Circles (album)

## Singles

1. "Dancer"
Released: 10 September 2021
2. "Soaked"
Released: 22 October 2021
3. "Fade Into A Dream"
Released: 3 December 2021
4. "Wishful Thinking"
Released: 21 January 2022

***Circles*** is the third studio album by Swedish pop singer LÉON. It was released on 4 March 2022 under LL Entertainment via BMG.

## Background

*Circles* marks the second major collaborative project between LÉON and longtime friend and producer Martin Stilling. LÉON and Stilling first collaborated on "Body" and "No Goodbyes" from *Surround Me* and later reconnected to write LÉON's sophomore album, *Apart*. Other collaborators include Richard Andersson, Patrik Berger, Billy Cervin, Madelene Eliasson, Johannes Hendriksson, Moa Michaeli, and Klara Söderberg.

Work on *Circles* began as soon as *Apart* was released in October 2020. Due to its close proximity to its predecessor, *Circles* often felt like a continuation of *Apart*, but it was an unintentional effect. LÉON said: "I started writing for *Circles* maybe two months after Apart came out, so I was still in that same mindset of things. It felt like I probably had much more to say still that I didn't say on *Apart*." But she confirms that in many ways, *Apart* and *Circles* are able to stand on their own.

LÉON revealed to Plaza Kvinna in December 2021 that she got back together with the person whom *Apart* was primarily written about, saying: "It took over a year. I had to deal with my loneliness on my part, but then we became us again."

*Circles* is much more personal than LÉON's previous works, so much so that she thought never to include the songs on an album. Despite the rawness, LÉON said that the songs "ended up being what I had to say." About the album's content, LÉON explained that she wanted to move away from writing about just pain and heartache, instead focusing on herself. "This record has landed in something other than just love and I sing about my mood instead," she said. "This is completely new to me. The peaks and valleys, with an open and honest heart."

Being the second album made during the COVID-19 pandemic, LÉON admitted some songs were inspired by a state of longing, saying: "I have definitely been in a bubble [...] I feel like a lot of these songs came from spending time on my own, as everyone did, and kind of dreaming away a bit."

Anxiety is a major theme in the album. LÉON admitted that during the process of writing the album, she struggled a lot with her own feelings. "I had never really put that into my music," she said, "but it’s always been a very big part of me."

LÉON described the overall sound of the album as less heavy in production: "It's a lot of electric guitar, a lot of synth. Some songs are more stripped down in my ears. Me and my producer are usually more is more, we love when it's a little too much at once. Now we have taken back a little, so that you are not overwhelmed."

On choosing the title for the album, LÉON admitted it was difficult at first because nothing captured the meaning of the project. And then she explained: "*Circles* felt it was the exact thing about last year, for me. Having periods of not feeling very well and being in a very bad place, and then you come out of it and you're back at it and you feel spark and you’re happy again. [...] *Circles* felt right." In an interview with LiveNation, she elaborated: "[L]istening to all the songs back to back, the album needs to be called *Circles* because that has been a theme for this record in the past two years."

## Singles

"Dancer" was officially released as the lead single on 10 September 2021 alongside its official music video.

"Soaked" was released as the second official single on 22 October 2021. It premiered alongside its official lyric video.

On 3 December 2021, "Fade Into A Dream" was officially released as the third single. Its official music video premiered two weeks later on 20 December 2021.

"Wishful Thinking" was released on 21 January 2022 as the fourth official single.

## Awards

*Circles* was nominated for Alternative Pop of the Year at the 2023 Grammis Awards in Sweden. This marked LÉON's second nomination at the ceremony.

## Track listing

### Official music videos

LÉON – Dancer (Official Video)"Dancer" (2021)LÉON – Fade Into A Dream (Official Music Video)"Fade Into A Dream" (2021)LÉON – Moonlight (Official Music Video)"Moonlight" (2022)
### Official audios

LÉON – Dancer (Official Lyric Video)1. "Dancer"LÉON – Wishful Thinking (Official Audio)2. "Wishful Thinking"LÉON – Soaked (Official Lyric Video)3. "Soaked"LÉON – Fade Into A Dream (Official Audio)4. "Fade Into A Dream"LÉON – All My Heroes (Official Audio)5. "All My Heroes"LÉON – Look Like That (Official Audio)6. "Look Like That"LÉON – Lift You Up (Official Audio)7. "Lift You Up"LÉON – Moonlight (Official Audio)8. "Moonlight"LÉON – Circles (Official Audio)9. "Circles"LÉON – Wildest Dreams (Official Audio)10. "Wildest Dreams"LÉON – The Beach (Official Audio)11. "The Beach"

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Moran, Justin. “LÉON Embraces Life’s ‘Circles.’” *PAPER*, 9 Mar. 2022, www.papermag.com/leon-circles-2656874109.html.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Jardsdotter, Rebecca. *Plaza Kvinna*, Dec. 2021. Translated by LÉON Charts. [LINK]
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Skoog, Helena. “Skivaktuella Léon föddes med musiken i blodet.” *ELLE Sverige*, 11 Jan. 2022, www.elle.se/noje/elle-moter-superstjarnan-lon/8157987.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Rich, Coco. “Third Time’s the Charm: LÉON Triumphs with Daringly Vulnerable Third Album ‘Circles.’” *Atwood Magazine*, 8 Mar. 2022, atwoodmagazine.com/lncc-leon-circles-music-interview.
5. ↑ “LÉON – Dancer (Official Video).” *YouTube*, uploaded by LÉON, 10 Sept. 2021, https://youtu.be/80BgZ3x4Gps.
6. ↑ “LÉON – Soaked (Official Lyric Video).” *YouTube*, uploaded by LÉON, 21 Oct. 2021, youtu.be/2Yeln9ufheY.
7. ↑ “LÉON – Fade Into A Dream (Official Audio).” *YouTube*, uploaded by LÉON, 2 Dec. 2021, youtu.be/DaKKD8NeipY.
8. ↑ “LÉON – Fade Into A Dream (Official Music Video).” *YouTube*, uploaded by LÉON, 20 Dec. 2021, youtu.be/kDzp\_9vbmA8.
9. ↑ “LÉON – Wishful Thinking (Official Audio).” *YouTube*, uploaded by LÉON, 20 Jan. 2022, youtu.be/xRqAWTPsL8g.