Marry the Night
Encyclopedia
"Marry the Night" is a song by American recording artist Lady Gaga
. It was released as the fifth single from her second studio album
, Born This Way
(2011). The song was written and produced by Lady Gaga and Fernando Garibay
, and was recorded on the tour bus during The Monster Ball Tour
with Garibay. Revealed in February 2011, the song was inspired by the energy of Gaga's previous song "Dance in the Dark
" and the love for her hometown, New York City
. The song was released for promotion on Farmville
, six days before the release of Born This Way.
"Marry the Night" is a dance-pop
song influenced by house
and electropop. The song features electronic church bells, a driving electro
organ sound and a funk-rock
influenced breakdown
. The lyrics are about Gaga's love of the night and partying, while serving as a homage to her hometown. The song received mostly positive reviews from critics. Reviewers also found influences of Italian disco music producer Giorgio Moroder
and American rock musician Bruce Springsteen
in the song. After the release of Born This Way, "Marry the Night" charted in some nations due to digital sales from the parent album. The song debuted at 79 on the US Billboard Hot 100
and entered the Canadian Hot 100
at 91. It also charted in the Walloon region of Belgium, South Korea and the United Kingdom.
and Fernando Garibay
while on the road for The Monster Ball Tour
, and was produced
by both. It was first mentioned by Gaga as a track from her album, Born This Way
, Ryan Seacrest
's radio show
, where she described it as one of her favorite songs from the album. Gaga and Garibay had worked previously on the song "Dance in the Dark
" (2009), from Gaga's previous release, The Fame Monster
. Before starting work on "Marry the Night", Gaga listened to "Dance in the Dark" and decided she wanted to top that song's energy with her new collaboration with Garibay. "I remember being backstage and hearing the concert start, so I go out there and hear 'Dance in the Dark' open up the whole concert, and I wanted to outdo that feeling. I wanted to outdo that moment that opens up the show. I'm just that way."
Wanting to have a new style of music, Gaga made it clear she did not want the song to sound anything like her previous work. She wanted to write a song that could define where she was with Born This Way and her life. In an interview with NME
, Gaga explained that the main inspiration behind the song was singer Whitney Houston and also added: "This song is about me going back to New York. I wrote this about the courage it took for me to say 'I hate Hollywood, I just wanna live in Brooklyn and make music'".
from Born This Way, but was cancelled in favor of the title track
. "Marry the Night" was then supposed to be the third single, but was cancelled yet again, this time in favor of "The Edge of Glory
". Gaga first premiered "Marry the Night" on the HBO Monster Ball Special
, which aired on May 7, 2011. While backstage, she sang a cappella
: "I'm gonna marry the night/ I won't give up on my life/ I'm a warrior queen/ Live passionately tonight." During the promotional appearances for Born This Way, Gaga released "Marry the Night" to the online game Farmville
on May 17, 2011. The song was released on Gagaville, a subdivision of Farmville that Gaga helped design with game promotion company Zynga
. Four months since the release of Born This Way, "Marry the Night" was confirmed as the fifth single off the album by Gaga herself.. Interscope Records, Gaga's label, stated that while "Marry the Night" is sure to be released as the fifth single internationally, they are still undecided which song will serve in its place in the US. "Marry the Night" officially impacted Australian radio on October 17, 2011. Gaga confirmed the single's UK release for November 21, 2011, and will include remixes. The date was pushed back to December 4, 2011, however. Gaga's label later decided to release "Marry the Night" in the United States as well; it will be added to the playlists of rhythmic and mainstream
music radio on November 15, 2011.
On October 17, 2011, Gaga revealed the official artwork for "Marry the Night" via TwitPic citing the lyrics from the bridge of the song, "New York Is Not Just A Tan That You'll Never Lose". Before tweeting the artwork, she wrote: "This is my favorite song on the album. Are you ready [producer] @FERNANDOGARIBAY? This one is our baby." An hour later, she wrote "Do you want the #MARRY THE NIGHT SINGLE COVER tonight?" and added "If monsters make MARRY THE NIGHT SINGLE COVER the number one trending topic I will release it tonight. Early. SORRY INTERSCOPE! I LOVE THEM!". The artwork shows her sitting atop a rain-soaked car while another vehicle burns in the background. She is wearing a pair of over-the-knee leather boots, a sculpted top and shorts while shaking her blond hair. AOL
s Contessa Gayles described the artwork as a "mysterious night-crawler."
at The Mix Room in Burbank, California
by Dave Russell, assisted by Paul Pavao. Gaga described the song as a "massive, gas-station, disco record", and she recorded it immediately after completing the lyrics. According to Garibay, Gaga meditated for a few minutes and then asked him to hand over a recording microphone
to her, completing the process within an hour.
"Marry the Night" is a dance-pop
song with house
and urban pop influences. The song starts out with electronic church bells and Gaga softly singing "I'm gonna marry the night/I won't give up on my life/I'm a warrior queen/Live passionately tonight." Soon the beat changes into a dance one, accompanied with techno
beats, handclaps and funk music, and moves to the chorus
, where Gaga stutters the line "Ma-ma-ma-marry/Ma-ma-ma-marry/Ma-ma-ma-marry the night". It was compared by Tim Jonze from The Guardian
to the Eurodance
song, "It's My Life
" by Dr Alban, while Nicola James from MTV compared the chorus with Jennifer Lopez
's 1999 single "Waiting for Tonight
.
The chorus is followed by a funk-rock influenced breakdown
, where Gaga sings the line: "Nothing's too cool/To take me from you/New York is not just a tan that you'll never lose." According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Sony/ATV Music Publishing
, "Marry the Night" was written in the time signature
of common time, with a slow tempo
of 64 beats per minute. It is composed in the key of C Major
with Gaga's vocal range spanning from G3 to E5. It follows a basic sequence of Am–Dm/A–F/A–G as its chord progression
. The church bells in the song were meant to draw parallels betweens Gaga's fans ("Little Monsters") and members of a religion or a cult. The lyrics are about partying and wreaking havoc during the night, and serves as a homage to the New York City
downtown music scene. Evan Sawdey from PopMatters
described the lyrics as a "let's take the night' rallying cry."
named "Marry the Night" a stand-out track on the album and called it "a worthy successor to 'Dance in the Dark'". BBC Music
's Mark Savage called "Marry the Night" as perfect as "a straightforward fist-pumping entry into a colossus can be." Christian Blauvelt of Entertainment Weekly
compared the song with the work of Italian record producer Giorgio Moroder
. Caryn Ganz of Spin
was impressed with the track, calling it a "four-on-the-floor banger." Tim Jonze of The Guardian
compared the chorus of the song "It's My Life" by Dr Alban and felt that it was easily forgotten compared to some of the bigger dance songs on the album. Rolling Stone
s was impressed with the fact that "Marry the Night" just seemed to get "bigger, and bigger" to her, while listing pop and glam metal
and artists like Pat Benatar
, Bonnie Tyler
and Bon Jovi
as its influences. According to Kitty Empire of The Observer
, "'Marry the Night', is a blowsy carpe diem
affair which draws on hi-NRG
club-pop for its modus operandi
."
Evan Sawdey from PopMatters
gave the song a negative review, saying "'Marry the Night' very much wants to be top-notch Justice
knockoff, but by adding a bridge of upbeat platitudes and an utterly pointless instrumental section after the 3:30 mark, she ultimately winds up weakening the power of her 'let’s take the night' rallying cry". Kerri Mason from Billboard
found influences of gothic rock
in it, but went on to call it an "unapologetic disco-powered pop" that could have been a production number on Gaga's debut album, The Fame
(2008). Neil McCormick from The Daily Telegraph
gave an analogy with rock musician "Meat Loaf
going to the disco", while describing the song. NME
s Dan Martin felt that the song, although impressive, was conservative as the opening song of Born This Way. He further found similarities to the work of Moroder and influences of Bruce Springsteen
's 1975 single, "Born to Run
".
Robert Copsey of the website Digital Spy
called the song an "electro-thumping number with euphoric synths and uplifting melody" which according to him further drew comparison to Gaga's own song "Born This Way". Copset further stated that "This is no bad thing, as it's less in-yer-face, and it's 'M-m-m-marry the night' hook is equally as catchy." Awarding the song with four out of five stars Lewis Corner of the website Digital Spy
wrote: "'I'm gonna marry the night/ I won't give up on my life/ I'm a warrior queen, live passionately, tonight,' GaGa calls out over a suitably grand introduction of deistic bells and rumbling techno synths - the result not to dissimilar, we imagine, to Paul Van Dyk
playing an organ at a wedding ceremony. Defiant and epic, the track feeds into Stef's cult-focused fan base like a prophet calling upon their disciples - and given it's the single they've been waiting for, we have no doubt they'll come in their droves."
Chart with sales of 35,000 digital downloads, allowing it to enter the Billboard Hot 100
at number 79. According to Nielsen SoundScan
, "Marry the Night" has sold 75,000 digital downloads. On the issue dated December 3, 2011, "Marry the Night" re-entered the chart at number 97. The same day it also debuted at number 24 on the Pop Songs chart in the United States, which is third-highest debut on that chart in 2011, following Gaga's "Born This Way
" (number 14) and Britney Spears
' "Hold It Against Me
" (number 16). The following week, it jumped to no. 18, becoming Gaga's twelfth consecutive top-twenty on the US pop chart. In Canada, the song entered at number 91 on the Canadian Hot 100
, while debuting on the Canadian Digital Songs chart at number 50. It has reached a peak of number 42 there. "Marry the Night" attained its highest position on the Gaon Chart
of South Korea, where it reached number eleven on the International Digital Download chart. Its other chart positions included reaching number 40 on the Ultratop 40
chart of Belgium's Walloon region, and number 18 on the UK Singles Chart
. In Ireland, "Marry the Night" debuted at number 34 on the Irish Singles Chart
on November 18, 2011, and has reached a peak of number 24. In Australia, "Marry the Night" debuted at number 88 on the ARIA Singles Chart
. In Germany, the song debuted at number 44 on the German Singles Chart on November 23, 2011.
and Harlem
, New York
, on October 10–13, 2011. On October 17, Gaga posted on her Twitter account: "Just wrapped my 5th music video, can't wait to unfold all its secrets and share with you moments from my past I have yet to reveal" and added "Put Born This Way back in the vessel, for rebirth, as I lay in mine. When too strong to divorce, then buckle up, MARRY THE NIGHT." Talking about the filming of the video, Lynn Kelly, a CEO of the Snug Harbor Cultural Center, where the video was shot said,
On October 11, 2011, several publications announced that Gaga was seen during the filming of the video in Snug Harbor Cultural Center. She was wearing a custom-made double zip lambskin jumpsuit by New York City designer, Asher Levine which was said to go along with the video's "grungy" and "bloody" theme and with the "nod to New York downtown refinement." Dancers and extras were spotted dressed in multiple looks: some as ballerinas and others in leopard print while Gaga's mother was also seen on stage. Later, other photos of the filming were published on several websites and they showed Gaga with blue lipstick and a leather romper with several male dancers, in a long-sleeve red dress with padded shoulders, a big satellite dish and a big black hat. Footage of the video was posted online on October 14, 2011. Gaga is seen dancing on the roof of a car as she sings the bridge from the song. She then slides down the car and begins running around the hood as the chorus starts. She's dressed in black, with a blond bob wig and black heels while rain is visible in the background, but she appears unfazed by the weather. During an interview with NDTV
on October 31, Gaga revealed that she directed the video. She also worked with the director of photography Darius Khondji and art director Gideon Ponte.
Gaga teased on Twitter
that the video will be her longest she has done and will be "the beginning of the story I never told you." On November 11, 2011, she posted a still from the video on Twitter that shows her as she is sent down a hallway on a stretcher
by two nurses. The post was accompanied by the message "It's Not that I've been Dishonest, It's Just that I Loathe Reality." James Montgomery of MTV News
compared the scene to the 1975 drama film
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
and the 1980 horror film
The Shining
. Gaga teased a two-minute opening sequence of the music video on November 17, 2011, after her performance at Children In Need Rocks Manchester. The video was called "The Prelude Pathétique" and showed a dark-haired Gaga lying motionless in a hospital as well as an inner monologue. On November 20, Gaga went on Alan Carr: Chatty Man
and explained the meaning behind the "Marry the Night" music video. "I know how rejection feels in the business. I got signed, I got dropped, I got signed again. That's actually what the 'Marry the Night' video is about. It's about one of the most horrible days of my life when I got dropped from my first record label and it's the story of what happened that day." A second preview of the music video, shot in a dance studio
, premiered on November 25, 2011. The entire video is set to premiere on December 1, 2011 on E! Online. Gaga told Vanity Fair
magazine that the video is "autobiographical" and illustrates "the worst day of my life."
version of "Marry the Night" in India during a Formula One
after party in Greater Noida
. Before the performance, she announced "I feel like I've waited a long time to come here. And I feel very grateful.[...] For the first time ever, I'm going to sing 'Marry the Night'." She sat on the piano and played a slow version of the song, accompanied by a sitar
. At the 2011 MTV Europe Music Awards
, Gaga gave her first televised performance of "Marry the Night" dressed as a satellite
landing on the moon. Wearing a red bikini, and a large red disc around her, Gaga was perched atop a semi-circular replica of the moon which was covered in silver chains. Flames erupted around the stage as Gaga revealed another circular disc covering her face. She sang the song from that vantage point and near the end of the performance, removed the metal disc and performed a choreographed dance routine with her back-up dancers. She also performed the song at the 2011 Bambi Awards
in Wiesbaden
, Germany
, on November 10. The stage included a vintage convertible with a keyboard built into the side of the door and Gaga also won an award later that night at the gala.
Gaga appeared on the eighth series of The X Factor
on November 13, 2011, and performed the song. Whilst singing, she emerged from a confessional
dressed as a decapitated corpse
, carrying her own head. She sang most of the song before returning to the booth and re-appearing in a leotard-like outfit and performed the rest of the song and a dance routine with her dancers. At the Children in Need Rocks Manchester
concert on November 17, 2011, "Marry the Night" was performed as the final song of her set list, along with "Born This Way
" and "The Edge of Glory
". The performance was fast paced and included a dance routine by Gaga with her dancers, for the first time. On the British comedy show, Alan Carr: Chatty Man
, Gaga performed a piano version of the song, while decked up in a pink dress and a gigantic bow on her head, which prompted Becky Bain from Idolator
website to comment, "It's been some time since we’ve seen Lady Gaga rock a bow on top of her noggin', and though the one she wore during her [performance] wasn't her signature hairbow, it still made a big (as in HUGE) impression." On the ABC
special, A Very Gaga Thanksgiving
, the singer performed an acoustic version of "Marry the Night". Her look, consisting of a shoulder-less black dress with matching hand gloves, was compared by James Dinh of MTV News
to actress Audrey Hepburn
. The performance was shot on top of a balcony, with Gaga giving poses while holding the microphone. On the CBS
special titled The Grammy Nominations Concert Live! – Countdown to Music's Biggest Night—where the nominations for the 54th Grammy Awards
were revealed—Gaga opened the show with "Marry the Night", performing in a zombie-like costume. Todd Martens from Los Angeles Times
described it as a "dance-meets-hair metal mix-up", while comparing the choreography of the dance to Michael Jackson
's music video for "Thriller", and complemented Gaga's vocals.
Credits adapted from Born This Way album liner notes.
Lady GaGa
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
. It was released as the fifth single from her second studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
, Born This Way
Born This Way
Born This Way is the second studio album by American recording artist Lady Gaga that was released on May 23, 2011, by Interscope Records. The album is a follow-up to her internationally-successful albums The Fame and The Fame Monster...
(2011). The song was written and produced by Lady Gaga and Fernando Garibay
Fernando Garibay
Fernando Garibay is a Mexican music producer, DJ, and songwriter. He was the official musical director for musician Lady Gaga during the making of her third album Born This Way.Garibay has been making records since the age of sixteen...
, and was recorded on the tour bus during The Monster Ball Tour
The Monster Ball Tour
The Monster Ball Tour was the second worldwide concert tour by American recording artist Lady Gaga. Staged in support of her album The Fame Monster and comprising a set list of songs from that and her debut album The Fame , the tour visited arenas and stadiums from 2009 through 2011...
with Garibay. Revealed in February 2011, the song was inspired by the energy of Gaga's previous song "Dance in the Dark
Dance in the Dark
Dance in the Dark（ダンスインザダーク, June 5, 1993 - ）was a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. He was sired by Sunday Silence with the dam Dancing Key ....
" and the love for her hometown, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The song was released for promotion on Farmville
FarmVille
FarmVille is a farming simulation social network game developed by Zynga in 2009. It is similar to Happy Farm, Farm Town,, and older games such as the Harvest Moon series...
, six days before the release of Born This Way.
"Marry the Night" is a dance-pop
Dance-pop
Dance-pop is dance-oriented pop music that originated in the early 1980s. Developing from post-disco, it is generally up-tempo music intended for clubs with the intention of being danceable or merely dancey...
song influenced by house
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
and electropop. The song features electronic church bells, a driving electro
Electro (music)
Electro is a genre of electronic dance music directly influenced by the use of TR-808 drum machines, Moog keytar synthesizers and funk sampling...
organ sound and a funk-rock
Funk rock
Funk rock is a music genre that fuses funk and rock elements. Its earliest incarnation was heard in the late 1960s through the mid-1970s by acts such as the Jimi Hendrix Experience , Eric Burdon and War, Trapeze, Parliament-Funkadelic, Betty Davis and Mother's Finest. The 1990s were known for acts...
influenced breakdown
Break (music)
In popular music, a break is an instrumental or percussion section or interlude during a song derived from or related to stop-time – being a "break" from the main parts of the song or piece....
. The lyrics are about Gaga's love of the night and partying, while serving as a homage to her hometown. The song received mostly positive reviews from critics. Reviewers also found influences of Italian disco music producer Giorgio Moroder
Giorgio Moroder
Hansjörg "Giorgio" Moroder is an Italian record producer, songwriter and performer based in Los Angeles. When in Munich in the 1970s, he started his own record label called Oasis Records, which several years later became a subdivision of Casablanca Records...
and American rock musician Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
in the song. After the release of Born This Way, "Marry the Night" charted in some nations due to digital sales from the parent album. The song debuted at 79 on the US Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
and entered the Canadian Hot 100
Canadian Hot 100
The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007...
at 91. It also charted in the Walloon region of Belgium, South Korea and the United Kingdom.
Background and inspiration
"Marry the Night" was written by Lady GagaLady GaGa
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
and Fernando Garibay
Fernando Garibay
Fernando Garibay is a Mexican music producer, DJ, and songwriter. He was the official musical director for musician Lady Gaga during the making of her third album Born This Way.Garibay has been making records since the age of sixteen...
while on the road for The Monster Ball Tour
The Monster Ball Tour
The Monster Ball Tour was the second worldwide concert tour by American recording artist Lady Gaga. Staged in support of her album The Fame Monster and comprising a set list of songs from that and her debut album The Fame , the tour visited arenas and stadiums from 2009 through 2011...
, and was produced
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
by both. It was first mentioned by Gaga as a track from her album, Born This Way
Born This Way
Born This Way is the second studio album by American recording artist Lady Gaga that was released on May 23, 2011, by Interscope Records. The album is a follow-up to her internationally-successful albums The Fame and The Fame Monster...
, Ryan Seacrest
Ryan Seacrest
Ryan John Seacrest is an American radio personality, television host, network producer and voice actor. He is the host of On Air with Ryan Seacrest, a nationally syndicated Top 40 radio show that airs on KIIS-FM in Los Angeles and throughout the United States and Canada on Premiere Radio Networks,...
's radio show
On Air with Ryan Seacrest (radio)
On Air with Ryan Seacrest is the name of an American syndicated radio program hosted by Ryan Seacrest. As of 2010, the daily morning radio show airs on Los Angeles top 40 station KIIS-FM and was launched at the same time as the television show with the same name, although Seacrest had hosted a...
, where she described it as one of her favorite songs from the album. Gaga and Garibay had worked previously on the song "Dance in the Dark
Dance in the Dark
Dance in the Dark（ダンスインザダーク, June 5, 1993 - ）was a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. He was sired by Sunday Silence with the dam Dancing Key ....
" (2009), from Gaga's previous release, The Fame Monster
The Fame Monster
The Fame Monster is the third EP by American recording artist Lady Gaga. It was released on November 18, 2009 through Interscope Records. Initially planned to be included on a re-release of Gaga's debut studio album, The Fame, she announced that the eight tracks would be included on a standalone...
. Before starting work on "Marry the Night", Gaga listened to "Dance in the Dark" and decided she wanted to top that song's energy with her new collaboration with Garibay. "I remember being backstage and hearing the concert start, so I go out there and hear 'Dance in the Dark' open up the whole concert, and I wanted to outdo that feeling. I wanted to outdo that moment that opens up the show. I'm just that way."
Wanting to have a new style of music, Gaga made it clear she did not want the song to sound anything like her previous work. She wanted to write a song that could define where she was with Born This Way and her life. In an interview with NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
, Gaga explained that the main inspiration behind the song was singer Whitney Houston and also added: "This song is about me going back to New York. I wrote this about the courage it took for me to say 'I hate Hollywood, I just wanna live in Brooklyn and make music'".
Release
"Marry the Night" was initially going to be the lead singleSingle (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
from Born This Way, but was cancelled in favor of the title track
Born This Way (song)
"Born This Way" is a song by American recording artist Lady Gaga, from her second studio album, Born This Way. Written and produced by Gaga, Fernando Garibay, Jeppe Laursen and DJ White Shadow, "Born This Way" was developed while Gaga was on the road with The Monster Ball Tour...
. "Marry the Night" was then supposed to be the third single, but was cancelled yet again, this time in favor of "The Edge of Glory
The Edge of Glory
"The Edge of Glory" is a song by American recording artist and songwriter Lady Gaga, from her second studio album Born This Way . The song was released digitally on May 9, 2011, and was added to the United States mainstream radio playlists on May 17, 2011...
". Gaga first premiered "Marry the Night" on the HBO Monster Ball Special
Lady Gaga Presents the Monster Ball Tour: At Madison Square Garden
Lady Gaga Presents the Monster Ball Tour: At Madison Square Garden is a 2011 concert special documenting the February 21 and 22, 2011 shows of American pop singer Lady Gaga's The Monster Ball Tour...
, which aired on May 7, 2011. While backstage, she sang a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
: "I'm gonna marry the night/ I won't give up on my life/ I'm a warrior queen/ Live passionately tonight." During the promotional appearances for Born This Way, Gaga released "Marry the Night" to the online game Farmville
FarmVille
FarmVille is a farming simulation social network game developed by Zynga in 2009. It is similar to Happy Farm, Farm Town,, and older games such as the Harvest Moon series...
on May 17, 2011. The song was released on Gagaville, a subdivision of Farmville that Gaga helped design with game promotion company Zynga
Zynga
Zynga is a social network game developer located in San Francisco, United States. The company develops browser-based games that work both stand-alone and as application widgets on social networking websites such as Facebook and MySpace....
. Four months since the release of Born This Way, "Marry the Night" was confirmed as the fifth single off the album by Gaga herself.. Interscope Records, Gaga's label, stated that while "Marry the Night" is sure to be released as the fifth single internationally, they are still undecided which song will serve in its place in the US. "Marry the Night" officially impacted Australian radio on October 17, 2011. Gaga confirmed the single's UK release for November 21, 2011, and will include remixes. The date was pushed back to December 4, 2011, however. Gaga's label later decided to release "Marry the Night" in the United States as well; it will be added to the playlists of rhythmic and mainstream
Contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts...
music radio on November 15, 2011.
On October 17, 2011, Gaga revealed the official artwork for "Marry the Night" via TwitPic citing the lyrics from the bridge of the song, "New York Is Not Just A Tan That You'll Never Lose". Before tweeting the artwork, she wrote: "This is my favorite song on the album. Are you ready [producer] @FERNANDOGARIBAY? This one is our baby." An hour later, she wrote "Do you want the #MARRY THE NIGHT SINGLE COVER tonight?" and added "If monsters make MARRY THE NIGHT SINGLE COVER the number one trending topic I will release it tonight. Early. SORRY INTERSCOPE! I LOVE THEM!". The artwork shows her sitting atop a rain-soaked car while another vehicle burns in the background. She is wearing a pair of over-the-knee leather boots, a sculpted top and shorts while shaking her blond hair. AOL
AOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
s Contessa Gayles described the artwork as a "mysterious night-crawler."
Recording and composition
As Gaga performed on The Monster Ball Tour, Garibay started working on the music of the song. After the show was over, Gaga came back to her studio bus and asked him about the progress. Garibay then explained that he had concocted a different kind of music for the song, and played the church-bell inspired music to Gaga. After first hearing it, the singer said that she started to cry, noticing the vastness of the music, and she started writing the lyrics for "Marry the Night". "Marry the Night" was originally recorded on the Bus Studio in 2010, but was later mixedAudio mixing (recorded music)
In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
at The Mix Room in Burbank, California
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....
by Dave Russell, assisted by Paul Pavao. Gaga described the song as a "massive, gas-station, disco record", and she recorded it immediately after completing the lyrics. According to Garibay, Gaga meditated for a few minutes and then asked him to hand over a recording microphone
Microphone
A microphone is an acoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor that converts sound into an electrical signal. In 1877, Emile Berliner invented the first microphone used as a telephone voice transmitter...
to her, completing the process within an hour.
"Marry the Night" is a dance-pop
Dance-pop
Dance-pop is dance-oriented pop music that originated in the early 1980s. Developing from post-disco, it is generally up-tempo music intended for clubs with the intention of being danceable or merely dancey...
song with house
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
and urban pop influences. The song starts out with electronic church bells and Gaga softly singing "I'm gonna marry the night/I won't give up on my life/I'm a warrior queen/Live passionately tonight." Soon the beat changes into a dance one, accompanied with techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
beats, handclaps and funk music, and moves to the chorus
Refrain
A refrain is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the "chorus" of a song...
, where Gaga stutters the line "Ma-ma-ma-marry/Ma-ma-ma-marry/Ma-ma-ma-marry the night". It was compared by Tim Jonze from The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
to the Eurodance
Eurodance
Eurodance is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s or early 1990s primarily in Europe. It combines many elements from House, Techno, Hi-NRG and especially Italo-Disco...
song, "It's My Life
It's My Life (Dr Alban song)
"It's My Life" is a 1992 song recorded by the Sweden-based musician and producer Dr Alban. It was the first single from his second studio album One Love....
" by Dr Alban, while Nicola James from MTV compared the chorus with Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lynn Lopez is an American actress, singer, record producer, dancer, television personality, and fashion designer. Lopez began her career as a dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color. Subsequently venturing into acting, she gained recognition in the 1995 action-thriller...
's 1999 single "Waiting for Tonight
Waiting for Tonight
"Waiting for Tonight" is a song originally recorded by American female pop trio 3rd Party for their 1997 album Alive. American recording artist Jennifer Lopez recorded a version for her debut album, On the 6 , and the song became the second single from the album and also the most famous version of...
.
The chorus is followed by a funk-rock influenced breakdown
Break (music)
In popular music, a break is an instrumental or percussion section or interlude during a song derived from or related to stop-time – being a "break" from the main parts of the song or piece....
, where Gaga sings the line: "Nothing's too cool/To take me from you/New York is not just a tan that you'll never lose." According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Sony/ATV Music Publishing
Sony/ATV Music Publishing
Sony/ATV Music Publishing is a music publishing company co-owned by The Michael Jackson Family Trust and Sony. The organisation was originally founded as Associated TeleVision in 1955 by Lew Grade. In 1957, ATV acquired Pye Records as a wholly owned subsidiary...
, "Marry the Night" was written in the time signature
Time signature
The time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....
of common time, with a slow tempo
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
of 64 beats per minute. It is composed in the key of C Major
C major
C major is a musical major scale based on C, with pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature has no flats/sharps.Its relative minor is A minor, and its parallel minor is C minor....
with Gaga's vocal range spanning from G3 to E5. It follows a basic sequence of Am–Dm/A–F/A–G as its chord progression
Chord progression
A chord progression is a series of musical chords, or chord changes that "aims for a definite goal" of establishing a tonality founded on a key, root or tonic chord. In other words, the succession of root relationships...
. The church bells in the song were meant to draw parallels betweens Gaga's fans ("Little Monsters") and members of a religion or a cult. The lyrics are about partying and wreaking havoc during the night, and serves as a homage to the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
downtown music scene. Evan Sawdey from PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
described the lyrics as a "let's take the night' rallying cry."
Critical reception
"Marry the Night" has received positive reviews from critics. Stephen Erlewine of Allmusic gave the song a positive review, saying it "glistens with a neon pulse". Sal Cinquemani of Slant MagazineSlant Magazine
Slant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...
named "Marry the Night" a stand-out track on the album and called it "a worthy successor to 'Dance in the Dark'". BBC Music
BBC Music
BBC Music is a team working in the department of Audio and Music Interactive at the BBC. Responsible for the BBC Music website - the portal site to music content across the BBC website....
's Mark Savage called "Marry the Night" as perfect as "a straightforward fist-pumping entry into a colossus can be." Christian Blauvelt of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
compared the song with the work of Italian record producer Giorgio Moroder
Giorgio Moroder
Hansjörg "Giorgio" Moroder is an Italian record producer, songwriter and performer based in Los Angeles. When in Munich in the 1970s, he started his own record label called Oasis Records, which several years later became a subdivision of Casablanca Records...
. Caryn Ganz of Spin
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
was impressed with the track, calling it a "four-on-the-floor banger." Tim Jonze of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
compared the chorus of the song "It's My Life" by Dr Alban and felt that it was easily forgotten compared to some of the bigger dance songs on the album. Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
s was impressed with the fact that "Marry the Night" just seemed to get "bigger, and bigger" to her, while listing pop and glam metal
Glam metal
Glam metal is a subgenre of hard rock and heavy metal that arose in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the United States, particularly on the Los Angeles Sunset Strip music scene...
and artists like Pat Benatar
Pat Benatar
Pat Benatar is an American singer and four-time Grammy winner. She had considerable commercial success particularly in the United States...
, Bonnie Tyler
Bonnie Tyler
Bonnie Tyler is a Welsh singer, most notable for her hits in the 1970s and 1980s including "It's a Heartache", "Holding Out for a Hero" and "Total Eclipse of the Heart".-Early life:...
and Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...
as its influences. According to Kitty Empire of The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
, "'Marry the Night', is a blowsy carpe diem
Carpe diem
Carpe diem is a phrase from a Latin poem by Horace that has become an aphorism. It is popularly translated as "seize the day"...
affair which draws on hi-NRG
Hi-NRG
Hi-NRG describes a form of high-tempo disco music as well as a genre of electronic dance music originating in the United States during the late 1970s...
club-pop for its modus operandi
Modus operandi
Modus operandi is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as "mode of operation". The term is used to describe someone's habits or manner of working, their method of operating or functioning...
."
Evan Sawdey from PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
gave the song a negative review, saying "'Marry the Night' very much wants to be top-notch Justice
Justice (band)
Justice is a French electronic music duo consisting of Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay . The duo is one of the most successful groups on Ed Banger Records and is managed by the label's head, Pedro Winter...
knockoff, but by adding a bridge of upbeat platitudes and an utterly pointless instrumental section after the 3:30 mark, she ultimately winds up weakening the power of her 'let’s take the night' rallying cry". Kerri Mason from Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
found influences of gothic rock
Gothic rock
Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...
in it, but went on to call it an "unapologetic disco-powered pop" that could have been a production number on Gaga's debut album, The Fame
The Fame
The Fame is the debut studio album by American recording artist Lady Gaga. It was released on August 19, 2008 through Interscope Records. After joining Kon Live Distribution and Cherrytree Records in 2008, Gaga began working on the album with different producers, primarily RedOne, Martin...
(2008). Neil McCormick from The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
gave an analogy with rock musician "Meat Loaf
Meat Loaf
Michael Lee Aday , better known by his stage name, Meat Loaf, is an American hard rock musician and actor...
going to the disco", while describing the song. NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
s Dan Martin felt that the song, although impressive, was conservative as the opening song of Born This Way. He further found similarities to the work of Moroder and influences of Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
's 1975 single, "Born to Run
Born to Run (song)
"Born to Run" is a song by American singer songwriter Bruce Springsteen, and the title song of his album Born to Run.- Songwriting :Written at in Long Branch, New Jersey in early 1974, the song was Bruce Springsteen's last-ditch effort to make it big. The prior year, Springsteen had released two...
".
Robert Copsey of the website Digital Spy
Digital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
called the song an "electro-thumping number with euphoric synths and uplifting melody" which according to him further drew comparison to Gaga's own song "Born This Way". Copset further stated that "This is no bad thing, as it's less in-yer-face, and it's 'M-m-m-marry the night' hook is equally as catchy." Awarding the song with four out of five stars Lewis Corner of the website Digital Spy
Digital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
wrote: "'I'm gonna marry the night/ I won't give up on my life/ I'm a warrior queen, live passionately, tonight,' GaGa calls out over a suitably grand introduction of deistic bells and rumbling techno synths - the result not to dissimilar, we imagine, to Paul Van Dyk
Paul van Dyk
Matthias Paul, better known by his stage name Paul van Dyk is a German Grammy Award-winning Electronic Dance Music DJ, musician and record producer...
playing an organ at a wedding ceremony. Defiant and epic, the track feeds into Stef's cult-focused fan base like a prophet calling upon their disciples - and given it's the single they've been waiting for, we have no doubt they'll come in their droves."
Chart performance
Following the release of Born This Way on May 23, 2011, "Marry the Night" debuted at number 57 on the United States Billboard Hot Digital SongsHot Digital Songs
The Hot Digital Songs chart ranks the best-selling digital singles in the United States, according to Billboard.Beginning in February 2005, digital sales have been incorporated into many of Billboards music single charts. It was decided to do so mainly because of the dramatic rise in popularity of...
Chart with sales of 35,000 digital downloads, allowing it to enter the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
at number 79. According to Nielsen SoundScan
Nielsen SoundScan
Nielsen SoundScan is an information and sales tracking system created by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett. Soundscan is the official method of tracking sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada...
, "Marry the Night" has sold 75,000 digital downloads. On the issue dated December 3, 2011, "Marry the Night" re-entered the chart at number 97. The same day it also debuted at number 24 on the Pop Songs chart in the United States, which is third-highest debut on that chart in 2011, following Gaga's "Born This Way
Born This Way (song)
"Born This Way" is a song by American recording artist Lady Gaga, from her second studio album, Born This Way. Written and produced by Gaga, Fernando Garibay, Jeppe Laursen and DJ White Shadow, "Born This Way" was developed while Gaga was on the road with The Monster Ball Tour...
" (number 14) and Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
' "Hold It Against Me
Hold It Against Me
"Hold It Against Me" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears, released as the first single from her seventh studio album, Femme Fatale. It was written and produced by Max Martin, Dr. Luke and Billboard, with additional writing by Bonnie McKee. Luke explained that he wanted "Hold It...
" (number 16). The following week, it jumped to no. 18, becoming Gaga's twelfth consecutive top-twenty on the US pop chart. In Canada, the song entered at number 91 on the Canadian Hot 100
Canadian Hot 100
The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007...
, while debuting on the Canadian Digital Songs chart at number 50. It has reached a peak of number 42 there. "Marry the Night" attained its highest position on the Gaon Chart
Gaon Chart
The Gaon Chart is a national record chart of South Korea. It is complied by the Korea Music Content Industry Association and sponsored by South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism; with an aim to create a national chart for Korea similar to the Billboard charts and Oricon charts...
of South Korea, where it reached number eleven on the International Digital Download chart. Its other chart positions included reaching number 40 on the Ultratop 40
Ultratop 40
Ultratop 40 singles, often just Ultratop 40, is the weekly chart of best-selling singles in Wallonia and Brussels Capital Region, the french-speaking parts of Belgium. Its equivalent covering the Flanders region is Ultratop 50. Both charts are produced and published by the Ultratop organization...
chart of Belgium's Walloon region, and number 18 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. In Ireland, "Marry the Night" debuted at number 34 on the Irish Singles Chart
Irish Singles Chart
The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured...
on November 18, 2011, and has reached a peak of number 24. In Australia, "Marry the Night" debuted at number 88 on the ARIA Singles Chart
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
. In Germany, the song debuted at number 44 on the German Singles Chart on November 23, 2011.
Music video
Gaga was spotted filming the music video for "Marry the Night" in Staten IslandStaten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
and Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, on October 10–13, 2011. On October 17, Gaga posted on her Twitter account: "Just wrapped my 5th music video, can't wait to unfold all its secrets and share with you moments from my past I have yet to reveal" and added "Put Born This Way back in the vessel, for rebirth, as I lay in mine. When too strong to divorce, then buckle up, MARRY THE NIGHT." Talking about the filming of the video, Lynn Kelly, a CEO of the Snug Harbor Cultural Center, where the video was shot said,
We found both her and her crew to be easy to work with and low-key. I think we would have expected a lot of drama, and the truth is, she is probably the most down-to-earth person. It was endearing. She was friendly and kind. ... I think, for us, we're so excited to have someone of her talent, and to have somebody like that shoot here is a sheer honor. What her music does for music is so much more than entertainment. It's connecting to the arts on a much deeper level, and that's what I hope we can do here."
On October 11, 2011, several publications announced that Gaga was seen during the filming of the video in Snug Harbor Cultural Center. She was wearing a custom-made double zip lambskin jumpsuit by New York City designer, Asher Levine which was said to go along with the video's "grungy" and "bloody" theme and with the "nod to New York downtown refinement." Dancers and extras were spotted dressed in multiple looks: some as ballerinas and others in leopard print while Gaga's mother was also seen on stage. Later, other photos of the filming were published on several websites and they showed Gaga with blue lipstick and a leather romper with several male dancers, in a long-sleeve red dress with padded shoulders, a big satellite dish and a big black hat. Footage of the video was posted online on October 14, 2011. Gaga is seen dancing on the roof of a car as she sings the bridge from the song. She then slides down the car and begins running around the hood as the chorus starts. She's dressed in black, with a blond bob wig and black heels while rain is visible in the background, but she appears unfazed by the weather. During an interview with NDTV
NDTV
NDTV is an Indian commercial broadcasting television network founded in 1988. It was founded by Prannoy Roy, an eminent journalist and current chairman and director of NDTV Group. NDTV currently has more than 1,000 employees producing news from over twenty locations in India...
on October 31, Gaga revealed that she directed the video. She also worked with the director of photography Darius Khondji and art director Gideon Ponte.
Gaga teased on Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
that the video will be her longest she has done and will be "the beginning of the story I never told you." On November 11, 2011, she posted a still from the video on Twitter that shows her as she is sent down a hallway on a stretcher
Stretcher
A stretcher is a medical device used to carry casualties or an incapacitated person from one place to another. It is a simple type of litter, and still called by that name in some cases....
by two nurses. The post was accompanied by the message "It's Not that I've been Dishonest, It's Just that I Loathe Reality." James Montgomery of MTV News
MTV News
MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...
compared the scene to the 1975 drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (film)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a 1975 American drama film directed by Miloš Forman and based on the 1962 novel of the same name by Ken Kesey....
and the 1980 horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
The Shining
The Shining (film)
The Shining is a 1980 psychological horror film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, co-written with novelist Diane Johnson, and starring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, and Danny Lloyd. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King. A writer, Jack Torrance, takes a job as an...
. Gaga teased a two-minute opening sequence of the music video on November 17, 2011, after her performance at Children In Need Rocks Manchester. The video was called "The Prelude Pathétique" and showed a dark-haired Gaga lying motionless in a hospital as well as an inner monologue. On November 20, Gaga went on Alan Carr: Chatty Man
Alan Carr: Chatty Man
Alan Carr: Chatty Man is a British comedy chat show presented by comedian Alan Carr. The award-winning show is on Channel 4. The show features interviews with celebrity guests, sketches, topical chat and music....
and explained the meaning behind the "Marry the Night" music video. "I know how rejection feels in the business. I got signed, I got dropped, I got signed again. That's actually what the 'Marry the Night' video is about. It's about one of the most horrible days of my life when I got dropped from my first record label and it's the story of what happened that day." A second preview of the music video, shot in a dance studio
Dance studio
A dance studio is a space in which dancers learn or rehearse. The term is typically used to describe a space that has either been built or equipped for the purpose....
, premiered on November 25, 2011. The entire video is set to premiere on December 1, 2011 on E! Online. Gaga told Vanity Fair
Vanity Fair (magazine)
Vanity Fair is a magazine of pop culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast. The present Vanity Fair has been published since 1983 and there have been editions for four European countries as well as the U.S. edition. This revived the title which had ceased publication in 1935...
magazine that the video is "autobiographical" and illustrates "the worst day of my life."
Live performances
On October 31, 2011, Gaga performed a BollywoodBollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
version of "Marry the Night" in India during a Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
after party in Greater Noida
Greater Noida
Greater Noida is located in the Gautam Budh Nagar district of the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh . It is under the purview of the National Capital Region of India...
. Before the performance, she announced "I feel like I've waited a long time to come here. And I feel very grateful.[...] For the first time ever, I'm going to sing 'Marry the Night'." She sat on the piano and played a slow version of the song, accompanied by a sitar
Sitar
The 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages...
. At the 2011 MTV Europe Music Awards
2011 MTV Europe Music Awards
The 2011 MTV EMAs were held in Northern Ireland's capital Belfast, on Sunday, November 6, 2011, at the Odyssey Arena in the Titanic Quarter area of the city and were hosted by Selena Gomez...
, Gaga gave her first televised performance of "Marry the Night" dressed as a satellite
Satellite
In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
landing on the moon. Wearing a red bikini, and a large red disc around her, Gaga was perched atop a semi-circular replica of the moon which was covered in silver chains. Flames erupted around the stage as Gaga revealed another circular disc covering her face. She sang the song from that vantage point and near the end of the performance, removed the metal disc and performed a choreographed dance routine with her back-up dancers. She also performed the song at the 2011 Bambi Awards
Bambi (prize)
The Bambi - Deutschlands Wichtigster Medienpreis, often simply called Bambi Awards and stylized as BAMBI, are presented annually by Hubert Burda Media to recognize excellence in international media and television "with vision and creativity who affected and inspired the German public that year",...
in Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden is a city in southwest Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, on November 10. The stage included a vintage convertible with a keyboard built into the side of the door and Gaga also won an award later that night at the gala.
Gaga appeared on the eighth series of The X Factor
The X Factor (UK series 8)
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The eighth series began airing on ITV on 20 August 2011. Louis Walsh is the only judge from the previous series to return, as the other three, Simon Cowell, Dannii Minogue and Cheryl Cole, all left to join other...
on November 13, 2011, and performed the song. Whilst singing, she emerged from a confessional
Confessional
A confessional is a small, enclosed booth used for the Sacrament of Penance, often called confession, or Reconciliation. It is the usual venue for the sacrament in the Roman Catholic Church, but similar structures are also used in Anglican churches of an Anglo-Catholic orientation, and also in the...
dressed as a decapitated corpse
Cadaver
A cadaver is a dead human body.Cadaver may also refer to:* Cadaver tomb, tomb featuring an effigy in the form of a decomposing body* Cadaver , a video game* cadaver A command-line WebDAV client for Unix....
, carrying her own head. She sang most of the song before returning to the booth and re-appearing in a leotard-like outfit and performed the rest of the song and a dance routine with her dancers. At the Children in Need Rocks Manchester
Children in Need Rocks Manchester
Children in Need Rocks Manchester is a charity music concert held at the MEN Arena in Manchester, England. The concert was organised by Take That singer and The X Factor judge Gary Barlow as one of a series of events to raise money for Children in Need 2011...
concert on November 17, 2011, "Marry the Night" was performed as the final song of her set list, along with "Born This Way
Born This Way (song)
"Born This Way" is a song by American recording artist Lady Gaga, from her second studio album, Born This Way. Written and produced by Gaga, Fernando Garibay, Jeppe Laursen and DJ White Shadow, "Born This Way" was developed while Gaga was on the road with The Monster Ball Tour...
" and "The Edge of Glory
The Edge of Glory
"The Edge of Glory" is a song by American recording artist and songwriter Lady Gaga, from her second studio album Born This Way . The song was released digitally on May 9, 2011, and was added to the United States mainstream radio playlists on May 17, 2011...
". The performance was fast paced and included a dance routine by Gaga with her dancers, for the first time. On the British comedy show, Alan Carr: Chatty Man
Alan Carr: Chatty Man
Alan Carr: Chatty Man is a British comedy chat show presented by comedian Alan Carr. The award-winning show is on Channel 4. The show features interviews with celebrity guests, sketches, topical chat and music....
, Gaga performed a piano version of the song, while decked up in a pink dress and a gigantic bow on her head, which prompted Becky Bain from Idolator
Idolator (website)
Idolator is a music blog. Created by the blog network Gawker Media in August 2006, Idolator was later sold to rival blog network Buzz Media, which also owns music blog Stereogum. From the 2007 departure of original head writer Brian Raftery until November 2009, the blog's head writer was Maura...
website to comment, "It's been some time since we’ve seen Lady Gaga rock a bow on top of her noggin', and though the one she wore during her [performance] wasn't her signature hairbow, it still made a big (as in HUGE) impression." On the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
special, A Very Gaga Thanksgiving
A Very Gaga Thanksgiving
A Very Gaga Thanksgiving is a Thanksgiving television special that originally aired on November 24, 2011 in the United States on ABC. Conceived and directed by Lady Gaga, it discusses the personal life of Gaga and the inspiration behind her music...
, the singer performed an acoustic version of "Marry the Night". Her look, consisting of a shoulder-less black dress with matching hand gloves, was compared by James Dinh of MTV News
MTV News
MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...
to actress Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn was a British actress and humanitarian. Although modest about her acting ability, Hepburn remains one of the world's most famous actresses of all time, remembered as a film and fashion icon of the twentieth century...
. The performance was shot on top of a balcony, with Gaga giving poses while holding the microphone. On the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
special titled The Grammy Nominations Concert Live! – Countdown to Music's Biggest Night—where the nominations for the 54th Grammy Awards
54th Grammy Awards
The 54th Annual Grammy Awards will be held on February 12, 2012, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. It will be broadcasted on CBS. Nominations were announced on November 30, 2011 on prime-time television as part of "The GRAMMY Nominations Concert Live! – Countdown to Music's Biggest Night", a...
were revealed—Gaga opened the show with "Marry the Night", performing in a zombie-like costume. Todd Martens from Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
described it as a "dance-meets-hair metal mix-up", while comparing the choreography of the dance to Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
's music video for "Thriller", and complemented Gaga's vocals.
Track listing
- CD single
- "Marry the Night" (Album Version) –
- "Marry the Night" (David Jost & Twin Radio Remix) –
- UK 7" Picture Disc
- "Marry the Night" (The Weeknd & Illangelo Remix) –
- "Marry the Night" (Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs 'Marry Me' Remix) –
Credits and personnel
- Lady GagaLady GaGaStefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
– vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, songwriterSongwriterA songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, background vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists... - Fernando GaribayFernando GaribayFernando Garibay is a Mexican music producer, DJ, and songwriter. He was the official musical director for musician Lady Gaga during the making of her third album Born This Way.Garibay has been making records since the age of sixteen...
– songwriter, producer, programmingProgramming (music)Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices, often sequencers or computer programs, to generate music. Programming is used in nearly all forms of electronic music and in most hip hop music since the 1990s. It is also frequently used in modern pop and rock...
, keyboardKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments... - DJ White Shadow – drum programming
- Dave Russell – recording on Studios Bus; audio mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
at The Mix Room, BurbankBurbank, CaliforniaBurbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....
, California - Gene Grimaldi – audio masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
at Oasis Mastering, Burbank, California - Eric Morris – assistant
- Paul Pavao – assistant
Credits adapted from Born This Way album liner notes.
Charts
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
88 |
| Belgian Tip Chart (Flanders) | 20 |
| Belgian Singles Chart Ultratop 40 Ultratop 40 singles, often just Ultratop 40, is the weekly chart of best-selling singles in Wallonia and Brussels Capital Region, the french-speaking parts of Belgium. Its equivalent covering the Flanders region is Ultratop 50. Both charts are produced and published by the Ultratop organization... (Wallonia) |
40 |
| Canadian Hot 100 Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007... |
29 |
| German Singles Chart | 44 |
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
24 |
| Scottish Singles Chart | 8 |
| Slovak Airplay Chart | 48 |
| South Korean Gaon Chart Gaon Chart The Gaon Chart is a national record chart of South Korea. It is complied by the Korea Music Content Industry Association and sponsored by South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism; with an aim to create a national chart for Korea similar to the Billboard charts and Oricon charts... |
11 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
18 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
59 |
| US Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... Pop Songs |
18 |
Release history
| Region | Date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | October 17, 2011 | Contemporary Hit Radio Contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts... , Nights |
Interscope Records Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that currently operates as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-History:... |
| United States | November 15, 2011 | Rhythmic contemporary Rhythmic Contemporary Rhythmic contemporary, also known as rhythmic top 40, rhythmic contemporary hit radio or rhythmic crossover, is a music radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and R&B hits. Rhythmic contemporary rarely uses rock music or country music in its airplay, but it may... and Top 40/Mainstream Contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts... radio |
|
| United Kingdom | December 4, 2011 | Digital download Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment... |
|
| Germany | December 2, 2011 | CD single | |
External links
- Lady Gaga : Marry the Night : Lyrics Interscope RecordsInterscope RecordsInterscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that currently operates as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-History:...