"By the End of the Night" is a song by English singer-songwriter Ellie Goulding, released on 22 March 2023, through Polydor Records as the fourth single from her fifth studio album, Higher Than Heaven (2023). It was written by Goulding, Trey Campbell and Stephen Kozmeniuk, and produced by KOZ.
"By the End of the Night" is an electropop song by singer-songwriter Ellie Goulding from her fifth studio album, Higher Than Heaven. Alex Gonzalez from UPROXX said that the song: "takes inspiration from âÂÂ70s and âÂÂ80s pop sounds, as she delivers soft-tinged vocals over a synth-heavy beat." She first posted a snippet of the song through teasers during the album rollout. About the making of the track, Goulding explained in an interview with NME:<blockquote>âÂÂI feel like weâÂÂve all been through such a lot over the last few years, weâÂÂre still processing everything. I donâÂÂt know if itâÂÂs just me but I feel like we need music that uplifts us and makes us feel good and thatâÂÂs exactly how I feel about âÂÂBy The End Of The Night.â It gives me a sense of euphoric, sensual escape, like being on a dancefloor on another planetâ¦something that was definitely appealing back in the late 80âÂÂs⦠where this track could have easily come from!âÂÂ</blockquote>
To promote the track, Goulding performed the track on The Late Late Show with James Corden. She also performed the track at Kew Gardens for her Amazon Freevee concert special "". The performance was later uploaded on Goulding's VEVO page on YouTube.
Two remixes were released to promote the single: the first being a remix by German DJ Southstar and the second an edit made by Neil Barrett, title "Morning After Edit".
No official music video was released for "By the End of the Night", instead a compilation video of her performing the track at her shows at KOKO, was released as an official live performance.
"By the End of the Night" was met with widespread critical acclaim with music critics who praised the musical production and Goulding's vocal performance. Nmesoma Okechukwu from EUPHORIA. said about the song: "'By the End of the Night' is Goulding perfecting her signature voice and style and kicking it into another gear." Ilina Jha from Redbrick described it as: "a great new song from Ellie Goulding, perfect for your playlist, for both now and during the summer months." Nick Eustis from Medium praised the song, stating that: " 'By The End Of The Night' comes soaked in 80s inspiration, with lush and pillowy synths backing GouldingâÂÂs nimble and girlish vocal. Plus, the lyrics have a delightful touch of the surreal, particularly in the chorus..."
Credits adapted from Spotify.