"Sunday" is a song by British recording duo Hurts

Hurts

Hurts are a British synthpop duo formed in 2009, consisting of singer Theo Hutchcraft and synthesist Adam Anderson . Their debut album Happiness, which was released in September 2010, has reached the Top 10 in 12 European countries, and has sold over 800,000 copies worldwide...

, Co-Written by Rhys Barker. It was released as the fourth single from their debut album Happiness

Happiness (Hurts album)

Happiness is the debut studio album by English synthpop duo Hurts, released in the United Kingdom on 6 September 2010. It was preceded by the release of the singles "Better Than Love" on 23 May 2010 and "Wonderful Life" on 22 August 2010. Collaborators include Jonas Quant and production team The...

.

Critical reception

Alix Buscovic of BBC Music

BBC Music

BBC Music is a team working in the department of Audio and Music Interactive at the BBC. Responsible for the BBC Music website - the portal site to music content across the BBC website....

 described the song as a "power-dressed Europop floor-filler that channels early Depeche Mode

Depeche Mode

Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...

 and the PSB

Pet Shop Boys

Pet Shop Boys are an English electronic dance music duo, consisting of Neil Tennant, who provides main vocals, keyboards and occasional guitar, and Chris Lowe on keyboards....

," which was made with "theatricality" and "a brooding demeanour", but criticized the lyrics. PopMatters

PopMatters

PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...

 reviewer Joe Copplestone compared the track to New Order

New Order

New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...

, deeming it "gleefully era-authentic" and commending its commercial appeal. While commenting on the "lack of depth" of the lyrics in Happiness, Sam Shepherd from musicOMH

MusicOMH

musicOMH is a United Kingdom-based website which publishes independent reviews, featues and interviews from across all musical genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B.-History:...

 praised Anderson's work, with the song's mix of "Eastern Bloc industrial pomp with Eurovision disco pop" having a "surprisingly engaging effect." In the Drowned in Sound

Drowned in Sound

DrownedinSound.com or DiS is a UK based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway . The site is an editorially independent music website.-History:...

 review, Andrzej Lukowski considers "Sunday" to cross into "boyband territory", having "a decent hi-NRG

Hi-NRG

Hi-NRG describes a form of high-tempo disco music as well as a genre of electronic dance music originating in the United States during the late 1970s...

 syth line", nevertheless a "desperately gauche" feature. Similarly, Alexis Petridis from guardian.co.uk

Guardian.co.uk

guardian.co.uk, formerly known as Guardian Unlimited, is a British website owned by the Guardian Media Group. Georgina Henry is the editor...

 felt it was "flimsy and commonplace", stating that, similar to the other albums tracks, it's a "climax" without any "build-up".

Music video

The music video

Music video

A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...

 was directed by W.I.Z.

W.I.Z.

W.I.Z. is a music video director from the United Kingdom.-Background:W.I.Z. has directed a number of high-concept videos for major music artists from the United Kingdom and the United States, including Massive Attack, Kasabian, Oasis and Marilyn Manson...

 and filmed in Romania, at MediaPro Studios

MediaPro Pictures

MediaPro Pictures is the largest film and TV production company in Romania, part of MediaPro Entertainment along with other production units from Czech Republic, Croatia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Bulgaria....

. It features Romanian actress Laura Cosoi

Laura Cosoi

Laura Ana Cosoi is a Romanian actress and model. She appeared for the first time in the Libertatea newspaper at "the girl from the 5 page"....

, who also starred in the duo's previous video, "Better Than Love

Better Than Love

"Better Than Love" is a song by British synthpop duo Hurts from their debut album, Happiness. It was released as their debut single on 23 May 2010 in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at number fifty on the UK Singles Chart...

". She declared that she portrayed Orpheus

Orpheus

Orpheus was a legendary musician, poet, and prophet in ancient Greek religion and myth. The major stories about him are centered on his ability to charm all living things and even stones with his music; his attempt to retrieve his wife from the underworld; and his death at the hands of those who...

' temptation from the Underworld. Filming lasted sixteen hours and half of the budget was spent on costumes ordered from London, which didn't arrive because of weather conditions. Other outfits were then improvised by designer Maria Miu.
Theo Hutchcraft stated that the video follows a similar theme to the group's others, adding "it's nice to go away to film the videos because you live in a different world for a few days[...] We go to an exotic, beautiful place, think of a theme that no-one else will understand except us, and surround us with women so people won't ask us what it's about!"

Live performances

Hurts performed the song live at The Graham Norton Show

The Graham Norton Show

The Graham Norton Show is a British comedy chat show that is broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom. It was originally shown on BBC Two from February 2007 to May 2009 until it moved to BBC One from October 2009...

, which was their first television performance of the song.

Formats and track listing

• CD Single

1. "Sunday"
2. "Live Like Horses
   The Big Picture (Elton John album)
   -Outtakes:The original single version of "Live Like Horses" was a duet with Luciano Pavarotti in 1996, but was performed solo for this album. "Past Imperfect" and an alternate version of "Recover Your Soul" were completed by Elton John for inclusion on The Big Picture...
   
   "

• 7" vinyl

1. "Sunday"
2. "Sunday" (Seamus Haji Remix)

• Digital Bundle

1. "Sunday"
2. "Sunday" (Seamus Haji Remix)
3. "Sunday" (Midland Remix)
4. "Sunday" (Tom Flynn Remix)
5. "Sunday" (Glam As You Radio Mix)

Charts

>

Chart (2011)	Peak position
Latvia(EHR European Hit Radio European Hit Radio is one of the very first commercial radio stations in Baltic States. This radio focuses on reflecting the current situation in European music charts... )	32

Belgium (Ultra Top)12/03/2011 Tip: 20