Tom Odell released his fifth studio album, Best Day of My Life, last year via UROK. And now the acclaimed English singer-songwriter is back with a new single, “Black Friday.”

In a recent show at Howard Theatre, Tom performed the new song along with selections from his studio albums. Micaela Cerball was there to photograph the show!

The following article is adapted from a press release.

Odell co-wrote “Black Friday” with his frequent collaborators Cityfall and Max Clilverd and co-produced the track with Cityfall. “Black Friday” begins as a starkly arranged confessional, with haunting acoustic guitar and lilting strings, and slowly builds into a powerful, explosive crescendo. Tom opened with the song during his concert at the Howard Theatre in DC on Oct. 6.

The poignant lyrics paint a relatable picture of vulnerability as Tom sings, “it’s all in my head, it’s all in my mind, I’m so selfish, you’re so kind. I look in the mirror what is happening to me. I want a better body. I want better skin. I want to be perfect like all your other friends.”

Speaking about “Black Friday,” Tom said, “I wrote this song on my birthday last year, which happened to be the day before ‘Black Friday.’ The song is inspired by my admiration and love for the people in my life, but also my proclivity to be unkind to myself. It’s a love song, I think, and I’m very proud of it, and I hope people like it.”

NPR noted early on Odell’s music has moments of “unguarded, transcendent beauty,” which presciently describes this astonishing new track. Accompanying the song is a striking new music video also released today, directed by Lucca Lutsky.

Watch the official music video for “Black Friday” by Tom Odell on YouTube:

As Tom readies more new music to release in the coming months, he has embarked on his biggest North American tour yet right now across 18 cities.

Odell is a UK born and bred, award-wining singer/songwriter who has toured the world over during his decade-long impressive career. His social reach of 8M across platforms continues to grow. A winner of both the prestigious BRIT and Ivor Novello Awards, his five studio albums include his latest and independently released Best Day Of My Life, which is his most streamed album to date, adding to his 23M monthly listeners on Spotify and 3.2 BILLION career-streams.

Here are some photos of Tom Odell performing at the Howard Theatre on Oct. 6, 2023. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Micaela Cerball.