"This Is Your Night" is a song recorded by Dutch singer-songwriter Amber, released on 21 May 1996 by Tommy Boy Records as the lead single from her debut album of the same name (1996). It is written by Amber, and produced by German producers Berman Brothers and other programmers. In January 1996, a promotional version of this track was released to select Rhythmic Top 40/dance radio stations in New York and Chicago. This version, received minimal airplay before being replaced entirely with the now known "Original Edit", and was never released on any album or single. The music video for the song was directed by Jeff Kennedy and filmed in New York City.
"This Is Your Night" reached number one in Israel,[5] and had great success in many countries, particularly in Australia, Belgium, Japan, Lebanon, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Spain. It charted in the top 40 in the United States and gained further prominence after appearing in the 1998 American comedy film, A Night at the Roxbury. On the Billboard Hot 100, "This Is Your Night" wound up only being in the 1996 year-end chart, although peaking just over number 25 in 1997.
"This Is Your Night" was a major hit on several continents. In Europe, it peaked at number three in Spain, number 14 in the Netherlands,[6] and number 33 in Iceland.[7] Outside Europe, the single reached number-one in Israel in January 1997,[5] number three in Japan, number ten on the Canadian RPM Dance/Urban chart,[8] and numbers 11 and 40 in Australia and New Zealand.[9][10] In the US, it peaked at number 24 on the BillboardHot 100, number ten on the BillboardHot Dance Club Play chart and number seven on the BillboardMainstream Top 40 chart. The song ended up as number 82 on the Billboard Hot 100 year-end chart.[11]
"This Is Your Night" was awarded with a gold record in Australia, with a sale of 35,000 singles.
Barry Walters for The Advocate complimented the song as a "sugarcoated treat".[12] Alex Henderson from AllMusic viewed it as "catchy".[13]Larry Flick from Billboard praised the song, viewing it as "Euro-NRG of the highest and most festive quality". He added that "she oozes with endearing girlish charm and a squeaky-cute voice", noting the "immediately infectious chorus".[1] On the single review, Flick remarked that the normally hip-hop-rooted Tommy Boy "dives head-first into the ongoing Euro-NRG craze with a bouncy anthem that will have folks who never get enough of La Bouche-styled rhythm twirling with ear-to-ear grins." He concluded, "Amber has enough charisma to push this single over the top."[3] Chuck Campbell from Knoxville News Sentinel felt that "positive energy radiates" from the song.[14]L.A. Times named it a "classic house groove", stating that "Amber works the beats like a pro, turning each phrase into a perfect fusion of rhythm and melody." They continued, "In fact, there's something downright addictive about the dabba-dabba-dop, dip-dop-n-day phrase she sprinkles" through the song.[2] A reviewer from Sun-Sentinel described it as "a chirpy, made-for-the-turntables pop number."[15]
The accompanying music video for "This Is Your Night" was filmed in New York City, directed by Jeff Kennedy, and produced by Nicola Doring.[16] It premiered in October 1996. It features Amber singing in a pool wearing a glittery jewelled headpiece and surrounded by flowers floating on the water posing with "prayer hands". Other scenes features the singer performing on a bed or in front of a small mirror in a jewel box. She is also seen dancing with other dancers. In between male dancers are dancing in showering water. In the video words like 'free', 'forever', 'true', 'yeah', 'girl', 'night', 'love' and 'heart' are projected with light on the dancers. In the end Amber lies sleeping in her bed. The video was later made available on Tommy Boy's official YouTube channel in July 2018, and had generated more than 18 million views as of late 2024.[17]
In 2013, American magazine Vibe ranked "This is Your Night" number 13 in their list of "Before EDM: 30 Dance Tracks from the '90s That Changed the Game" in 2013.[18] In 2017, Billboard ranked it number 39 in their list of "The 100 Greatest Pop Songs of 1997". Billboard editor Andrew Unterberger wrote, "A dance-floor clarion call from its opening seconds, "This Is Your Night" was as undeniable as hi-NRGdance-pop got in '97, seemingly one long continuous chorus serving as a baton relay between mega-hooks."[19] Same year, BuzzFeed ranked the song number seven in their list of "The 101 Greatest Dance Songs of the '90s".[20]
On June 17, 2022, the Junior Vasquez Sunday Night Bump Extended Remix, which was never previously issued commercially, was released to all digital platforms internationally as part of the Amber Remixed - Extended Versions long form compilation of club remixes.
As of 2022, the following versions of "This Is Your Night" are available for download:
The original album version (1996)
The US 6-track CD maxi single (1996)
The worldwide 11 track digital special edition single
Two remixes on "The Hits Remixed" (2000): the Mousse T. remix (track 7) and the Junior Vasquez Sunday Night Bump extended mix (track 10)
The 3-track re-recorded single (JMCA, 2008) and two club mixes on "The Hits Remixed - Extended" (2022 digital release): the Junior Vasquez Sunday Night Bump extended mix (track 5) and the Mousse T. remix - extended (track 6)
There has been an ongoing dispute between Amber and the Berman Brothers regarding the publishing shares on the title. The Berman Brothers had Amber write 98% of the lyrics and singing melody in a studio in Hamburg to a basic track and yet they claimed most of the publishing shares for the title. In 1997, Amber's share was reduced to only 6.6% behind her back, as the Berman Brothers added the title to their publishing company Shark Media.
In 2008, Amber re-recorded "This Is Your Night", utilizing modern production techniques and adding some new elements. This version is routinely ranked among the most popular in her catalogue on digital streaming and download platforms.
Amber released the newly recorded single via her own label JMCA. The release included three versions: a radio edit, an extended mix, and a show mix.
"If You Could Read My Mind (25th Anniversary Edition)" (July, 2023)
On June 14, 2023, Tommy Boy Records (Reservoir Media) released 11 vault remixes of "This Is Your Night". With this release, many of the tracks became available on digital streaming and download platforms for the very first time.
This maxi single was the sixth in an ongoing series of planned reissues of Amber catalog remixes that have been vaulted for decades. "This Is Your Night (Special Edition)" was preceded by "Sexual (Li Da Di) (Plasma Trance Remix - Extended)" (May 2022), "The Hits Remixed - Extended" (June 2022), "Above the Clouds (Remixes)" (July 2022), "Love One Another (Remixes)" (August 2022) and "Colour of Love (Remixes)" (September 2022). The digital album peaked at #2 on the iTunes US Dance Albums Chart on the day of release.
