"Redrum" (stylized as "redruM"; palindrome for "Murder") is a song by Romanian singer and songwriter Sorana and French disc jockey

David Guetta Pierre David Guetta ( , ; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ and music producer. He has over 10 million album and 65 million single sales globally, with more than 10 billion streams. In 2011, 2020 and 2021, Guetta was voted the number one D ...

. It was released for digital download and streaming on 20 January 2022 by Atlantic Records. The song was written by Sorana and 15 others, including Jeffrey Bhasker, Mikkel Cox, Guetta, Malik Jones,

Mr Hudson Benjamin Hudson McIldowie (born 26 June 1979), better known by his stage name Mr Hudson, is an English musician from Birmingham, England. First rising to prominence in 2006 with Mr Hudson and the Library, Hudson later embarked on a solo career ...

Scott Mescudi Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi (born January 30, 1984), also known by his stage name Kid Cudi ( ), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, actor and fashion designer. Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Cudi would move to New Yo ...

Giorgio Tuinfort Giorgio Hesdey Tuinfort is a Dutch record producer and songwriter. Biography Born in Suriname, Tuinfort moved to the Netherlands at 9 months old. His musical career started at age 4, after he attended a special music class for toddlers. After b ...

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 ...

and Ernest Wilson, while the production was handled by Toby Green, Guetta and Cox. A dance-pop track about a love triangle and a resulting heartbreak, it interpolates the refrain of West's 2008 song " Heartless".

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 ...

gave positive reviews of "Redrum" upon its release, praising the catchiness, Sorana's vocal delivery and the production. Commercially, the song reached number ten in Bulgaria and the top 20 in the

Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an area of and has an estimated population of 239,796,010. ...

(CIS), Russia and the Netherlands. An accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

was uploaded to Guetta's

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

channel simultaneously with the single release. Directed by Andra Marta, Alexandru Mureșan and Cristina Poszet, it portrays Sorana being chased by a clone of herself through the hallways of a hotel. Observers likened the visual and the singer's outfit to the 1980

psychological horror Psychological horror is a subgenre of horror and psychological fiction with a particular focus on mental, emotional, and psychological states to frighten, disturb, or unsettle its audience. The subgenre frequently overlaps with the related subge ...

film '' The Shining'' and fictional superheroine Sailor Moon, respectively.

Background and composition

Sorana has left her native country of Romania to pursue a musical career and relocated to London and then Los Angeles. Her work as a songwriter includes the commercially successful singles "

Takeaway A take-out or takeout (U.S., Canada, and the Philippines); carry-out or to-go (Scotland and some dialects in the U.S. and Canada); takeaway (England, Wales, Australia, Lebanon, South Africa, Northern Ireland, Ireland, and occasionally in Nort ...

" (2019) by the Chainsmokers,

Illenium Nicholas Daniel Miller (born December 26, 1990), professionally known as Illenium, is an American DJ, record producer, and songwriter. He has released four studio albums, his most recent being '' Fallen Embers'', released in July 2021. It earne ...

and

Lennon Stella Lennon Ray Louise Stella (born August 13, 1999) is a Canadian singer and actress. She portrayed Maddie Conrad on the musical-drama series ''Nashville'' (2012–2018). Before going solo in 2018, Stella performed with her sister as the duo Lennon ...

, "

OMG What's Happening "OMG What's Happening" is a song by American singer Ava Max, released through Atlantic Records as the seventh single from her debut studio album, '' Heaven & Hell'' (2020). It was released September 3, 2020. The disco- funk and disco- pop so ...

" (2020) by

Ava Max Amanda Ava Koci (born Amanda Koçi; February 16, 1994), known professionally as Ava Max, is an American singer and songwriter. She signed with Atlantic Records in 2016, through which she released her breakthrough single " Sweet but Psycho" in ...

and "

Heartbreak Anthem "Heartbreak Anthem" is a song by Swedish electronic music duo Galantis, French DJ and music producer David Guetta and British girl group Little Mix. It was released on 20 May 2021 through Atlantic Records and appears on Little Mix's greatest ...

" (2021) by

Galantis Galantis is a Swedish electronic dance music production, songwriting and DJ duo consisting of Christian Karlsson and Linus Eklöw. Karlsson is also known as Bloodshy as part of two other musical groups, a duo (Bloodshy & Avant) and a trio (Mi ...

, Guetta and Little Mix. Furthermore, Sorana has also provided features for artists such as Alan Walker on "

Lost Control "Lost Control" is a song by Grinspoon. It was released on 12 May 2002, as the second single from their third studio album, ''New Detention'', and peaked at No. 29 on the ARIA Singles Chart. It also reached No. 14 on Triple J's Hotte ...

" (2018). "Redrum", Sorana's debut single under Atlantic Records, was released for digital download and streaming on 20 January 2022, in collaboration with fellow lead artist Guetta. It was written by Sorana and 15 others, including Jeffrey Bhasker, Mikkel Cox, Guetta, Malik Jones,

and Ernest Wilson, while the production was handled by Toby Green, Guetta and Cox. ''Note: The user may access the three dots on the right to display the credits.'' West personally approved an interpolation of the refrain of his 2008 song " Heartless" in "Redrum", leading to him, Jones, Mescudi and Wilson receiving credits. "Redrum", the song's title, is a palindrome for "Murder" that originates from a scene in the 1980

film '' The Shining''; an alternative stylization is "redruM". Musically, "Redrum" is a dance-pop track backed by "Guetta's signature driving bass lines and huge synths". Regarding its meaning, Sorana stated: On 4 February 2022, a

MistaJam Peter Dalton (born 19 January 1983), known professionally as MistaJam, is a British DJ and radio presenter. He is known for presenting radio shows on BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra from 2005 to 2020; since 2020 he has presented on Capital and ...

remix of "Redrum" was released. Nicole Pepe of ''We Rave You'' thought that it "breathes a new life into the original by adding more hypnotic and spacey synths, and an edgy faster tempo"; she further noticed "a darker underlying tone" and "early

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

EDM EDM or E-DM may refer to: Music * Electronic dance music * Early Day Miners, American band Science and technology * Electric dipole moment * Electrical discharge machining * Electronic distance measurement *Entry, Descent, and landing demonstrat ...

vibes".

Robin Schulz Robin Alexander Schulz (; born 28 April 1987) is a German musician, DJ and record producer. On 4 February 2014, he released the first single from his debut album, a remix of "Waves" by Dutch hip hop artist Mr. Probz. This remix later received ...

also issued a remix on 16 February 2022, with

Dancing Astronaut Dancing Astronaut is an American media platform founded in 2009 that primarily covers the electronic dance music industry. The website covers concerts and festivals, reports on entertainment news, reviews music, and publishes original content sy ...

's Rachel Narozniak labelling it as a "beat-driven take on heoriginal

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

maintains the

easy-listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, no ...

appeal present ..but picks up the pace just slightly".

Reception

Upon release, "Redrum" was met with 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 ...

. We Rave You's Ellie Mullins thought that "the heartbreak n the song's lyricsis perfectly conveyed through the passion of orana'sstunning vocals. Completing the track and putting the cherry on top, Guetta creates a passionate and intricate soundscape that allows for ertalents to shine to their fullest ability." Nassim Aziki, writing for Fun Radio, noticed a "powerful chorus" and a "terribly beautiful voice" resembling that of

Sia Sia Kate Isobelle Furler ( ; born 18 December 1975) is an Australian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Adelaide, she started her career as a singer in the acid jazz band Crisp in the mid-1990s. In 1997, when Crisp disbanded, she rel ...

. Another editor from Fun Radio highlighted the song's similarities to " Dangerous" (2014) and " Flames" (2018) from Guetta's catalogue. A writer of CelebMix commended the song, writing that it "beautifully showcases Sorana's knack for catchy hooks and artful storytelling as well as ..Guetta's ability to craft sleek productions. This one's made to be played over and over again and will get stuck in your head for a while". Commercially, "Redrum" attained modest peaks in several countries, including number ten in Bulgaria, number 17 in the

(CIS), number 26 in Croatia, number 18 in the Netherlands and number 13 in Russia.

Music video

An accompanying

was uploaded to Guetta's

channel on 20 January 2022. It was directed by Andra Marta, Alexandru Mureșan and Cristina Poszet, while Mureșan was also hired as the

director of photography The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...

and Nicoleta Darabană as Sorana's

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * ...

. The clip opens with a fuzzy television screen displaying the song's title. Sorana is seen lying next to it on the floor of a room with pulsating lights and pop art of Guetta; as she nears the television, she is being grabbed into it by her mouth by a clone of herself. Sorana subsequently finds herself in a hallway of a 1980s-styled hotel along with her clone, who has a white outfit, neon blue braids and long nails while carrying a knife in her hands that are covered by a pink liquid. The clone proceeds into chasing Sorana through the hallway which displays further portraits of Guetta. Although Sorana runs away and hides, they eventually meet and fight on top of each other. The singer is then portrayed in a bathtub with pink liquid wherein she drowns, before the video ends with a shot of Sorana in the room shown at the beginning; her hands and outfit are covered with the liquid. Observers likened the hotel shown during the clip to ''The Shining'' and Sorana's appearance to that of the fictional superheroine Sailor Moon. While Major called the video "dark and twisted", Aziki thought the singer's outfit is "very extravagant". Rachel Kupfer, writing for EDM.com, opined that the clone was the "murderous new girlfriend" of Sorana's ex and further stated that the "cotton candy-colored" visual had "futuristic, alien-like fashion and ..dramatics

are off the charts". An editor of CelebMix spoke highly of the clip, naming it "probably one of the most aesthetically-pleasing music videos we have seen over the last couple of months".

Track listing

*Official versions #"Redrum" – 2:52 #"Redrum" (

Remix) – 3:03 #"Redrum" (

Remix) – 2:56

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

and

. ''Note: Open the description or skip to the last scene for credits.'' ;Songwriting and technical credits * Jeffrey Bhaskersongwriter *Ron Cabiltes

sample clearance In sound and music, sampling is the reuse of a portion (or sample) of a sound recording in another recording. Samples may comprise elements such as rhythm, melody, speech, sounds or entire bars of music, and may be layered, Equalization (audio), ...

*Pedro Callonivocal mix * Mikkel Coxsongwriter, producer *Scott Desmarais

mix engineer A mixing engineer (or simply mix engineer) is responsible for combining ("mixing") different sonic elements of an auditory piece into a complete rendition (also known as "final mix" or "mixdown"), whether in music, film, or any other content of a ...

assistant *Thomas Eriksensongwriter *Robin Florentmix engineer assistant *Tobias Frederiksensongwriter *Chris Gallandmix engineer *Toby Greenproducer *David Guettasongwriter, producer *Jeremie Inhabermix engineer assistant * Malik Jonessongwriter *

songwriter *Julia Karlssonsongwriter *Michelle Mancini mastering *Manny Marroquin mixing *

songwriter *Benjamin McIldowiesongwriter *Sorana Păcurarvocals, songwriter *Madalin Roșioruvocal engineering *Anton Rundbergsongwriter *Rollo Spreckleysongwriter *

songwriter *

songwriter * Ernest Wilsonsongwriter *Danny Zooksample clearance ;Music video credits *Dragoș Constantinestyling, costume design *Nicoleta Darabană

body double In filmmaking, a double is a person who substitutes FOR another actor such that the person's face is not shown. There are various terms associated with a double based on the specific body part or ability they serve as a double for, such as stunt ...

*Ilina Dumitruhair stylist *Malvina Isfanmake-up artist *Andra Martadirector, edit *Alexandru Mureșandirector,

, color grading *Hilke Muslimstyling, costume design *Trevor Joseph Newtonvideo commissioner *Cristina Poszetdirector *Cătălina Stoicanail artist

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

Notes

References

{{Authority control 2022 singles 2022 songs Sorana (singer) songs David Guetta songs Song recordings produced by David Guetta Songs written by Anton Rundberg Songs written by David Guetta Songs written by Jeff Bhasker Songs written by Kanye West Songs written by Kid Cudi Songs written by Malik Yusef Songs written by Mr Hudson Songs written by No I.D. Songs written by Sorana (singer)