On the Billboard 200 chart, Heartbreak Weather debuted at number four, marking Horan's second top-10 album in the United States. The album also debuted at number one on the Irish and UK album charts, marking Horan's first UK number one album as a solo artist.
Background and recording
Horan announced the album on 7 February 2020 alongside the release of the third single "No Judgement", and stated in a press release that with the album, he wanted to "tell the story that was in my head, hopefully lead people down the storytelling lane of an album track listing. [...] I wanted to write songs from different sides or from someone else looking in."[4] Horan took inspiration from the work of Bruce Springsteen[5] as well as the Arctic Monkeys and The Weeknd.[6] The album was recorded from October 2018 to January 2020.[7][8]
"Put a Little Love on Me" serves as the second single from the album, being released on 6 December 2019.[14] The song entered the Irish and Scottish singles chart peaking at number 32 and 38 respectively. The song received a music video which accompanied its release and was directed by Cameron Busby.[15]
"No Judgement" was released on 7 February 2020 as the album's third single.[16] The song was compared to Horan's 2017 single "Slow Hands".[17] The song entered the Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles chart peaking at number 97 and 32 respectively. The song's music video was released alongside the song and was directed by Drew Kirsch.[18] The song also received a remix by Steve Void and an acoustic version.[19][20] "Black and White" was released on 21 April 2020 as the album's fourth single.[21]
Cancelled tour
Horan officially announced the Nice to Meet Ya Tour in October 2019.[22] The tour was set to go through North America, Oceania, Europe and Latin America between April and December 2020. On 3 April 2020 Horan announced the tour was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He stated he intended to tour in 2021, "when the crisis blows over."[23] No, rescheduled dates have been announced.[24]Lewis Capaldi, Fletcher and Maisie Peters were set to open for Horan on the tour.[22][25]
Heartbreak Weather received generally favourable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 63, based on eight reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[26]
AllMusic's Neil Yeung reviewed the album positively, stating that the production of the album was better than Horan's 2017 debut album, Flicker, adding that "despite the often dour and forlorn lyrical content, the songs are full-blooded and more energetic than the average breakup album".[1] Chris DeVille, writing for Stereogum, stated that the album is "much better" than Flicker, commenting that Heartbreak Weather's writing, production, and performance all represented "an upgrade". However, he felt that "Horan is capable of evolving" but added that "such flourishes suggest this boy-band alumnus may someday grow up to be the man after all — or at the very least he won't be desperate for a reunion tour". Jason Scott, writing for American Songwriter, named the record "a stylistic leveling-up" while complimenting Horan's take on heartbreak.[32] Michael Cragg of The Guardian highlighted that the album contains "hints of experimentation, such as the swaggering hybrid of Arctic Monkeys and Kasabian in "Nice To Meet Ya", but it's the excellent title track's flirtation with glossy, synth-tinged MOR that suggests where Horan might be headed next. Proof that it's often the quiet ones you need to keep an eye on".[27] Mike Wass, writing for Idolator, wrote that the record "just might be pop's first, feel-good breakup album" and that "there's no sophomore slump here" while calling it "a winning collection of love songs from multiple perspectives with very few skips."[33]
Some reviews were more mixed. Mark Kennedy of the Associated Press called the album an "overall bright collection" and felt that Horan made "14 perfectly fine tracks, if not volcanic ones" and that it "is in no way a disaster" but that "it's just not an improvement on his debut effort".[34] Ella Kemp of NME called the album "a mixed bag" and felt that there was "a great voice let down by some not great songs", writing that Horan's "lyrical landscape is somewhat thinner and the production even more impenetrable" than that of Flicker. She concluded by complimenting Horan's "incredible" and "convincing" voice, adding that the album "isn't an entirely lost cause, but one to build upon for a more inspiring future all the same".[29] Adam White, writing for The Independent, described Heartbreak Weather as "a tranquilliser of an album that only occasionally sparks to life" and "largely drab", explaining that Horan "struggles to define his musical identity on his shiny if haphazard second album" which is "entirely stuck on safe mode". Nevertheless, White specifically praised "New Angel" and "Arms of a Stranger", calling the latter "concert-ready and irresistibly shiny".[28] Writing for The Telegraph, Neil McCormick felt like the album lacks "any particular character" and that "everything sounds like something you might have heard somewhere before", stating that the record is "the closest thing to a One Direction album since the band split".[30] Ed Power of the Irish Examiner wrote that Horan "ticks the boxes but doesn't cause a storm".[35] Quinn Moreland, writing for Pitchfork, felt that Horan "spends too much of the record bouncing between sounds and songwriting concepts to feel distinct" but did compliment the album's final track, "Still," calling it "the realest, rawest moment on the record and a small bit of proof that Horan has the potential to make it on his own."[2]
In the United States, the album debuted at number four with 59,000 equivalent album units (42,000 pure) in its first week, making it the top-selling album of the week.[38] The album also debuted at number one on the Top Album Sales chart, marking Horan’s second leader on the list, following his debut album, Flicker.
^"Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 12.Týden 2020 on the field besides the words "CZ – ALBUMS – TOP 100" to retrieve the correct chart. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
