Dancing in the Dark (Rihanna song)

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"Dancing in the Dark"
Song by Rihanna
from the album Home
ReleasedMarch 5, 2015
Recorded2014
GenreDance-pop[1]
Length3:43
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)

"Dancing in the Dark" is a song recorded by Barbadian singer Rihanna for the soundtrack to the 2015 film Home. It was written by Ester Dean, Maureen Anne McDonald and Rihanna together with its producers Stargate.

Development[edit]

In June 2012, it was revealed that Rihanna would star as the lead role in the film Happy Smekday!, alongside American actor Jim Parsons. In September 2012, 20th Century Fox and DreamWorks Animation announced that the movie will be released for November 26, 2014.[2] In June 2013, the film was retitled from Happy Smekday! to Home.[3] In 2014, Variety magazine reported that, in addition to her voice role, Rihanna created a concept album for the film was released on March 13, 2015.[4] It was later revealed that the film's soundtrack would also include songs recorded by Charli XCX, Kiesza and Jennifer Lopez.[5] "Dancing in the Dark" was written by Tor Erik Hermansen, Mikkel Storleer Eriksen, Ester Dean, Maureen Anne McDonald and Rihanna. The production was done by Hermansen and Eriksen under their production name Stargate.[6] Dean has previously co-penned a number of songs for Rihanna including, "S&M" (2011) and "Rude Boy" (2010), both of which were produced by Stargate.[1] The vocals were recorded by Marcos Tovar and Kuk Harrell, while the later also did their production. Phil Tan mixed the song at the Ninja Beat Club in Atlanta, Georgia while Daniela Rivera served as the track's engineer.[6]

Composition[edit]

"Dancing in the Dark" is a dance-pop song with a length of three minutes and forty-three seconds.[1] The track is an up-tempo "poppy-number"[7] that features "enough backdrop of saccharine synths and snap beats".[8] According to James Grebey of Spin magazine it's also "upbeat and a little funkier — if a tad repetitive."[9] Rolling Stone's Jon Blistein linked "Dancing in the Dark"'s chorus to the one of Whitney Houston's 1987 single "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)".[1] He also wrote that the song has a "wubby bass groove" that could feature American actress Courteney Cox dancing to it in its potential music video, a reference to her appearance in the video for Bruce Springsteen's 1984 single with the same name.[1]

Credits and personnel[edit]

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Home.[6]

Locations
  • Mixed at Ninja Beat Club, Atlanta, Georgia
Personnel
  • Lead and background vocals - Rihanna
  • Songwriting – Tor Erik Hermansen, Mikkel Storleer Eriksen, Ester Dean, Maureen Anne McDonald, Robyn Fenty
  • Production – Stargate
  • Engineer – Daniela Rivera
  • Vocal production – Kuk Harrell
  • Recording – Marcos Tovar, Kuk Harrell
  • Mixing – Phil Tan

Charts[edit]

Chart (2015) Peak
position
France (SNEP)[10] 92
US Kid Digital Songs (Billboard)[11] 2

Certifications[edit]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[12] Platinum 1,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e Blistein, Jon (March 5, 2015). "Rihanna Keeps It 'Real As You and Me,' Goes 'Dancing In the Dark' on New Songs". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  2. ^ DreamWorks Animation (September 9, 2012). "New Distributor Twentieth Century Fox Unveils DreamWorks Animation's Release Slate Through 2016". DreamWorks Animation. Archived from the original on October 12, 2013. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
  3. ^ "Movie Title Changes". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  4. ^ Graser, Marc (February 25, 2014). "Rihanna to Make Concept Album for Upcoming Animated Movie". Variety. Retrieved February 26, 2014.
  5. ^ Vain, Madison (February 9, 2015). "Hear Rihanna's 'Towards the Sun' from the movie Home". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 9, 2015.
  6. ^ a b c Home (liner notes). Rihanna & Various artists. Westbury Road, Roc Nation. 2015.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  7. ^ Sultz, Colin (March 5, 2015). "Listen to Rihanna's Two New Songs From the 'Home' Soundtrack". Billboard. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  8. ^ Adams, Gregory (March 19, 2015). "'As Real As You and Me' / 'Dancing in the Dark'". Exclaim!. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  9. ^ Grebey, James (March 5, 2015). "Stream Two New Rihanna Songs From the Soundtrack to 'Home'". Spin. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  10. ^ "Rihanna – Dancing in the Dark" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  11. ^ "Kid Digital Songs: April 11, 2015". Billboard. April 11, 2015. Retrieved January 1, 2016.
  12. ^ "American single certifications – Rihanna – Dancing In The Dark". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
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