Jump to content

Dark Horse (Katy Perry song)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Kleshty (talk | contribs) at 20:27, 4 February 2014 (→‎Commercial performance). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

"Dark Horse"
Song

"Dark Horse" is a song by Katy Perry for her fourth studio album, Prism (2013), which features guest vocals from Juicy J. It was released on September 17, 2013 by Capitol Records as the first promotional single from the record, following the lead single "Roar". Three months later, it was released as the third official single on December 17. It was written by Perry, Sarah Hudson, Juicy J, Max Martin, Cirkut, and Dr. Luke. The song was originally conceived by Perry and Hudson during a writing session in Perry's hometown of Santa Barbara, California, to which she then requested that the song's producer Dr. Luke contact Juicy J to invite him to perform on the song as well.

"Dark Horse" combines the genres of trap and grime, creating what has been described as a "Southern rap-techno mashup", while drawing elements from musical styles such as pop. It contains "darker" and "sexier" themes not seen in her previous work, and features a minimal production, with Perry's vocals being sung in a "seductive" and "mature" tone, while Juicy J is featured on the song's intro and rapped-bridge. According to the singer, she wanted the song to have a "witchy, spell-y kind of black magic-y idea", so she wrote it from the perspective of a witch warning a man not to fall in love with her, and if he does, she will be his last. Prior to its release, Perry and Pepsi hosted a competition where by fans could vote on whether they would prefer "Dark Horse" or "Walking on Air" to be released as the first promotional single by tweeting.

Upon release, "Dark Horse" received positive reviews from contemporary music critics, who praised its experimentation with urban music, but were divided on Juicy J's contribution to the song. "Dark Horse" has been a success mainly in the United States, charting on a multitude of charts worldwide, including number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, number two on the New Zealand Singles Chart and number four on the Canadian Hot 100. The song is Perry's tenth song to top the Billboard Digital Songs chart.[1][2] Perry first performed the song live at the 2013 iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas on September 20, 2013. The song's first performance on American television was at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards on January 26, 2014.[3] The next day, a remix featuring Pitbull leaked online.[4] "Dark Horse" became Perry's ninth Billboard Hot 100 number one single on January 29, 2014.

Development

"My verse I did on that song, she was singing it. She's really a genius, she was by the mixing board and telling the guy what to take in and take out. She's really hands-on with her music, she knows music."

—Juicy J talking about his experience working with Perry.[5]

Perry had originally written the song with her long-time friend Sarah Hudson in her hometown of Santa Barbara, California.[6] She then contacted the song's producer Dr. Luke to invite Juicy J to provide a guest verse. In an interview with MTV News, Juicy J said that the recording sessions with Perry went smoothly, complimenting Perry's professionalism and praising her hands-on approach and work ethic.[5] Perry said the song was a "warning", explaining that she wrote it from the perspective of a witch warning a man not to fall in love with her. Described as a "witchy, spell-y kind of black magic-y idea", Perry spoke of the song in further detail, saying: "It's kind of a juxtaposition. It's got me, a pop artist, with a little bit of an urban kind of hip-hop-flavored background soundtrack to it, and the lyrics are kind of witchy and dark, as if I was a witch warning this man not to fall in love with me, and if you do know I'm going to be your last."[6] Perry also told Billboard that the song was inspired by the 1996 film The Craft.[7]

Production and composition

"Dark Horse" was recorded and engineered at Luke's in the Boo in Malibu, Conway Recording Studios in Hollywood, Playback Recording Studios in Santa Barbara, California, and Secret Garden Studios in Montecito, California, as well as MXM Studios in Stockholm, Sweden. It was engineered by Peter Carlsson, Mike "Crazy Mike" Foster, Clint Gibbs, Sam Holland, and Michael Ilbert. They were assisted by Eric Eylands, Rachael Findlen, Justin Fox, Elliot Lanam, and Cory Bice. It was mixed by Serban Ghenea, while John Hanes served as the engineer for mix. All instrumentation and programming was done by Dr. Luke, Max Martin, and Cirkut.[8]

"Dark Horse" has been described as a "Southern rap-techno mashup",[9] combining trap,[10][11] grime, and hip hop,[12][13] and has a length of three minutes and thirty-five seconds.[14] Musically, the verses are built around icy rhythms and chopped and screwed vocal samples, while the chorus' feature Perry singing into a gradual crescendo.[15] The song contains a grimy, "incredibly simplistic" production.[10] According to Kathy Iandoli of MSN Entertainment, "Dark Horse" contains a mixture of elements from "trippy pop" and EDM.[16] According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com, "Dark Horse" is written in the key of B♭ minor. It follows a chord progression of G♭ – D♭ – B♭m – B♭m/A♭, and the vocals range from the low note of B♭3 to the high note of D♭5. "Dark Horse" moves at a tempo of 66 beats per minute.[17]

A writer for the Winnipeg Free Press described the song as "brooding, borderline sleazy trap-pop excursion that comes across like a stripped-down version of "E.T." mixed with "Grindin'" by The Clipse." Going on to call it unexpected, unconventional, and unstoppable.[18] Upon release, the song's intro received comparisons to that of the late Indonesian lady rocker, Nike Ardilla, specifically her song "Tinggallah Ku Sendiri" (Leave Me Alone).[19]

Release

In order to give fans a chance to unlock either "Dark Horse" or "Walking on Air", Perry partnered with Pepsi to host a competition where fans could decide which song would be released by tweeting.

On August 20, 2013, two new song titles were revealed: "Dark Horse" and "Walking on Air". In collaboration with Pepsi, fans were given the ability to listen to the snippets of each song, then to decide which one would get an early release by voting on Twitter. On their official website, Pepsi released a press statement saying:

"To build excitement and anticipation for Katy Perry's forthcoming new album, PRISM, MTV and Pepsi today are launching a pioneering tweet-to-unlock and social voting program that encourages fans to decide on one of two new Katy Perry songs from the new record that will be released early on iTunes. Fans who tweet #KATYNOW will unlock clues around two of the album's tracks, including the song titles and select lyrics. Once fans have unlocked the song clues by reaching a certain number of tweets, Pepsi and MTV will unveil the two never-before-heard preview clips via pepsi.mtv.com. Pepsi and MTV give fans a chance to sample the songs and decide which one will be released early by tweeting, using one of two unique hashtags to vote. The winning song, which will be released on Tuesday, September 17 via iTunes album pre-order, will be revealed live on MTV just moments before Katy's VMA performance."

Speaking of working with Perry, the Senior Director of Marketing for Pepsi, Chad Stubbs, said: "We're excited to support a talented and iconic artist like Katy Perry to offer her fans these amazing opportunities, we hope through the continuation of our Iconic Summer program to give consumers a VMA experience that they will never forget."[20] On August 25, 2013, Perry announced the winner through her official Twitter, "YO what a day! #ROAR-ing @ the #VMAs, Tweeting w/POTUS, & now happy to announce U chose #DARKHORSE FT @therealjuicyj to come out Sept 17th!"[21]

Critical reception

Critics were divided on the inclusion of rapper Juicy J on the song, who provided the intro and a rap verse to "Dark Horse".

The Line of Best Fit reviewer Rachel Bolland was critical of Juicy J's "less than arousing" part in the song, but overall was positive towards "Dark Horse", calling it: "one of the sexier songs on the album, pairing Perry’s sultry vocals with more of a hip-hop beat".[22] Jason Lipshutz of Billboard said: "The pop singer sashays toward trap music on "Dark Horse" and absolutely scores; the dank, murmuring production on the song is not the easiest track to navigate, but Perry shape-shifts into a lip-puckering femme fatale and slays." Lipshutz was highly critical of Juicy J's inclusion, but said that Perry rescues it with a "barn-burning" final chorus. Kieth Murphy from Vibe called the song an antithesis of her previous work, calling it "dark and sleazy without the morning after guilt", which sees the singer take on the role of an addictive drug as she warns her lover that he will undoubtedly become hooked. He went on to say: "Perry is toying around with her safe-to-take-home-to-mom image by jumping on the Trap Pop bandwagon. But when you have a groove this infectiously sexy and a good girl willing to go all the way, what's to complain about?"[23]

Commercial performance

On the Billboard Hot 100, the song debuted at number seventeen on the week ending October 5. It also debuted at number four on the Hot Digital Songs chart with 194,000 downloads.[15] In response to the unexpected success of "Dark Horse", Capitol Records executive VP Greg Thompson stated: "Katy's well aware of [the success of] 'Dark Horse'" and "It might be the next single. We're watching it – and certainly appreciating the airplay – while still wanting 'Unconditionally' to have a full run".[24] In December, following the success of the song as a promotional single, it was chosen as the third official single from Prism.[25] On the week ending January 11, 2014, "Dark Horse" sold 285,000 copies (up 158%) ranking at number 7 on Hot Digital Songs chart. The following week the song rose to number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, and number 4 on the Digital Songs chart selling 229,000 copies. The song became the thirteenth Top 10 song for the singer, and Juicy J's first top 10 on chart.[1] That same week, the song debuted at number thirty-four on Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs. The song also rose to number fifteen on Billboard Pop Songs, earning greatest gainer honours.[24][26] The following week the song topped the Hot Digital Songs, selling 243,000 copies, and rose to number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100.[2][27] On the week-ending February 1, 2014 "Dark Horse" topped the Hot Digital Song for a second week, selling 263,000 copies and rose to number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. [28][29] As of January 23, the song has sold a total of 2 million copies in the US alone.[30] The following week, February 8, the song still remains atop the Hot Digital Song adding other 294,000 units to the amount of copies sold during the previous weeks.[31] On January 29, 2014, "Dark Horse" reached the number one position in the United States, giving Perry her ninth US number one and tying her with four other artists as the artist with the tenth highest amount of number ones in history, and also becoming Juicy J's first number one US hit. Perry also set a new record, becoming the only artist to have a number one single in each year of the current decade.[32]

On the week-ending September 23, "Dark Horse" debuted at number ten on the New Zealand Singles Chart becoming Perry's twelfth top ten.[33] Five weeks later, the song peaked at number two, and charted in the top 10 for a total of 16 weeks.[34]

In the UK, on 22 September 2013, "Dark Horse" debuted at number 21 on the UK Singles Chart.[35] It re-entered the chart at number 19 on 2 February 2014.

In Canada, the song has peaked at number four, becoming the singer's fourteenth non-consecutive Top 10 single in the country.[36]

Music video

In an interview with Billboard at the 2014 Grammy Awards, Juicy J stated the video has not been filmed yet; he added that it will be "a major motion picture." He further teased the release by saying, "I can't really tell you because it's definitely going to be a surprise, but I'll tell you this much right here: you've seen her other videos, this one's gonna be just as big. Everything she does is like grade A."[37]

With the announcement that "Dark Horse" had attained the top position on the US Billboard Hot 100 Chart, it was also stated that, regarding an official music video, "Perry is currently in the process of filming it."[32]

Live performances

"Dark Horse" was first performed at the iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas on September 20, 2013.[38] It was later performed at the iTunes Festival in London.[39] Perry also performed "Dark Horse" on The Voice of Germany on December 13, 2013.[40] Perry and Juicy J performed the song at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards on January 26, 2014. The "dark and mysterious" performance featured a "haunted forest" design with animatronic horses, broomstick pole dances, and a controlled fire.[3]

Track listing

  • Digital download[14]
  1. "Dark Horse" – 3:35

Charts and certifications

Release history

Template:Wikipedia books

Country Date Format Label
Worldwide[15] September 17, 2013 Digital download
(made available for purchase upon pre-ordering Prism on iTunes) 		Capitol
United States[24][66] December 17, 2013 Contemporary hit radio
Rhythmic radio

References

  1. ^ a b Caulfield, Keith (January 2, 2014). "Beyonce Leads for Third Week at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart". Billboard Magazine. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
  2. ^ a b Caulfield, Keith (January 15, 2014). "'Frozen' Chills For Second Week At No. 1 On Billboard 200". Billboard Magazine. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
  3. ^ a b Rogulewski, Charley (January 26, 2014). "Katy Perry And Juicy J Perform 'Dark Horse' At 2014 Grammys". Vibe.
  4. ^ Wass, Mike (January 27, 2014). "Katy Perry Invites Pitbull To Jump On The 'Dark Horse' Remix". Vibe. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ a b Markman, Rob (September 10, 2013). "Katy Perry's 'Dark Horse' Shows Off Her 'Genius,' Juicy J Says". MTV News. Viacom. Retrieved September 22, 2013.
  6. ^ a b Garibaldi, Christina (August 29, 2013). "Katy Perry's 'Dark Horse' Is A 'Warning'". MTV News. Viacom Media Networks. Retrieved December 8, 2013.
  7. ^ http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop-shop/5763220/katy-perry-reveals-prism-influences-adds-stripped-down
  8. ^ Prism (Media notes). Capitol Records. 2013. p. 6. {{cite AV media notes}}: |format= requires |url= (help); Unknown parameter |artist= ignored (|others= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ Fedaku, Mesfin (September 6, 2013). "Katy Perry Previews New Album 'Prism' at NYC Event". The Denver Post. MediaNews Group. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
  10. ^ a b Lipshutz, Jason (September 6, 2013). "Katy Perry's 'Prism' Album Preview: 10 Things You Need To Know". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved September 22, 2013.
  11. ^ "Listen: Katy Perry goes trap with Juicy J on "Dark Horse"". Consequence of Sound. September 17, 2013. Retrieved September 22, 2013.
  12. ^ Lipshutz, Jason (September 6, 2013). "Katy Perry's 'Prism' Album Preview: 10 Things You Need To Know". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
  13. ^ "Miley Cyrus, Britney Spears, Katy Perry: Whose New Song Is Best?". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. September 17, 2013. Retrieved September 22, 2013.
  14. ^ a b "Katy Perry — "Prism"". ITunes. Capitol Records. September 17, 2013. Retrieved September 17, 2013.
  15. ^ a b c Lipshutz, Jason (September 17, 2013). "Katy Perry Teams With Juicy J on 'Dark Horse': Hear The New Track". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved September 22, 2013. Cite error: The named reference "Billboard" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  16. ^ Iandoli, Kathy (September 17, 2013). "Katy Perry enlists Juicy J for her fan-voted next single 'Dark Horse'". MSN Entertainment. Microsoft. Retrieved December 8, 2013.
  17. ^ http://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtdFPE.asp?ppn=MN0125299
  18. ^ "New music". Winnipeg Free Press. Bob Cox. September 26, 2013. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
  19. ^ "Katy Perry - Nike Ardilla Ternyata Punya Kemiripan!" (in Indonesian). kapanlagi.com. September 18, 2013. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
  20. ^ "Pepsi And MTV Team Up With Global Superstar Katy Perry For Special Finale Performance From Undisclosed Location In Brooklyn During The 2013 "MTV Video Music Awards"". Pepsi. PepsiCo. August 20, 2013. Retrieved August 19, 2013.
  21. ^ Toomey, Alyssa (August 26, 2013). "Katy Perry Debuts "Dark Horse" and "Walking on Air" Teaser Tracks—Listen Now!". E! News. NBCUniversal. Retrieved September 19, 2013.
  22. ^ Bolland, Rachel (October 24, 2013). "Katy Perry – Prism". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
  23. ^ Murphy, Keith (September 17, 2013). "Katy Perry Visits the Trap (With Juicy J) on 'Dark Horse'". Vibe. Vibe Media. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
  24. ^ a b c Trust, Gary (December 9, 2013). "Katy Perry Rides In On A 'Dark Horse,' Her Aptly Titled, Unexpected Hit (Updated)". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  25. ^ Wass, Mike. "Katy Perry Selects "Dark Horse" as the Third Single from 'Prism'". Idolator. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  26. ^ Trust, Gary (January 6, 2014). "Chart Highlights: Beyonce Bounds Up Pop, R&B/Hip-Hop Charts With 'Drunk In Love,' 'XO'". Billboard Magazine. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 8, 2014.
  27. ^ Trust, Gary (January 15, 2014). "Pitbull and Ke$ha's 'Timber' Remains Atop Hot 100". Billboard Magazine. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
  28. ^ Caulfield, Keith (January 22, 2014). "Bruce Springsteen Scores 11th No. 1 Album on Billboard 200". Billboard Magazine. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  29. ^ Trust, Gary (January 22, 2014). "Pitbull & Ke$ha's 'Timber' Still Tops Hot 100; Bastille, Lorde Reach Top 10". Billboard Magazine. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  30. ^ "'DARK HORSE (FEAT JUICY J)' REACHES THE 2X PLATINUM MARK IN PAID DOWNLOADS IN THE US". January 22, 2014. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  31. ^ Caulfield, Keith (January 29, 2014). "GRAMMY Awards Generates Sales Gains On Billboard Charts". Billboard Magazine. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
  32. ^ a b Trust, Gary. "Katy Perry's 'Dark Horse' Gallops to No. 1 on Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 29 January 2014. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  33. ^ "NZ Chart: Week of September 23, 2013". Charts.org.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  34. ^ "KATY PERRY FEAT. JUICY J - DARK HORSE (SONG)". Charts.org.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  35. ^ "2013 Top 40 Official Singles Chart UK Archive: 28th September 2013". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
  36. ^ "Katy Perry - Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved 9 January 2014. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  37. ^ "Juicy J Talks 'Dark Horse' Collaboration, Potential New Album". Billboard. Retrieved 28 January 2014. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  38. ^ "Katy Perry Brings The Hits And Juicy J! To iHeartRadio Music Festival". MTV News. Viacom. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
  39. ^ "Katy Perry closes iTunes Festival". Belfast Telegraph. Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
  40. ^ "Katy Perry Performs 'Dark Horse' & 'Unconditionally' on 'The Voice of Germany'". directlyrics.com. December 14, 2013.
  41. ^ "ARIA Digital Tracks Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. October 7, 2013. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
  42. ^ "Katy Perry feat. Juicy J – Dark Horse" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  43. ^ "Katy Perry feat. Juicy J – Dark Horse" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  44. ^ "Katy Perry feat. Juicy J – Dark Horse" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  45. ^ "Katy Perry Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved January 8, 2014.
  46. ^ "Katy Perry feat. Juicy J – Dark Horse" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  47. ^ "Chart Track: Week 05, 2014". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  48. ^ http://www.olt20.com/Katy-Perry#fragment-2&panel1-6
  49. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Katy Perry feat. Juicy J" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
  50. ^ "Katy Perry feat. Juicy J – Dark Horse" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved January 27, 2014.
  51. ^ "Katy Perry feat. Juicy J – Dark Horse". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  52. ^ "Katy Perry feat. Juicy J – Dark Horse". VG-lista. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  53. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  54. ^ "Katy Perry feat. Juicy J – Dark Horse" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  55. ^ "Katy Perry feat. Juicy J – Dark Horse". Singles Top 100.
  56. ^ "Katy Perry feat. Juicy J – Dark Horse". Swiss Singles Chart.
  57. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  58. ^ "Katy Perry Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  59. ^ "Katy Perry Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard.
  60. ^ "Katy Perry Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  61. ^ "Katy Perry Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved January 16, 2014.
  62. ^ "Katy Perry Album & Song Chart History". Billboard Rhythmic for Katy Perry. Retrieved January 16, 2014. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  63. ^ "Pop Rock General". Record Report. R.R. Digital C.A. January 25, 2014. Archived from the original on January 23, 2014. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
  64. ^ "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart - 15 November 2013". Recorded Music NZ. Archived from the original on November 15, 2013. Retrieved November 15, 2013.
  65. ^ http://nztop40.co.nz/chart/?chart=2348
  66. ^ "Katy Perry feat. Juicy J – Dark Horse". Play MPE. Destiny Media Technologies. December 17, 2013. Archived from the original on December 18, 2013. Retrieved December 18, 2013.

Template:Katy Perry songs

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dark_Horse_(Katy_Perry_song)&oldid=593939626"