Beautiful Ones (Hurts song)

"Beautiful Ones" is a song by English synth-pop duo Hurts from their fourth studio album, Desire (2017). It was released on 21 April 2017 as the lead single from the album, along with an accompanying music video.[1]

"Beautiful Ones"
Single by Hurts
from the album Desire
Released21 April 2017 (2017-04-21)
GenrePower pop
Length3:01
LabelSony
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Hurts
Hurts singles chronology
"Wish"
(2015)		 "Beautiful Ones"
(2017)		 "Ready to Go"
(2017)
Music video
"Beautiful Ones" on YouTube

Background and release

On 20 April 2017, Hurts shared a small clip on their official Facebook page, announcing something to come out on the next day, which turned out to be the release of their new single "Beautiful Ones". The song was released on 21 April through several digital retailers, including iTunes.[2] On 7 July, an acoustic version of the song was released.[3]

Composition and lyrical interpretation

"Beautiful Ones" features composition by Hurts' members Theo Hutchcraft and Adam Anderson, along with David Sneddon.[4] It is a power pop song, loaded with classic rock's guitar solo crescendos. The song is described by the duo as a "celebration of individuality".[1]

Critical reception

The song received generally positive reviews from music critics. Aaron Powell of tmrw magazine said the song is "sonically akin to their previous work", calling it "strong, well informed, catchy but also dark in places".[5] Writing for Paper magazine, Michael Cuby described the single as a "bold song about unapologetically being yourself even in times of resistance and adversity".[6]

Music video

The music video for "Beautiful Ones" was also released on 21 April 2017. It was directed by Tim Mattia and filmed in Kyiv, Ukraine.[7] The video features reverse chronology and tells the story of a man, portrayed by vocalist Hutchcraft, being chased down and assaulted for being dressed as a woman in a nightclub. After getting stripped down in the middle of the street by his assaulters, he follows them by car and runs over them. The duo described the video as a "colourful celebration of gender fluidity" and it deals with themes of "hate, love, brutality and beauty" that are explored throughout the piece, which is rooted in both intrigue and empathy.[8]

Reception

The video was well received by the LGBTQ community. Lewis Corner from Gay Times magazine said the video is "one of the most powerful visuals they have created so far".[9] Michael Cuby of Paper praised the importance that the video brings, saying: "California is the only state that has banned the use of gay or trans 'panic defenses', which allow perpetrators of assault or murder against members of the LGBTQ community to get away with their crimes by claiming that a victim's sexual or gender identity caused them to act out in a temporary fit of insanity." He also noted how the fact that one of the attackers was earlier rejected by the victim makes the message in the video "even darker".[6]

Track listings

Digital download[2]

No.TitleLength
1."Beautiful Ones"3:01

Digital download – acoustic version[3]

No.TitleLength
1."Beautiful Ones" (acoustic)3:21

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.[10]

  • Theo Hutchcraft – songwriting, production, vocals
  • Adam Anderson – songwriting, production
  • David Sneddon – songwriting
  • Joe Kearns – engineer
  • Matty Green – mixing engineer

Charts
Chart (2017) Peak
position
Finland Download (Latauslista)[11] 21

Release history
Region Date Format Version Label Refs
United Kingdom 21 April 2017
Original Sony [2][12]
7 July 2017 Acoustic [3][13]

References
  1. "Hurts are back with titanic new track "Beautiful Ones"". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  2. "Beautiful Ones - Single by Hurts on Apple Music". 21 April 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  3. "Beautiful Ones (Acoustic) - Single by Hurts on Apple Music". 7 July 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  4. "Hurts - Beautiful Ones". Discogs. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  5. "tmrw: Hurts release powerful new single 'Beautiful Ones'". tmrw. 21 April 2017. Archived from the original on 16 September 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  6. "Hurts Tell a Heartbreaking Story About Anti-LGBTQ Violence in Music Video for 'Beautiful Ones'". Paper. 21 April 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  7. "Beautiful Ones - Hurts". VEVO. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  8. "Hurts celebrate gender fluidity in dramatic new single and video 'Beautiful Ones'". NME. 21 April 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  9. "Hurts' Theo Hutchcraft drags up for a powerful new music video that needs to be seen". Gay Times. 21 April 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  10. "Beautiful Ones by Hurts on TIDAL". Tidal. (see 'Track Info'). Retrieved 16 September 2017.CS1 maint: others (link)
  11. "Hurts: Beautiful Ones" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  12. "Beautiful Ones by Hurts on Spotify". Spotify. 21 April 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  13. "Beautiful Ones (Acoustic) by Hurts on Spotify". Spotify. 7 July 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
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