The Rhythm of the Night

"The Rhythm of the Night" is the debut single by Italian Eurodance group Corona. It was released in 1993 in Italy, then elsewhere the following year. The song is the title track of their 1995 debut studio album "The Rhythm of the Night". It was written by Francesco Bontempi, Annerley Emma Gordon, Giorgio Spagna, Pete Glenister and Mike Gaffey, and produced by Bontempi. The vocals for this song were performed by Italian singer Giovanna Bersola, who is not credited on the single and does not appear in the music video. The woman who appears in the video is Brazilian-born singer Olga Souza. The song was a worldwide hit in 1994, peaking at number-one in Italy, and within the top five in most of Europe, while in the US, it fell short of the top ten, reaching number eleven on both the "Billboard" Hot 100 and the "Cash Box" Top 100.
Music video.
The music video of "The Rhythm of the Night" was directed by Italian director Giacomo De Simone, who also directed other music videos for Corona as well as for many other Eurodance acts, such as Ice MC and Whigfield.
Chart performance.
"The Rhythm of the Night" achieved huge success worldwide. It reached number-one in Italy and stayed there for eight consecutive weeks. In Europe the single entered the Eurochart Hot 100 on 12 February at number 63, and made a slow climb up to peak at five on 17 September. In the end of 1994 it was the longest-charting single on the Eurochart Hot 100. It peaked within the top ten in several countries, including Australia, Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. In the United States, it reached number eleven on the "Billboard" Hot 100.
"The Rhythm of the Night" entered the European "Border Breakers" airplay chart at 21 on 9 April due to crossover airplay in West, Central, North and South-West Europe (also after topping the Italian charts for 8 weeks). It peaked at number 4 on 5 November. In the U.S., the song was a top ten hit on radio as well, peaking at number nine in the Mainstream Top 40 chart and at number seven in the Rhythmic Top 40 chart.
The song was even a bigger hit on dance charts. It peaked at number two on the Canada Dance chart, number three on the UK Dance Chart, and number seven on the Hot Dance Club Play chart in the United States.
Critical reception.
Scottish newspaper "Aberdeen Evening Express" declared "The Rhythm of the Night" "a great Euro pop record" that "has been a top 10 hit in every European country." Larry Flick from "Billboard" wrote, "Recent No. 1 U.K./European hit is finally issued domestically, and it already appears to be on the road to meeting with similar success here." He added further, "Thumping Italo disco beats support glossy faux-rave synths and a diva vocal that is forceful without being overly aggressive. A wildly catchy and repetitive chorus already has begun to woo radio programmers in several major markets on import." Dave Sholin from the "Gavin Report" reported, "Key programmers are catching on to this one and fast – for one very good reason: It's hot! Coming off a number one run in the U.K., Corona is set up to blowout Stateside." Bradley Stern from "Idolator" described it as a "spacey synth-pop jam" and "true staple of early '90s club anthems". He noted, "As soon as that almighty call to arms rings out ("This is the rhythm of the night!"), 20 years later, there's still no choice but to become a slave to the rhythm all over again." "Music & Media" said, "Nocturnal dance party animals and daytime radio programmers sweat to the pulsating Euro beat. When the mistress of seduction hits the mike, only a glass of Corona can cool you down." Alan Jones from "Music Week" deemed it a "extremely commercial pop hit from the Continent." He stated that the more concise Rapino edit is also assailing ears on radio, and its concise form will win it many admirers." James Hamilton from the magazine's "RM" Dance Update called it a "Olga De Souza cooed Euro smash". John Kilgo from "The Network Forty" described it as a "uptempo high-energy dance number" that is "set to explode."
Samples.
In 2019, the chorus of the song was sampled in the Black Eyed Peas and J Balvin's "Ritmo (Bad Boys for Life)", which appeared on the soundtrack of the 2020 film "Bad Boys for Life".
Impact and legacy.
In 2013, "Vibe" placed "The Rhythm of the Night" at number 9 in their list of "Before EDM: 30 Dance Tracks from the '90s That Changed the Game". In 2014, "Idolator" ranked it number 25 on their ranking of "The 50 Best Pop Singles of 1994". In 2017, BuzzFeed listed the song at number 2 in "The 101 Greatest Dance Songs of the '90s" list. They wrote: ""The Rhythm of the Night" is not only a song, it's a lifestyle. It's a triumph. A feeling. Pure joy. This song will take you places!!"
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the song regained prominence due to the band's name, which shares its name with the group of viruses that cause COVID-19. According to Italian author William Silvestri, the band and its most famous hit were remembered to "exorcise the fear of COVID-19". He argues that "COVID-19 was needed to remind us that, after all, the first case of "Corona" to go viral in the world was precisely this dance group." Olga Souza, known in her native Brazil as Corona, commented about the Internet memes associating her band with COVID-19 in an interview with "Extra": "I have seen a lot of memes. We are all alarmed right now. This kind of news surely brings us a lot of anxiety, because we don't know how to deal with [the virus] yet. It would be a lot better if the world was infected by the song instead of that dangerous virus."
Track listings.
Original version.
CD single
7" single
12" maxi – Italy, Spain, Germany
12" maxi – UK
Cascada version.
On 2 June 2012, dance group Cascada performed "The Rhythm of the Night" in a bar opening, leading to speculation that the song would be the group's new single. The single was released on 22 June. It was a top ten hit in Austria, but only reached the top 30 in the group's native Germany. It was included on their compilation album, "The Best of Cascada" (2013).
Track list.
Digital download
Music video.
The music video for the song was directed by Iulian Moga, the Romanian film director noted for making music videos. It was released on 22 June, first to those who had 'liked' Cascada's official page on Facebook, then on general release. The video shows Dutch rapper Nicci, singing his part of the song, and Horler in a yellow jacket, rocking a rich old woman's mansion. The party in the house also comes with police officers, that turn out to be strippers.
Other cover versions.
In 2008, the song was covered by Dutch pop group Hermes House Band, and reached number 16 in France and number 55 in Germany.
In 2013, British band Bastille recorded "Of the Night", a medley of "The Rhythm of the Night" and "Rhythm Is a Dancer" by Snap!.
Hattie Webb of the Webb Sisters covered the song; her version was used in the McDonald's advert campaign "We Are Awake" and her EP "Mouth of the Sea", released on 11 November 2016.