"Animal" is a song by Norwegian singer-songwriter

Aurora An aurora ( aurorae or auroras), also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...

for her third studio album, '' A Different Kind of Human (Step 2)'' (2019). It was released on 24 January 2019, through

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label * Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, musical theater record label * Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...

and Glassnote, as the

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

from the album. "Animal" is an upbeat

electropop Electropop is a popular music fusion genre combining elements of the electronic and pop styles. It has been described as a variant of synth-pop with emphasis on a hard electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a rev ...

and dark pop song, produced by Tim Bran and Roy Kerr (My Riot), Magnus Skylstad, and Aurora. Lyrically, it explores human nature and desire. Andrew Trendell of ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' described the song as an arena anthem driven by instinct. The music video, directed by Tim Mattia, reflects Aurora's unique artistic vision. She performed the song on Skavlan on 22 March 2019.

Background

"Animal" was produced by Tim Bran and Roy Kerr (My Riot), Magnus Skylstad, and Aurora herself. Musically, it was described as an upbeat

and dark pop song. With a "crystal-clear" vocal performance from Aurora, the song is driven by dynamic, urging dance-floor

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

s and brooding percussive beats. Lyrically, "Animal" explores human nature and desire, depicting people as "animals hunting for animals." Aurora described it as a reflection on humanity’s constant pursuit of love, success, power, and material pleasures, calling it both "grotesque and beautiful."

Critical reception

Andrew Trendell of ''

'' defined "Animal" as an arena anthem "that asks the listener to lose themselves to instinct".

Music video

The song was accompanied by a music video directed by Tim Mattia, who praised Aurora's unique artistic vision and described the collaboration as a highly immersive and creative experience.

Live performances

Aurora performed "Animal" at the Norwegian-Swedish talk show ''

Skavlan ''Skavlan'' was a Norwegian-Swedish television talk show hosted by Norwegian journalist Fredrik Skavlan. It premiered in Sweden on Sveriges Television (SVT) in January 2009, and the first guests to appear on the show were former Prime Minister ...

'' on 22 March 2019.

Charts

References

{{Aurora (singer) Aurora (singer) songs 2019 songs 2019 singles Songs written by Toby Gad