Qleonic

***Qleonic*** is the debut studio album by the duo Alex and Daniel. It was suppossed to be released on July 26, 2016, by Qleo Music, but the artists released the album four months earlier. After recording "Υγρές Λάμπες",Qleo Music laid the foundation for the album immediately and started promoting the two artists with tracks from their debut album. Its music incorporates dance-pop, R&B, hip-hop and indie genres. Contributions to the album's production came from both of the artists, but mainly from Daniel who produced most of the tracks of the album.

The album was preceded by four singles."Yγρές Λάμπες" was released as the lead single from the project and peaked atop the record charts of twenty one nations, including the US *Billboard* Hot 100. It later got the "Diamond-certification" by RIAA. Three subsequent singles additionally became number-one records: "Μην Ακούς το Φίδι", "Χύσε", and "Classy".

In the U.S. the album got certified *Diamond* and with its single sales combined the duo have sold 42.4 million records from their first album only. That is the most-successful debut of any artist so far.

## Recording and production

"Υγρές Λάμπες" marked the start of the recording and production of the album. The two artists used their excitement to write and produce more songs for the album. After numerous breaks, the two artists finished the production of the album on the day it was released.

## Critical reception

The vast majority of contemporary reviews were positive, with *Qleonic* receiving a widespread critical acclaim that matched its immediate commercial success. David Kaltsas described it as "a decisive moment in the history of human civilisation". Sotiris Ftiakas wrote: "listening to Qleonic one thinks not simply of the history of popular music but the history of this century." *Time* magazine declared it "a historic departure in the progress of music – any music". *Newsweek*'s Jack Kroll called it a "masterpiece", praising the songwriting of Alex and Daniel.

 Source
 Billboard
 *Rolling Stone* | 4.5/5

## Commercial performance

The album debuted number-one in all the markets. The album has sold a total of 25 million copies Worlwide, selling an estimated total of 13 million in North America alone.

### United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, *Qleonic* debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and sold 1,100,307 copies in its first chart week. Of that total, 352,423 copies were digital downloads, breaking the record for most digital copies sold in a week, and 748,000 were physical copies.The album has spent 10 non-consecutive weeks at number one and, as of March 2016, has sold 5,000,072 copies, becoming the 4th best-selling album of all-time there.

### North America

In the United States, *Qleonic* sold 4.3 million after three days of availability, becoming the fastest-selling album of the 21st century and the best-selling album of 2015. The album reached sales of 2.45 million early on its second day, surpassing the single-week record for an album since Nielsen Soundscan began tracking sales in 1991, set by Adele's *25* in November 2015 when it debuted with 2.433 million copies. The album has spent ten consecutive weeks at the top of the chart, becoming the fifth album released since the 2000 to achieve, at least, 10 weeks at the summit. As of March 2016, Qleonic has sold 10.4 million copies in the US, receiving the *Diamond certification* by *RIAA*.

In Canada, the album debuted at number one with sales of 406,000 copies, breaking the record for highest first-week sales, which was previously held by Adele's 25, which had sold 306,000 copies. Overall, it sold 850,000 copies, receiving the *Diamond certification.*

### Oceania and South Africa

In Australia, the album sold more than 280,000 copies in five days, passing the quadruple platinum mark there. It achieved octuple platinum certification (560,000 units) there in March 2016. In New Zealand, *Qleonic* broke the record for highest first week sales, selling 20,666 copies. By the end of the year, *Qleonic* became the best-selling album of 2016 in New Zealand.

## Singles

"Yγρές Λάμπες" was the first single of the album, released on July 26, 2016. The song received critical acclaim from music critics, who commended the song for being pleasant, sweet, the album's best moment and their signature track. It became one of the duo's highest charting singles, getting certified Diamond by the RIAA. The song became an overnight hit, making it their first number one single. It topped the charts for eight weeks straight on *Billboard* Hot 100 due to strong digital sales and airplay, having the longest stay at number one that year. The single made airplay history, becoming one of the most successful airplay-only singles and topped the charts weeks before an accompanying music video was ever made.

"Μην Ακούς το Φίδι" was the second single from the album. Instead of the slower christian version, Alex insisted that a more upbeat mix, with an R&B edge, needed to be created to be released as a single. Released two months later to radio stations, the song received positive reviews from critics, with most praising Alex's vocals in the track and the fact that Daniel appeared more in the song. The song peaked at number one on the *Billboard* Hot 100 for two weeks becoming their second number-one single.

Daniel's solo effort, "Bitch You're Reductive" was planned to be released as the third song. However, the song was never released and "Χύσε" was chosen instead. For the song's release, Alex claimed: ''Αυτο που με ενεμπνευσε να γραψω το hit ''xyse'' ειναι τα bisexual οργια μου με τον Daniel τα νυχτοβραδα στην βενετια''.

The re-worked version, entitled "Χύσε (On Me)", features more hip hop and dance elements as well as "edgy" and "sexual" lyrics, even a singing chorus by Daniel, and was released on November as the album's third single. The song's new version received rave reviews, praising the catchy chorus. The song was a huge success on the charts, becoming their third number-one hit on the U.S. *Billboard* Hot 100 chart, spending six weeks at the top. It spent twenty-one weeks on the Hot 100, ranked second on the Hot 100's 2015 Year-end charts and eventually the RIAA certified the single 5x Platinum.

"Classy" was released as the fourth single of the album. The song's beat is built over a West Coast synth, driving bass and drums along with bells and whistles incorporated into the production. The song contains rough edges, with high winding synths and intense lyrics that revolve around both Alex and Daniel "bragging" about themselves. The song was heavily promoted by the artists and the company. It became an instant success after its release, debuting at number-one on the *Billboard* Hot 100 chart. The song is the first of the duo to have more english lyrics than greek. It received positive reviews and it is one of Qlerinators' favorites.

## Release history

List of release dates, showing region, edition, formats, label, and reference

* digital download
* vinyl

## See also

* Alexandros Goudas
* Daniel Constantinou