"Dangerous Night" is a song recorded by American
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
Thirty Seconds to Mars
Thirty Seconds to Mars (commonly stylized as 30 Seconds to Mars) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1998. The band consists of brothers Jared Leto (lead vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards) and Shannon Leto (drums, ...
, featured on their fifth studio album ''
America''. It was written by
Stevie Aiello and
Jared Leto, who also produced the song with
Zedd
Anton Zaslavski (russian: Антон Заславский; born 2 September 1989), known professionally as Zedd (), is a Russian-born German DJ, record producer, and songwriter.
Zedd grew up and began his musical journey in Kaiserslautern, G ...
. "Dangerous Night" was described as a personal and uplifting song characterized by an anthemic and euphoric nature. It marked a strong departure from much of the band's previous work as it incorporates a softer sound as well as elements from
electronic dance music. The song is imbued with influences from
arena rock
Arena rock (also known as AOR, melodic rock, stadium rock, anthem rock, pomp rock, corporate rock and dad rock; ; ) is a style of rock music that originated in the mid-1970s. As hard rock bands and those playing a softer yet strident kind of po ...
and
ambient music.
"Dangerous Night" was released on January 25, 2018 through
Interscope Records, as the second single from the album. Thirty Seconds to Mars performed the song on ''
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' is an American late-night news and liberal political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Spartina Productions and CBS Studios, it is the second ...
''.
KROQ
KROQ-FM (106.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Pasadena, California, serving Greater Los Angeles. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts an alternative rock format known as "The World Famous KROQ" (pronounced "kay-rock").
The st ...
ranked "Dangerous Night" at number 16 on its list of the 20 Best Songs of 2018.
Background
"Dangerous Night" was written by lead vocalist
Jared Leto and studio musician
Stevie Aiello. It was produced by Leto and
Zedd
Anton Zaslavski (russian: Антон Заславский; born 2 September 1989), known professionally as Zedd (), is a Russian-born German DJ, record producer, and songwriter.
Zedd grew up and began his musical journey in Kaiserslautern, G ...
, who also did the mixing of the track. Zedd had previously worked with Thirty Seconds to Mars on a live rendition of his song "
Stay the Night". Ryan Shanahan served as mixing assistant. "Dangerous Night" was recorded at The International Centre for the Advancement of the Arts and Sciences of Sound in
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
.
On January 23, 2018, Thirty Seconds to Mars announced that "Dangerous Night" would be the second single from their upcoming fifth studio album. The song premiered on
Zane Lowe
Alexander Zane Reid Lowe (born 7 August 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter.
After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence thro ...
's radio show of
Beats 1 in London on January 25, 2018. It became commercially available for downloading shortly afterwards.
Composition
"Dangerous Night" is imbued with influences and elements from
electronic dance music and
arena rock
Arena rock (also known as AOR, melodic rock, stadium rock, anthem rock, pomp rock, corporate rock and dad rock; ; ) is a style of rock music that originated in the mid-1970s. As hard rock bands and those playing a softer yet strident kind of po ...
. It is opened by an
ambient introduction, followed by the sound of synthesizers and
digital drums. After the first verse, characterized by electronic dance beats, the pre-chorus follows, leading to an anthemic chorus featuring prominent use of guitars, drums and synths. Randy Holmes from
ABC Radio called it "more of a personal song" compared to the band's previous works, although he noted that it retained its euphoric and anthemic nature. A
CBS Radio writer noted the uplifting tone of the track, calling it an "arena-ready rock anthem".
Nina Braca from ''
Billboard'' acknowledged the band's stylistic change, considering the song a departure from the group's previous
hard rock sounds. She called it a "beat-driven" song, noticing "skittering" beats, "prominent" synths and Leto's "signature vocals". Stephen Ackroyd from ''Upset'' magazine called the track "typically shiny" and found it "aiming for anthem status".
Live performances
Thirty Seconds to Mars performed the song live for the first time at ''
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' is an American late-night news and liberal political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Spartina Productions and CBS Studios, it is the second ...
'' on January 25, 2018. Their performance was filmed through the use of advanced robotic cameras which changed frame following the beat of the track, and featured an interpretive dancer. Shannon Leto was not present at the show and the song was performed by Jared Leto,
Tomo Miličević and Stevie Aiello. Nicholas Rice from ''
Billboard'' commended the band's performance, praising its visuals and calling it "one-of-a-kind".
Thirty Seconds to Mars performed the song live at ''
The Late Late Show with James Corden
''The Late Late Show with James Corden'' (also known as ''Late Late'') is an American late-night talk show on CBS. It is the fourth and current iteration of '' The Late Late Show''. Airing in the U.S. from Monday to Friday nights at 12:37:28a ...
'' on May 21, 2018. Their performance featured two actors portraying
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
and
Kim Jong-un involved in a ballroom dance.
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dangerous Night
2018 singles
2018 songs
Songs written by Jared Leto
Thirty Seconds to Mars songs
Interscope Records singles
Songs written by Stevie Aiello