Corona (band)

"The Rhythm of the Night"

Debut single was "The Rhythm of the Night", released in Italy in November 1993 on Roberto Zanetti’s DWA record label, and became an instant hit. It stayed at number 1 on the Italian music chart for eight consecutive weeks. However, the song was not released elsewhere until the following year. A remixed version of the song became a number 2 hit in the United Kingdom in September 1994.

Like several early 1990s Eurodance/Hi-NRG songs that eventually became American hits, such as "Get Ready For This", "Twilight Zone" and "Tribal Dance" by 2 Unlimited and "Strike It Up", "I Don't Know Anybody Else" and "Everybody Everybody" by Black Box, "The Rhythm of The Night" did not become popular in the United States until well after its success had peaked in Europe. However, by spring 1995, the song was all over American radio and clubs, eventually reaching #11 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Corona followed up its hit with the 1995 singles "Baby Baby" and "Try Me Out", which saw similar success. The single "I Don't Wanna Be a Star" was a moderate hit. A fifth single, "Do You Want Me", became a regional hit in discotheques in the Eastern U.S. The album, The Rhythm of the Night sold modestly, peaking at #2 on the US Top Heatseekers chart and #154 on the Billboard 200.

1998 to 2004

In 1996, after the demise of Discomagic Records, DWA Records reorganized its staff due to internal conflicts. Since then, it occasionally released records. As a result, the production of the Corona was moved from DWA Records to Bontempi’s own label (World Of Music, which was also a sublabel of Discomagic).

The third album, And Me U, was released in 2001 in Brazil's Abril Music, under the name Corona X. Bontempi co-wrote some of the songs on the album, but he did not participate in the album's production. In 2004, as a tribute to Olga Maria De Souza native Brazil, Corona sang “A cor dos teus olhos” (The Colour of Your Eyes) which was distributed by ‘5000’. Souza defines the song like an imprint of her childhood memory. The song became an immediate hit. The same year “Garota Brasileira”, a song with spicy samba sounds became a hit with the Japanese public.

2005 to 2007

Towards the end of 2005, Corona re-emerged onto the European music scene with "Back in Time", peaking at #36 in the Italian sales chart. It was followed by “I’ll Be Your Lady” in late 2006, co-written and sung by Corona Olga Maria De Souza.

2010 to present

Corona returned in 2010, with the album Y Generation, reaching #1 on the Italian iTunes dance album chart. The first single release was “Angel”. The music video of “Angel” was recorded in Italy, with “Saturday” becoming the second single release from the album, followed by “My Song” in 2011. Her last single was released in February 2012, and reached #44 on the Italian Singles Chart. It was added to the re-release of Y Generation, which was released in November 2012 as Y Generation: Remixed.

In 2013, “The Rhythm of the Night” was featured on Grand Theft Auto V in the Non-Stop-Pop FM radio station.

Covers and remixes

Various remixes of “The Rhythm of the Night” have been made, two of which were released on DWA Records: one made by British producer duo Frisco (Frisco vs. Corona, 2008) and the other one by Italian producer Simone Bontempi, son of Corona’s original producer Francesco Bontempi (Simon from Deep Divas vs. Corona, 2010).

There have also been covers of the song, including one by Dutch pop group Hermes House Band in 2008, and one by German dance group Cascada in 2012. Bastille also released a cover titled "Of the Night" on their 2013 album All This Bad Blood.

Participants

Many people participated in “The Rhythm of the Night” , Francesco Bontempi (songwriting, arrangement, producing, mixing), Francesco Alberti (engineering), Graziano Fanelli (engineering), Olga Maria De Souza (vocalist), songwriters - Antonia Bottari, Ivana Spagna, G. Spagna, Annerley Gordon, Fred Di Bonaventura, Gaffurini, V. Marcolin, M. Marcolin, M. Anthony, Michael Gaffey, Pete Glenister, F. Martinelli, A. Puntillo, Marco Baroni, A. Bellucci, L. Ratti, S. Tonelli, N. Heathen, I.G. Off, A. Martin, E. Bertolini, Claudio Silvestri, M. Cimoli, A. Puthli and D. Zimmermann.