‘Dark Horse’: How Katy Perry Took The Reins For A New Direction

Fortune favors the braveand if “Dark Horse” started life as one of many contenders from Katy Perry’s fourth studio albumPrismfan support and the singer’s drive to push her music in new directions saw the song crowned champion by the close of the album’s 2013/14 campaign.

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Katy asked fans to pick which track should be used to support the release of her follow-up to the multi-platinum Teenage Dream album andwhen offered a choice of “Dark Horse” or the 90s-dance-influenced “Walking On Air,” they picked the more experimental of the two. It was an early sign that her loyal KatyCats fanbase was willing to develop with the staras “Dark Horse” represents a decisive shift away from the colorful high-impact pop that had largely characterized her success to date.

Writing and recording “Dark Horse”

The track’s inspiration is said to have come from Katy’s love of the 1996 fantasy-horror movie The Craftbutas in all modern popa range of artists played their part in making “Dark Horse” the song we now recognize. Pivotal to its creation was the collaboration with celebrated songwriter Sarah Hudsonwho has also worked with Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber. She and Katy built the song’s template in a California writing session. After discussions with her production teamKaty asked rapper Juicy J to work on the trackand he added another verse and joined the recording sessionshelmed by Dr. Luke and Max Martinwho contributed so much to Katy’s early success.

The urban overlay that Juicy J brought to Katy’s effortlessly accessible pop added an intriguing layer to an already sassyprovocative lyric. As everKaty’s in control of the narrativebuilding a tease that’s as much a come-on as it is a warning about the unpredictable spell a romantic union can create. And therein lies the authenticity of the track. Haven’t we all been there: the draw of the newthe frisson of dangerand the delicious uncertainty as temptation proves just too strong?

As if to match the song’s tease and push-and-pull messagethe trap hip-hop flavorings add a sharp bite to the sweeter pop. If there was a nod back towards the collaboration with Kanye West on 2011’s “ET,” however“Dark Horse” found Katy more clearly in the saddle.

Release and reception

Critics recognized the developing maturity of Katy’s worknoting that the song would sit well with the powerful urban radio programmers without alienating the pop market. They were right. Released as Prism’s first promotional track“Dark Horse” got an official release on December 172013topping the US charts in the first weeks of the new year and reaching the Top 10 almost everywhere else. It went on to dominate 2014racking up no less than a year on the Billboard Hot 100while the promo video quickly become one of the most-watched of all timewith more than two and a half billion YouTube views to date.

Subsequent releases have seen Katy push her musical boundaries still furtherbut “Dark Horse” marks the moment that she started to show confidence in moving away from the all-out pop that she first established as her own. There was fresh ground to cover and this track was the thoroughbred that got her over that first hurdle and into the great beyond.

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