Calvin Harris’ 18 Months marks 14 years since the album that turned a run of major singles into one of his biggest eras

Calvin Harris’ 18 Months marks 14 years today, bringing one of the most important periods of his career back into focus. Released in 2012, the album paired his production with Rihanna, Florence Welch, Ellie Goulding, Ne-Yo, Kelis and Example. It also sent nine singles into the UK Top 10. We Found Love, Feel So Close, Sweet Nothing and I Need Your Love helped take Calvin Harris to a new level worldwide.

How 18 Months Became Calvin Harris’ Breakthrough Album

Before 18 Months, Calvin Harris had already found success with I Created Disco and Ready for the Weekend. Both albums placed far more emphasis on his own vocals. Over the next 18 months, however, DJing, touring and producing for other artists took up more of his time. Guest singers also became increasingly important to his music. Calvin Harris later explained that the album title came directly from this period, as he focused more heavily on production.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The clearest sign of that change came with We Found Love alongside Rihanna as the track became the biggest success of his career at the time, months before 18 Months was released. Its international success also gave Feel So Close renewed attention in the US, where radio returned to the track. Calvin Harris later said the collaboration changed “absolutely everything” for him. Artists who had previously passed on working together were suddenly more open to collaborations.

As that wider interest grew, it became an important part of what eventually formed 18 Months. Calvin Harris described the project as partly new material and partly music created during the previous year and a half. Several major singles therefore joined new collaborations on the final record. More guest vocalists also allowed Calvin Harris to concentrate on production while his international profile continued to grow.

The Nine UK Top 10 Singles Behind 18 Months’ Chart Record

Calvin Harris became the first artist to score nine UK Top 10 singles from one album through 18 Months. Bounce featuring Kelis and Feel So Close both peaked at No. 2 before We Found Love with Rihanna reached No. 1. Let’s Go featuring Ne-Yo and We’ll Be Coming Back with Example followed, with both reaching No. 2.

The success continued when Sweet Nothing featuring Florence Welch gave Calvin Harris another UK No. 1. I Need Your Love with Ellie Goulding reached No. 4, while Drinking From the Bottle with Tinie Tempah peaked at No. 5. Thinking About You featuring Ayah Marar completed the record-breaking run at No. 9.

With several singles already successful before the album came out, the 18 Months era had started long before release week. New singles then continued reaching the UK Top 10 throughout the following year. That unusually long run kept Calvin Harris on the charts as one release followed another.

Fourteen years later, 18 Months remains closely associated with the early-2010s period when electronic music was crossing into pop on a much larger scale. Nine UK Top 10 singles made the commercial success impossible to ignore. At the same time, We Found Love, Feel So Close and Sweet Nothing remain among the records most closely associated with that period of Calvin Harris’ career.