''Forever'' (stylised as ''FOREVER'') is the debut studio album by Swedish DJ and record producer

Alesso Alessandro Renato Rodolfo Lindblad (born 7 July 1991), better known by his stage name Alesso (), is a Swedish DJ and record producer. He has worked with numerous artists, including Tove Lo, Theo Hutchcraft, Ryan Tedder, Hailee Steinfeld, Ca ...

. It was released on 22 May 2015 by

Def Jam Recordings Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The l ...

. Alesso has said of the album, "It's been an indescribable journey to get this album together. I'm so proud of it, it's very personal to me, it's a dream to me that this has come together and I do what I love every single day. I hope my fans will enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it and all the memories and emotions that went into every song. Thank you to everyone who helped me on this incredible journey and this is just the beginning."

Critical reception

''Forever'' received a score of 53 out of 100 on review aggregator

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

based on four critics' reviews, which the website categorized as "mixed or average" reception. David Jeffries of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

described the album as versatile and opined that Alesso's use of "funky electro" distinguishes him from his competitors. Jeffries concluded his review by praising the opening track "Profondo", calling it "amusing, eerie and boomy". Maura Johnston of ''

the Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'' highlighted the track "Destinations" as the best on the album, while opining that ''Forever'' as a whole felt "incomplete". Colin Fitzgerald of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

'' opined that the album felt more like a business move than a genuine creative endeavor from Alesso, singling out the track "Heroes (We Could Be)" for its unoriginality. Fitzgerald directed some praise towards the tracks "Payday" and "Destinations", but ultimately concluded his review by stating that the album contains "the worst of generic pop music – the kind that's existed for decades, just with a fresh new coat of EDM slapped on".

Track listing

Notes * signifies a co- producer * signifies an additional producer * "If It Wasn't for You" features uncredited vocals by Simon Strömstedt. *"In My Blood" features uncredited vocals by John Martin. *"Cool" contains samples of

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Frequently referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Princess of Pop", she has achieved recognition in both the music industry and fas ...

's 2010 single "

Get Outta My Way "Get Outta My Way" is a song recorded by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue for her eleventh studio album ''Aphrodite'' (2010). "Get Outta My Way" was written and produced by Mich Hansen, Lucas Secon, Damon Sharpe, Peter Wallevik, Dan ...

". *The deluxe edition was available everywhere excluding North America.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 2015 debut albums Alesso albums Def Jam Recordings albums Albums produced by Calvin Harris Albums produced by Benny Blanco Albums produced by Ryan Tedder