Calvin Harris’ Motion celebrates 12 years since extending his record-breaking run with more major singles and collaborations

Few albums captured Calvin Harris’ mid-2010s run quite like Motion, which came as his success was spreading far beyond the dance scene. His music had become a regular presence on major charts, and expectations around the follow-up to 18 Months were unusually high. Calvin Harris released the album on October 31, 2014, after another year filled with major singles. By then, Under Control with Alesso and Hurts had reached No. 1 in the UK. Summer and Blame with John Newman soon did the same. Twelve years later, Motion remains closely tied to that period of Calvin Harris’ career. Festival records and major pop collaborations were both central to it.

From 18 Months to Motion

The success of 18 Months left Calvin Harris following an album that had already broken a major UK chart record. It produced nine UK Top 10 singles, the most ever from one studio album at the time. Feel So Close, Sweet Nothing, I Need Your Love and Thinking About You kept appearing across the charts throughout its release cycle. Collaborations with Rihanna, Florence Welch, Ellie Goulding and Ne-Yo also pushed his music further into the mainstream. With that much attention surrounding the album, Motion was always going to face comparisons with what came before.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Even before the full album was released, Motion had already established itself through several successful tracks. Under Control with Alesso and Hurts reached No. 1 in the UK in 2013, while Summer and Blame with John Newman followed in 2014. That meant three UK No. 1 singles were attached to the record before release day. The rest of the tracklist introduced collaborations with Ellie Goulding, HAIM, Gwen Stefani, Tinashe and Big Sean, giving Motion more of its own identity beyond comparisons with 18 Months.

Beyond the Biggest Singles

While the singles accounted for much of Motion’s commercial success, the album also explored sides of Calvin Harris that were less obvious from its best-known tracks. Slow Acid stripped away the pop vocals for something darker and more minimal, while Pray to God with HAIM brought more of the group’s own musical character into his production. Dollar Signs with Tinashe pulled more from funk and R&B, making it noticeably different from records such as Summer or Blame.

That range helped stop Motion from feeling like a collection of radio singles placed together on one album. Calvin Harris still had the large hooks people expected from him, but the record also gave different vocalists and production ideas space across its 15 tracks. Outside reunited him with Ellie Goulding after I Need Your Love, while Together with Gwen Stefani and Open Wide with Big Sean took the album in other directions without losing its connection to the sound associated with him at the time.

Twelve years on from its release, Motion still shows why 2014 became such an important year in Calvin Harris’ career. Its success came from more than the No. 1 singles, with the album also showing how comfortably he could work with pop singers, dance producers, indie groups and rappers within the same project. Following 18 Months was never going to be simple, but Motion gave Calvin Harris another album filled with songs that became closely tied to the sound of the mid-2010s.