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Already known for her compassionate, altruistic take on alt-pop by this point, AURORA was inspired to write much of her fourth album after reading a 2022 letter by Indigenous activists ("We Are the Earth") calling for revolution in response to climate change. The resulting LP, What Happened to the Heart?, explores motivation, love, philosophy, frustration, and more across a sprawling, 16-song track list that includes some of the singer's glossiest, most club-oriented material yet. Much of the time, the album's sound seems almost at odds with its earthly inspirations, but that's only on a surface level. Written on tour and recorded in Norway, Germany, the U.K., and the U.S., it reflects collaborations with a succession of producers -- among them the Chemical Brothers' Tom Rowlands, Dave Hamelin (Beyoncé, Zara Larsson), Matias Tellez (girl in red, Real Ones), and singer/songwriter Ane Brun -- and is full of appeals to others' better natures. Brun is featured on the sinister-sounding "My Name" ("Will you forget I was here?"), one of several songs here to incorporate Eastern scales and melisma alongside pulsing dance beats. A track like "Starvation" dives headlong onto the dancefloor at the end, shifting from marching drum cadences to the club and then to a full-on, throbbing rave as it progresses. Meanwhile, it challenges with questions like "Why do we have to die/For us to see the light?" and "Do I need to be torn just to see who will care?" while also affirming that "My soul is hurting/But I got the stamina." Though most of What Happened to the Heart? lands in a dance-pop middle ground stylistically, ballads like the Brazilian-flavored "The Essence" and synth-enhanced "Dreams" offer room to breathe with their drum-less or drum-light arrangements. By the end of its over-hour-long runtime, AURORA implies that the answer to the early inquiry "Will the edge of my sorrow be gone in the morning?" (from tender orchestral opener "Echo of My Shadow") is no, but her soaring melodies and angular, confrontational club tracks make convincing pleas for the empathy and intentionality needed to turn things around.
© Marcy Donelson /TiVo
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Matias Tellez, Composer, Producer, Guitar, Programmer, Bass, Synthesizer, RecordingEngineer, Keyboard, RecordingArranger - Aurora, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Alex Wharton, MasteringEngineer - The Earth, ComposerLyricist - Mitch McCarthy, MixingEngineer - Aurora Aksnes, Producer, Vocalist, BackgroundVocalist - Andreas Høvset, RecordingSecondEngineer
℗ 2024 Universal Music Operations Limited
Matias Tellez, Composer, Producer, Guitar, Programmer, Bass, Synthesizer, RecordingEngineer, Keyboard, RecordingArranger - Aurora, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Alex Wharton, MasteringEngineer - The Earth, ComposerLyricist - Mitch McCarthy, MixingEngineer - Aurora Aksnes, Producer, Vocalist, BackgroundVocalist - Andreas Høvset, RecordingSecondEngineer
℗ 2024 Universal Music Operations Limited
Aurora, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Alex Wharton, MasteringEngineer - The Earth, ComposerLyricist - Chris Greatti, Composer, Producer, Guitar, Percussion, Programmer, RecordingEngineer, BassGuitar - Mitch McCarthy, MixingEngineer - Aurora Aksnes, Producer, Vocalist, BackgroundVocalist - Liam Hall, Synthesizer - Adam Schoeller, DrumProgrammer - Asher Bank, DrumKit
℗ 2023 Universal Music Operations Limited
Aurora, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Alex Wharton, MasteringEngineer - The Earth, ComposerLyricist - Chris Greatti, Composer, Producer, Guitar, RecordingEngineer, BassGuitar, DrumProgrammer - Mitch McCarthy, MixingEngineer - Aurora Aksnes, Producer, Percussion, Synthesizer, Mellotron, Vocalist, BackgroundVocalist
℗ 2024 Universal Music Operations Limited
Aurora, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Sam Okell, Engineer - Alex Wharton, MasteringEngineer - Kane Ritchotte, DrumKit - The Earth, ComposerLyricist - Jack Lawrence-Jones, BackgroundVocalist - Kieran Brunt, Conductor, Piano, BackgroundVocalist, ChoirArranger - Chris Greatti, Composer, Producer, Guitar, Programmer, RecordingEngineer, BassGuitar - Mitch McCarthy, MixingEngineer - shArds, AdditionalVocalist - Aurora Aksnes, Producer, Piano, Programmer, Vocalist, BackgroundVocalist, MoogBass - Augustus Perkins Ray, BackgroundVocalist - Laurel Neighbour, BackgroundVocalist - Kate Huggett, BackgroundVocalist - Sarah Latto, BackgroundVocalist - Heloise Werner, BackgroundVocalist - Rose Martin, BackgroundVocalist - Lucy Cronin, BackgroundVocalist - Ailsa Campbell, BackgroundVocalist - Jacob Ewen, BackgroundVocalist - Olivier Martin-Smith, BackgroundVocalist
℗ 2024 Universal Music Operations Limited
Michelle Leonard, Composer, Vocalist - Aurora, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Alex Wharton, MasteringEngineer - Nicolas Rebscher, Composer, Producer, Guitar, RecordingEngineer - The Earth, ComposerLyricist - Mitch McCarthy, MixingEngineer - Aurora Aksnes, Producer, Vocalist
℗ 2024 Universal Music Operations Limited
Matias Tellez, Composer, Producer, Guitar, Programmer, Bass, Synthesizer, RecordingEngineer, Keyboard, RecordingArranger - Aurora, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Alex Wharton, MasteringEngineer - The Earth, ComposerLyricist - Mitch McCarthy, MixingEngineer - Aurora Aksnes, Producer, Vocalist, BackgroundVocalist - Andreas Høvset, RecordingSecondEngineer
℗ 2024 Universal Music Operations Limited
Michelle Leonard, Composer, Vocalist, Keyboard - Aurora, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Steve Durham, DrumKit - Alex Wharton, MasteringEngineer - Nicolas Rebscher, Composer, Producer, Guitar, Percussion, Bass, RecordingEngineer, Keyboard, DrumProgrammer - The Earth, ComposerLyricist - George Chung, RecordingEngineer - Mitch McCarthy, MixingEngineer - Aurora Aksnes, Producer, Percussion, Vocalist, Keyboard
℗ 2024 Universal Music Operations Limited
Aurora, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Alex Wharton, MasteringEngineer - The Earth, ComposerLyricist - Mitch McCarthy, MixingEngineer - Aurora Aksnes, Producer, Percussion, Piano, Vocalist - Håkon Aase, Fiddle - Fredrik Svabø, Composer, Producer, RecordingEngineer
℗ 2024 Universal Music Operations Limited
Aurora, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Sam Okell, RecordingEngineer - Alex Wharton, MasteringEngineer - The Earth, ComposerLyricist - Jack Lawrence-Jones, BackgroundVocalist - Kieran Brunt, Conductor, Piano, BackgroundVocalist, ChoirArranger - Mitch McCarthy, MixingEngineer - shArds, Conductor, Piano - Aurora Aksnes, Producer, Vocalist - Augustus Perkins Ray, BackgroundVocalist - Laurel Neighbour, BackgroundVocalist - Vetle Junker, Composer, Producer, Guitar, Programmer, Synthesizer, Vocalist, RecordingEngineer, DrumKit - Kate Huggett, BackgroundVocalist - Sarah Latto, BackgroundVocalist - Heloise Werner, BackgroundVocalist - Rose Martin, BackgroundVocalist - Lucy Cronin, BackgroundVocalist - Ailsa Campbell, BackgroundVocalist - Jacob Ewen, BackgroundVocalist - Olivier Martin-Smith, BackgroundVocalist
℗ 2024 Universal Music Operations Limited
Aurora, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Tom Rowlands, AdditionalProducer - Alex Wharton, MasteringEngineer - Ane Brun, Composer, Vocalist, FeaturedArtist - The Earth, ComposerLyricist - Magnus Skylstad, Composer, Producer, Percussion, Bass, Synthesizer, RecordingEngineer, DrumKit - Mitch McCarthy, MixingEngineer - Aurora Aksnes, Producer, Synthesizer, Vocalist, DrumKit - Håkon Aase, Fiddle - Runyu Qian, Pipa
℗ 2024 Universal Music Operations Limited
Aurora, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Alex Wharton, MasteringEngineer - The Earth, ComposerLyricist - Magnus Skylstad, Composer, Producer, Percussion, Bass, Synthesizer, RecordingEngineer, DrumKit - Mitch McCarthy, MixingEngineer - Aurora Aksnes, Producer, Synthesizer, Vocalist, DrumKit - Håkon Aase, Fiddle - Fredrik Svabø, Bass
℗ 2024 Universal Music Operations Limited
Michelle Leonard, Composer, Synthesizer, Vocalist - Aurora, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Alex Wharton, MasteringEngineer - Nicolas Rebscher, Composer, Producer, Guitar, Percussion, Bass, RecordingEngineer, Keyboard, DrumProgrammer - The Earth, ComposerLyricist - Chris Greatti, RecordingEngineer - Mitch McCarthy, MixingEngineer - Aurora Aksnes, Producer, Percussion, Vocalist, Keyboard
℗ 2024 Universal Music Operations Limited
Michelle Leonard, Composer, Synthesizer, Vocalist - Aurora, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Steve Durham, DrumKit - Alex Wharton, MasteringEngineer - Dave Hamelin, Composer, Producer, Percussion, Keyboard, DrumProgrammer - Nicolas Rebscher, Composer, Producer, Guitar, Percussion, Bass, RecordingEngineer, Keyboard, DrumProgrammer - The Earth, ComposerLyricist - George Chung, RecordingEngineer - Mitch McCarthy, MixingEngineer - Aurora Aksnes, Producer, Percussion, Vocalist, Keyboard
℗ 2024 Universal Music Operations Limited
Aurora, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Tom Rowlands, Programmer, Synthesizer, DrumKit, AdditionalProducer - Alex Wharton, MasteringEngineer - The Earth, ComposerLyricist - Magnus Skylstad, Composer, Producer, Percussion, Bass, Synthesizer, RecordingEngineer, DrumKit - Mitch McCarthy, MixingEngineer - Aurora Aksnes, Producer, Synthesizer, Vocalist, DrumKit - Tom Rowland, Composer
℗ 2024 Universal Music Operations Limited
Matias Tellez, Composer, Producer, Guitar, Programmer, Bass, Synthesizer, RecordingEngineer, Keyboard, RecordingArranger - Aurora, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Sam Okell, RecordingEngineer - Alex Wharton, MasteringEngineer - The Earth, ComposerLyricist - Jack Lawrence-Jones, BackgroundVocalist - Kieran Brunt, Conductor, Piano, BackgroundVocalist, ChoirArranger - Mitch McCarthy, MixingEngineer - shArds, AdditionalVocalist - Aurora Aksnes, Producer, Vocalist, BackgroundVocalist - Augustus Perkins Ray, BackgroundVocalist - Laurel Neighbour, BackgroundVocalist - Andreas Høvset, RecordingSecondEngineer - Kate Huggett, BackgroundVocalist - Sarah Latto, BackgroundVocalist - Heloise Werner, BackgroundVocalist - Rose Martin, BackgroundVocalist - Lucy Cronin, BackgroundVocalist - Ailsa Campbell, BackgroundVocalist - Jacob Ewen, BackgroundVocalist - Olivier Martin-Smith, BackgroundVocalist
℗ 2024 Universal Music Operations Limited
Aurora, Producer, Piano, Vocalist, MainArtist, Keyboard - Alex Wharton, MasteringEngineer - Brad Oberhofer, Strings, Keyboard, AdditionalProducer - Kane Ritchotte, Drum - Chris Greatti, Producer, Guitar, Percussion, Synthesizer, ComposerLyricist, RecordingEngineer, BassGuitar, DrumProgrammer - Mitch McCarthy, MixingEngineer - Aurora Aksnes, ComposerLyricist - Adam Schoeller, Engineer
℗ 2025 Universal Music Operations Limited
Aurora, Producer, Piano, Vocalist, MainArtist, DrumKit, RecordingArranger - Alex Wharton, MasteringEngineer - Magnus Skylstad, Producer, Synthesizer, ComposerLyricist, BackgroundVocalist, RecordingEngineer, Keyboard, DrumKit, RecordingArranger - Mitch McCarthy, MixingEngineer - Aurora Aksnes, ComposerLyricist - Håkon Aase, Strings
℗ 2025 Universal Music Operations Limited
Aurora, Piano, Vocalist, MainArtist - Alex Wharton, MasteringEngineer - Mitch McCarthy, MixingEngineer - Aurora Aksnes, ComposerLyricist - Fredrik Svabø, Producer, RecordingEngineer
℗ 2025 Universal Music Operations Limited
Aurora, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Sam Okell, RecordingEngineer - Alex Wharton, MasteringEngineer - The Earth, ComposerLyricist - Jack Lawrence-Jones, BackgroundVocalist - Kieran Brunt, Conductor, Piano, BackgroundVocalist, ChoirArranger - Mitch McCarthy, MixingEngineer - shArds, Conductor, Piano - Aurora Aksnes, Producer, Vocalist - Nicole Zignago, Vocalist, FeaturedArtist - Augustus Perkins Ray, BackgroundVocalist - Laurel Neighbour, BackgroundVocalist - Vetle Junker, Composer, Producer, Guitar, Programmer, Synthesizer, Vocalist, RecordingEngineer, DrumKit - Kate Huggett, BackgroundVocalist - Sarah Latto, BackgroundVocalist - Heloise Werner, BackgroundVocalist - Rose Martin, BackgroundVocalist - Lucy Cronin, BackgroundVocalist - Ailsa Campbell, BackgroundVocalist - Jacob Ewen, BackgroundVocalist - Olivier Martin-Smith, BackgroundVocalist
℗ 2025 Universal Music Operations Limited
Aurora, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Sam Okell, Engineer - Alex Wharton, MasteringEngineer - Kane Ritchotte, DrumKit - Jack Lawrence-Jones, Choir - Kieran Brunt, Conductor, Choir, ChoirArranger - Chris Greatti, Composer, Producer, Guitar, Programmer, RecordingEngineer, BassGuitar - shArds, Choir - Aurora Aksnes, Producer, Piano, Programmer, Vocalist, BackgroundVocalist, MoogBass - Augustus Perkins Ray, Choir - Laurel Neighbour, Choir - Kate Huggett, Choir - Sarah Latto, Choir - Heloise Werner, Choir - Rose Martin, Choir - ATARASHII GAKKO!, Vocalist, FeaturedArtist - Yoshio Tamamura, Producer, ComposerLyricist, MixingEngineer, ProgrammingEngineer - yonkey, Producer, ComposerLyricist, ProgrammingEngineer - Lucy Cronin, Choir - Ailsa Campbell, Choir - Jacob Ewen, Choir - Olivier Martin-Smith, Choir
℗ 2025 Universal Music Operations Limited
Album review
Already known for her compassionate, altruistic take on alt-pop by this point, AURORA was inspired to write much of her fourth album after reading a 2022 letter by Indigenous activists ("We Are the Earth") calling for revolution in response to climate change. The resulting LP, What Happened to the Heart?, explores motivation, love, philosophy, frustration, and more across a sprawling, 16-song track list that includes some of the singer's glossiest, most club-oriented material yet. Much of the time, the album's sound seems almost at odds with its earthly inspirations, but that's only on a surface level. Written on tour and recorded in Norway, Germany, the U.K., and the U.S., it reflects collaborations with a succession of producers -- among them the Chemical Brothers' Tom Rowlands, Dave Hamelin (Beyoncé, Zara Larsson), Matias Tellez (girl in red, Real Ones), and singer/songwriter Ane Brun -- and is full of appeals to others' better natures. Brun is featured on the sinister-sounding "My Name" ("Will you forget I was here?"), one of several songs here to incorporate Eastern scales and melisma alongside pulsing dance beats. A track like "Starvation" dives headlong onto the dancefloor at the end, shifting from marching drum cadences to the club and then to a full-on, throbbing rave as it progresses. Meanwhile, it challenges with questions like "Why do we have to die/For us to see the light?" and "Do I need to be torn just to see who will care?" while also affirming that "My soul is hurting/But I got the stamina." Though most of What Happened to the Heart? lands in a dance-pop middle ground stylistically, ballads like the Brazilian-flavored "The Essence" and synth-enhanced "Dreams" offer room to breathe with their drum-less or drum-light arrangements. By the end of its over-hour-long runtime, AURORA implies that the answer to the early inquiry "Will the edge of my sorrow be gone in the morning?" (from tender orchestral opener "Echo of My Shadow") is no, but her soaring melodies and angular, confrontational club tracks make convincing pleas for the empathy and intentionality needed to turn things around.
© Marcy Donelson /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 21 track(s)
- Total length: 01:24:17
- Main artists: Aurora
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Decca (UMO)
- Genre: Pop/Rock Pop
© 2025 Universal Music Operations Limited ℗ 2025 Universal Music Operations Limited
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