Released January 8, 1997 Recorded 1995 Length 5:37 | Format CD single Genre Adult contemporary Label Epic | |
"Dark Horse" is a song co-written with Dean McTaggart and David Tyson and originally recorded by Canadian pop singer Amanda Marshall. It was the fifth single from her 1995 self-titled debut album. In 1997, American country music singer Mila Mason covered the song for her own debut album, That's Enough of That.
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Critical reception
Colin Larkin, in The Encyclopedia of Popular Music, wrote that it was "more personal" than the other story songs on Marshall's album. Jeremy Helligar of Entertainment Weekly said that Marshall "drums up momentum with the gently percussive 'Dark Horse'". While not a music critic, Elton John remarked on the The Rosie O'Donnell Show that 'Dark Horse' was a "guaranteed hit" after he mentioned that he was listening to Amanda Marshall's album.
Chart performance
"Dark Horse" peaked at number five on the RPM Top Singles charts dated for the week of March 17, 1997. It also peaked at number one on the same publication's Adult Contemporary charts two weeks later.
Mila Mason version
Mila Mason's version appears on her 1996 debut album That's Enough of That. It was the second single from the album, entering the charts in February 1997.
Critical reception
Brian Wahlert of Country Standard Time described Mason's cover as "the least country song on the album" but said that "Mason's smoky voice works perfectly on the opening lyric[…]and the pretty ensuing story of young love that lasted."
Chart performance
Mason's version of the song spent twenty weeks on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, peaking at number 21. In Canada, it peaked at number 12 on the RPM Country Tracks charts dated for May 12, 1997.