# The Time Is Now (album)

The Time Is Now is the seventh studio album by English singer Craig David, released on 26 January 2018. The album features guest appearances from JP Cooper, Bastille, AJ Tracey, Ella Mai, Kaytranada and GoldLink. The albums's first single, "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: "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."
The album features collaborations with Bastille, AJ Tracey, Kaytranada and GoldLink.

## 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 | 56/100 |
| Review scores ||
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| Clash | 6/10 |
| MusicOMH | |
| NME | |
| Pitchfork | 5.5/10 |
| PopMatters | 5/10 |
| Under the Radar | 3/10 |
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 56 based on 12 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

## 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.

## Tour

David embarked on a tour and made appearances at music festivals around England, the United States, the Middle East and Europe to promote the album.

## Track listing

Notes
* signifies a vocal producer.

## Personnel

Credits adapted from album’s liner notes.
* Mark Asari – backing vocals (tracks 9, 14), chant vocals (track 1)
* Jonas Blue – producer and mixing (track 2)
* Raoul Chen – producer, engineer, mixing, backing vocals, drum programming, and instruments (track 6)
* Wez Clarke – mixing (tracks 1, 3, 7, 14, 15)
* JP Cooper – vocals (track 7)
* Craig David – vocals (all tracks)
* Ed Drewett – chant vocals (track 1)
* Phebe Edwards – backing vocals (tracks 4, 5, 12)
* Lauren Faith – backing vocals (track 4)
* Rachel Furner – backing vocals (track 12)
* GoldLink – vocals (track 9)
* Manon Grandjean – engineer (tracks 4, 5, 8, 10, 12)
* Stuart Hawkes – mastering (all tracks)
* Tre Jean-Marie – producer (tracks 1, 7, 14, 15); vocal production, vocal mixing, and background vocals (track 9); chant vocals (track 1)
* Kaytranada – producer and mixing (track 9)
* William Kennard – producer, mixing, instrumentation, and programming (track 13)
* Chris Laws – engineer, drums, and percussion (track 3)
* Tim Laws – guitar (track 3)
* Colin Lester – executive producer
* Andy Mac – talkbox (track 14)
* Steve Mac – producer and keyboards (track 3)
* Rob MacFarlane – engineer (tracks 8, 13)
* Ella Mai – vocals (track 15)
* Jacob Manson – producer, engineer, mixing, guitar, keyboards, and drum programming (track 11)
* Brandon Michael – chant vocals (track 1)
* Saul Milton – producer, mixing, instrumentation, and programming (track 13)
* Nosaappollo – producer (track 15)
* Tyrell "169" Paul – producer (tracks 4, 10, 12), drum programming (tracks 4, 10)
* Dann Pursey – engineer (track 3)
* Carmen Reece – backing vocals (track 8)
* Sillkey – additional production (track 14)
* Dan Smith – vocals (track 8)
* Fraser T Smith – producer, mixing, keyboards, and drum programming (tracks 4, 5, 8, 10, 12); guitar (tracks 4, 10)
* AJ Tracey – vocals (track 11)

## Charts

Chart performance for The Time Is Now :
| Chart (2018) | Peak position |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) | 43 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) | 77 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) | 128 |
| Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI) | 91 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) | 56 |
| French Albums (SNEP) | 157 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) | 97 |
| Irish Albums (IRMA) | 53 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) | 97 |
| Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan) | 91 |
| New Zealand Heatseeker Albums (RMNZ) | 2 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC) | 9 |
| Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) | 47 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) | 75 |
| UK Albums (OCC) | 2 |
| UK R&B Albums (OCC) | 1 |

## Certifications

| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
| United Kingdom (BPI) | Silver | 60,000$^‡$ |
| $^‡$ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |||

## Release history

Release history and formats for The Time Is Now :
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label |
| United Kingdom | 26 January 2018 | CDDigital downloadstreaming | SpeakerboxInsanitySony |