The dance music world is abuzz with excitement as two of its most iconic figures, Armin van Buuren and David Guetta, reveal their first-ever collaboration. The long-awaited single, titled ‘In the Dark,’ dropped today on Armada Music, just weeks after the pair teased the track during their second-ever back-to-back set at Ushuaïa Ibiza during David Guetta’s “F*** ME I'M FAMOUS!” residency.
The track presents an uplifting anthem that merges each artist’s signature sound, underscored by empowering lyrics sung and co-written by two-time Grammy-winning songwriter Aldae. Created during a collaborative session in LA, ‘In the Dark’ embodies the artists’ shared passion for music and spreads the inspiring message that one special person can be your lightning ‘In The Dark’.
Armin van Buuren and David Guetta are no strangers to each other, having crossed paths many times throughout their careers before performing their first back-to-back in Ibiza in 2022 for the French superstar’s “F*** ME I'M FAMOUS!” residency. The pair treated fans to round two just weeks before today’s release, teasing their joint effort. Despite their distinct journeys and unique musical paths, their mutual love for music has always been a common thread, ultimately bringing them together for this monumental collaboration.
Armin van Buuren expressed his enthusiasm about the collaboration: “David and I have been great friends for years, and we've always talked about working together. 'In The Dark' is a special blend of our styles, and I hope listeners can feel the admiration we have for each other’s work. This track also wouldn’t have been possible without the incredible Aldae, whose talents as a songwriter and vocalist are unrivaled.”
Speaking right after his epic back-to-back set with Armin van Buuren at Ushuaïa last month, David Guetta said: “We come from different musical paths but our passion brings us together!”
[review top="1"]
[item value="10"]Armin van Buuren & David Guetta feat. Aldae - In The Dark [/item]
[content title="Summary" label="Overall Score"]Armin van Buuren continues to impress with his breathtaking collaborations. This time he meets in the studio the brilliant David Guetta for an instant club anthem that is destined to perform well in the radio and Spotify playlists. With Aldae on vocals In The Dark is a positive feel good encouraging and truly empowering track about people who have the courage to continue the struggle and find the special someone that will take them by the hand and together they will pass all the difficulties. In a world that personal success is the absolute goal for men and women as their ticket to happiness lyrics that remind us to stay more human and find strength through love and appreciation of other humans is definitely a such an exciting prospect. Pulsating basslines, thumping kicks, pounding drums and euphoric feel good synths create that nostalgic feel good epic house track that will push the audience to the next level. It will be cool Armin to deliver a trance focused version and David to do his future rave style of remix to erupt the mainstages. #PureGold Love iT [/content]
[item value="10"]Beat and Rhythm[/item][item value="10"]Basslines and Groove[/item]
[item value="10"] Melody [/item]
[item value="10"] Synths [/item]
[item value="10"]Breakdown[/item]
[item value="10"]Climax / Drop / Crescendo / Pay off moment[/item]
[item value="10"]Intensity, Drive and Energy[/item]
[item value="10"]Sound-design and Arrangement[/item]
[item value="10"]Overall Atmosphere[/item]
[item value="10"]Goosebumps / Shivers moments[/item]
[item value="10"]Emotional affinity and heartfelt moments[/item]
[item value="10"]Originality and Inventiveness[/item]
[item value="10"]Radio Friendly[/item]
[item value="10"]Vocals & lyrics[/item]
[item value="10"]You can’t get this memorable track out of your head[/item]
[item value="10"]It has potential to become an anthem or a classic[/item]
[/review]
About Armin van Buuren:
It takes little to recognize that Armin van Buuren has been one of the world’s biggest DJs and producers in electronic music for over twenty years. His life-long dedication to the scene has earned him a Grammy® nomination for ‘This Is What It Feels Like’ (feat. Trevor Guthrie) and critical acclaim for global hit singles such as ‘Blah Blah Blah’, ‘Great Spirit’ (with Vini Vici), ‘Leave A Little Love’ (with Alesso) and ‘Music Means Love Forever’ (with Steve Aoki). Additionally, he claimed the number one spot in the annual DJ Mag Top 100 DJs poll for an unprecedented five times, contributing to the twenty-one consecutive top 5 spots to date (the most recent being a #5 in the DJ Mag Top 100 DJs poll of 2023).
His two-hour radio show, A State of Trance (ASOT), is broadcast weekly from his own radio studio in the Armada Music HQ in Amsterdam to over 44 million listeners in more than 80 countries, as well as online via audio and video live stream on YouTube, Facebook and Twitch. ASOT, which surpassed the milestone number of 1000 episodes in January 2021, has grown from a small radio show into a complete dance music brand with stages and events across the globe.
Armin van Buuren has launched several ‘Armin Only’ world tours throughout the years, including the ones based on his albums (‘Imagine’ in 2008, ‘Mirage’ in 2010, ‘Intense’ in 2013 and ‘Embrace’ in 2016) and ‘The Best Of Armin Only’ in 2017. In June 2022, two years later than originally planned due to the Corona pandemic, Armin van Buuren played his most personal and intimate live shows yet through four sold-out shows in the Ziggo Dome: ‘This Is Me – Feel Again’.
In addition to all of this, Armin van Buuren is the co-founder of Armada Music, the biggest independent dance music label in the world. The Amsterdam-, NYC- and London-based record label, which was founded in tandem with Maykel Piron and David Lewis, is acclaimed internationally for releasing music across the electronic music spectrum, was voted #7 in Mixmag’s “Label Of The Decade” poll in 2017, and is the six-time winner of “Best Global Record Label” at the International Dance Music Awards in Miami, the sixth of which was won in 2018.
As a performer, Armin had headlined countless shows at leading festivals and venues around the world, including Electric Daisy Carnival (Las Vegas, New York), Ultra Music Festival (Miami) and Tomorrowland (Belgium) plus residencies at Hï Ibiza, in Las Vegas and numerous others.
On December 16, 2019, Armin van Buuren joined forces with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to motivate millions of people to join the movement and fight against plastic pollution. As a Global Oceans Ambassador, Armin will contribute to the worldwide #BeatPlastic campaign: www.arminvanbuuren.com/beatplastic.
In December 2022, Armin van Buuren launched an exclusive, web3-based community: Armin’s All-Access. Created to strengthen the connection with his fans, the community is accessible upon purchase of a limited-edition community token – a piece of digital art designed by renowned Dutch designer Rik Oostenbroek – and grants many fan-desired perks, including (early) access to various forms of exclusive content (e.g. previews of unreleased music, exclusive DJ sets in audio, exclusive merchandise items), a private, AAA-community-only space within the existing Armin van Buuren Discord channel and direct contact with Armin van Buuren himself.
To date, Armin has seven full-length artist albums to his name: ‘76’ (2003), ‘Shivers’ (2005), ‘Imagine’ (2008), ‘Mirage’ (2010), ‘Intense’ (2013), ‘Embrace’ (2015) and ‘Balance’ (2019).
About David Guetta:
DJ. Producer. Artist. David Guetta is a musical trailblazer and an international icon. Currently the #12 most streamed artist on Spotify globally and with 2x Grammys awards, 13x Grammy nominations, 7x UK number 1 singles, over 40 billion global streams, 50 million records sold worldwide, and over 70 million monthly Spotify listeners to his name, he has been voted the world’s best DJ in the DJ Mag ‘Top 100’ four times and won the accolade for best electronic artist at the MTV Europe Music Awards. In 2023 he achieved two Grammy nominations, topped the DJ Mag Top 100, won ‘Best Electronic Act’ at the MTV EMAs, two awards at the LOS40 Music Awards, two awards at MTV EMA’s, the ‘Dance Act of the Year’ award at the iHeartRadio Music Awards and ‘DJ of the Year’ award at the NRJ Music Awards, and was additionally named #1 Producer by 1001Tracklists, and ‘Producer of the Year’ at the BRITs in recognition of his production successes.
The French producer mastermind has collaborated with some of the world’s biggest stars including SIA, Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, Justin Bieber, Black Eyed Peas, Shakira, Ariana Grande, OneRepublic, Kid Cudi, J Balvin, Becky Hill, RAYE and many more.
The past year has been huge for Guetta with a string of hits under his belt; dance smash ‘Baby Don’t Hurt Me’ arrived in collaboration with pop megastars Anne-Marie and Coi Leray. The single was the hotly anticipated follow-up to Spotify global #1 and streaming monster, ‘I’m Good (Blue)’, that garnered 2.7 billion global streams and simultaneously hit #1 at the US Top 40 & US Dance Radio charts. Elsewhere he has provided remixes for some of the world’s biggest stars including pop royalty Sam Smith & Kim Petras, Coldplay, Dua Lipa, Megan Thee Stallion and Kodak Black, BTS star Jungkook and U2. His newest single ‘I Don’t Wanna Wait’ with OneRepublic is already a huge hit around the world, garnering +300 million streams and already in the top 50 global spotify charts.
A master creative across genres, Guetta has also gone from strength to strength with his underground-focused Future Rave project alongside Morten, and he is additionally working on new music for his underground alias Jack Back.
His spectacular live show experience saw him headlining the main stage at Ultra Miami Festival in March and EDC Vegas in May, plus he’s just started his two Ibiza residencies: Hï Ibiza with Future Rave and Ushuaïa Ibiza with legendary party F*** ME I’M FAMOUS!. You will also catch him playing at many of the world’s biggest events and festivals this summer.
While maintaining an epic level of quality for his live streams during the pandemic and lockdown, he hosted his iconic United At Home series, a number of unforgettable concerts from Paris’ Louvre Museum, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the Icon Brickell in Miami, and atop the Rockefeller Center, raising $2 million in donations for numerous charities.
As he continues to dominate the global charts and play some of the most exciting sets of his career, all while expanding his creative vision, exploring new sounds and evolving as an artist, David Guetta demonstrates time and time again why he is the most cherished electronic artist of our generation.
About Armada Music
Armada Music is the biggest independent dance music label in the world. Founded by Armin van Buuren, Maykel Piron (CEO) and David Lewis, the label manages an ever-growing catalog of over 40,000 tracks, built up across twenty-plus years of specialized dance music exploitation.
Representing artists such as Armin van Buuren, ARTY, D.O.D, Eelke Kleijn, Jan Blomqvist, Loud Luxury, Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano, Tensnake, THEMBA and Yulia Niko, Armada Music amasses more than one billion streams per month, airplay on leading radio outlets such as BBC Radio 1 and Sirius XM, and top positions in the world’s most notable charts. The label also takes great pride in major achievements such as Armin van Buuren’s GRAMMY nomination for ‘This Is What It Feels Like’, Loud Luxury and Brando’s ‘Body’ surpassing one billion streams on Spotify and breaking artists such as Lost Frequencies into global stardom.
Across offices in Amsterdam (HQ), New York, London and Laren (NL), Armada Music offers a truly global appeal to its growing roster. The label has its own club, radio studio and multiple production studios, and hosts various live formats. Producer platform Armada University, which offers educational products and opportunities, shows the label’s sustained effort to nurture the next wave of talent.
In 2023, Armada Music launched BEAT Music Fund, the world’s first dance music investment company, that acquires catalogs with the mission of honoring, representing and reinvigorating them. BEAT’s portfolio will continue to grow; in the first six months following its launch, BEAT acquired the catalogs of, among others, electronic music star ARTY, house and techno pioneer Kevin Saunderson’s KMS Records, legendary NYC-based house label King Street Sounds and chart-topping producers Chocolate Puma.
Lyrics
Lost in a sea of doubt
It’s either breathe or drown
I really need you now
I know that you’ll be my lightning in the dark
Ups, down, I’ve seen a million now
But I ain’t scared of clouds
'Cause I know you’ll be my lightning in the dark
You’ll be my lightning in the dark
I believe in human nature
And the need for love
I believe that our mistakes are
Are what makes us us
In the eye of a hurricane
How did I ever change
And I still believe in purpose
And a bigger plan
And I know what’s on the surface
Don’t define a man
In the eye of a hurricane
You were my saving grace
Healing is the destination
I’m still on my way
Keep the faith no hesitation
Even when I’m lost
Lost in a sea of doubt
It’s either breathe or drown
I really need you now
I know that you’ll be my lightning in the dark
Ups, down, I’ve seen a million now
But I ain’t scared of clouds
'Cause I know you’ll be my lightning in the dark
Lightning in the dark
Lightning in the dark
Lightning in the dark
Lightning in the dark
Lightning in the dark
Lightning in the dark
You’ll be my lightning in the dark
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