The Time Is Now (album)

The Time Is Now is the seventh studio album by British singer Craig David, released on 26 January 2018.^[4]^[5] The album features guest appearances from JP Cooper, Bastille, AJ Tracey, Ella Mai, Kaytranada and GoldLink. The first single from the album, titled "Heartline", was released on 14 September 2017, through David's official YouTube account.

The album reached number two in the United Kingdom, making it David's fifth UK top 10 album.

Background

On 15 September 2017, less than a year after the release of his comeback album Following My Intuition which became his first chart-topper for 16 years, David announced the follow-up, The Time Is Now. In an interview, David said: "If the last few years have taught me anything, it's that life can change in a moment and you've gotta make the most it! Just in the same way my life was flipped upside down all those years ago, I'm genuinely so grateful to be standing here today doing what I love the most." He went to say, "By doing the simple things that enrich my heart, I've found the same magic that got me into making music as a kid.The motivation and inspiration behind this album was all down to the huge realisation that even when I wasn't as focused, there were amazing lessons to be learnt."^[6]

The album features collaborations with Bastille, AJ Tracey, Kaytranada and GoldLink.^[7]

Singles

The first single from the album, "Heartline", was released on 14 September 2017, and peaked at 24 in the UK. The second single, "I Know You", featuring the British band Bastille, was released on 23 November 2017, and was commercially more successful than his recent singles, peaking at five in the UK.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	57/100^[8]
Review scores
Source	Rating

The Time Is Now received mixed reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 57 based on 10 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".^[8]

Commercial performance

The Time Is Now reached number two on the UK Albums Chart, debuting with sales of 16,874 copies, behind the soundtrack of The Greatest Showman.^[9]

Tour

Craig David will embark on a tour and make appearances at music festivals around England, the United States, the Middle East and Europe to promote the album.^[10]


Date	City	State or county	Venue	TS5 or full band
America
12 January 2018	Miami	Florida	The Ground	TS5
13 January 2018	Chicago	Illinois	1st Ward Events
15 January 2018	New York	Manhattan	The Bowery Ballroom
17 January 2018	Los Angeles	California	Roxy Theatre
18 January 2018	Las Vegas	Nevada	TAO Nightclub
19 January 2018	San Francisco	California	Slim's
England
2 February 2018	London	Kingston upon Thames	The Hippodrome	TS5
Middle East
8 February 2018	Dubai	Dubai Media City	Red Fest	TS5
Europe
10 April 2018	Austria	Mayrhofen	Snowboming Festival	TS5
England
27 May 2018	Portsmouth	Cosham	Mutiny Festival	TS5
9 June 2018	London	Wembley Stadium, Wembley	Summertime Ball	TBA
15 June 2018	Liverpool	Aintree	Aintree Racecourse	Full Band

Track listing

Standard edition
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Magic"	Craig David Tre Jean-Marie Ed Drewett	Tre Jean-Marie	2:52
2.	"Heartline"	David Guy James Robin Sam Romans	Jonas Blue	3:12
3.	"Brand New"	David Steve McCutcheon	Steve Mac	2:44
4.	"Going On"	David Drewett Fraser Thorneycroft-Smith Tyrell "169" Paul Josiah Dixon	Fraser T Smith	3:24
5.	"Love Me Like It's Yesterday"	David Rachel Furner Thorneycroft-Smith Tyrell Paul	Fraser T Smith	3:32
6.	"For the Gram"	David Raoul Lionel Chen	Diztortion	3:54
7.	"Get Involved" (featuring JP Cooper)	David Jean-Marie John Paul Cooper	Tre Jean-Marie	3:09
8.	"I Know You" (featuring Bastille)	David Dan Smith Thorneycroft-Smith Helen "Carmen Reece" Culver	Fraser T Smith	3:34
9.	"Live in the Moment" (featuring GoldLink)	David Jean-Marie D'Anthony Carlos Louis Celestin	KAYTRANADA Tre Jean-Marie^[a]	3:06
10.	"Love Will Come Around"	David Josiah Dixon Thorneycroft-Smith Tyrell Paul	Fraser T Smith	3:14
11.	"Somebody Like Me" (featuring AJ Tracey)	David Ché Grant Jacob Manson	Blonde	2:54
12.	"Focus"	David Furner Thorneycroft-Smith Tyrell Paul	Fraser T Smith	2:56
Total length:				38:31

Deluxe edition bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
13.	"Reload" (with Chase & Status)	David Will Kennard Saul Milton	Chase & Status	3:10
14.	"Talk to Me"	David Jean-Marie Talay Riley	Tre Jean-Marie	3:55
15.	"Talk to Me, Pt. II" (featuring Ella Mai)	David Jean-Marie Riley Ella Mai Nosa Obasohan	Tre Jean-Marie Nosaapollo	3:22
Total length:				48:58

Japanese edition bonus tracks^[11]
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
16.	"Armour"	David Jean-Marie Talay Riley	Tre Jean-Marie	3:31
17.	"Heartline" (acoustic)	David Guy James Robin Sam Romans	Fraser T Smith	3:12
18.	"I Know You" (acoustic) (featuring Bastille)	David Dan Smith Thorneycroft-Smith Helen "Carmen Reece" Culver	Fraser T Smith Tobie Tripp Dan Smith Sophie Gledhill	3:58
Total length:				59:39

Notes

^{^[a]} signifies a vocal producer.

Charts

Chart (2018)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)^[12]	43
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)^[13]	77
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)^[14]	128
Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)^[15]	91
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[16]	56
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[17]	97
Irish Albums (IRMA)^[18]	53
New Zealand Heatseeker Albums (RMNZ)^[19]	2
Scottish Albums (OCC)^[20]	9
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)^[21]	47
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[22]	75
UK Albums (OCC)^[23]	2

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label
United Kingdom	26 January 2018	Digital download	Speakerbox Insanity Sony

References

^ Beta, Andy (25 January 2018). "Craig David: The Time Is Now Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
^ Hodgkinson, Will (26 January 2018). "Pop review: Craig David: The Time is Now". The Times. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
^ "BBC – Radio 1 – Playlist". BBC Radio 1. Archived from the original on 13 April 2018. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
^ "Craig David releases new single 'Heartline' and announces new album and tour". NME. 15 September 2017.
^ "Craig David Releases New Single 'Heartline', Announces New Album 'The Time Is Now'". Capital XTRA. 15 September 2017.
^ Kelly, Emma (15 September 2017). "Craig David announces seventh album and drops brand new single". Metro. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
^ Renshaw, David (15 September 2017). "Craig David Announces New Album The Time Is Now". The FADER. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
^ ^a ^b "Reviews for The Time Is Now by Craig David". Metacritic. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
^ Myers, Justin (2 February 2018). "The Greatest Showman denies Craig David a third Number 1 album". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
^ "Craig David Tour 2018". craigdavid.com. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
^ "CDJapan : The Time Is Now Craig David CD Album". cdjapan.co.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 31 January 2018.
^ "ARIA Australian Top 50 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. 5 February 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
^ "Ultratop.be – Craig David – The Time Is Now" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
^ "Ultratop.be – Craig David – The Time Is Now" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
^ "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 05.Týden 2018 on the field besides the words "CZ – ALBUMS – TOP 100" to retrieve the correct chart. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Craig David – The Time Is Now" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Craig David – The Time Is Now" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
^ "Irish Albums Chart: 2 February 2018". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
^ "NZ Heatseeker Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 5 February 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
^ "Top 100 Albumes – Semana 5: del 26.1.2018 al 1.2.2018" (PDF) (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
^ "Swisscharts.com – Craig David – The Time Is Now". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 February 2018.

[pitchfork-1] Beta, Andy (25 January 2018). "Craig David: The Time Is Now Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 26 January 2017.

[thetimes-2] Hodgkinson, Will (26 January 2018). "Pop review: Craig David: The Time is Now". The Times. Retrieved 26 January 2018.

[3] "BBC – Radio 1 – Playlist". BBC Radio 1. Archived from the original on 13 April 2018. Retrieved 14 April 2018.

[4] "Craig David releases new single 'Heartline' and announces new album and tour". NME. 15 September 2017.

[5] "Craig David Releases New Single 'Heartline', Announces New Album 'The Time Is Now'". Capital XTRA. 15 September 2017.

[6] Kelly, Emma (15 September 2017). "Craig David announces seventh album and drops brand new single". Metro. Retrieved 15 September 2017.

[7] Renshaw, David (15 September 2017). "Craig David Announces New Album The Time Is Now". The FADER. Retrieved 9 April 2018.

[Metacritic-8] "Reviews for The Time Is Now by Craig David". Metacritic. Retrieved 30 January 2018.

[9] Myers, Justin (2 February 2018). "The Greatest Showman denies Craig David a third Number 1 album". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 April 2018.

[10] "Craig David Tour 2018". craigdavid.com. Retrieved 12 January 2018.

[11] "CDJapan : The Time Is Now Craig David CD Album". cdjapan.co.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 31 January 2018.

[12] "ARIA Australian Top 50 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. 5 February 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2018.

[ac_Flanders_Craig_David-13] "Ultratop.be – Craig David – The Time Is Now" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 February 2018.

[ac_Wallonia_Craig_David-14] "Ultratop.be – Craig David – The Time Is Now" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 February 2018.

[ac_Czech_-15] "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 05.Týden 2018 on the field besides the words "CZ – ALBUMS – TOP 100" to retrieve the correct chart. Retrieved 6 February 2018.

[ac_Netherlands_Craig_David-16] "Dutchcharts.nl – Craig David – The Time Is Now" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 February 2018.

[ac_Germany4_Craig_David-17] "Offiziellecharts.de – Craig David – The Time Is Now" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 2 February 2018.

[18] "Irish Albums Chart: 2 February 2018". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 3 February 2018.

[19] "NZ Heatseeker Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 5 February 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2018.

[ac_Scotland_-20] "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 February 2018.

[21] "Top 100 Albumes – Semana 5: del 26.1.2018 al 1.2.2018" (PDF) (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 8 February 2018.

[ac_Switzerland_Craig_David-22] "Swisscharts.com – Craig David – The Time Is Now". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 February 2018.

[ac_UK2_-23] "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 February 2018.

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v t e Craig David
Discography
Studio albums	Born to Do It Slicker Than Your Average The Story Goes... Trust Me Signed Sealed Delivered Following My Intuition The Time Is Now 22
Compilation albums	Greatest Hits
Singles	"Fill Me In" "7 Days" "Walking Away" "Rendezvous" "What's Your Flava?" "Hidden Agenda" "Rise & Fall" "Spanish" "World Filled with Love" "You Don't Miss Your Water ('Til the Well Runs Dry)" "All the Way" "Don't Love You No More (I'm Sorry)" "Unbelievable" "Hot Stuff (Let's Dance)" "6 of 1 Thing" "Officially Yours" "Where's Your Love" "Insomnia" "One More Lie (Standing in the Shadows)" "When the Bassline Drops" "One More Time" "Ain't Giving Up" "All We Needed" "Heartline" "I Know You" "When You Know What Love Is"
Featured singles	"Re-Rewind (The Crowd Say Bo Selecta)" "Woman Trouble" "This Is the Girl" "Who Am I" "Nothing Like This" "No Holding Back" "Bang Bang" "Really Love"
Related articles	Bo' Selecta!