In the Dark (song)

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In the dark
Dev
publication April 25, 2011
length 3:48
Genre (s) Dance pop
text Devin Tailes, Niles Hollowell-Dhar, David Singer-Vine
music The Cataracs
album The Night the Sun Came Up

In the Dark is a song by the American singer and rapper Dev . It was written by Dev with The Cataracs, who produced the song for Dev's debut album The Night the Sun Came Up (2011). The song was released on April 25, 2011 as the second single from the album. In the Dark came about because Dev wanted to make a sexy song and wanted to prove that she is now a grown woman. Dev worked with US rappers Flo Rida , 50 Cent and Kanye West on the various remix versions of the song . Dev wanted her remixed versions to be suitable for radio and to be heard on the radio. In the Dark is a dance-pop song with a saxophone hook and influences from Eurodance and Latin pop music. In terms of content, the song is about sex drives and the feeling of being touched from all sides until a sexual act occurs.

The song received critical acclaim, especially the production and the saxophone hook. Only the sexual content of the song was criticized; some described the song content as too sexual. In the United States, in particular, In the Dark became a commercial success, paving the way for Dev for a successful career in the American music business. The song reached number 11 on the American Billboard Hot 100 and just barely missed making it into the top ten. The Slovakia was the only country in which the song was a number-one hit. The song was also successful worldwide and placed in the top chart positions. The music video shows Dev naked, her hands and arms painted black touch her. According to Dev, the inspiration behind the music video was the sexual and dark aspects of the song. Dev also wanted to make a Tim Burton- inspired music video.

background

In the Dark was written by Dev with The Cataracs, who produced the song. Dev described the song as "very flavorful" and "hot". In an interview with the music blog Idolator, Dev spoke about the concept of the song: “The idea behind 'In the Dark' for me was to make a sexy song. I am a grown woman now. I've worked with The Cataracs for the past three years and I met them when I was very young and lived in a small town. I thought “Damn it. I have to make a very sexy song! ”So I made a very sexy song.” She said her song was supposed to be very “tasty and yet sexual” and described it as “very sexy and very musical at the same time”. She said, “My previous songs were all fun songs. I wanted to record a new kind of song and I did it. It may be one of the sexiest recordings of my career, but I think that's what I needed! ” In the Dark was recorded at a recording session in January 2011; it was one of the first songs recorded for Dev's debut album.

The song was recorded on April 25, 2011 as the second single from Dev's debut album The Night the Sun Came Up . The song was first played on American radio on May 24, 2011. In the UK, In the Dark was released as a downloadable EP with three remixed versions of the song and the music video. US rapper Flo Rida is a guest on the official remix version of the song and Dev stated that she wanted to record a remix version that would be "perfect for American radio". She explained that a rapper is always the best choice for a remix version that will also be played on the radio. About her collaboration with Flo Rida, Dev said: “We thought about what would be“ cool ”for the radio and go well with the song, with a song that isn't a real rap song. So we chose Flo Rida because he was what I wanted and I only knew he would make the remix cool on the radio. ”On another remix version of the song, Dev worked with 50 Cent , while Dev worked with Kanye West on an unofficial remix version Dev said, "That was one thing that flooded the internet in no time because it sounds so incredibly gangsters with Kanye and it's one of my favorite remixes."

composition

In the Dark is a dance-pop song with Eurodance beats and synthesizers, mixed with influences from Latin pop music. The song features a house rhythm and a striking saxophone riff. Critics compared the saxophone passages to Alexandra Stan's mega-hit Mr. Saxobeat (2011). In the Dark begins with Dev's singing and chanting style, she rapt : "On my waist, through my hair / Think about it when you touch me there / Close my eyes, here you are dance-dance-dancing in the dark." According to Nadine Cheung of AOL Radio , the opening line took over the melody from Reel 2 Real's hit I Like to Move It (1994). In In the Dark , Dev uses her singing voice more often than her rap / spoken-singing style. In terms of content, the song is about sex drives and the feeling of being touched from all sides until a sexual act occurs. Dev makes this clear by repeating the line: "I got a sex drive to push the start" .

Music video

Ethan Lader directed the music video for In the Dark . Dev hired Lader as a director, as he has acted in that position on other music videos of her and The Cataracs. Lader originally gave Dev his ideas for the music video and Dev decided which idea she wanted to implement for the music video. Dev said: “So we shot the music video several times, but there was always something I didn't like about his ideas. ... Then we both met again and wrote down our ideas for the music video and felt excited. I wanted to be sexy and dark in the music video, in an interesting way, that's what the song is about too. So we finally implemented this idea and shot a music video that I really liked in the end. We couldn't have done better. ”The music video was shot in Los Angeles , California in late April 2011 , just before Dev appeared as the opening act on Usher's OMG Tour . Dev wanted more control over the video shoot for In the Dark than on her previous music video shoots, so she urged the director to "give her some leeway" as Dev was inexperienced with the processes of a music video shoot. Dev wanted to know how to make a music video as she also plans to make future videos on her own. In an interview with Idolator, Dev explained the concept of the music video, she wanted a mood similar to that of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland : “I wanted my music video to be sexy too. I wanted my music video to reflect the darker aspects of the song and in the end we knew we had a similarly dark music video that was comparable to Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland . "

In the music video you can see Dev dancing in club scenes. The main focus is on the black painted hands and arms, which can be seen almost all the time in the music video. Often you can see Dev's naked body in the music video and only the painted hands hide their intimate parts. Some hands were digitally added to the scenes, mainly these were also there to touch Dev's body. Dev explained, “The extras were amazing, I got to paint my hands and body. I was allowed to do that for hours. ” Westword's Cory Lamz praised the music video:“ Watching In the Dark is like dancing under the influence of ecstasy in the gloomy light . In a sea of ​​hands, Dev makes the audience want to touch her. Dev hypnotizes you, influences you, seduces you and seduces you. She makes you want to touch Dev, just like the many other hands in the music video. ”Contessa Gayles of AOL Music described the music video as“ freaky ”and“ funky ”, she wrote:“ Forget them to dance in the dark 'Dev works in a sea of ​​black hands and arms in this freaky and funky new video. ”In contrast, Becky Bain of Idolator described it as“ novel ”. About.com's Bill Lamb wrote, "The music video will make you think you'll never see your hands in the same way again."

criticism

Dev's debut single In the Dark received critical acclaim. Lewis Corner of UK music website Digital Spy gave the song four stars out of five and praised the saxophone hook. The website also wrote: “[Dev] s singing in sweet and sensitive tones, accompanied by the sharp saxophone hook, is hotter than [...]. We should also add that the song is addicting. ”About.com's Bill Lamb also gave In the Dark four out of five stars, praising Dev's vocals, sexy lyrics and saxophone hook. Lamb made it clear that the song was "almost pure libido " and explained that the song also works without the explicit words. On the other hand, he criticized that the song “is closed in its current time” and wrote: “'In the Dark' seems to be a strong song of the dance-pop moment. As with the hit ' Like a G6 ', it is possible that 'In the Dark' will be out again in a few months and sound outdated. It's not like songs that are timeless. ”At the end, Lamb praises again:“ The song goes well with the current party title lists and Dev and The Cataracs have their fingers on the pulse of the current party music. ”Garyn Ganz from Rolling Stone magazine also praised the song: "Dev raps about her sex experiences and sex orgies, with a Latin house beat from the 90s, like a better version of Kesha -" Dev speak-sings about her sex drive over a Nineties Latin house beat like a top-shelf version of Kesha - tempting, not dirty. "

In a review of The Night the Sun Came Up album , Slant Magazine critic Sal Cinquemani named the song the best song on the album. He wrote: “ In the Dark has aggressive beats and cheesy synth tones and a Dev-typical“ ooh la la ”hook and a lovely saxophone riff, all of which make In the Dark the best song on the album.” Tris McCall by the Star-ledger recorded in the Dark as a "song of the week" and compared the saxophone hook with Alexandra Stan Mr. Saxobeat , he also wrote, In the Dark have a "something mechanical singing", as with Devs song Booty Bounce (2010). McCall wrote the “roughest pillow conversation” since My Humps by The Black Eyed Peas on the line “do your work on me / Open up my body and do some surgery” on the content of In the Dark . The Dallas Observer criticized the saxophone hook and wrote: "The saxophone hook shows how low this song is".

Charts

In the United States, In the Dark debuted at number 92 on the Billboard Hot 100 on August 20, 2011 , three months after the song was released. The song became more and more successful and rose steadily, after eight weeks the song reached its top ranking at number 11 on October 22, 2011. The song was a bigger success than Dev's debut single Bass Down Low (2010), which only ranked on the Billboard Hot 100 61 has reached. On November 18, 2011, the song was awarded a gold record in the United States for over 500,000 sales.

In Canada, In the Dark debuted at number 83 on the Canadian Hot 100 on September 17, 2011. In Australia, In the Dark reached number 41. In Denmark, In the Dark reached number 22 and stayed there for only five weeks in the charts. The song became a number one hit in Slovakia. In the UK, In the Dark reached number 37 and failed to match the top ten success of Bass Down Low , the first single. In Ireland, In the Dark reached number 33.

Chart placements
Charts Top ranking Weeks
Chart placements
United Kingdom (OCC) United Kingdom (OCC) 37 (4 weeks) 4th
United States (Billboard) United States (Billboard) 11 (19 weeks) 19th
Annual charts
Charts (2011) placement
Annual charts (2011)
United States (Billboard) United States (Billboard) 83

Awards for music sales

Country / Region Award Sales
Awards for music sales
(country / region, Award, Sales)
United States (RIAA) United States (RIAA) Platinum record icon.svg platinum 1,000,000
All in all Platinum record icon.svg 1 × platinum
 1,000,000

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Robert Copsey: Exclusive: Dev: 'New single In The Dark is flavorful' video . In: Digital Spy . Hachette Filipacchi UK . June 13, 2011. Retrieved October 21, 2011.
  2. ↑ a b c d e f Becky Bain: Dev: The Idolator Interview . In: Idolator . Buzz Media . August 18, 2011. Retrieved September 30, 2011.
  3. ↑ a b c Pollo Del Mar: Pop Singer Dev: 'I'd Like to Think the Gay Community Has My Back' . In: Guidetogay.com . AKA Entertainment. November 14, 2011. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
  4. ↑ In the Dark - Single by Dev . In: iTunes Store (Denmark) . Apple, Inc . Retrieved October 2, 2011.
  5. ↑ Top 40 / Rhythmic Crossover - Future Releases . Allaccess. Archived from the original on May 25, 2011. Retrieved October 21, 2011.
  6. ↑ Top 40 / Mainstream - Future Releases . Allaccess. Archived from the original on May 27, 2011. Retrieved October 21, 2011.
  7. ↑ Idolator Staff: Dev Puts 50 Cent “In The Dark” In A New Remix . In: Idolator . Buzz Media. August 21, 2011. Retrieved October 6, 2011.
  8. ↑ Cristin Maher: Dev Opens Up About Recording Her Debut Album and Keeping a 'Youthful' Sound . In: PopCrush . October 5, 2011. Retrieved October 8, 2011.
  9. ↑ a b c d e f g h Bill Lamb: Dev - "In the Dark" . In: About.com . The New York Times Company. Archived from the original on October 28, 2011. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved October 1, 2011. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / top40.about.com
  10. ^ A b c Sal Cinquemani: Dev: The Night the Sun Came Up . In: Slant Magazine . Ed Gonzalez. September 6, 2011. Retrieved October 1, 2011.
  11. ↑ a b Shahryar Rizvi: The Problem With ... Dev's 'In The Dark' . In: Dallas Observer , Village Voice Media , September 15, 2011. Retrieved October 21, 2011. 
  12. ↑ a b c d Tris McCall: Song of the Week: 'In the Dark,' Dev . In: The Star-Ledger , Advance Publications , October 14, 2011. Retrieved October 21, 2011. 
  13. ↑ a b Nadine Cheung: Dev, 'In the Dark' - New Song . In: AOL Radio . AOL . May 18, 2011. Retrieved October 1, 2011.
  14. ↑ a b c Lewis Corner: Dev: 'In The Dark' . In: Digital Spy . Hachette Filipacchi UK. July 19, 2011. Retrieved October 21, 2011.
  15. ↑ Steven Gottlieb: Watch It: Dev "In The Dark" (Ethan Lader, dir.) . Video static. July 8, 2011. Retrieved August 18, 2011.
  16. ↑ a b c Stefan Goldby: Music Interview: Dev . In: Buzzine . Richard Elfman / Louis Elfman. August 19, 2011. Archived from the original on December 23, 2011. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved October 1, 2011. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.buzzinemusic.com
  17. ^ Jason Lipshutz: Dev and the Cataracs Join Usher's OMG Tour . In: Billboard , Prometheus Global Media, April 21, 2011. Retrieved September 30, 2011. 
  18. ↑ a b c Contessa Gayles: Dev Gets Hands-On With Her 'In the Dark' Video . In: AOL Music . AOL. July 8, 2011. Retrieved October 2, 2011.
  19. ^ Cory Lamz: Will Dev's sea of ​​hands carry her to the top? Plus a full breakdown of this week's charts . In: Westword , Village Voice Media, September 19, 2011. Retrieved October 21, 2011. 
  20. ↑ Becky Bain: Grab A Handful Of Dev In Her “In The Dark” Video . In: Idolator . Buzz Media. Retrieved October 21, 2011.
  21. ↑ Caryn Ganz: Dev - In the Dark Song Review . In: Rolling Stone . Wenner Media . September 26, 2011. Retrieved October 21, 2011.
  22. ↑ Shea Serrano: Dev's 'In The Dark:' Why This Song Sucks . In: LA Weekly , Village Voice Media, December 7th, 2011. Archived from the original on February 11th, 2012 Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved December 9, 2011. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / blogs.laweekly.com 
  23. ^ Hot 100 - Week of August 20, 2011 . In: Billboard . Prometheus Global Media . Retrieved October 21, 2011.
  24. ↑ a b c d e Chart sources: UK US
  25. ^ Dev - Billboard Singles . In: Allmusic . Rovi Corporation . Retrieved October 22, 2011.
  26. ↑ RIAA - Dev . Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved December 3, 2011.
  27. ↑ Chartifacts - Week Commencing: 12th September 2011 . ARIA charts . Archived from the original on September 14, 2011. Retrieved October 22, 2011.
  28. ↑ Chart Stats - Dev . In: OCC . Official Charts.
  29. ↑ Year End Charts - Hot 100 Songs . In: Billboard . Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 9, 2011.
  30. ↑ Music Sales Awards: US