Dangerous Night

"Dangerous Night"
Single by Thirty Seconds to Mars
from the album America
Released	January 25, 2018 (2018-01-25)
Studio	The International Centre for the Advancement of the Arts and Sciences of Sound, Los Angeles, California
Genre	Electronic rock
Length	3:19
Label	Interscope Universal
Songwriter(s)	Jared Leto Stevie Aiello
Producer(s)	Zedd Jared Leto
Thirty Seconds to Mars singles chronology
"Walk on Water" (2017) "Dangerous Night" (2018) "Rescue Me" (2018)

"Dangerous Night" is a song recorded by American rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars, featured on their fifth studio album America. It was written by Stevie Aiello and Jared Leto, who also produced the song with Zedd. "Dangerous Night" was described as a personal and uplifting song characterized by an anthemic and euphoric nature. It marked a strong departure from much of the band's previous work as it incorporates a softer sound as well as elements from electronic dance music. The song is imbued with influences from arena rock and ambient music.

"Dangerous Night" was released on January 25, 2018 through Interscope Records, as the second single from the album. Thirty Seconds to Mars performed the song on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. KROQ ranked "Dangerous Night" at number 16 on its list of the 20 Best Songs of 2018.^[1]

Background

"Dangerous Night" was written by lead vocalist Jared Leto and studio musician Stevie Aiello. It was produced by Leto and Zedd, who also did the mixing of the track. Zedd had previously worked with Thirty Seconds to Mars on a live rendition of his song "Stay the Night". Ryan Shanahan served as mixing assistant. "Dangerous Night" was recorded at The International Centre for the Advancement of the Arts and Sciences of Sound in Los Angeles, California.^[2]

On January 23, 2018, Thirty Seconds to Mars announced that "Dangerous Night" would be the second single from their upcoming fifth studio album.^[3] The song premiered on Zane Lowe's radio show of Beats 1 in London on January 25, 2018. It became commercially available for downloading shortly afterwards.^[4]

Composition

"Dangerous Night" is imbued with influences and elements from electronic dance music and arena rock. It is opened by an ambient introduction, followed by the sound of synthesizers and digital drums. After the first verse, characterized by electronic dance beats, the pre-chorus follows, leading to an anthemic chorus featuring prominent use of guitars, drums and synths. Randy Holmes from ABC Radio called it "more of a personal song" compared to the band's previous works, although he noted that it retained its euphoric and anthemic nature.^[5] A CBS Radio writer noted the uplifting tone of the track, calling it an "arena-ready rock anthem".^[6]

Nina Braca from Billboard acknowledged the band's stylistic change, considering the song a departure from the group's previous hard rock sounds. She called it a "beat-driven" song, noticing "skittering" beats, "prominent" synths and Leto's "signature vocals".^[7] Stephen Ackroyd from Upset magazine called the track "typically shiny" and found it "aiming for anthem status".^[8]

Live performances

Thirty Seconds to Mars performed the song live for the first time at The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on January 25, 2018. Their performance was filmed through the use of advanced robotic cameras which changed frames following the beat of the track, and featured an interpretive dancer. Shannon Leto was not present at the show and the song was performed by Jared Leto, Tomo Miličević and Stevie Aiello. Nicholas Rice from Billboard commended the band's performance, praising its visuals and calling it "one-of-a-kind".^[9]

Thirty Seconds to Mars performed the song live at The Late Late Show with James Corden on May 21, 2018. Their performance featured two actors portraying Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un involved in a ballroom dance.^[10]

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for "Dangerous Night" Chart (2018) Peak position Australia Digital Tracks (ARIA)[11] 28 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[12] 53 Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[13] 20 Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia)[14] 28 Canada Digital Songs (Billboard)[15] 40 Czech Republic (Rádio Top 100)[16] 56 France (SNEP)[17] 117 Germany (GfK)[18] 78 Italy (Radio Top 40)[19] 8 New Zealand Heatseekers (RMNZ)[20] 10 Scotland (OCC)[21] 59 Slovakia (Rádio Top 100)[22] 68 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[23] 66 UK Singles Sales (OCC)[24] 57 UK Singles Downloads (OCC)[25] 57 UK Rock & Metal (OCC)[26] 4 US Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[27] 36 US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[28] 8 US Rock Airplay (Billboard)[29] 4

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for "Dangerous Night" Chart (2018) Position Italy (Radio Top 40)[30] 40 US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[31] 37 US Rock Airplay (Billboard)[32] 22

Certifications

Certifications for "Dangerous Night"

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Italy (FIMI)[33]	Gold	25,000^‡
^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "KROQ's Top 20 Songs of 2018". Radio.com. December 27, 2018. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
2. "Dangerous Night / Thirty Seconds to Mars". Tidal. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
3. "There's a new Thirty Seconds to Mars song". Kerrang!. January 25, 2018. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
4. "Thirty Seconds To Mars Releases New Single, Dangerous Night". Artistdirect. January 25, 2018. Archived from the original on January 27, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
5. Holmes, Randy (January 25, 2018). "Thirty Seconds to Mars drops new single, "Dangerous Night"". ABC News Radio. Archived from the original on January 27, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
6. "Thirty Seconds to Mars Debut New Single 'Dangerous Night'". Radio.com. CBS Local Media. January 25, 2018. Archived from the original on January 26, 2018. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
7. Braca, Nina (January 25, 2018). "Thirty Seconds to Mars Release Beat-Driven New Single 'Dangerous Night'". Billboard. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
8. Ackroyd, Stephen (January 25, 2018). "Thirty Seconds To Mars have a brand new single, 'Dangerous Night'". Upset. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
9. Rice, Nicholas (January 26, 2018). "Thirty Seconds to Mars Perform Stunning 'Dangerous Night' on 'Colbert'". Billboard. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
10. Jones, Abby (May 22, 2018). "Thirty Seconds to Mars Employ Trump & Kim Jong-un Impersonators For 'Late Late Show' Performance". Billboard. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
11. "The ARIA Report: Issue 1458 (Week Commencing 5 February 2018)" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 4, 2009. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
12. "Thirty Seconds To Mars – Dangerous Night" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
13. "Thirty Seconds To Mars – Dangerous Night" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
14. "Thirty Seconds To Mars – Dangerous Night" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
15. "Thirty Seconds to Mars Chart History (Hot Canadian Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
16. "Radio Top100 Oficiální – Dangerous Night" (in Czech). IFPI Czech Republic. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
17. "Thirty Seconds To Mars – Dangerous Night" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
18. "Thirty Seconds To Mars – Dangerous Night" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
19. "Radio Airplay – Settimana 17.2018" (in Italian). Radio Airplay. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
20. "NZ Heatseeker Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. February 5, 2018. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
21. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
22. "Radio Top 100 – Dangerous Night" (in Czech). IFPI Czech Republic. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
23. "Thirty Seconds To Mars – Dangerous Night". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
24. "Official Singles Sales Chart". Official Charts Company. February 2, 2018. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
25. "Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
26. "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
27. "Thirty Seconds to Mars Chart History (Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
28. "Thirty Seconds to Mars Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
29. "Thirty Seconds to Mars Chart History (Rock Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
30. "La musica nel 2018: le cento canzoni più trasmesse dalle radio secondo Radiomonitor". Rockol (in Italian). December 31, 2018. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
31. "Rock Songs: 2018 Year-End Charts". Billboard. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
32. "Rock Airplay Songs: 2018 Year-End Charts". Billboard. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
33. "Italian single certifications – Thirty Seconds to Mars – Dangerous Night" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved April 12, 2019. Select "2019" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Type "Dangerous Night" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".

External links

• "Dangerous Night" on YouTube