"In for the Kill" is a song by English synth-pop duo

La Roux La Roux ( ) is an English synthpop act formed in 2008 by singer Elly Jackson and record producer Ben Langmaid. The act's debut album '' La Roux'' (2009) was a critical and commercial success, winning a Grammy Award and producing hit singles su ...

from their eponymous debut studio album (2009). The song was released as the album's second single on 15 March 2009. It became the duo's breakthrough single, peaking at number two 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 ...

Dubstep Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London in the early 2000s. The style emerged as a UK garage offshoot that blended 2-step rhythms and sparse dub production, as well as incorporating elements of broken be ...

producers

Skream Oliver Dene Jones (born 1 June 1986), known as Skream, is an English electronic music producer based in Croydon. Skream was an early and influential exponent of the dubstep genre. After producing several singles, he released his first full-len ...

and

Skrillex Sonny John Moore (born January 15, 1988), known professionally as Skrillex, is an American DJ and music producer. Growing up in Northeast Los Angeles and Northern California, he joined the post-hardcore band From First to Last as the lead si ...

both made remixes of the track. In 2011, "In for the Kill" was nominated for

Best Dance Recording The Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Recording (formerly known as Best Dance Recording) is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists f ...

at the

53rd Annual Grammy Awards The 53rd Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 13, 2011, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. They were broadcast on CBS with a rating of 26.6 million viewers. Barbra Streisand was honored as the MusiCares Person of the Year two nights pri ...

Background

Frontwoman Elly Jackson told Steve Harris of Xfm radio that the song is "about telling someone how you feel regardless of what you get back, and not waiting to find out if they want you or not." The track is heavily influenced by the title theme of the 1980s animated television series '' Pole Position'', with the music video paying homage to the show as well.

Critical reception

"In for the Kill" received generally positive reviews from music critics. '' Digital Spy'' reviewer David Balls described the song as "slightly odd, endlessly exciting" and stated that it "manages to sound quaintly old-school and positively futuristic all at the same time." Francis Jolley of Clickmusic praised it as "80s synth pop at its most glorious", naming it "the most exciting single around." In a review for '' Exclaim!'', Cam Lindsay wrote that the track "features some icy, high-pitched woos from Jackson and pulse-pounding beats" which make it sound "delicious".

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called it a "damn fine electro pop humdinger" and complimented Jackson's powerful vocals which "hit the ground running and burst with effervescence from the opening note." In October 2011, ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' placed the song at number 64 on its list of the "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".

Commercial performance

"In for the Kill" debuted at number 11 on the

for the week ending 28 March 2009. Four weeks after its debut, the song peaked at number two with 51,724 copies sold. The single spent four consecutive weeks at number two, before falling to number three with sales of 44,310 copies. In January 2011, "In for the Kill" was named the 11th best-selling download in the United Kingdom of all time. The song had sold 875,523 copies in the UK as of July 2014. In Ireland, the track debuted at number 47 on 16 April 2009 and peaked at number 13, four weeks later. "In for the Kill" was less successful in continental Europe, charting at number 43 in Belgium, number 53 in Austria, number 68 in Slovakia and number 92 in Germany. It nevertheless reached number 11 in Norway, as well as number nine on the European Hot 100 Singles chart. The single debuted at number 50 in Australia on 29 June 2009, but fell off the chart the next week. On 13 July 2009 it re-entered the chart at number 46, peaking at number 36, two weeks later. In the United States, "In for the Kill" topped the Hot Dance Club Songs chart on the issue dated 27 November 2010, becoming the duo's second number-one song on the chart after "

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Music videos

The first music video for "In for the Kill" was directed by Kinga Burza and produced by Sarah Tognazzi. The 1980s-inspired video features Jackson singing the song while driving a

Toyota MR2 The Toyota MR2 is a line of two-seat, mid-engined, rear-wheel-drive sports cars manufactured in Japan and marketed globally by Toyota from 1984 until 2007 over three generations: W10 (1984–1989), W20 (1989–1999) and W30 (2000–2007). It ...

. It begins with Jackson driving down a dark road at night. At the beginning of the chorus, she puts on a pair of sunglasses, removing them at the chorus' end. During the instrumental section of the song, she waves her hand out of the car window, at which point the road ahead and the cloud-covered moon is visible. Jackson continues to drive until she comes across another version of herself standing in the middle of the road. The video concludes with Jackson driving the car, her eyes glowing white. A second video was released on 7 October 2010 to promote the US release of the single, featuring a slightly altered version of the song. The video was directed by LEGS and filmed at the

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Alternative versions

musician

produced the most well-known remix of the song, titled the Let's Get Ravey remix, which was included on the CD single and digital EP. The remix was featured during the closing credits of the ''

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'' episode "Hair", originally aired 8 August 2010, as well as in television commercials for the 2009 fantasy video game ''

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'' and in the trailer for the 2012 film ''

Dredd ''Dredd'' is a 2012 science fiction action film directed by Pete Travis and written and produced by Alex Garland. It is based on the '' 2000 AD'' comic strip '' Judge Dredd'' and its eponymous character created by John Wagner and Carlos Ezq ...

''. It is also part of the soundtrack to

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' 2011 ski film ''Attack of la Niña''. Skream's remix received positive reviews from music critics. ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

'' reviewer Gareth Grundy called it a "proper remix, the kind that nudges the original song into thrilling new territory." Cam Lindsay of ''Exclaim!'' wrote that while the original version "features some icy, high-pitched wails from Jackson and pulse-pounding beats ..it's the 'Let's Get Ravey Mix' ..that really kills it." Skream also produced an alternate remix, That Doesn't Sound Like Skream's Remix, which appeared on the physical and digital EP releases of "In for the Kill". French musician Lifelike's self-titled remix, which is over six minutes long, was released as a

12-inch single The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12″) is a type of vinyl ( polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a 'single' or a few related sound tracks on each surfac ...

and digital download by French electronic music label Kitsuné, and it was also included on the 2009 compilation album ''Kitsuné Maison Compilation 7''. The official remix of the song for the US featuring rapper

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 ...

premiered exclusively on the ''

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'' website on 12 October 2010, and was released digitally on 2 November.

Cover versions

The song was covered on the

Live Lounge The Live Lounge is a segment on the British radio stations BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra. It was originally hosted by Simon Mayo, and later by Jo Whiley on her weekday mid-morning, and later weekend lunchtime radio shows, then by Fearne Cotton ...

segment of

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

's ''

The Jo Whiley Show ''The Jo Whiley Show'' was a British weekday later weekend radio show on BBC Radio 1 hosted by Jo Whiley. The programme was on air from February 2001 to March 2011 and was broadcast each weekday morning between 10:00am and 12:45pm, and later 13:0 ...

'' on four separate occasions: on 18 May 2009 by Australian R&B singer

Daniel Merriweather Daniel Paul Merriweather (born 17 February 1982) is an Australian R&B recording artist. Merriweather's debut solo album, '' Love & War'', was released in June 2009. It entered the UK Albums Chart at number two. It was preceded by two sing ...

, on 30 January 2010 by Swedish

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and su ...

trio

Miike Snow Miike Snow (pronounced "Mike Snow") is a Swedish indie pop band formed in 2007. The band consists of producing team Bloodshy & Avant and American singer Andrew Wyatt. The band is often represented by a silhouette image of a jackalope. In their ...

, on 12 May 2010 by American R&B singer

Kelis Kelis Rogers-Mora (; born August 21, 1979), known mononymously as Kelis, is an American singer, songwriter and a professionally trained chef. At age 14, she was admitted to New York's Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Perform ...

, on 8 September 2013 by English indie pop trio

London Grammar London Grammar are an English indie pop band formed in Nottingham in 2009. The band consists of Hannah Reid, Dan Rothman and Dominic “Dot” Major. Their debut extended play, '' Metal & Dust'', was released in February 2013 by Metal & Dust R ...

and by

Billie Marten Isabella Sophie Tweddle (born 27 May 1999), better known under the stage name Billie Marten, is a British singer-songwriter and musician from Ripon in North Yorkshire. She first came to prominence at the age of twelve when a video on YouTube of ...

. "In for the Kill" has been

sampled Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of so ...

by several rappers.

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rapper Donnis sampled it on his song "For the Kill" from his 2010 mixtape ''Fashionably Late''. Later that year, it was sampled on French Montana's song "Goin' In for the Kill" featuring

Chinx Drugz Lionel Du Fon Pickens (December 4, 1983 – May 17, 2015), better known by his stage name Chinx (formerly Chinx Drugz), was an American rapper. He was a member of The Rockaway Riot Squad alongside fellow slain rapper Stack Bundles. Chinx later jo ...

and Cheeze, which appears on French Montana's mixtape ''Coke Boys''. The track was sampled by production duo

Cool & Dre Cool & Dre are a record production and songwriting duo from North Miami, Florida, consisting of Marcello "Cool" Antonio Valenzano and Andre "Dre" Christopher Lyon. The duo are best known for their work with Terror Squad founder Fat Joe, first ...

for rapper Game's "The Kill" from his 2011 mixtape '' Purp & Patron''. In April 2011, Jackson confirmed that Dr. Dre had sampled "In for the Kill" for his upcoming album ''

Detox Detoxification or detoxication (detox for short) is the physiological or medicinal removal of toxic substances from a living organism, including the human body, which is mainly carried out by the liver. Additionally, it can refer to the period of ...

''.

UK drill UK drill is a subgenre of drill music and road rap that originated in the South London district of Brixton from 2012 onwards. Initially borrowing heavily from the style of Chicago drill music before creating its own unique sound, UK drill artist ...

rapper

Tion Wayne Dennis Junior Odunwo (born 1 September 1993), known professionally as Tion Wayne, is a British rapper and DJ from Edmonton, North London. He appeared on three top-10 singles on UK Singles Chart as a guest – NSG's " Options", "Keisha & Becky" ...

sampled the song's chorus in his 2022 single "IFTK", with La Roux also listed as a lead artist; it reached a peak of number 6 on the UK Singles Chart.

Track listings

*CD single #"In for the Kill" – 4:08 #"In for the Kill" (

's Let's Get Ravey Remix) – 5:05 *Digital EP #"In for the Kill" – 4:10 #"In for the Kill" (Skream's Let's Get Ravey Remix) – 5:04 #"In for the Kill" (That Doesn't Sound Like Skream's Remix) – 3:27 *UK limited edition 7-inch picture disc :A. "In for the Kill" – 4:08 :B. "In for the Kill" – 4:08 *French digital single and 12-inch single #"In for the Kill" (Lifelike Remix) – 6:08 *French and Japanese EP #"In for the Kill" – 4:10 #"

Quicksand Quicksand is a colloid consisting of fine granular material (such as sand, silt or clay) and water. It forms in saturated loose sand when the sand is suddenly agitated. When water in the sand cannot escape, it creates a liquefied soil that los ...

" – 3:06 #"In for the Kill" (Lifelike Remix) – 6:09 #"In for the Kill" (That Doesn't Sound Like Skream's Remix) – 3:26 #"Quicksand" ( autoKratz Drags to Riches Remix) – 4:40 #"Quicksand" (

Beni is a Japanese R&B singer, who debuted in 2004 under the Avex Trax label. In 2008, Arashiro left Avex Trax and transferred to Universal Music Japan where she started to perform as simply Beni (stylized as BENI). She was initially best known fo ...

's Sinking at 1.56 Mix) – 4:16 #"In for the Kill" (Skream's Lets Get Ravey Remix) – 5:03 *US digital EP – remixes #"In for the Kill" (Skream's Let's Get Ravey Remix) – 5:01 #"In for the Kill" (

Tim Bran Dreadzone are a British electronic music group. They have released eight studio albums, two live albums, and two compilations. Career Dreadzone were formed in London, England in 1993 when ex-Big Audio Dynamite drummer Greg Roberts teamed up ...

Remix) – 3:43 #"In for the Kill" (

Danger Danger is a lack of safety and may refer to: Places * Danger Cave, an archaeological site in Utah * Danger Island, Great Chagos Bank, Indian Ocean * Danger Island, alternate name of Pukapuka Atoll in the Cook Islands, Pacific Ocean * Danger Isla ...

's Ocean Remix) – 4:16 #"In for the Kill" (

Remix) – 5:11 *US digital single – featuring Kanye West #"In for the Kill" (featuring

) – 4:40

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''

''.

Recording and management

* Recorded at Elfin Studios (

Teddington Teddington is a suburb in south-west London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. In 2021, Teddington was named as the best place to live in London by ''The Sunday Times''. Historically in Middlesex, Teddington is situated on a long me ...

, London) * Mixed at MixStar Studios (

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

) * Published by Big Life Music Ltd.

Personnel

* Elly Jackson – vocals, production * Ben Langmaid – production * Serban Ghenea – mixing * John Hanes – mix engineering * Tim Roberts – mix engineering assistance

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{authority control 2009 singles 2009 songs Cherrytree Records singles Interscope Records singles Kitsuné singles La Roux songs Polydor Records singles