppy. The video is briefly intercut with images of Chatto lying on a bed and a sun lounger with her face seemingly evaporating. Lovato makes brief appearances throughout in a floral top as she sings the track's vocals. As of June 2020, the music video has garnered over 775 million views on YouTube. A black and white acoustic version of the video was released on 15 June 2018. On 17 August 2018, a Japanese version of the video was released. This video was filmed in Kyoto and focuses on the dichotomy of trying to breakaway one's feelings and moving-on from the past with the inner-turmoil that comes along with it. The music video features a popular local dancer named Nana from the dance unit KiKiRara. Nana portrays the feeling of wanting to breakaway as well as the feeling of wanting to hang-on, portrayed as a-lady-in-a-black-costume. This music video was filmed in Japan's historical tourist sites in Kyoto, Japan. It was directed by Yutaka Obara.
