Not Your Muse

Most of the songs on Not Your Muse were written by Celeste and Jamie Hartman,[2] the latter of whom also primarily produced the record. Celeste revealed to DIY that the tracks on Not Your Muse were written and recorded without the intention of commercial success but rather with creating "what [she] wanted it to be."[3] Alongside the announcement of the album on social media, Celeste wrote:[4]

Not Your Muse is the power I found when I felt powerless... In making this album I have allowed myself to arrive at a place where I feel empowered, fiercely wide-eyed and fulfilled. I'm very proud of what I've achieved on my debut album and to be in this position, after the year that has been, I feel nothing but gratitude and excitement. I hope you enjoy it.

In January 2020, Celeste told NME that she would like the album to be one that people will "enjoy and listen to for a while– until at least 2022."[5] She also told Vogue with the release of the album, she "want[s] to be one of the superstar singers of [her] time."[6]

Celeste rose to prominence with the single "Strange" released on 4 September 2019.[7][8] She performed the song on a number of television shows and award shows,[9][10][11] and earned critical acclaim.[12][8][13][14] Shortly after winning BBC's annual music critic poll Sound of 2020, Celeste released the single "Stop This Flame" on 9 January 2020.[15][16] The single became her first to experience commercial success, reaching number 47 on the UK Singles Chart in addition to the top 20 of countries such as Scotland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark and Czech Republic. The album's third single, "A Little Love", was originally premiered and released as the soundtrack to the annual John Lewis & Partners Christmas advert, becoming the first original non-cover song to do so.[17][18] It reached number 59 on the UK Singles Chart and number 4 on the UK Singles Downloads Chart.[19] Celeste officially announced the release of her debut album and revealed its title, artwork and tracklist in early December 2020.[20][21][4][22] The official release date was initially 26 February 2021, but the record was released a month earlier on 29 January 2021.[23] She had prior hinted at its release in late 2020, but repeatedly delayed it after facing the physical effects of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as a few interpersonal issues with the record.[3][24][25] The song "I'm Here", which features on the album's deluxe edition, was released as a promotional single after it featured on the fourth episode of the seventeenth season of American medical drama series Grey's Anatomy.[26] "Love Is Back" was released as the fourth single from the album on 31 December 2020, shortly before Celeste performed it for the first time on Jools' Annual Hootenanny 2020/21.[27][28]

Not Your Muse was described as "a modern R&B classical take" with "elements of noir that constantly poke through which gives the record a timeless quality."[29]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	7.5/10[30]
Metacritic	81/100[31]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[32]
DIY	[33]
Evening Standard	[34]
The Guardian	[35]
The Independent	[36]
The Line of Best Fit	8/10[37]
musicOMH	[38]
NME	[39]
The Telegraph	[40]
The Times	[41]

Not Your Muse received positive reviews from music critics, with some praising Celeste's vocals while also criticizing the music.[41] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 81 based on 9 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[31] Writing for The Telegraph, music critic Neil McCormick described the record as "a classy debut" and noted that "the sultry timbre, smoky tones and jazzy flow of Celeste have a timeless quality". He also praised the "striking" balance between vocals and instrumentation and noted that it "maintain[s] an aura of restraint where Celeste’s vocal quirks can shine."[40]

Not Your Muse debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart for the week beginning 5 February 2021, becoming the first debut album by a British female artist to top the chart in over five years, the last being Jess Glynne's I Cry When I Laugh in August 2015.[42] It had made 16,957 sales by midweek,[43][44] and 22,475 sales by the end of the week; 18,206 of which were physical copies.[45]

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies a co-writer

Adapted from Discogs and the album's liner notes.[49][50]

Musicians

• Celeste – vocals (all tracks)

Design

• Matt de Jong – design
• Sophie McElligott – illustration
• Elizaveta Porodina – photography