. Max Martin.singles chronology'(2013)' Dark Horse'(2013)'(2014)singles chronology'(2013)' Dark Horse'(2013)'Talkin' Bout'(2014)Music videoon' Dark Horse' is a song recorded by American singer featuring rapper. It was originally released on September 17, 2013, by as the first promotional single from Perry's fourth, (2013). Three months later, it was released as the third official single on December 17.
Both artists co-wrote the song with its producers, and, alongside. It was conceived by Perry and Hudson during a writing session in Perry's hometown of, and Juicy J was later commissioned for a verse on the song.' Dark Horse' combines the genres of, and, replicating what has been described as a '- 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. Perry, in interviews, said she wanted the song to have a 'witchy, -y kind of -y idea', so she wrote it from the perspective of a warning a man not to with her because if he does, she will be his last. The song was part of a competition sponsored by in which fans could vote via on whether they would prefer either 'Dark Horse' or ' to be released as the first promotional single from Prism.'
Dark Horse' was a commercial success, charting at number one in Canada, the and the United States. It also reached the top ten in almost 20 countries including, United Kingdom, and as well as the Digital Songs chart of Billboard magazine. Billboard identified Dark Horse as cementing trap music's place on the charts. Perry first performed the song live at the 2013 in on September 20, 2013. The song's first major television performance was at the on January 26, 2014.
'Dark Horse' was nominated for at the. The song has sold 13.2 million units (combined sales and track-equivalent streams), becoming the second best-selling song worldwide for 2014.
Contents.Production and release Inspired by the 1996 film, Perry and singer-songwriter Sarah Hudson wrote the first version of 'Dark Horse' in Perry's hometown of. Perry described the song as a ', as it mixed her, a artist, with an 'urban kind of -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 to contact one of his artists, American rapper, 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.' 'Dark Horse' was recorded and engineered at Luke's in the Boo in, in, Playback Recording Studios in Santa Barbara, California, and Secret Garden Studios in, as well as in,. 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.In a press release on August 20, 2013, announced a partnership with Perry to promote her fourth studio album Prism: a social '-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. The winner was 'Dark Horse', which was released on September 17, 2013 on the.
Due to its commercial success, it was sent to and radio stations on December 17, 2013 as Prism 's third official single. Composition 'Dark Horse' is a, and song which is styled in '- mashup', and has a length of three minutes and thirty-five seconds. Musically, the verses are built around icy rhythms and vocal samples, while the chorus' feature Perry singing into a gradual. The song contains a grimy, 'incredibly simplistic' production. According to Kathy Iandoli of, 'Dark Horse' contains a mixture of elements from 'trippy ',.
According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com, 'Dark Horse' is written in the key of. It follows a chord progression of G ♭ – D ♭ – B ♭m – B ♭m/A ♭, and the vocals range from the low note of to the high note of. 'Dark Horse' has a tempo of 132 beats per minute in half-time style typical of trap music.A writer for the described the song as 'brooding, borderline sleazy trap-pop excursion that comes across like a stripped-down version of ' mixed with ' by,' before going on to call it unexpected, unconventional, and unstoppable. Critical reception. Perry performing 'Dark Horse' at'Dark Horse' was first performed at the in on September 20, 2013. It was later performed at the in London. Perry also performed the song with Juicy J at the We Can Survive event at the on October 23.
Perry also performed 'Dark Horse' on on December 13, 2013. Perry and Juicy J performed the song at the on January 26, 2014. The 'dark and mysterious' performance featured a 'haunted forest' design with horses, broomstick pole dances, and a controlled fire. The singer also performed the song at the and the performance featured a neon-colored Egyptian theme, like the music video.On February 1, 2015, the song was performed by Perry during the, 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.
Credits and Personnel. Backing Vocals, Lead Vocals: Katy Perry.
Backing Vocals, Featured Vocals: Juicy J. Songwriting: Katy Perry, Jordan Houston, Lukasz Gottwald, Sarah Hudson, Max Martin, Henry Walter. Production: Dr.
Luke, Max Martin, CirkutCredits adapted from Prism album liner notes. Formats and track listings.
Digital download. 'Dark Horse' – 3:35. Digital download – Japan version.
'Dark Horse' (featuring TEE) – 3:35. CD single. 'Dark Horse' – 3:35.
'Dark Horse' (Johnson Somerset Remix) – 9:01Charts.