Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent

Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent is the debut album by Scottish singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi. It was released on 17 May 2019 through Vertigo Records in Europe and Capitol Records in the United States, and distributed globally by Universal Music. It includes the top 10 singles "Grace", the UK and US number one single "Someone You Loved"[3] and the album's lead single "Hold Me While You Wait", among several songs previously included on Capaldi's 2018 EPs Bloom and Breach. Capaldi went on a world tour in support of the record in May 2019, and finished the tour in October 2019.[4] It peaked at number one in the UK and Ireland, becoming the fastest-selling album of the year and also outselling all of the top 10 combined in both countries. It was certified gold in the UK a week after its release. The album was the best selling album in the UK in 2019 & 2020, with "Someone You Loved" being the best selling single of 2019 in the UK.

Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent
Studio album by Lewis Capaldi
Released	17 May 2019
Recorded	2016–2019
Genre	Pop[1] blue-eyed soul[2]
Length	42:17
Label	Vertigo Universal Capitol
Producer	Nick Atkinson Edd Holloway Jamie Hartman Mike Cave James Earp TMS David Sneddon Anu Pillai Phil Cook Malay
Lewis Capaldi chronology
Breach (2018) Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent (2019) Up Next Live From Apple Champs-Élysées (2019)
Extended edition cover
Singles from Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent
"Bruises" Released: 30 March 2017 "Lost On You" Released: 7 July 2017 "Fade" Released: 9 September 2017 "Grace" Released: 21 September 2018 "Someone You Loved" Released: 8 November 2018 "Hold Me While You Wait" Released: 3 May 2019
Singles from Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent (Extended Edition)
"Before You Go" Released: 19 November 2019

Background

In the album announcement, Capaldi said: "Everyone always tells you about how amazing recording their first album was and how they'll always look back on the 'process' with fond memories. I will look back on it as an extremely stressful time that somehow also managed to be extremely boring." He went on to describe that while he liked "building up the songs", he did not enjoy re-recording guitar parts and the long mixing process. Capaldi also joked that he did not think that when he got to release his debut album that he "would give it a name as stupid I have, but here we are".[5] MTV said Capaldi "might have just won Best Album Title of 2019".[6]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	5.3/10[7]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Clash	4/10[8]
Evening Standard	[9]
The Guardian	[1]
The Independent	[10]
The Line of Best Fit	8/10[11]
NME	[12]
Q	[13]
The Skinny	[14]
The Times	[15]
Vice	A−[16]

Ben Beaumont-Thomas of The Guardian said that "few artists have quite such a disparity between their music and their public persona" as Capaldi, who, in song, is "a man utterly battered by a breakup". He called Capaldi's honesty "appealing" and felt that there is "some solid songwriting here, and a nobility to the sheer honesty of the lyrics", describing the music as "full-force, ugly crying pop".[1] Roisin O'Connor of The Independent called Capaldi's voice "a gravelly powerhouse that manages to evoke the 22-year-old's natural charisma even on the weepiest of ballads" and said the album "alternates between piano and guitar-based tracks, with production that retains raw moments" that, while "not the most adventurous album [...] is more about unveiling the rough materials Capaldi has to work with".[10] Hayley Milross from The Line of Best Fit called the album "an assured and settled debut", saying that while Capaldi may not have "deliver[ed] an album that leans towards the extraordinary", it is a "collection of poignant love songs that are honest and sincere".[11]

Robin Murray of Clash questioned why Capaldi's music is "so boring" given his "hilarious" public persona. Murray judged that the album "isn't something anyone should hate. It's well produced, well played, and for the more part well written, if highly repetitive in its he said/she said subject matter", saying its "refusal to be disliked" is "perhaps its most dispiriting, irritating aspect".[8] Writing for NME, Jordan Bassett characterised the album as "emotional piano ballads" that "sit at stark contrast with his public persona", concluding that it is "somewhat baffling that such a charismatic star could make a record so lacking in personality, though his fans won't mind one bit".[12]

Commercial performance

The album became the second fastest-selling album of the year in Ireland after three days of availability.[17] The album started atop the Irish Albums Chart with 6,389 units (physical sales, downloads and streaming), just nearly 1,100 fewer than the gold certification disc (deleted in 2013[18]). It later became the fastest-selling album of the year (with 2,100 units more than Billie Eilish's debut album), the decade and the fourth all-time in the country.[19] The second week, the album stayed at number 1;[20][21] it has now spent nine weeks at number one in the UK album chart since its release.[22] As of July 2019, it is the fifth best-selling album of mid-year,[23] and the ninth best-selling vinyl album there.[24] At the end of the year, it was the biggest-selling album in the country with 45,000 units.[25]

Track listing

Adapted from iTunes.[26]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Grace"	Lewis Capaldi Nick Atkinson Edd Holloway	Atkinson Holloway	3:03
2.	"Bruises"	Capaldi James Earp	Earp	3:38
3.	"Hold Me While You Wait"	Capaldi Jamie N Commons Jamie Hartman	Capaldi Atkinson Holloway TMS	3:26
4.	"Someone You Loved"	Capaldi Samuel Romans Thomas Barnes Peter Kelleher Benjamin Kohn	TMS	3:02
5.	"Maybe"	Capaldi Atkinson Holloway	Atkinson Holloway	3:30
6.	"Forever"	Capaldi Joseph Janiak Sean Douglas	Joe Janiak	3:30
7.	"One"	Capaldi Phil Cook Tom Mann	Phil Cook	2:59
8.	"Don't Get Me Wrong"	Capaldi Hartman	Hartman Atkinson^[b] Holloway^[b]	3:33
9.	"Hollywood"	Capaldi Callum Stewart Philip Plested Kane Parfitt	Capaldi Atkinson Holloway	3:11
10.	"Lost on You"	Capaldi David Sneddon Anu Pillai	Sneddon Pillai	3:15
11.	"Fade"	Capaldi James Ryan Ho	Malay	4:04
12.	"Headspace"	Capaldi	Capaldi Atkinson Holloway	5:06
Total length:				42:17

Extended edition bonus tracks[27]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
13.	"Before You Go"	Capaldi Barnes Plested Kelleher Kohn	TMS	3:36
14.	"Leaving My Love Behind"	Capaldi Andrew Frampton Max Farrar	Andrew Frampton Max Farrar	3:31
15.	"Let It Roll"	Capaldi Atkinson Holloway	Atkinson Holloway	3:39
Total length:				53:03

Japan bonus tracks[28]

No.	Title	Length
16.	"Someone You Loved" (live from Capitol Studio / 1 Mic 1 Take)	3:30
17.	"Bruises" (live orchestral version)	3:49
18.	"Bruises" (guitar acoustic)	3:47
Total length:		64:24

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent.

Vocals and production

• Lewis Capaldi – lead vocals, backing vocals, production
• Nicolas Atkinson – backing vocals
• TMS – production
• Nicolas Atkinson – production
• Edd Holloway – production
• James Earp – production
• Anu Pilai – production
• Malay Ho – production
• Phil Cook – production
• Joe Janiak – production
• Andrew Frampton – production

Technical

• Spike Stent – mixing
• Edd Holloway – mixing
• Mike Cave – mixing
• Robert Voseign – mastering
• Mike Cave – mastering
• Lewis Capaldi – executive producer
• Ryan Walter – executive producer

Artwork

• Alexandra Gavillet – photography
• Rory Dewar – art design
• Dan Sanders – art commission

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2019–2020) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[29] 7 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[30] 6 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[31] 6 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[32] 54 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[33] 5 Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[34] 10 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[35] 8 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[36] 10 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[37] 17 French Albums (SNEP)[38] 40 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[39] 7 Irish Albums (IRMA)[40] 1 Italian Albums (FIMI)[41] 16 Japan Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[42] 76 Japanese Albums (Oricon)[43] 135 Latvian Albums (LAIPA)[44] 7 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[45] 3 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[46] 1 Scottish Albums (OCC)[47] 1 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[48] 44 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[49] 7 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[50] 3 UK Albums (OCC)[51] 1 US Billboard 200[52] 20

Year-end charts Chart (2019) Position Australian Albums (ARIA)[53] 41 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[54] 71 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[55] 42 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[56] 34 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[57] 62 French Albums (SNEP)[58] 160 Irish Albums (IRMA)[59] 1 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[60] 34 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[61] 23 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[62] 52 UK Albums (OCC)[63] 1 US Billboard 200[64] 136 Chart (2020) Position Australian Albums (ARIA)[65] 18 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[66] 45 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[67] 16 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[68] 113 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[69] 6 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[70] 10 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[71] 12 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[72] 72 Irish Albums (IRMA)[73] 2 Italian Albums (FIMI)[74] 43 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[75] 3 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[76] 10 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[77] 33 UK Albums (OCC)[78] 1 US Billboard 200[79] 24

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[80]	Gold	35,000
Canada (Music Canada)[81]	2× Platinum	160,000
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[82]	Platinum	20,000
France (SNEP)[83]	Gold	50,000
Italy (FIMI)[84]	Gold	25,000
Netherlands (NVPI)[85]	Gold	20,000
New Zealand (RMNZ)[86]	2× Platinum	30,000
Norway (IFPI Norway)[87]	Platinum	20,000^*
United Kingdom (BPI)[88]	3× Platinum	900,000
^*sales figures based on certification alone sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

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