18
Oct,2025
When Florence Welch, frontwoman of Florence + The Machine, unleashed the simmering ballad "One of the Greats" on September 24, 2025, fans instantly felt the stakes rise for the band’s upcoming sixth studio effort.
The single dropped at 12:00 AM UTC, per a release note from Universal Music Operations Limited, and marks the second taste of the Halloween‑timed album Everybody ScreamLondon, slated for release on October 31, 2025 via Republic Records.
Background and Creation
Behind the track is a striking collaboration between Welch and Mark Bowen, guitarist of the punk outfit IDLES. In a press statement collected by Consequence.net, Welch explained that the entire song was captured "in one take"—Bowen on guitar, Welch singing straight from a handwritten page. "We meant to re‑record it, but the first take just had this amazing energy," she said. The pair also brought in Aaron Dessner—renowned for his work with The National—to polish the track into what Welch described as “a truly transcendent place.”
The lyric "It must be nice to be a man and make boring music just because you can" sparked immediate conversation, as Genius annotations tie it to Welch’s own brush with mortality during the 2023 "Dance Fever" tour. She suffered a ruptured ovarian cyst backstage at the Rock am Ring festival in Nürburgring, Germany, on June 3, 2023, and was rushed to Westpfalz Hospital. The ordeal forced the cancellation of several European dates and left a lingering imprint on her songwriting.
Release Details and Visualizer
The accompanying visualizer premiered on YouTube at 9:00 AM UTC the same day. Directed by Autumn de Wilde and produced by Juliet Naylor, the piece features a palette of muted pastels and stark shadows, echoing the song’s theme of “disintegrating into nothing.” Credit rolls list an impressive crew: Benjamin Todd (Director of Photography), Shirley Kurata (Costume Design), and visual‑effects supervisor Denis Reva, among others.
From a technical standpoint, the track runs 6 minutes 32 seconds, as confirmed by YouTube metadata, and clocks in at a runtime that allows the band to stretch its emotional canvas without feeling over‑indulgent.
Reception and Streaming Numbers
Within the first 24 hours, the song racked up 1.7 million global streams on Spotify, according to data cited by Live365.com. The United Kingdom accounted for 32.7 % of those plays, the United States 28.4 %, and Canada 9.1 %. Those figures place the single among the biggest releases of the week, nudging Florence + The Machine back into the conversation of chart‑topping indie acts.
Critics have praised the rawness of the take. Under the Radar’s Mark Redfern noted that the “single‑take aesthetic” lends an “immediate, visceral quality” that mirrors the lyrical content. The track’s gender‑politics angle also earned nods from feminist music blogs, who called the line about “boring music” a “wry jab at patriarchal industry norms.”
Live Performances and Recent Milestones
The band’s recent live highlights include a 15th‑anniversary performance of their debut album Lungs at the Royal Albert Hall on July 28, 2024, part of the BBC Proms. The show drew 5,272 attendees and reached an estimated 1.2 million viewers via BBC platforms. While the setlist primarily celebrated early material, Welch hinted at new songs, feeding speculation about the forthcoming album.
Fans who attended the September 15, 2025 pop‑up in Camden reported that “the energy of the new single felt like a live rehearsal,” reinforcing the authenticity that Welch and Bowen aimed for during the one‑take session.
Album Prelude and Pre‑order Options
Pre‑orders for Everybody Scream opened on September 1, 2025 via the band’s official store at florenceandthemachine.net. Physical formats include a standard CD (£9.99 GBP), a deluxe vinyl edition (£24.99 GBP) featuring holographic artwork, and a cassette version (£12.99 GBP) aimed at collectors. The album is slated to contain twelve tracks, totaling 47 minutes 23 seconds, as reported by Under the Radar.
With the Halloween release date, the band appears to be courting a thematic continuation—“screaming” through personal rebirth, creative nightmares, and the cost of greatness, all underscored by Welch’s recent health scare.
What It Means for the Band
In short, "One of the Greats" signals a return to raw, emotionally charged songwriting that first earned Florence + The Machine a place in the 2010s indie pantheon. The single’s success hints at a strong commercial showing for the album, while its lyrical focus on gender inequality adds a sociopolitical layer that could broaden the band’s relevance in an increasingly activist‑aware music market.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does "One of the Greats" reflect Florence Welch’s recent health issues?
The track’s lyric about “disintegrating into nothing” mirrors Welch’s 2023 emergency surgery after collapsing at Rock am Ring, an event that forced her to pause the "Dance Fever" tour and later inspired the song’s themes of mortality and artistic resurrection.
Who were the key collaborators on the single?
Welch co‑wrote the song with Mark Bowen of IDLES, while longtime producer Aaron Dessner helped shape its final mix. The visualizer was directed by Autumn de Wilde.
What are the streaming numbers for the first day?
According to Spotify data cited by Live365.com, "One of the Greats" logged 1.7 million streams worldwide in its first 24 hours, with the UK contributing roughly a third of that total.
When will the full album be available and what formats can fans buy?
"Everybody Scream" drops on October 31, 2025. Pre‑orders opened on September 1, 2025 for a standard CD (£9.99), a deluxe vinyl (£24.99), and a limited‑edition cassette (£12.99), all sold through the band’s official website.
Why does the song mention gender inequality in the music industry?
Welch has spoken openly about the double standards faced by female artists. The line “It must be nice to be a man and make boring music just because you can” is a direct critique of those systemic biases, tying personal experience to a broader cultural conversation.
