Morning After Dark
Encyclopedia
"Morning After Dark" is a song by American hip-hop record producer and rapper, Timbaland
taken from his third studio album, Timbaland Presents Shock Value II. The song features French singer SoShy
and was released as the first single from the album on October 26, 2009. The international version of the song features an additional rap verse from Canadian singer Nelly Furtado
and it is this version which features on the album.
's KIIS-FM
radio show, On Air with Ryan Seacrest
. Timbaland said the song is "very interesting — [it features] this new artist on my label called SoShy
from Paris
. We're both rapping. The song, I can't describe it, it's so different. It's not different for me, but I can tell you this — it fits everything going on with the vampire theme. It fits everything with Twilight
". When asked about why he picked the song as the first single he said: It was later confirmed that Nelly Furtado has recorded a new verse to feature on the song which will appear on the album but not on the video version. The version featuring Nelly Furtado was released internationally whilst the version without was released in the US. Later on December 5, 2009 the international version was made available to US iTunes
.
, UAE
on October 30, 2009. Then he appeared with Nelly Furtado and SoShy for the first fully featured live performance of the song at the American Music Awards (2009)
on November 22, 2009. On November 23, 2009, the trio appeared on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien
for an encore performance. The song was featured in a promo for two episodes of the CW's Gossip Girl
titled "They Shoot Humphrey's, Don't They?" and "The Last Days of Disco Stick". And also, most of the live shows contain samples from Michael Jackson's well-known song "Thriller", as well as using Vincent Price's laugh at the end of the performance.
was less impressed. He said "Sadly, this vamp-themed lead single, complete with oh-so-contemporary Twilight-inspired video, is somewhat lacking in bite. The production is suitably sinister, the beats are as sharp as tiny ice-picks, and there's capable support from Nelly Furtado and newcomer SoShy, but it's hard to shake the feeling that there's little here Timbo hasn't given us before. From a man who's built his reputation on boundary-pushing, that's a bit of a disappointment." (3 out of 5 stars)
UK Digital Download E.P.
US Digital Download E.P.
or scar
in the shape of two overlapping circles. On the way to the club, she is being tracked by a wall-walking vampire, as well as a black cat and Timbaland's character. As the vampire moves in on her, Timbaland's character zips in between them without her noticing. The cat changes into the form of a Japanese businessman to board the bus after her where SoShy appears singing her verses, and as she gets off the bus, SoShy intercepts the cat/businessman keeping him from leaving the bus after her. The girl meets yet another man at the club who appears to be a friend or lover, but as they are dancing, she notices a woman staring at her strangely while two other dancers mime a vampire attack on the dance floor. Rattled, she runs out and her companion follows to comfort her and asks her to tell him what she saw, to which she replies "I think I saw a vampire". This scene is very similar to the iconic scene in Twilight upon which the video is based.
Her friend's attitude immediately takes on a more threatening quality as a sudden lunar eclipse happens above them but before he can do anything he is confronted by Timbaland and SoShy's characters. He tells them that this time he's brought a couple of friends, and the vampire and the cat man appear to back him up only for the three of them to be frightened away by much larger crowd that Timbaland summons. The woman caught between the two sides looks down to see that her circular birthmark is glowing and looks like the eclipse, and the necklace worn by the vampire who was staring at her in the club. She quickly wakes up from the dream, only to see that the television is playing what it was at the start of the dream and the phone is ringing with her mother on the other end as the black cat comes in through the window.
On November 27, 2009, an edited version of the video was released for the version of the song that features Nelly Furtado. Nelly is featured in the video, appearing in a kitchen with a black cat while singing her verse.
in Australia on the week of November 9. On the week ending December 12, 2009, it also debuted at number 76 on the Billboard Hot 100
and peaked at number 61. On December 6, 2009, it entered at number nine on the UK Singles Chart
and number five on the UK R&B Chart
, it has since climbed to number six and number three respectively. In Germany the song enjoyed a successful chart run; after peaking at number six it remained in the top thirty singles for twelve weeks.
Timbaland
Timothy Zachery Mosley , better known by his stage name Timbaland, is an American record producer, songwriter and rapper....
taken from his third studio album, Timbaland Presents Shock Value II. The song features French singer SoShy
Deborah Epstein
Deborah Epstein , better known by her stage name SoShy, is a French-American singer and songwriter.-Early life:Deborah Epstein was born in Paris to a French-Argentine-Italian mother and a French-Russian father...
and was released as the first single from the album on October 26, 2009. The international version of the song features an additional rap verse from Canadian singer Nelly Furtado
Nelly Furtado
Nelly Kim Furtado is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Furtado grew up in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.Furtado first gained fame with her debut album, Whoa, Nelly!, and its single "I'm Like a Bird", which won a 2001 Juno Award for Single of the Year and a 2002 Grammy...
and it is this version which features on the album.
Background
The SoShy-only version of the song premiered on October 16, 2009, on Ryan SeacrestRyan 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 KIIS-FM
KIIS-FM
KIIS-FM is a Los Angeles, California, USA-based radio station with a partial Top 40 musical format. It is owned by Clear Channel Communications. KIIS is also simulcasted on KVVS in Rosamond, at 105.5 MHz...
radio show, On Air with Ryan Seacrest
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...
. Timbaland said the song is "very interesting — [it features] this new artist on my label called SoShy
Deborah Epstein
Deborah Epstein , better known by her stage name SoShy, is a French-American singer and songwriter.-Early life:Deborah Epstein was born in Paris to a French-Argentine-Italian mother and a French-Russian father...
from Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. We're both rapping. The song, I can't describe it, it's so different. It's not different for me, but I can tell you this — it fits everything going on with the vampire theme. It fits everything with Twilight
Twilight (2008 film)
Twilight is a 2008 American romantic vampire film based on Stephenie Meyer's popular novel of the same name. Directed by Catherine Hardwicke, the film stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. It is the first film in The Twilight Saga film series...
". When asked about why he picked the song as the first single he said: It was later confirmed that Nelly Furtado has recorded a new verse to feature on the song which will appear on the album but not on the video version. The version featuring Nelly Furtado was released internationally whilst the version without was released in the US. Later on December 5, 2009 the international version was made available to US iTunes
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
.
Promotion
Timbaland performed part of the lead single "Morning After Dark" live at one of the album's launch parties at Mandalay Bay Beach on October 17 and again During the F1 in Abu DhabiAbu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi , literally Father of Gazelle, is the capital and the second largest city of the United Arab Emirates in terms of population and the largest of the seven member emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western...
, UAE
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
on October 30, 2009. Then he appeared with Nelly Furtado and SoShy for the first fully featured live performance of the song at the American Music Awards (2009)
American Music Awards of 2009
The 37th American Music Awards took place on November 22, 2009 at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California. The nominees were announced on October 13, 2009. For the first time in history, there was no host for the year's ceremony. Instead, various celebrities introduced the performers similar...
on November 22, 2009. On November 23, 2009, the trio appeared on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien
The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien
The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show that featured Conan O'Brien as host from June 1, 2009 to January 22, 2010 as part of NBC's long-running Tonight Show franchise...
for an encore performance. The song was featured in a promo for two episodes of the CW's Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl (TV series)
Gossip Girl is an American teen drama television series based on the book series of the same name written by Cecily von Ziegesar. The series was created by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, and premiered on The CW on September 19, 2007...
titled "They Shoot Humphrey's, Don't They?" and "The Last Days of Disco Stick". And also, most of the live shows contain samples from Michael Jackson's well-known song "Thriller", as well as using Vincent Price's laugh at the end of the performance.
Critical reception
Mariel Concepcion from Billboard magazine said "from the sounds of the first single, the producer is back in stride. Much like the material on his first set, the song heaves with massive sub-bass and weighty kick drums. [...] Timbaland flirtatiously harmonizes over a galactic-sounding, double-speed piano and thumping beats. [...] He croons on the catchy hook, which features his new label signee, SoShy. While comparisons to the 2007 cut "Return the Favor" are undeniable-lacking shock value on that end-this club banger will send shockwaves through your speakers nonetheless. However Nick Levine of Digital SpyDigital 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....
was less impressed. He said "Sadly, this vamp-themed lead single, complete with oh-so-contemporary Twilight-inspired video, is somewhat lacking in bite. The production is suitably sinister, the beats are as sharp as tiny ice-picks, and there's capable support from Nelly Furtado and newcomer SoShy, but it's hard to shake the feeling that there's little here Timbo hasn't given us before. From a man who's built his reputation on boundary-pushing, that's a bit of a disappointment." (3 out of 5 stars)
Track listing and formats
UK CD Single- "Morning After Dark" (featuring Nelly FurtadoNelly FurtadoNelly Kim Furtado is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Furtado grew up in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.Furtado first gained fame with her debut album, Whoa, Nelly!, and its single "I'm Like a Bird", which won a 2001 Juno Award for Single of the Year and a 2002 Grammy...
& SoShy) — 3:52 - "Morning After Dark" (Chew Fu 2016 B-Boy Fix Remix) — 5:03
- "Morning After Dark" (Freeman Remix) (with Nelly, Rey Vy & SoShy) - 4:10
- Rey Vy appears courtesy of Universal Music GroupUniversal Music GroupUniversal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
- Rey Vy appears courtesy of Universal Music Group
UK Digital Download E.P.
- "Morning After Dark" (Manhattan CliqueManhattan CliqueThe Manhattan Clique are producers, remixers and writers Philip Larsen and Chris Smith. Regular visitors to the higher reaches of the Music Week Club and Pop charts in the UK, plus the Billboard dance chart in the US, Manhattan Clique are equally at home with their more underground MHC guise as...
Main) — 3:28 - "Morning After Dark" (Chew Fu 2016 B-Boy Fix Remix) — 5:02
- "Morning After Dark" (Moto BlancoMoto BlancoMoto Blanco is an English DJ and electronic music duo consisting of Danny Harrison and Arthur Smith.They are also regularly joined by british record producer Jon Cohen.-History:...
Radio) — 3:47
US Digital Download E.P.
- "Morning After Dark" (Chris Lake Remix) — 3:28
- "Morning After Dark" (Kaskade Remix) — 3:47
- "Morning After Dark" (Feed Me Remix) — 4:53
- "Morning After Dark" (Chew Fu 2016 B-Boy Fix Remix) — 5:03
Music video
The music video was directed by Paul "Coy" Allen and was filmed in November 2009. The video uses the version of the song that features only SoShy because Nelly's verse was recorded after Timbaland and SoShy filmed the music video. On November 16, 2009, Rap Up released a 50-second preview/teaser of what the video will entail. The video premiered exclusively on Timbaland's official website on November 22, 2009. The video is an estimated 7 minutes in length, longer than the song itself, featuring a story plot which begins with a girl who has been studying for a year in Italy, talking to her mother on the phone and then a friend who convinces her to go to a nightclub. While she's talking the camera gives a closeup of a birthmarkBirthmark
A birthmark is a benign irregularity on the skin which is present at birth or appears shortly after birth, usually in the first month. They can occur anywhere on the skin. Birthmarks are caused by overgrowth of blood vessels, melanocytes, smooth muscle, fat, fibroblasts, or...
or scar
Scar
Scars are areas of fibrous tissue that replace normal skin after injury. A scar results from the biological process of wound repair in the skin and other tissues of the body. Thus, scarring is a natural part of the healing process. With the exception of very minor lesions, every wound results in...
in the shape of two overlapping circles. On the way to the club, she is being tracked by a wall-walking vampire, as well as a black cat and Timbaland's character. As the vampire moves in on her, Timbaland's character zips in between them without her noticing. The cat changes into the form of a Japanese businessman to board the bus after her where SoShy appears singing her verses, and as she gets off the bus, SoShy intercepts the cat/businessman keeping him from leaving the bus after her. The girl meets yet another man at the club who appears to be a friend or lover, but as they are dancing, she notices a woman staring at her strangely while two other dancers mime a vampire attack on the dance floor. Rattled, she runs out and her companion follows to comfort her and asks her to tell him what she saw, to which she replies "I think I saw a vampire". This scene is very similar to the iconic scene in Twilight upon which the video is based.
Her friend's attitude immediately takes on a more threatening quality as a sudden lunar eclipse happens above them but before he can do anything he is confronted by Timbaland and SoShy's characters. He tells them that this time he's brought a couple of friends, and the vampire and the cat man appear to back him up only for the three of them to be frightened away by much larger crowd that Timbaland summons. The woman caught between the two sides looks down to see that her circular birthmark is glowing and looks like the eclipse, and the necklace worn by the vampire who was staring at her in the club. She quickly wakes up from the dream, only to see that the television is playing what it was at the start of the dream and the phone is ringing with her mother on the other end as the black cat comes in through the window.
On November 27, 2009, an edited version of the video was released for the version of the song that features Nelly Furtado. Nelly is featured in the video, appearing in a kitchen with a black cat while singing her verse.
Chart performance
The song debuted at 83 on the Hot 100 Airplay (Radio Songs) chart in the US on the week of November 9, 2009. It debuted at number 52 in Canada. It debuted at number 16 on the Swedish Singles Top 60 on the week of November 5. It also debuted at number 62 on the ARIA ChartsARIA 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 Australia on the week of November 9. On the week ending December 12, 2009, it also debuted at number 76 on 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...
and peaked at number 61. On December 6, 2009, it entered at number nine 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 ...
and number five on the UK R&B Chart
UK R&B Chart
The Official UK R&B Chart is a forty-position R&B/Hip-Hop chart compiled by The Official UK Charts Company. Although the chart does not receive any airplay, its compilation is viewed on BBC Radio 1's website and publications such as ChartsPlus and Music Week...
, it has since climbed to number six and number three respectively. In Germany the song enjoyed a successful chart run; after peaking at number six it remained in the top thirty singles for twelve weeks.
Weekly charts
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Poland (ZPAV) | 26 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (2009) | Position |
|---|---|
| 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 ... |
157 |
| Chart (2010) | Position |
|---|---|
| European Hot 100 Singles | 42 |
| German Singles Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
66 |
| Hungarian Airplay Chart | 32 |
| Romanian Top 100 Romanian Top 100 The Romanian Top 100 is the national airplay-based singles chart of Romania. It is weekly and it started running in 1996. It is recognized as an official chart by the European division of Billboard, Music & Media.... |
5 |
Release history
| Country | Format | Date | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 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... |
October 26, 2009 | Blackground Blackground Records Blackground Records is an American record label owned by entertainment attorney and artist manager Barry Hankerson and his son Jomo Hankerson.-History:... / Mosley Mosley Music Group Mosley Music Group is a record label created by producer Tim "Timbaland" Mosley. It operates as an imprint of, and is distributed through, Universal Music Group's Interscope Records.-History:... |
| Canada | 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 Kingdom | November 23, 2009 | ||
| CD single CD single A CD single is a music single in the form of a standard size Compact Disc, not to be confused with the 3-inch CD single, which uses a smaller form factor. The format was introduced in the mid-1980s, but did not gain its place in the market until the early 1990s... |
November 30, 2009 |