Never Been Better

Never Been Better is the fourth studio album by English recording artist Olly Murs. It was released through Epic Records on 21 November 2014 in Ireland and 24 November in the United Kingdom.^[2]

Never Been Better peaked at number one on the UK Albums Chart making it his third consecutive number one album on the chart. The album has been certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry. The album reached the top-ten in Ireland, the top-twenty in Switzerland, and top-forty positions in Australia, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany and Norway. Never Been Better received generally mixed reviews from music critics, some praising Murs' more serious tone, while others felt that the album was unspectacular and safe.

On 2 October 2015, Murs announced on his Twitter account that he would release a special edition of Never Been Better on 20 November 2015 and the first single would be called "Kiss Me". Like Right Place Right Time: Special Edition, this album will feature extra tracks and a tour DVD.

Background

In July 2013, Murs revealed that he had been back in the studio writing and recording new material for his fourth album, due to be released in Summer 2014. In February 2014, it was revealed that work had begun on his fourth studio album. He has been working with Wayne Hector, Claude Kelly, Steve Robson and Demi Lovato.^[3] On 28 September, Murs announced that the title of the album will be called Never Been Better and also announced the tracklist alongside it. The album was released on 24 November 2014.

Singles

"Wrapped Up" was released as the lead single from the album on 16 November 2014. The song peaked at #3 on the UK Singles Chart, which earned Murs another top five single.

"Up", which features vocals from Demi Lovato was released as the second single from the album on 4 January 2015. The single peaked at #4 on the UK Singles Chart and has since gone Platinum in the United Kingdom.

"Seasons" was released as the third single on 27 March 2015. The single made it to the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart.

"Beautiful to Me" was released as fourth single on 28 May 2015.^[4] The song peaked at number 93 in the UK Singles Chart.^[5]

"Kiss Me" was released as the first single from the reissued special edition of the album on 9 October 2015.^[6]

"Stevie Knows" was released as the second single on 11 December 2015 from the album reissued special edition.^[7]

Critical reception

Reviews for Never Been Better were mixed. Writing for 4music.com, Jessica Lever gave the album a 4/5 score,^[8] while writing for The Telegraph, in a 2 out of 5 stars review, Neil McCormick wrote: "Unexpected collaborations only expose how ordinary the X Factor runner-up is."^[9] Dave Simpson of The Guardian was more charitable, and in a 3 of 5 stars review suggested "the acoustic ballad Let Me In (co-written with Paul Weller) is, by some distance, the best thing here."^[10] Less complimentary overall was Shaun Connors in Trucking's regular music reviews, writing (in a 1 of 5 stars review), "Yet another album by yet another X-Factor also-ran... And one that came second to the most forgettable winner of all... I realise it's risking social ostracisation by anybody under 13 for expressing these views, but this is without doubt the most uninspired, tedious collective of pop pap I've heard all year".^[11]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[12]
Digital Spy	^[13]
The Telegraph	^[14]
The Guardian	^[15]

Commercial performance

Never Been Better debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, selling 92,597 copies in its first week.^[16] It is Murs's third number one album after In Case You Didn't Know in 2011 and Right Place Right Time in 2012. As of March 2015, the album sold 886,000 copies.

Track listing

Never Been Better — Standard version^[17]
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Did You Miss Me?"	Olly Murs Jason Evigan Sean Douglas	Evigan Dan Book^[a]^[b]	3:16
2.	"Wrapped Up" (featuring Travie McCoy)	Murs Travie McCoy Steve Robson Claude Kelly	Robson	3:05
3.	"Beautiful to Me"	Murs Martin Johnson Robson Sam Hollander	Johnson Kyle Moorman^[a] Brandon Paddock^[a]	4:05
4.	"Up" (featuring Demi Lovato)	Wayne Hector Daniel Davidsen Maegan Cottone Peter Wallevik Mich Hansen	Davidsen Wallevik Cutfather David Quiñones^[c] TommyD^[c]	3:44
5.	"Seasons"	Ryan Tedder Ammar Malik Noel Zancanella	Tedder Zancanella	3:37
6.	"Nothing Without You"	Murs Tom Barnes Pete Kelleher Ben Kohn Iain James Mike Posner	TMS	3:34
7.	"Never Been Better"	Murs Barnes Kelleher Kohn Hector	TMS	4:16
8.	"Hope You Got What You Came For"	Murs Robson Hector	Robson	3:25
9.	"Why Do I Love You"	Murs Barnes Kelleher Kohn Jamie Scott	TMS	3:42
10.	"Stick with Me"	Steve Mac Hector John Newman	Mac	3:37
11.	"Can't Say No"	Murs Robson Kelly	Robson Future Cut^[a]	3:10
12.	"Tomorrow"	Murs Robson Hector	Robson	3:38
13.	"Let Me In"	Murs Paul Weller	Weller	4:03
Total length:				47:12

Never Been Better — Deluxe version^[18]
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
14.	"We Still Love"	Murs Robson Sam Romans	Robson	3:15
15.	"Us Against the World"	Murs Scott Toby Smith	Scott Smith Matt Rad	3:27
16.	"Ready for Love"	Murs Scott Matt Prime Phil Cook	Prime	3:26
17.	"History"	Murs Robson Kelly	Robson	2:50
Total length:				60:10

Never Been Better — Mediamarkt bonus tracks^[19]
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
18.	"Alone Tonight"	Murs Iyiola Babalola Darren Lewis Hector		3:28
19.	"Wrapped Up" (featuring Travie McCoy) (Westfunk Radio Mix)	Murs McCoy Robson Kelly	Robson	3:14
Total length:				66:52

Never Been Better — Japan bonus tracks^[20]
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
18.	"Alone Tonight"	Murs Iyiola Babalola Darren Lewis Hector
19.	"Wrapped Up" (featuring Travie McCoy) (Westfunk Radio Mix)	Murs McCoy Robson Kelly	Robson	3:37
20.	"Wrapped Up" (featuring Travie McCoy) (Cahill Radio Mix)	Murs McCoy Robson Kelly	Robson	3:14
21.	"Look at the Sky"	Hachidai Nakamura	Robson	3:27

Never Been Better — U.S. Standard version^[21]
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Did You Miss Me?"	3:16
2.	"Wrapped Up" (featuring Travie McCoy)	3:05
3.	"Beautiful to Me"	4:05
4.	"Up" (featuring Demi Lovato)	3:44
5.	"Seasons"	3:37
6.	"Nothing Without You"	3:34
7.	"Never Been Better"	4:16
8.	"Hope You Got What You Came For"	3:25
9.	"Stick With Me"	3:37
10.	"Tomorrow"	3:38
11.	"Let Me In"	4:03
Total length:		40:20

Never Been Better — U.S. Deluxe version^[22]
No.	Title	Length
12.	"Why Do I Love You"	3:42
13.	"Ready for Love"	3:26
14.	"History"	2:50
Total length:		50:18

Special edition

Never Been Better: Special Edition – bonus tracks^[23]
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
14.	"Kiss Me"	Murs Zacharie Raymond Yannick Rastogi Robson Gary Derussy Lindy Robbins Taio Cruz	Banx & Ranx Robson^[b]	3:18
15.	"Stevie Knows"	Alexander Izquierdo Ian Kirkpatrick Sam Martin	Kirkpatrick	3:11
16.	"If I Stay"	Murs Johnson Sam Hollander	Johnson	3:49
17.	"Sacrifice"	Murs Robson Kelly	Robson	2:45
18.	"Love Shouldn't Be This Hard"	Murs Toby Gad	Gad	3:40
19.	"Up" (featuring Ella Eyre) (Live Lounge)	Hector Davidsen Cottone Wallevik Hansen		3:44
20.	"Last Christmas" (Live Lounge)	George Michael		3:56
Total length:				71:35

Never Been Better: Special Edition – Never Been Better Tour DVD
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Intro"
2.	"Did You Miss Me?"
3.	"Right Place Right Time"
4.	"Why Do I Love You"
5.	"Hey You Beautiful"
6.	"Hand on Heart"
7.	"Never Been Better"
8.	"Seasons"
9.	"Thinking of Me"/"Busy"/"Please Don't Let Me Go" (Piano section)
10.	"Hope You Got What You Came For"
11.	"Heart Skips a Beat"
12.	"Up" (featuring Ella Eyre)
13.	"Dance with Me Tonight"
14.	"Let Me In"
15.	"Dear Darlin'"
16.	"Beautiful to Me"
17.	"Troublemaker" (featuring Robbie WillIiams)
18.	"Nothing Without You"
19.	"Wrapped Up"/"Treasure"
20.	"Wrapped Up" (Instrumental)

Notes

^{^[a]} signifies an additional producer
^{^[b]} signifies a vocal producer
^{^[c]} signifies Demi Lovato vocal producer
^{^[d]} signifies strings producer

Unwrapped EP

Unwrapped is a free live EP exclusive to Google Play. It was released on 12 December 2014.^[24]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Wrapped Up" (Live)	Murs Robson Kelly McCoy	Robson	2:00
2.	"History" (Live)	Murs Robson Kelly	Robson	2:20
3.	"Dear Darlin'" (Live)	Murs Ed Drewett Jim Eliot	Drewett Eliot	2:39
4.	"Troublemaker" (Live)	Murs Robson Kelly Tramar Dillard	Robson	3:00
5.	"I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" (Live)	Roy Wood	Wood	3:20
Total length:				13:19

Personnel

Credits for the album adapted from AllMusic.^[25]

Vern Asbury - Bass
John August - Assistant Engineer, Vocals (Background)
Simon Baggs - Violin
Tom Barnes - Composer, Drums, Vocals (Background)
Paulette Bayley - Violin
Mark Berrow - Violin
Chris Bishop - Vocal Engineer
Duck Blackwell - Drum Programming
Rachel Bolt - Viola
Natalia Bonner - Violin
Dan Book - Vocal Producer
John Bradbury - Violin
Sarah Brandwood-Spencer - Violin
Karl Brazil - Drums
Chris Briggs - A&R
Ian Burdge - Celli
Gillon Cameron - Violin
Paul Cassidy - Viola
Emil Chakalov - Violin
Simon Clarke - Brass Arrangement, Sax (Alto), Sax (Baritone)
Ben Collier - Programming, String Programming
Maegan Cottone - Composer, Vocals (Background)
Tom Coyne - Mastering
Cutfather - Producer
Rosie Danvers - Cello, String Arrangements
Daniel Davidsen - Bass, Composer, Drum Programming, Guitar, Instrumentation, Producer, Programming
Alison Dods - Violin
Sean Douglas - Composer
Ian Dowling - Engineer
Jason Elliott - Vocal Engineer
Jason Evigan - Composer, Engineer, Horn Arrangements, Instrumentation, Producer, Programming, Vocal Producer
Fresh - Beat Box
Futurecut - Additional Production
Simon Gardner - Brass, Trumpet
Paul Gendler - Guitar
Serban Ghenea - Mixing
Susie Gillis - String Contractor
Isobel Griffiths - String Contractor
John Hanes - Mixing
Mich Hansen - Composer, Percussion
Peter Hanson - Violin
Jacqueline Hartley - Violin
Wayne Hector - Composer, Vocals (Background)
John Heley - Celli
Richard Henry - Trombone (Bass)
George Hogg - Trumpet
Sam Hollander - Composer
Kiris Houston - Bass, Guitar, Organ, Piano
Sally Jackson - Violin
Bryony James - Cello
Iain James - Composer, Vocals (Background)
Martin Johnson - Composer, Engineer, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Instrumentation, Percussion, Piano, Producer, Programming, Vocals (Background)
Magnus Johnston - Violin
Beverley Jones - Double Bass
Joe Kearns - Engineer, Vocal Engineer
Paul Kegg - Celli
Pete Kelleher - Composer, Keyboards
Claude Kelly - Composer, Vocals (Background)
The Kick Horns - Brass
Patrick Kiernan - Strings, Violin
Ben Kohn - Composer, Guitar, Percussion, Vocals (Background)
Boguslaw Kostecki - Violin
Jan "Stan" Kybert - Engineer
Peter Lale - Viola
Oliver Langford - Violin
Chris Laws - Drums, Engineer, Mixing
Julian Leaper - Violin
Fiona Legget - Viola
Anthony Lewis - Celli
Vicki Lewis - String Contractor
David Liddell - Trombone
Ryan Lipman - Mixing Assistant
Demi Lovato - Featured Artist
Martin Loveday - Celli
Jacob Luttrell - Vocals (Background)
Steve Mac - Brass Arrangement, Composer, Keyboards, Producer, String Arrangements
Ammar Malik - Composer
Wil Malone - String Arrangements, String Conductor
Travie McCoy - Composer, Featured Artist
Jim McLeod - Violin
Sam Miller - Engineer
Perry Montague-Mason - Leader, Strings, Violin
Kyle Moorman - Additional Production, Engineer, Programming
Steve Morris - Violin
Olly Murs - Composer, Primary Artist
Everton Nelson - Violin
John Newman - Composer, Vocals (Background)
Serge Nudel - Engineer
Emma Owens - Viola
Brandon Paddock - Additional Production, Bass, Engineer, Programming, Vocals (Background)
Kerenza Peacock - Violin
Daniel Pierce - Vocals (Background)
Mike Posner - Composer, Piano
Luke Potashnick - Guitar
Dann Pursey - Engineer, Mixing Assistant, Percussion
David "DQ" Quinones - Vocal Producer
Charles Rees - Engineer
Jonathan Rees - Violin
Tom Rees-Roberts - Brass
Alex Reeve - Guitar
Rich Rich III - Assistant Engineer, Vocal Editing
Pierre-Luc Rioux - Guitar
Steve Robson - Composer, Instrumentation, Mixing, Producer, String Arrangements
Jenny Sacha - Violin
Tim Sanders - Brass Arrangement, Sax (Tenor)
Frank Schaefer - Celli
Jamie Scott - Composer, Piano
Mary Scully - Bass, Double Bass
Nick Seeley - Horn Arrangements, Strings
Jackie Shave - Violin
Emlyn Singleton - Violin
Chris Stereo:Type - Vocal Engineer
Nick Taylor - Engineer
Ryan Tedder - Composer, Instrumentation, Producer, Programming, Vocal Engineer, Vocals (Background)
Issaiah Tejada - Assistant Engineer
TMS - Producer
Christopher Tombling - Violin
Tommy D. - Producer
Matthew Tryba - Assistant Engineer
Nick Trygstad - Cello
Yu Tsai - Photography
Simon Turner - Cello
David Venni - Photography
Peter Wallevik - Composer, Drum Programming, Instrumentation, Keyboards, Piano, Producer, Programming, Vocals (Background)
Allen Walley - Bass, Double Bass
Leah Weller - Vocals (Background)
Paul Weller - Composer, Guitar, Piano, Producer, Vocals (Background)
Jeremy Wheatley - Mixing
Bruce White - Viola
Pete Whitfield - Transcription, Violin
Deborah Widdup - Violin
Josh Wilkinson - Programming
The Wired Strings - Strings
David Woodcock - Violin
Chris Worsey - Celli
Steve Wright - Viola
Noel Zancanella - Composer, Instrumentation, Producer, Programming
Joe Zook - Mixing

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Chart (2014)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)^[26]	27
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)^[27]	40
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)^[28]	157
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)^[29]	38
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)^[30]	28
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[31]	38
Irish Albums (IRMA)^[32]	7
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)^[33]	31
Scottish Albums (OCC)^[34]	1
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)^[35]	50
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[36]	20
UK Albums (OCC)^[37]	1
scope="row"	US Billboard 200^[38]	42

Year-end charts

Chart (2014)	Position
UK Albums (OCC)^[39]	8
Chart (2015)	Position
UK Albums (OCC)^[40]	13

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/Sales
United Kingdom (BPI)^[41]	2× Platinum	764,000^{^}
^{^}shipments figures based on certification alone

References

↑ "iTunes – Music – Seasons (Remixes) by Olly Murs". Retrieved 28 April 2015.
↑ "Olly Murs Announces New Album 'Never Been Better' AND A New Song!". Capital FM. 30 September 2014.
↑ "Exclusive blog from the studio! – The latest news from Olly Murs". Sony Music Email.
↑ "Beautiful to Me (Remixes) - Single by Olly Murs". iTunes Store (GB).
↑ Moss, Liv (5 May 2015). "Olly Murs announces new single Beautiful To Me". officialcharts.com. The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
↑ "iTunes - Music - Kiss Me - Single by Olly Murs". iTunes Store (GB).
↑ "iTunes - Music - Stevie Knows - Single by Olly Murs". iTunes Store (GB).
↑ Lever, Jessica (20 November 2014). "Olly Murs: Never Been Better - album review". 4Music. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
↑ McCormick, Neil (24 November 2014). "Olly Murs: Never Been Better - album review". The Telegraph. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
↑ Simpson, Dave (20 November 2014). "Olly Murs: Never Been Better - album review". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
↑ Connors, Shaun (June 2015). "Review: Olly Murs – Never Been Better". Trucking. Cudham, England: Kelsey Publishing Group: 43. |access-date= requires |url= (help)
↑ Collar, Matt. "Never Been Better - Olly Murs: Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
↑ Davidson, Amy (22 November 2014). "Olly Murs: Never Been Better - album review". Digital Spy. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
↑ McCormick, Neil (24 November 2014). "Olly Murs, Never Been Better, review: 'old-fashioned tunefulness'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
↑ Simpson, Dave (20 November 2014). "Olly Murs: Never Been Better review - fleeting moments of raw humanity". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
↑ Jones, Alan (1 December 2014). "Official Charts analysis: Olly Murs becomes second X Factor graduate to score three No.1s". Music Week. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
↑ "iTunes (U.K.) - Music - Olly Murs - Never Been Better". iTunes (U.K.). 21 November 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
↑ "iTunes (U.K.) - Music - Olly Murs - Never Been Better (Deluxe Edition)". iTunes (U.K.). 21 November 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
↑ "Mediamrkt - Music - Olly Murs - Never Been Better (Special Edition)". Mediamarkt. 21 November 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
↑ "iTunes (JP) - Music - Olly Murs - Never Been Better (Japan Version)". iTunes (JP). 14 January 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
↑ "iTunes (U.S.) - Music - Olly Murs - Never Been Better". iTunes (U.S.). 10 March 2015. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
↑ "Music - Olly Murs - Never Been Better (Deluxe)". iTunes (U.S.). 10 March 2015. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
↑ "Never Been Better Special Edition by Olly Murs: Amazon.co.uk: Music". Amazon UK.
↑ "Olly Murs: Unwrapped – EP – Music on Google Play". Google Play.
↑ "Never Been Better - Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
↑ "Australiancharts.com – Olly Murs – Never Been Better". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
↑ "Austriancharts.at – Olly Murs – Never Been Better" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
↑ "Ultratop.be – Olly Murs – Never Been Better" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
↑ "Danishcharts.com – Olly Murs – Never Been Better". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
↑ "Olly Murs: Never Been Better" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
↑ "Officialcharts.de – Olly Murs – Never Been Better". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 48, 2014". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Olly Murs – Never Been Better". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Olly Murs – Never Been Better". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
↑ "Swisscharts.com – Olly Murs – Never Been Better". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
↑ "Olly Murs – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Olly Murs. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
↑ Lane, Daniel (1 January 2016). "End of Year Album Chart Top100 - 2015". Official Charts Company.
↑ Lane, Daniel (1 January 2015). "End of Year Album Chart Top100 - 2014". Official Charts Company.
↑ "British album certifications – Olly Murs – Right Place Right Time". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Right Place Right Time in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search

Olly Murs

Studio albums
and singles

Olly Murs (2010)	"Please Don't Let Me Go" "Thinking of Me" "Heart on My Sleeve" "Busy"

In Case You Didn't Know (2011)	"Heart Skips a Beat" "Dance with Me Tonight" "Oh My Goodness"

Right Place Right Time (2012)	"Troublemaker" "Army of Two" "Dear Darlin'" "Right Place Right Time" "Hand on Heart"

Never Been Better (2014)	"Wrapped Up" "Up" "Seasons" "Beautiful to Me" "Kiss Me"

24 Hrs (2016)	"You Don't Know Love" "Grow Up"

Collaborations

"You Are Not Alone"
"Inner Ninja"

Concert tours

Right Place Right Time Tour

The X Factor series 6 finalists

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