"In the Dark" is a song performed by American singer
Dev. It was written by Dev alongside
the Cataracs
The Cataracs were an American hip hop record production project and duo formed in Berkeley, California, United States, consisting of David Benjamin Singer-Vine (born March 9, 1988) and Niles Hollowell-Dhar (born October 6, 1988). The duo starte ...
, who produced it for Dev's debut studio album, ''
The Night the Sun Came Up
''The Night the Sun Came Up'' is the debut studio album by American recording artist Dev, released on September 2, 2011 by Universal Republic Records. Dev worked exclusively with American Electropop production duo The Cataracs and Alan De la Ro ...
'' (2011). The song was released as the album's second single on April 25, 2011, through
Universal Motown
Universal Motown Records was an American record label that operated as a division of Universal Motown Republic Group. It was the contemporary incarnation of the legendary Motown Records label, and the "urban" half of UMG, although there were some ...
. "In the Dark" came about when Dev wanted to make a sexy song to show that she is a grown woman. She collaborated with American rapper
Flo Rida
Tramar Lacel Dillard (born September 16, 1979), better known by his stage name Flo Rida (, ), is an American rapper and singer. His 2007 breakout single " Low" was number one for 10 weeks in the United States and broke the record for digital dow ...
on an official remix as she believed she would enjoy the remix when hearing it on the radio. "In the Dark" is a
dance-pop
Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...
song with a
saxophone
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...
hook and influences of
Eurodance
Euro-Dance (sometimes referred to as Euro-NRG, Euro-electronica or Euro) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Europe. It combines many elements of hip hop, techno, Hi-NRG, house music, and Euro-Disco. This ...
,
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
and
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
music. The lyrics emphasize
sex drives and letting the sensation of touch fully take over from sight.
The song received generally positive reviews from music critics, who highlighted its production and the saxophone line. However, critics were divided regarding the song's lyrical content; some referred it to as sexy, while others dismissed its metaphors. "In the Dark" enjoyed commercial success in the United States, peaking at number 11 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and the summit of
Hot Dance Club Songs
Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...
. The song achieved its highest national peak in Russia and Slovakia, where it reached number one. Elsewhere, the song peaked in the top forty in Canada, Australia, Denmark, Ireland, Scotland and the United Kingdom. The song's music video features shots of black-painted hands that touch Dev while she is standing naked. According to Dev, the inspiration behind the video was to reflect the "dark" themes of the song, by creating a
Tim Burton
Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and animator. He is known for his gothic fantasy and horror films such as ''Beetlejuice'' (1988), ''Edward Scissorhands'' (1990), ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (1993), ...
-inspired feel.
Background
"In the Dark" was written by Dev alongside
the Cataracs
The Cataracs were an American hip hop record production project and duo formed in Berkeley, California, United States, consisting of David Benjamin Singer-Vine (born March 9, 1988) and Niles Hollowell-Dhar (born October 6, 1988). The duo starte ...
, a group that consists of Niles Hollowell-Dhar and David Singer-Vine, who also produced the track.
Dev described the song as "very flavorful" and "hot". In an interview with music blog
Idolator
An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry.
Idolater or Idolator may also refer to: Books
*''Os Idólatras'', 1968 Portuguese novel by Maria Judite de Carvalho Music
* Idolator (website), an American music blog
* ''Idolator'' (album), third album ...
, she talked in-depth about the conception of the song, stating, "I was like, dammit, I'm gonna make a sexy song!"
She explained that she wanted the song to be "tasteful, yet sexual" and described it as "very sexy, but very musical at the same time".
She said, "The songs I had before, even though they were explicit to an extent, they were just fun. It was time when we just wanted to make that sort of record, and we did. It's probably one of the sexier songs on the record, but I think it needed that!"
"In the Dark" was recorded during a session in January 2011; it was one of the first songs to be recorded for Dev's debut album
and it was eventually also recorded by
Demi Lovato
Demetria Devonne Lovato ( ; born August 20, 1992), known as Demi Lovato, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. After appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), Lovato rose to prominence for pl ...
. It was later
mixed by Manny Marroquin at Larrabee Studios in Los Angeles, California and
mastered
Mastering, a form of audio post production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device (the master), the source from which all copies will be produced (via meth ...
by
Tom Coyne Tom Coyne may refer to:
* Tom Coyne (writer), American writer and professor
* Tom Coyne (broadcaster) (1930–2015), British television presenter
* Tom Coyne (music engineer) (1954–2017), American mastering engineer
* Thomas Coyne (cricketer) ( ...
at Sterling Sound in New York City.
The song was released on April 25, 2011, via
digital download as the second single from Dev's debut studio album, ''
The Night the Sun Came Up
''The Night the Sun Came Up'' is the debut studio album by American recording artist Dev, released on September 2, 2011 by Universal Republic Records. Dev worked exclusively with American Electropop production duo The Cataracs and Alan De la Ro ...
''.
It was later sent for
rhythmic Rhythmic may refer to:
* Related to rhythm
* Rhythmic contemporary, a radio format
* Rhythmic adult contemporary, a radio format
* Rhythmic gymnastics, a form of gymnastics
* Rhythmic (chart)
The Rhythmic chart (also called Rhythmic Airplay, and ...
airplay in the United States on May 24, 2011,
followed by an add on
mainstream
Mainstream may refer to:
Film
* ''Mainstream'' (film), a 2020 American film
Literature
* ''Mainstream'' (fanzine), a science fiction fanzine
* Mainstream Publishing, a Scottish publisher
* ''Mainstream'', a 1943 book by Hamilton Basso
Mu ...
radio stations on June 21, 2011.
In the United Kingdom, "In the Dark" was released in a digital
extended play
An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record. (EP) alongside three remixes of the track as well as its music video.
Rapper
Flo Rida
Tramar Lacel Dillard (born September 16, 1979), better known by his stage name Flo Rida (, ), is an American rapper and singer. His 2007 breakout single " Low" was number one for 10 weeks in the United States and broke the record for digital dow ...
is featured on an official remix of the song, and Dev stated that she wanted to make a remix as it would be refreshing and "great for radio".
She explained that a rapper would suit the song well and that she would enjoy the remix when hearing it on the radio. She elaborated on choosing Flo Rida, saying: "We went in thinking about who would be cool on the radio
..Flo Rida fit, and he completely killed it."
50 Cent
Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and businessman. Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 2000, when he produced ...
is featured on another remix of the track, which he recorded at
Sonic Vista Studios Ibiza (Spain) in August 2011, while
Kanye West
Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer.
Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...
appears on an unofficial remix, of which Dev said: "That was just kind of something that floated onto the Internet and the airwaves, which I don't mind at all because it sounds absolutely amazing and it's one of my favorite remixes too."
Composition
"In the Dark" is a
dance-pop
Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...
song that features
Eurodance
Euro-Dance (sometimes referred to as Euro-NRG, Euro-electronica or Euro) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Europe. It combines many elements of hip hop, techno, Hi-NRG, house music, and Euro-Disco. This ...
beats and synths, mixed with influences of
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
music.
The song features a
house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
rhythm and a prominent
saxophone
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...
riff that serves as the song's instrumentation.
Critics compared the riff to "
Mr. Saxobeat
"Mr. Saxobeat" is a song by Romanian singer Alexandra Stan, released on 12 September 2010 as the second single from her debut studio album, ''Saxobeats'' (2011). The track was written and produced by Marcel Prodan and Andrei Nemirschi, and was rec ...
" (2011) by Romanian singer
Alexandra Stan
Alexandra Ioana Stan (born 10 June 1989) is a Romanian singer. Born in Constanța, she made her worldwide breakthrough with the 2010 single " Mr. Saxobeat", which was written and produced by Marcel Prodan and Andrei Nemirschi. They had previou ...
.
"In the Dark" opens with Dev's sing-talk vocal style as she sings "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
AOL Radio powered by Slacker (formerly AOL Radio powered by CBS Radio, and prior AOL Radio featuring XM) was an online radio service available in the United States only. It had over 200 free internet radio stations.
History
Roots
AOL Radio ...
, the line borrows the melody from
Reel 2 Real
Reel 2 Real was an American hip house musical project that had seven top 10 hits on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in the 1990s.
Biography
The project's core member was producer and DJ Erick Morillo from New York City, who spent a porti ...
's "
I Like to Move It
"I Like to Move It" is a song by American solo project Reel 2 Real (Erick Morillo), featuring ragga vocals by Trinidad and Tobago rapper The Mad Stuntman (Mark Quashie). Released in 1993, as the second single from their debut album, ''Move It!'' ...
" (1994).
"In the Dark" sees Dev using her singing voice more than her distinctive sing-talk style.
Lyrically, the song speaks of
sex drives and letting sensation of touch fully taking over from sight,
as Dev repeats the line, "I got a sex drive that's push to start".
According to sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by
Hal Leonard Corporation
Hal Leonard LLC (formerly Hal Leonard Corporation) is an American music publishing and distribution company founded in Winona, Minnesota, by Harold "Hal" Edstrom, his brother, Everett "Leonard" Edstrom, and fellow musician Roger Busdicker. Curre ...
, "In the Dark" is written in the time signature of
common time
The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...
and set in a fast
tempo
In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...
of 125
beats per minute
Beat, beats or beating may refer to:
Common uses
* Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area
** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols
** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men
* Battery ( ...
. It is written in the
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
of
C minor
C minor is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature consists of three flats. Its relative major is E major and its parallel major is C major.
The C natural minor scale is:
:
Cha ...
and Dev's vocals span from the note of A
4 to the note of B
5.
It has a basic sequence of Cm–E
6–A
5–G
5 as its
chord progression
In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice ...
.
Critical reception
"In the Dark" received generally positive reviews from
music critics
Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...
. Lewis Corner of British music website
Digital Spy
Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...
rated it four stars out of five, particularly praising the saxophone hook.
Corner commented, "
evpurrs in her sensual and sultry tones, accompanied by ''that'' saxophone hook spicier than an extra-hot peri peri chicken from Nandos – and, we should add, just as lip-lickingly addictive."
Bill Lamb of
About.com
Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, ...
rated "In the Dark" four stars out of five and praised Dev's vocals, as well as the song's sexy lyrics and the saxophone hook.
Lamb observed that the song is "nearly pure libido", but said that it works well without explicit lyrics. On the other hand, he criticized the song for being "locked in the current time", writing: "'In the Dark' seems very much a song of the dance pop moment. Like the hit '
Like a G6
"Like a G6" is a song by American music group Far East Movement featuring fellow American musicians Dev and The Cataracs, released as the lead single from Far East Movement's third studio album ''Free Wired''. The track reached number one on the ...
,' it is quite possible in a few months 'In the Dark' may sound a bit dated. It does not seem to capture something timeless."
Lamb ended on a positive note; however, writing that the song is a worthy addition to party playlists and praised Dev and the Cataracs for "hav
ngtheir fingers on the pulse of current party music".
Garyn Ganz of ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' graded the song three stars out of five and commented: "Dev speak-sings about her sex drive over a Nineties Latin house beat like a top-shelf version of
Kesha
Kesha Rose Sebert (; born March 1, 1987), formerly stylized as Ke$ha, is an American singer and songwriter. In 2005, at age 18, Kesha was signed to Kemosabe Records. Her first major success came in early 2009 after she was featured on America ...
– seductive, not sleazy."
While reviewing ''The Night the Sun Came Up'', ''
Slant Magazine
''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...
'' critic Sal Cinquemani named the song the album's best track. He pointed out that, unlike the rest of the album, "In the Dark" avoids "too-aggressive beats and chintzy synths" and instead relies on Dev's "ooh la la" hook and the "sleek" saxophone line.
Cinquemani concluded by writing that the song is "almost enough to forgive
he Cataracsfor 'Like a G6'."
Tris McCall of ''
The Star-Ledger
''The Star-Ledger'' is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to ''The Jersey Journal'' of Jersey City, ''The Times'' of Trenton and the '' Staten Island Advance'', all of wh ...
'' named "In the Dark" the "Song of the Week" and compared its saxophone line to Alexandra Stan's "Mr. Saxobeat", and said that while the latter is "total Euroschlock", "In the Dark" preserves "some of the mechanized detachment" of Dev's song "
Booty Bounce" (2010).
McCall was mixed regarding "In the Dark"'s lyrical content and called the line "do your work on me/Open up my body and do some surgery" the "grossest pillow talk" since
the Black Eyed Peas
Black Eyed Peas (also known as The Black Eyed Peas) is an American musical group consisting of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo. The group's line-up during the height of their popularity in the 2000s featured Fergie, who replaced Kim Hil ...
' "
My Humps
"My Humps" is a song recorded by American group the Black Eyed Peas for their fourth studio album '' Monkey Business'' (2005). It was written and produced by group member will.i.am. Musically, it's a hip hop and dance song structured as a due ...
".
Writing for the ''
Dallas Observer
''Dallas Observer'' is a free digital and print publication based in Dallas, Texas. The ''Observer'' publishes daily online coverage of local news, restaurants, music, and arts, as well as longform narrative journalism. A weekly print issue circ ...
'', Shahryar Rizvi was negative in his review of the song and criticized the "cheesy" saxophone sound, saying that it "serves well to show just how mediocre this song is".
''
LA Weekly
''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin, who served as president and editor until 1991. Voice Media Group sold the paper in late 2017 to Semanal Media LLC, whose paren ...
'' writer
Shea Serrano
Shea Serrano is an American author, journalist, and former teacher. He is best known for his work with the sports and pop culture websites, ''The Ringer (website), The Ringer'' and ''Grantland'', as well as his books, including ''The Rap Year Bo ...
regarded the song as "predictable" and dismissed the metaphors, labeling them "confusing".
Recognition
Music magazine ''
Spin
Spin or spinning most often refers to:
* Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning
* Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis
* Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...
'' included "In the Dark" at number 15 on its "Favorite Pop Tracks of 2011" list, naming it "radio gold". ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' music editor Shirley Halperin put it at number four on her "Top 10 Singles of 2011" list and called it "irresistible".
Halperin went on to comment: "Spotlighting the sexiest sax solo this side of Duran Duran's 'Rio' and a sultry, almost Latin-flavored vibe, it may or may not be an ode to masturbation, but it definitely satisfies in all the right places."
In 2021, "In the Dark" entered various international music charts due to going viral on the video-sharing app
TikTok
TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes.
TikTok is an international version ...
.
Chart performance
In the United States, "In the Dark" made its debut at number 92 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in the issue dated August 20, 2011, almost three months after the song's release in April. The song steadily ascended on the chart for eight weeks before reaching its peak position of number 11 in the issue dated October 22, 2011.
The song proved to be a bigger commercial success than Dev's debut single, "
Bass Down Low
"Bass Down Low" is the debut solo single by American musician Dev. Written alongside producers The Cataracs, the song was released on November 16, 2010 through Universal Motown as the lead single from Dev's debut studio album, ''The Night the Sun ...
" (2010), which reached number 61. Additionally, "In the Dark" reached number one on two of ''Billboard''s component charts,
Heatseekers Songs
Top Heatseekers are "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new an ...
and
Hot Dance Club Songs
Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...
.
The song also peaked at number eight on both
Pop Songs
Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/ CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played on a panel of Top 40 radio stations in the Un ...
and
Radio Songs.
On March 8, 2012, the single was certified platinum by the
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
(RIAA) for sales of over one million units.
In Canada, "In the Dark" debuted at number 83 on the
Canadian Hot 100
The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. The Canadian Hot 100 was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007, and is currently the standard record chart in Canada; a n ...
chart in the issue dated September 17, 2011 and peaked at number 15 six weeks later on October 22, 2011.
In Australia, the song debuted at number 64 on the singles chart, and eventually peaked at number 41.
Across Europe, "In the Dark" made its first appearance on the
Tracklisten
Hitlisten, also known as Tracklisten, is a Danish top 40 record chart that is updated every Thursday midnight on the website hitlisten.nu. The weekly Danish singles chart Track Top-40 combines the 40 best-selling tracks from legal music downloads ...
chart in Denmark on July 29, 2011, entering at number 36.
The following week, the song reached its peak of number 22 and was listed on the chart for five weeks before falling off.
In Slovakia, "In the Dark" debuted at number 30 and peaked at the top position seven weeks later.
In the United Kingdom, the song debuted and peaked at number 37 on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
in the issue dated August 27, 2011. Although failing to match "Bass Down Low"'s peak of number ten, it did give Dev her second top 40 single in the UK. In Ireland, "In the Dark" fared similarly to the UK on the
Irish Singles Chart
The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are bas ...
, entering and peaking at number 33.
Music video
The music video for "In the Dark" was directed by Ethan Lader, whom Dev enlisted to make the video as he regularly makes videos for her and the Cataracs.
Lader originally contacted her with ideas for the clip, and she soon replied with what she would want in the video. She said, "So we did that back and forth, which he always does with me until I get my point across. ... and then we met up and we got both of our ideas and feelings across. I wanted to be sexy and dark like the song is, in a really interesting way, and we pulled it off, I think."
The video was filmed in Los Angeles, California in late-April 2011, just before Dev joined
Usher as the opening act for his
OMG Tour
OMG Tour was the fourth concert tour by American recording artist Usher. Visiting North America, Asia, Europe and Australia, the tour accompanies his sixth studio album, '' Raymond v. Raymond'' (2010), as well as his first extended play, '' Vers ...
. Dev took more control over the "In the Dark" video than previous video shoots as she used to let the director "take a little bit of control" when she was inexperienced in the process.
In an interview with Idolator, Dev elaborated on the video's concept, stating that she wanted a dark feel similar to
Tim Burton
Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and animator. He is known for his gothic fantasy and horror films such as ''Beetlejuice'' (1988), ''Edward Scissorhands'' (1990), ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (1993), ...
's ''
Alice in Wonderland
''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...
'': "I wanted the video to be sexy as well
..we'd have an Alice in Wonderland/Tim Burton type of feel."
In the video, Dev is seen in a club scene with intense dancing.
The main focus is black-painted hands and arms, which are prominent in several shots of Dev as she is standing naked while the hands are touching her body. Some of the hands were digitally added, but most of them were real, including the ones touching Dev.
She explained, "The extras were amazing, they let me paint their hands and bodies, and they stacked on top of each other and did that for hours. For takes and takes and takes."
The video also includes shots of an albino
ball python
The ball python (''Python regius''), also called the royal python, is a python species native to West and Central Africa, where it lives in grasslands, shrublands and open forests. This nonvenomous constrictor is the smallest of the African p ...
and a tarantula.
Cory Lamz of ''
Westword
''Westword'' is a free digital and print media publication based in Denver, Colorado. ''Westword'' publishes daily online coverage of local news, restaurants, music and arts, as well as longform narrative journalism. A weekly print issue cir ...
'' wrote a positive review of the video: "Watching 'In the Dark' is like dancing under a strobe light on ecstasy. In a sea of hands, literally, Dev manages to tease you, seduce you and entice you. She makes you want to touch her, just like every other hand in the video." Contessa Gayles of
AOL Music
AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo! Inc. ...
referred the video to as "freaky" and "funky", writing "Forget 'dancing in the dark,' Dev works it in a sea of dismembered, black-painted hands and arms in this freaky, funky new vid."
In contrast, Becky Bain of Idolator called it "somewhat unsettling".
Bill Lamb of About.com wrote that the video "will likely leave you never looking at hands exactly the same".
Track listings
*CD single and digital download
#"In the Dark" – 3:48
*Digital EP
#"In the Dark" (Radio Edit) – 3:30
#"In the Dark" (featuring
Flo Rida
Tramar Lacel Dillard (born September 16, 1979), better known by his stage name Flo Rida (, ), is an American rapper and singer. His 2007 breakout single " Low" was number one for 10 weeks in the United States and broke the record for digital dow ...
) – 3:40
#"In the Dark" (Proper Villains Remix) – 4:26
#"In the Dark" (
Havana Brown
The Havana Brown was the result of a planned breeding between Siamese and domestic black cats, by a group of cat fanciers in England, in the 1950s. Early breeders introduced a Siamese type Russian Blue into their breeding. However, using curren ...
Remix) – 5:33
#"In the Dark" (Music video) – 3:46
*Remix download
#"In the Dark" (featuring Flo Rida) – 3:39
*Remix EP
#"In the Dark" (Proper Villains Remix) – 4:27
#"In the Dark" (Hype Jones 2012 Remix) – 4:33
#"In the Dark" (DJ Havoc & SpekrFreks Remix) – 3:28
#"In the Dark" (
Static Revenger
Dennis White, also known as Latroit and Static Revenger, is an American electronic dance music producer, songwriter and DJ. In 2018 he won the Grammy award for 'Best Remixed Recording' for 'You Move' (Latroit Remix), originally by Depeche Mode.
...
Remix) – 6:26
#"In the Dark" (Johan Wedel Remix) – 6:30
#"In the Dark" (Benzi & DStar Remix) – 4:42
#"In the Dark" (DJ Vice Remix) – 6:30
#"In the Dark" (DJ Kue Remix) – 6:52
#"In the Dark" (DJ Enferno Remix) – 6:08
#"In the Dark" (Ranidu Remix) – 5:38
#"In the Dark" (Alfa Paare Remix) – 5:17
Credits and personnel
;Recording
*Recorded at The Indie-Pop Sweat Shop
;Personnel
*
Songwriting
A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...
–
Devin Tailes, Niles Hollowell-Dhar, David Singer-Vine
*
Production
Production may refer to:
Economics and business
* Production (economics)
* Production, the act of manufacturing goods
* Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services)
* Production as a stati ...
– Niles Hollowell-Dhar
*
Recording
A record, recording or records may refer to:
An item or collection of data Computing
* Record (computer science), a data structure
** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity
** Boot sector or boot record, ...
–
The Cataracs
The Cataracs were an American hip hop record production project and duo formed in Berkeley, California, United States, consisting of David Benjamin Singer-Vine (born March 9, 1988) and Niles Hollowell-Dhar (born October 6, 1988). The duo starte ...
*
Mixing – Manny Marroquin
*
Mastering –
Tom Coyne Tom Coyne may refer to:
* Tom Coyne (writer), American writer and professor
* Tom Coyne (broadcaster) (1930–2015), British television presenter
* Tom Coyne (music engineer) (1954–2017), American mastering engineer
* Thomas Coyne (cricketer) ( ...
Credits adapted from ''The Night the Sun Came Up'' liner notes.
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Radio add dates and release history
See also
*
List of number-one dance singles of 2011 (U.S.)
The ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' Dance Club Songs chart is a chart that ranks the best-performing Singles (music), singles in that category in the United States. The first number-one song of the year was by Swedish House Mafia and English ...
*
List of songs recorded by Dev
References
{{authority control
2011 singles
2011 songs
Dev (singer) songs
Eurodance songs
Number-one singles in Russia
Song recordings produced by the Cataracs
Songs written by David Singer-Vine
Songs written by Dev (singer)
Songs written by Kshmr
Universal Republic Records singles