Dark Horse (Katy Perry song)
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| "Dark Horse" | |||||||||||
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| Single by Katy Perry featuring Juicy J | |||||||||||
| from the album Prism | |||||||||||
| Released | December 17, 2013 | ||||||||||
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| Length | 3:35 | ||||||||||
| Label | Capitol | ||||||||||
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| Katy Perry singles chronology | |||||||||||
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"Dark Horse" is a song recorded by American singer Katy Perry featuring rapper Juicy J. It was originally released on September 17, 2013, by Capitol Records as the first promotional single from Perry's fourth studio album, Prism (2013). Three months later, it was released as the third official single on December 17. Both artists co-wrote the song with its producers, Max Martin, Cirkut, and Dr. Luke, alongside Sarah Hudson. It was conceived by Perry and Hudson during a writing session in Perry's hometown of Santa Barbara, California, and Juicy J was later commissioned for a verse on the song.
"Dark Horse" combines the genres of trap and hip hop, replicating what has been described as a "Southern rap-techno mashup". The track features a minimal production, with a "seductive" and "mature" tone to Perry's vocals, while Juicy J is featured on the song's intro and rapped bridge. Perry, in interviews, said 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 because if he does, she will be his last. The song was part of a competition sponsored by Pepsi in which fans could vote via Twitter on whether they would prefer either "Dark Horse" or "Walking on Air" to be released as the first promotional single from Prism.
Upon release, music critics praised the song's experimentation with urban music and Perry's vocals, though were less favorable on Juicy J's contribution to the song. "Dark Horse" has been a commercial success, charting at number one in Canada, the Netherlands and the United States. It also reached the top ten in almost 20 countries including New Zealand, United Kingdom, Sweden and Venezuela as well as the Digital Songs chart of Billboard magazine.[1] Perry first performed the song live at the 2013 iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas on September 20, 2013. The song's first major television performance was at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards on January 26, 2014.[2] "Dark Horse" was nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards. The song has sold 7.9 million copies worldwide, becoming one of the best-selling singles of all time.
Production and release[edit]
Inspired by the 1996 film The Craft,[3] Perry and singer-songwriter Sarah Hudson wrote the first version of "Dark Horse" in Perry's hometown of Santa Barbara, California.[4] Perry described the song as a "juxtaposition", as it mixed her, a pop music artist, with an "urban kind of hip-hop-flavored background soundtrack"; and its lyrics as "witchy and dark", written from the perspective of "a witch warning [a] man to not fall in love with [her]", and if so, she would be his last. Perry then asked producer Dr. Luke to contact one of his Kemosabe Records artists, American rapper Juicy J, for a guest verse. Juicy J complimented Perry as having a "very professional" work ethic and being substantially involved in the song's development. He said: "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."[5]
"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, 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.[6]
In a press release on August 20, 2013, Pepsi announced a partnership with Perry to promote her fourth studio album Prism: a social "tweet-to-unlock" voting program, encouraging fans to tweet the hashtag #KATYNOW in exchange for song titles and lyrics. The chosen tracks for the campaign were "Walking on Air" and "Dark Horse". After the samples were revealed, fans could vote for which one they wanted to have an early release on digital retailers.[7] The winner was "Dark Horse", which was released on September 17, 2013 on the iTunes Store.[8] Due to its commercial success, it was sent to contemporary hit and rhythmic radio stations on December 17, 2013 as Prism 's third official single.[9][10]
Composition[edit]
"Dark Horse" has been described as a "Southern rap-techno mashup",[11] combining trap[12][13] and hip hop,[14][15] and has a length of three minutes and thirty-five seconds.[16] Musically, the verses are built around icy rhythms and chopped and screwed vocal samples, while the chorus' feature Perry singing into a gradual crescendo.[17] The song contains a grimy, "incredibly simplistic" production.[12] According to Kathy Iandoli of MSN Entertainment, "Dark Horse" contains a mixture of elements from "trippy pop", EDM, and dubstep.[18] 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" has a tempo of 132 beats per minute in half-time style typical of trap music.[19]
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," before going on to call it unexpected, unconventional, and unstoppable.[20] 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).[21]
Critical reception and accolades[edit]
Marc Hogan from Spin called the lyrics a "cliché salad" but believed that the song had potential to become a hit due to its "soaring hooks" and "sleekly sculpted production".[22] Reviewing the song for Billboard, Jason Lipshutz said that by exploring trap-influenced music, Perry "score[d]" and "slay[ed]".[23] Digital Spy's Robert Copsey questioned the decision to not have a proper chorus in "Dark Horse" and the inclusion of Juicy J, though he praised the "sleazy" beat and "sultry" vocals from Katy Perry. He gave the track a rating of four stars out of five.[24] Contributor Dylan Mial of Blogcritics said the "juxtaposition" of Perry's vocals and Juicy J's rap brought "the ingredients for a perfect musical storm" and favored Perry for the "uniqueness" of the single.[25]
Keith Murphy from Vibe called the track "infectiously sexy",[26] while John Walker from MTV was similarly positive about the song, though he wrote that Juicy's verse was "phoned-in".[27] Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine likened the song to avant-garde band Art of Noise's song "Moments In Love" and called it a "continuation" of "E.T.", and further labelled it as a "standout" from Prism.[28] While she did not give her opinion of the song as a whole, Helen Brown from the publication The Daily Telegraph criticized Juicy J for his "daft" rap.[29] For AbsolutePunk, Craig Manning classified "Dark Horse" as Prism 's worst song, while also panning the rapper's contribution.[30] Marah Eakin from The A.V. Club was not entirely critical of the song, though she noted that it was not among "Perry's best".[31]
Consequence of Sound's Chris Bosman had a mixed response—while he praised the song for feeling "vital" and "forward-moving", he criticized the guest vocals and nonetheless deemed the trap influence "trap for soccer moms".[32] Writing for ABC News, Mesfin Fekadu commented that "her team fare[d] better" in the song and observed that the "Southern hip-hop and electronic flavors" present on it were factors that made it "work".[33] Pop music website Idolator's Sam Lansky opined that the "weird trap-lite" of the song "never quite coalesces".[34] The song was nominated for Best Song at the 2014 MTV Europe Music Awards, though lost to Ariana Grande's "Problem".[35] It has been nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards.[36]
Accolades[edit]
| Year | Awards | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | World Music Awards | World's Best Song | Nominated |
| World's Best Video | |||
| MuchMusic Video Awards | Best International Artist Video | ||
| Premios Juventud | Favorite Hit | ||
| Teen Choice Awards | Choice Music: Single by a Female Artist | ||
| MTV Video Music Awards | Best Collaboration | ||
| Best Female Video | Won | ||
| MTV Europe Music Awards | Best Song | Nominated | |
| Best Video | Won | ||
| American Music Awards | Single of the Year | ||
| VEVO Hot This Year | Video of the Year | ||
| Best Pop Video | |||
| Best Certified Video | |||
| MP3 Music Awards | Radio/Charts/Downloads Award | Nominated | |
| Los Premios 40 Principales | Best International Video | ||
| 2015 | Grammy Awards | Best Pop Duo/Group Performance | |
| ADG Excellence in Production Design Award | Short Format: Web Series, Music Video or Commercial | ||
| Myx Music Awards | Favorite International Video | ||
| Kids' Choice Awards | Favorite Song Of The Year | Pending | |
| iHeartRadio Music Awards | Best Collaboration |
Commercial performance[edit]
North America[edit]
On the Billboard Hot 100, the song debuted at number seventeen on the week ending October 5, 2013. It also debuted at number four on the Hot Digital Songs chart with 194,000 downloads.[17] 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".[9] In December, following the success of the song as a promotional single, it was chosen as the third official single from Prism.[37] On the week ending January 11, 2014, "Dark Horse" sold 285,000 copies (up 158%) ranking at number 7 onHot 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.[9][38] The following week the song topped the Hot Digital Songs, selling 243,000 copies, and rose to number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100.[39][40] 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.[41][42] 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.[43] 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.[44] The song topped the chart for four straight weeks, from February 8 to March 1. It was replaced by Pharrell Williams' "Happy".[45] The song also broke Perry's record for her longest stay within the top 10 for one single - as "Dark Horse" has spent 22 weeks within the top ten so far, breaking her previous record set by "E.T." of 20 weeks.[46] The song has spent 52 weeks on the Hot 100 as of September 18, 2014, becoming Perry's first song to last at least a year on the chart.[47] By May 2014, "Dark Horse" has sold over 5 million copies in the US, and become Perry's 6th song to surpass the 5 million mark.[48] The song was certified 6x Platinum certification in June 26, 2014. It became the third best-selling song of 2014 in the United States with 4.43 million copies sold for the year.[49] As of January 2015, the song has sold 5,780,000 copies in the US.[50]
Aside from topping the Hot 100, "Dark Horse" has also topped Pop Songs, giving Perry her 11th number-one. This feat tied her with Rihanna for most number ones on Pop Songs chart. "Dark Horse" has also topped the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs thus becoming her 13th number one and breaking her own record for most consecutive number ones. Her earlier record which was established upon her second single "Unconditionally" topping the chart was 12 consecutive number ones.[51]
In Canada, the song has reached the top-spot position, becoming the singer's tenth number-one single in the country and Juicy J's first.[52]
Oceania and Europe[edit]
On the week-ending September 23, 2013, "Dark Horse" debuted at number ten on the New Zealand Singles Chart becoming Perry's twelfth top ten.[53] Five weeks later, the song peaked at number two, and charted in the top 10 for a total of 16 weeks. It has gone on to receive double platinum certification, and spent 37 weeks in the top 40.[54] In Australia, the song was not eligible to chart on the ARIA Top 100 Singles Chart but peaked at number five on the ARIA Top 50 Digital Tracks.[citation needed]
In the UK, on September 22, 2013, "Dark Horse" debuted at number 21 on the UK Singles Chart.[55] It re-entered the chart at number 19 on February 2, 2014. Four weeks later, it reached a new peak of number 4. On January 23, 2014 the song re-entered the Irish Singles Chart at number 47[56] then reaching a peak of 3.[citation needed]
On the week-ending October 10, 2013 the song entered the Dutch Mega Top 100 chart at number 74, when "Dark Horse" was just a promotional song from the album. More than three months later, when the song was released as the third official single, "Dark Horse" re-entered the chart at number 28. Six weeks later, the song topped the chart.[57] The song also reached the top spot position on the Dutch Top 40.[58] In Austria, the Czech Republic, Norway, and Sweden, the song peaked at number 2. "Dark Horse" also managed to reach the top 10 in Finland and Denmark where it respectively peaked at 5 and 6. "Dark Horse" topped the Belgian Ultratop 50 Flandre chart and reached the top 10 in other European countries such as France, Austria, and Germany.[citation needed] In Italy, on the week-ending March 13, 2014, the song entered the FIMI official top 20 at number 17 and, after five weeks, it has so far reached a peak of 5. It has also been certified gold for sales of 15,000 copies.[citation needed]
Music video[edit]
Background and production[edit]
In an interview with Billboard at the 2014 Grammy Awards, Juicy J stated the video will be filmed "soon"; he added that it is "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."[59]
When "Dark Horse" had attained the top position on the US Billboard Hot 100 Chart, Perry announced that she was working on the video. "[44] On February 5, 2014, Perry tweeted the video would be released "soon".[citation needed] On February 13, 2014, she released a preview of the music video onto her Vevo account on YouTube, revealing the Egyptian setting of the video. Perry played a character named "Katy Pätra", a takeoff on the Egyptian queen Cleopatra.[60] The video was released on February 20, 2014.[61]
The music video was directed by Mathew Cullen, who previously worked with Perry on her music video for the song "California Gurls". Perry's idea for the music video was to combine Ancient Egyptian culture with Memphis, Tennessee hip hop: setting the video in ancient Memphis, Egypt as a nod to Juicy J's Tennessee hometown. Speaking of Perry's concept, Cullen said "That's music to my ears — when an artist has a couple concepts that they want to mash up to create something fresh."[62]
Synopsis[edit]
During the video's opening, it is revealed that the music video takes place "a crazy long time ago" in Memphis, Egypt. For the opening verses, Perry's character Katy Pätra, the witch of Memphis, is shown wearing a white dress and white and blue wig while floating on a large barge at sunset, with pyramids and palm trees visible in the background. The video transitions to a different scene where Pätra, now wearing a longer dress and a black wig, sits in an extravagant Sphinx-like throne while pharaohs gather to bring her expensive gifts (such as a large diamond) in an attempt to "win her heart."
After retrieving the first suitor's gift, she hits the man with a magical bolt of lightning from her hand, turning him into a pile of sand, and takes his jewels to wear on her teeth as a grill. Another suitor brings her candy, cupcakes, twinkies, and spicy cheese puffs. After she burns her mouth with the spicy cheese puffs, she turns the suitor into a large cup of water, which she drinks. Pätra also appears as a gray statue in a scene where golden pythons and gray guardian statues surround her, and in a scene with a blue background where she wears a golden dress and several golden hieroglyphs levitate around her.
During Juicy J's verse, the rapper emerges from a gold sarcophagus while Pätra accepts an Egyptian chariot with hydraulics (she turns the associated suitor into a set of giant dice to hang from the frame) and rejects a suitor who turns out to have the face of a crocodile by turning him into a wallet. During the final chorus, the last suitor brings Pätra a large gold pyramid with a pink capstone, which she ascends. At the top of the pyramid, Pätra, dressed as Isis, uses her powers to conjure up a magical "perfect storm" with pink, purple, and violet clouds. Although it seems like Pätra has finally found a gift she likes, the final frame of the video reveals that she has turned the final suitor into a dog with a human head.
Reception[edit]
The music video was criticized by some for appropriating the symbols and imagery of Egyptian culture. Cullen, the director, defended the music video, saying that, while he believes it is dangerous to rip things directly from present cultures without adding anything to them, Ancient Egypt is part of what he calls our "shared collective mythology". He said: "The most important thing is that when you create something, and this is actually something Katy and I worked to do — you bring a new spin to it." Egyptologist Silverman praised the music video's use of Egyptian imagery and the interest it could generate to viewers: "[Egypt has] always been a part of popular culture. It encourages people to think of these things, and some of those people actually begin to learn a lot." The video was noted by conspiracy theorists for bearing resemblance to imagery used by the alleged Illuminati, but Ritner rejected the allegations, saying that "The many discussions of the Illuminati are nonsense" and that, in fact, the masonic imagery associated with the Illuminati is drawn from Egyptian imagery (as a common source for both).[62]
It is currently the third most viewed video on YouTube, gaining over 800 million views in a year.[63]
Accusations of blasphemy[edit]
The music video caused controversy among some Muslims who criticized a scene in the video where a man wearing a pendant appearing to display the Arabic word for "Allah" is disintegrated and turned into sand by Perry's character. The scene took place 1 minute and 15 seconds into the video. A petition launched on Change.org accused Perry of "representing an opposition of God" and demanded that the video be taken down from YouTube. The petition reached over 65,000 signatures and as a response, the pendant was digitally removed from the video on February 26, 2014, after which the petition was closed.[64]
Copyright infringement lawsuit[edit]
On July 1, 2014, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that Christian rapper Flame and others filed a lawsuit against Perry, Capitol Records, and Perry's co-writers for infringing copyright on the song "Joyful Noise", which appeared on the 2008 album Our World: Redeemed.[65] Flame's DJ, Cho'zyn Boy, stated that Perry's song is "identical" to "Joyful Noise", but ten BPM slower in tempo and one step higher in pitch.[66] In addition to the infringement claims, the suit claims that "by any measure, the devoutly religious message of 'Joyful Noise' has been irreparably tarnished by its association with the witchcraft, paganism, black magic, and Illuminati imagery evoked by the same music in 'Dark Horse'".[67] Rapper Lecrae, who is featured on the song and named in the lawsuit, clarified to MTV that "I was in Hong Kong [when] the press release went out and it's not my song — it's my guy Flame's song and I respect everyone's intellectual properties — but that statement about the witchcraft and stuff, that's not my statement and I don’t stand behind that statement."[68]
Live performances[edit]
"Dark Horse" was first performed at the iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas on September 20, 2013.[69] It was later performed at the iTunes Festival in London.[70] Perry also performed the song with Juicy J at the We Can Survive event at the Hollywood Bowl on October 23.[71] Perry also performed "Dark Horse" on The Voice of Germany on December 13, 2013.[72]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.[2] The singer also performed the song at the 2014 BRIT Awards and the performance featured a neon-colored Egyptian theme, like the music video.[73]
On February 1, 2015, the song was performed by Perry during the Super Bowl XLIX halftime show, where she was on a chessboard, with her dancers as chess pieces. It was one of the most technical performance out of the rest of the performances.[74]
Track listing[edit]
- Digital download[16]
- "Dark Horse" – 3:35
- Digital download - Japan Version[75]
- "Dark Horse" (featuring TEE) – 3:35
- CD single[76]
- "Dark Horse" – 3:35
- "Dark Horse" (Johnson Somerset Remix) – 9:01
Charts and certifications[edit]
Weekly charts[edit] | Certifications[edit]
 Since May 2013 RIAA certifications for digital singles include on-demand audio and/or video song streams in addition to downloads.[141]Year-end charts[edit]
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Release history[edit]
| Country | Date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Worldwide[17] | September 17, 2013 | Digital download (made available for purchase upon pre-ordering Prism on iTunes) | Capitol |
| United States[9][10] | December 17, 2013 | Contemporary hit radio | |
| Rhythmic radio | |||
| Italy[154] | February 14, 2014 | Contemporary hit radio | Universal |
| Germany[76] | February 28, 2014 | CD single | Capitol |
| United States[155] | March 11, 2014 | Urban contemporary radio |
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