"Dark Horses" is a song written and recorded by the

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band

Switchfoot Switchfoot is an American rock band from San Diego, California. The band's members are Jon Foreman (lead vocals, guitar), Tim Foreman (bass guitar, backing vocals), Chad Butler (drums, percussion), and Jerome Fontamillas (guitar, keyboards, back ...

, and serves as the first single from their eighth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

entitled ''

Vice Verses ''Vice Verses'' is the eighth studio album by American alternative rock band Switchfoot. It was released on September 27, 2011.Mediabase Mediabase is a music industry service that monitors radio station airplay in 180 US and Canadian markets. Mediabase publishes music charts and data based on the most played songs on terrestrial and satellite radio, and provides in-depth analytic ...

and later confirmed by singer

Jon Foreman Jonathan Mark Foreman (born October 22, 1976) is an American musician, the lead singer, guitarist, main songwriter and co-founder of the alternative rock band Switchfoot. He started Switchfoot in 1996 with drummer Chad Butler and his brother Ti ...

during an interview with radio DJ Adrian Hummel.

Song history

The song first made a public appearance on June 10, 2010 in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

during Switchfoot's

Hello Hurricane tour Switchfoot is an American rock band from San Diego, California. The band's members are Jon Foreman (lead vocals, guitar), Tim Foreman (bass guitar, backing vocals), Chad Butler (drums, percussion), and Jerome Fontamillas (guitar, keyboards, back ...

. The band sound-checked it once there, and also subsequently played it at several more shows during the fall leg of their tour. It was reworked afterwards during the studio sessions for ''

Vice Verses ''Vice Verses'' is the eighth studio album by American alternative rock band Switchfoot. It was released on September 27, 2011.Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

, Canada in May 2011. The band performed it throughout the summer festival season, and also allowed fans to preview it at their Bro-Am event in June. Singer Jon Foreman has from time to time stated that the song is an anthem for Stand Up For Kids, an organization that aids orphaned youth back in the band's hometown of San Diego, CA. "For me that song the Dark Horses is all about the homeless kids back in San Diego, specifically the ones who are being helped out by Stand Up For Kids," he says. "It's always nice when you have a song you are passionate about singing night after night that has a deeper meaning than simply another verse and another chorus."

Other uses

*The song was featured on ESPN College Football broadcasts in the 2011 season. *It was the official theme for

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

's 2012

Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after the Royal Rumble match, a modified battle roya ...

. * The song was featured on a Minnesota Twins 2011 game broadcast

Reception

The song was picked up quickly by a couple of alternative rock stations in the first week of availability. San Diego's

91x XETRA-FM (91.1 MHz), branded as 91X, and sometimes identified as XTRA-FM, is an English-language radio station licensed to Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. It airs an alternative rock radio format. The studios and offices are on Cornerstone Cour ...

spun the song for the very first time on July 20, with Los Angeles'

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 stat ...

featuring the single on their First Listen blog a couple of days later.First Listen Switchfoot Drop’s “Dark Horses, The First Single From Their Upcoming Album
- Published July 21, 2011 (retrieved July 22, 2011) It peaked at No. 5 on Billboard Alternative Songs, tying "

Meant to Live "Meant to Live" is a single by alternative rock band Switchfoot. "Meant to Live" was released to radio on January 27, 2003. The song peaked at number five on the US Modern Rock chart and U.S. Adult Top 40 chart, number six on U.S. Top 40 radio, ...

" for Switchfoot's highest-charting single on that chart, and spent a total of 25 weeks on the tally. It was well received in the Christian radio scene as well, spending seven straight weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's Christian Rock songs chart.

Live performances

Switchfoot performed the song on ''

Jimmy Kimmel Live! ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. The nightly hour-long show debuted on January 26, 2003, at Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywood, Los ...

'' on September 19, 2011, and on '' Conan'' on October 25, 2011.

Charts

References

External links

* 'Dark Horses - Switchfoot' at Billboard.combr>Switchfoot
bands official website {{authority control 2011 singles Switchfoot songs Songs written by Jon Foreman Songs written by Tim Foreman 2011 songs Atlantic Records singles Song recordings produced by Neal Avron