"Twilight Zone" is a 1992 song recorded by Belgian/Dutch
Eurodance band
2 Unlimited
2 Unlimited are a Belgian/Dutch dance music act, founded by Belgian producers/songwriters Jean-Paul De Coster and Phil Wilde in 1991 in Antwerp, Belgium. From 1991 to 1996, Dutch rapper Ray Slijngaard and Dutch vocalist Anita Doth fronted the ...
. It was the second single released from their debut album, ''
Get Ready!'' (1992). The UK release of the single was the first 2 Unlimited single to include the vocals of
Anita Doth
Anita Doth (born 28 December 1971) is a Dutch singer and songwriter best known as the former singer of the duo 2 Unlimited, along with rapper Ray Slijngaard.
Personal life
Anita Daniëlle Dels was born in Amsterdam to a Surinamese father, Rolf ...
, as they had not been featured on their debut hit "
Get Ready for This
"Get Ready for This" is a song recorded by Belgian/Dutch music group 2 Unlimited. It was released in 1991 as the lead single from their debut album, ''Get Ready!'' (1992). Originally, the single was produced as an instrumental, titled the "Orche ...
". However,
Ray Slijngaard
Raymond Lothar Slijngaard (born 28 June 1971) is a Dutch rapper and musician best known as one half of the Eurodance duo 2 Unlimited.
Music career 2 Unlimited (1991–1996)
2 Unlimited is an electronic music project founded in 1991 by Belgian ...
's raps were once again removed. The instrumental "Rave" version of the track sounds different from the original "Not Enough" version, with a more
Hi-NRG
Hi-NRG (pronounced "high energy") is a genre of uptempo disco or electronic dance music (EDM) that originated in the United States during the late 1970s and early 1980s.
As a music genre, typified by fast tempo, staccato hi-hat rhythms (and the ...
style with more bass and added cowbells. The single scored chart success in many European countries, topping the chart in both Finland and the Netherlands. "Twilight Zone" was the second single in a row to just miss out on the top spot in the
UK again, peaking at number two. But it was 2 Unlimited's biggest hit on the US ''
Billboard''
Hot Dance Club Play
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 th ...
chart, reaching number five, and it won an award in the category for Best Techno 12-inch Single on the 1993
WMC International Dance Music Awards.
Background and release
Producer Jean-Paul De Coster told about the song in an interview with Pan-European magazine ''
Music & Media'', "The new single Twilight Zone is even more accessible than its predecessor ["
Get Ready for This
"Get Ready for This" is a song recorded by Belgian/Dutch music group 2 Unlimited. It was released in 1991 as the lead single from their debut album, ''Get Ready!'' (1992). Originally, the single was produced as an instrumental, titled the "Orche ...
"]. We call it 'House music, happy house'. In fact, it all comes from the same origins. Just like rock 'n' roll, this music always evoluates."
Critical reception
Victoria Thieberger from ''
The Age
''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory ...
'' wrote, "The track is propelled by a high-tech beat and dramatic changes in melody and attitude that make it sound like three songs tacked together, punctuated by an occasional "whoo!"" rap in the vocal mix "gives it a harder edge, providing a central focus for the variations that spin around it. The end result is an entertaining
dance track of more than average complexity and a decided lyrical development from "
Get Ready For This
"Get Ready for This" is a song recorded by Belgian/Dutch music group 2 Unlimited. It was released in 1991 as the lead single from their debut album, ''Get Ready!'' (1992). Originally, the single was produced as an instrumental, titled the "Orche ...
"."
Larry Flick from ''
Billboard'' deemed it "a swirling
techno
Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...
rave that is etched with sweet and tuneful pop/NRG nuances. Tough enough to please hardcore punters, though mainstreamers will find track palatable as well."
James Hamilton from ''
Music Week
''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future.
History
Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...
s ''RM'' Dance Update stated that
Stock & Waterman's "Belgian" act "returns with another synth stabbed simplistic Mecca-aimed raver, jerkily galloping through". Sian Pattenden from ''
Smash Hits'' viewed it as "an averagely bouncy rave tune."
Chart performance
"Twilight Zone" was very successful on the charts across several continents. In Europe, it peaked at number-one in Finland and the Netherlands. Additionally,
it made it to the top 10 also in Austria, Belgium, Greece (number two), Ireland, Portugal, Spain (number three), Sweden and the United Kingdom, as well as on the
Eurochart Hot 100 and
MTV's
European Top 20. In the UK, "Twilight Zone" peaked at number two in its third week 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 ...
, on February 2, 1992. It was held off reaching the top spot by
Wet Wet Wet
Wet Wet Wet are a Scottish soft rock band formed in 1982. They scored a number of hits in the UK charts and around the world in the 1980s and 1990s. They are best known for their 1994 cover of The Troggs' 1960s hit " Love Is All Around", which ...
's "
Goodnight Girl
"Goodnight Girl" is the third single from Scottish band Wet Wet Wet's fourth studio album, '' High on the Happy Side'' (1992). It was released on 23 December 1991 and was the second of the band's three UK number-one singles (the first being a co ...
". On the
UK Dance Singles Chart
The UK Dance Singles Chart and the UK Dance Albums Chart are music charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company from sales of songs in the dance music genre (e.g. house, trance, drum and bass, garage, synthpop) in record ...
, it hit number four. Outside Europe, the single reached number-one on the ''
RPM
Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines.
Standards
ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...
'' Dance/Urban chart and number 15 on the ''RPM'' Top Singles chart in Canada, number five on the US ''
Billboard''
Hot Dance Club Play
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 th ...
chart, number 22 on the ''Billboard''
Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales
In the issue dated March 16, 1985, ''Billboard'' magazine debuted its first chart devoted exclusively to 12-inch Singles Sales. The 50-position weekly ranking joined ''Billboard''s established Club Songs chart, reduced to the same 50 positions, ...
chart and number 49 on the ''Billboard''
Hot 100. In Australia, it went to number eleven.
Music video
The 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 ...
for "Twilight Zone" was directed by British director David Betteridge. He had previously directed the video for the band's first hit, "
Get Ready for This
"Get Ready for This" is a song recorded by Belgian/Dutch music group 2 Unlimited. It was released in 1991 as the lead single from their debut album, ''Get Ready!'' (1992). Originally, the single was produced as an instrumental, titled the "Orche ...
". "Twilight Zone" was later published on 2 Unlimited's official
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 in July 2014. The video has amassed more than 7,6 million views as of November 2021.
Appearances
The song has become a staple of
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
teams, as many of them play an instrumental loop of the song during games. Its popularity in the NHL may have been inspired by Ray Slijngaard wearing a
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...
hoodie
A hoodie (in some cases spelled hoody and alternatively known as a hooded sweatshirt) is a sweatshirt with a hood. Hoodies with zippers usually include two pockets on the lower front, one on either side of the zipper, while "pullover" hoodie ...
in the music video. It has also been used in
NHL 11
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...
's "EA Trax" soundtrack.
The song's B4 Za Beat Mix (2:15) was included on ''
Dancemania
''Dancemania'' is a series of remix compilation albums by i-DANCE. The series deals primarily with dance music, especially Eurodance. Despite many of its tracks being made by various musicians from all over the world and mainly from the European ...
s ''
Speed 5'' and ''Speed Best 2001''.
The song appeared on ''
Witch
Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...
'', the third episode of ''
Buffy the Vampire Slayer'', playing for a cheerleading hopeful whose hands spontaneously combusted in the middle of her tryout.
The song was remixed as "
Techno Syndrome" by
the Immortals, the main theme of the ''
Mortal Kombat'' franchise. Immortals members Olivier Adams and Maurice Engelen have claimed the resemblance to be a coincidence, and that no legal action was taken.
Track listings
* 7-inch single
# "Twilight Zone" (7" Vocal/Not Enough Version Edit) — 4:09
# "Twilight Zone" (7" Instrumental/Rave Version Edit) — 4:09
* 12-inch maxi
# "Twilight Zone" (Rave Version) — 5:42
# "Twilight Zone" (Rapping Rave Version) — 5:40
# "Twilight Zone" (Rio & Le Jean Remix) — 4:41
* CD single, Australia
# "Twilight Zone" (7" Instrumental) — 3:16
# "Twilight Zone" (7" Vocal) — 4:11
# "Twilight Zone" (Rave Version) — 5:43
(Note: Track 1 is the PWL 7" edit, which is based on the Rave Version but adds some of Anita's vocals, specifically her "This is the twilight zone" chorus from the vocal arrangements to give it a slight "verse-chorus-verse" arrangement.)
* CD single, UK
# "Twilight Zone" (7" Edit) — 3:18
# "Twilight Zone" (Rave Version) — 5:42
# "Twilight Zone" (Rapping Rave Version) — 5:40
* CD maxi
# "Twilight Zone" (Rave Version) — 5:42
# "Twilight Zone" (Rapping Rave Version) — 5:40
# "Twilight Zone" (Not Enough Version) — 5:41
# "Twilight Zone" (Rio & Le Jean Remix) — 4:10
# "Twilight Zone" (7" Vocal/Not Enough Version Edit) — 4:10
# "Twilight Zone" (7" Instrumental/Rave Version Edit) — 4:09
* CD maxi, France
# "Twilight Zone" (Radio Version) — 3:58
# "Twilight Zone" (Not Enough Version) — 5:40
# "Twilight Zone" (Rave Version) — 4:46
# "Twilight Zone" (Rio & Le Jean Remix) — 4:43
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Millennium Remixes
Following the bleak success of the "
No Limit
No Limit may refer to:
Music Record labels
*No Limit Records, a record label founded by Master P
* No Limit Forever Records, a record label founded by Romeo Miller, son of Master P
Albums
* ''No Limit'' (Art Pepper album), 1977
* ''No Limit'' ...
" single came the "
Twilight Zone (Millennium Remixes)". It had the same success as its predecessor, although the remixes were more commercial and radio-friendly. It received good airplay in Europe but had very little success in the charts.
Track listings
* 12" single, Europe
# "Twilight Zone" (
DJ Jean
DJ Jean (born Jean Engelaar, 7 May 1968) is a Dutch disc jockey.
Biography
He is most popular for his space countdown themed hard house single "The Launch". He has been an influential figure in the electronic music scene since the early 1990s. He ...
Club Mix) — 7:18
# "Twilight Zone" (DJ Jean Dub Mix) — 5:46
# "Twilight Zone" (Sharp 'Maniac' Mix) — 7:15
* 12" single, Japan (Promo)
# "Twilight Zone" (R-Control Mix) — 5:43
# "Twilight Zone" (R-C Extended Club Mix) — 7:20
# "Twilight Zone" (Sharp 'Maniac' Mix) — 7:15
# "
Let the Beat Control Your Body" (I.O. Sonic Remix) — 4:55
* CD single
# "Twilight Zone" (DJ Jean Edit) — 3:15
# "Twilight Zone" (Delvino Remix Edit) — 3:35
* CD maxi
# "Twilight Zone" (DJ Jean Edit) — 3:15
# "Twilight Zone" (DJ Jean Club Mix) — 7:18
# "Twilight Zone" (DJ Jean Dub Mix) — 5:46
# "Twilight Zone" (Sharp 'Maniac' Mix) — 7:15
References
{{Authority control
2 Unlimited songs
1991 songs
1992 singles
Byte Records singles
Dutch Top 40 number-one singles
English-language Dutch songs
Music videos directed by David Betteridge
Number-one singles in Finland
Pete Waterman Entertainment singles
Songs written by Phil Wilde
ZYX Music singles