Blue Madonna

Blue Madonna is the second studio album by American musician Børns. It was released on January 12, 2018 through Interscope Records (and his final with the label).^[3]

Blue Madonna
Studio album by Børns
Released	January 12, 2018
Recorded	2016–17
Length	41:40
Label	Interscope
Producer	Thomas Schleiter
Børns chronology
Dopamine (2015) Blue Madonna (2018) Suddenly (2023)
Singles from Blue Madonna
"Faded Heart" Released: July 28, 2017 "Sweet Dreams" Released: September 29, 2017 "I Don't Want U Back" Released: December 15, 2017 "God Save Our Young Blood" Released: January 2, 2018

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	67/100^[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[2]

Background

On July 28, 2017, Børns released the single "Faded Heart" on Interscope Records. On September 29, 2017, he released his next single, "Sweet Dreams". Two promotional videos, "The Search for the Lost Sounds" and "The Faded Heart Sessions", were released on his YouTube channel along with the singles.^[4]

The album was announced via Instagram on December 4, 2017. A pre-order on blue vinyl (1,500 copies) was available on the Urban Outfitters website in December 2017, but the limited-edition sale was removed before its official release on January 12, 2018.^[5]

"Faded Heart", "Sweet Dreams", I Don't Want U Back", and "God Save Our Young Blood" featuring Lana Del Rey were released as singles prior to the official album release.^[6]

The official lyrics to "Supernatural" released the day prior as bonus material for Spotify users who pre-saved the album. Additionally, Børns, using an account on Genius.com, has taken to leaving personal commentaries regarding written lyrics on certain songs appearing on the album.^[7] For example, Børns says, "I pictured Lou Reed when I wrote this singing about being a glowing star with a fragile heart," about his song "Faded Heart".

Blue Madonna was officially released on January 12, 2018.^[8]

Track listing

Note: All tracks produced by Thomas Schleiter, who also goes by the name "Tommy English".

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"God Save Our Young Blood" (with Lana Del Rey)	Garrett Borns Thomas Schleiter	3:53
2.	"Faded Heart"	Borns Schleiter	3:34
3.	"Sweet Dreams"	Borns Schleiter	3:20
4.	"We Don't Care"	Borns Schleiter Angelo Petraglia Barry Dean	3:33
5.	"Man"	Borns Schleiter	3:57
6.	"Iceberg"	Borns Schleiter	3:30
7.	"Second Night of Summer"	Borns Schleiter Jakob Bjorn-Hansen	3:24
8.	"I Don't Want U Back"	Borns Schleiter	3:51
9.	"Tension" (interlude)	Borns Schleiter	1:34
10.	"Supernatural"	Borns Schleiter	3:45
11.	"Blue Madonna"	Borns Schleiter	2:20
12.	"Bye-bye Darling"	Borns Schleiter	4:59
Total length:			41:33

Notes

• "Supernatural" features theremin-playing by Armen Ra
• "Blue Madonna" features background vocals by Lana Del Rey.

Personnel

• Børns – performance
• Tommy English – production
• Chris Gehringer – mastering
• Tony Maserati – mixing
• Brian Roettinger – art direction
• Chuck Grant – photography
• Armen Ra – theremin (track 10)^[9]

Charts

Chart (2018)	Peak position
Canadian Albums (Billboard)^[10]	80
New Zealand Heatseeker Albums (RMNZ)^[11]	8
US Billboard 200^[12]	49
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)^[13]	3
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)^[14]	6

Appearances in other media

• "Faded Heart" is featured in the EA Sports video game FIFA 18^[15]
• "Sweet Dreams" is featured in the Sony Pictures film Flatliners

References

1. "Metacritic Review". Metacritic.com. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
2. Yeung, Neil Z. "AllMusic Review". Allmusic.com. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
3. BØRNS. "Blue Madonna new album out 1/12/18pic.twitter.com/6GBNUSgKop". Twitter.
4. ""The Search for the Lost Sounds" and "The Faded Heart Sessions"". YouTube.com. Retrieved October 11, 2017.
5. "Børns - Blue Madonna Limited LP". Urban Outfitters.
6. Morris, Damien (2018-01-14). "Børns: Blue Madonna review – the best is surely yet to come…". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-01-16.
7. "Børns' account". Genius.com.
8. "Børns - Blue Madonna Limited LP $25.98". Urban Outfitters. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
9. St. Asaph, Katherine (January 22, 2018). "BØRNS: Blue Madonna Album Review". Pitchfork. Condé Nast. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
10. "Borns Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
11. "NZ Heatseeker Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. January 22, 2018. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
12. "Borns Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
13. "Borns Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
14. "Borns Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
15. "BØRNS – Faded Heart (FIFA 18 Soundtrack)". EA Sports' FIFA 18.