Dracula (song)

On 25 July 2025, Tame Impala released "End of Summer" as their first single under Columbia Records,^[1] followed by the single "Loser" on 3 September.^[2] On 4 September, the project announced their fifth studio album, Deadbeat, due for release via Columbia Records on 17 October 2025.^[3] The following day, Tame Impala announced dates for a United States tour to support the album starting October.^[4]

On 18 September, Tame Impala revealed the tracklist of Deadbeat, featuring previously released singles "End of Summer" and "Loser" as well as "Dracula" as the third track, and included a snippet of the unreleased song as the post's audio.^[5] "Dracula" was issued on 26 September as the album's third single, alongside an announcement for the UK and Europe dates of the Deadbeat Tour.^[6]

Kevin Parker is credited as the song's producer, while the song was co-written by Sarah Aarons, making this the first Tame Impala single with a co-writer since "Elephant" and the only Tame Impala song on Deadbeat with a co-writer. "Dracula" began as a simple demo early in the Deadbeat sessions and was developed through successive studio passes into a tighter, more concise arrangement.^[7] In an interview on Apple Music 1's Zane Lowe show, Parker described "Dracula" as one of the earliest pieces started for the album, noting it evolved from a raw, minimal sketch into a fuller, pop-leaning track.^[8] A disco and electropop track,^[9][10] it has been described as marrying a pulsing, dance-forward beat with Tame Impala's trademark psychedelic textures: layered synths, vocals with reverb, and a propulsive low-end. The production was described as being intentionally nocturnal and club-oriented to reflect the album's rave and bush doof inspirations.^[11][12] Lyrically, the song positions Parker as a recluse who finds solace in darkness, comparing himself to the titular vampire Count Dracula.^[9]

A music video for "Dracula" was released alongside the single and directed by Julian Klincewicz.^[8] In the video, nighttime partiers dance outside of a portable house moved by a semi truck as Parker walks in and out of the scene looking resigned. Several media outlets noted the video's nighttime party and outback setting and visual references to Western Australia's rave and bush doof culture—imagery that matches with the album's broader promotional aesthetic.^[11][13]

"Dracula" received a polarised critical response, with reviewers divided over its pop appeal and lyrical substance. Some critics identified it as a highlight of the album, with Neil Z. Yeung of AllMusic calling it "the immediate standout" and praising its "sleek, radio-friendly" sound.^[14] KTLA reporter Russell Falcon named it one of the year's best pop songs,^[15] while Rolling Stone's Jon Dolan described it as a "sleek synth-bop".^[16] The track's disco-laden production garnered comparisons to Michael Jackson's Thriller^[9][17] as well as Tame Impala's work on Dua Lipa's Radical Optimism.^[18][19] Favorable reviews from Consequence and New Noise Magazine noted its groove-driven style and self-aware humor, with the former's Paolo Ragusa suggesting that its more exaggerated lyrics such as "Now I’m Mr. Charisma, fuckin' Pablo Escobar" contributed to its playful appeal.^[20][21]

On the other hand, other critics like Clash's Karan Singh pointed to the same line as an example of the song's weaker songwriting and derided it as the album's worst track.^[22] Will Hodgkinson of The Times and Charles Lyon-Bunt of Slant Magazine concurred with Singh's low ranking of the song, citing its perceived lack of depth and repetitiveness.^[23][24] Pitchfork's Sam Goldner acknowledged the song's catchiness but found it ultimately insubstantial.^[25] Similarly, Ross Horton MusicOMH noted the song's "undeniable groove" but found fault with its "hammy" lyrics.^[26] Ed Power negatively characterised the song for The Irish Times as a "vapid piece of psychedelic fizz".^[27]

"Dracula" placed third on Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2025, behind "Man I Need" by Olivia Dean and "Dancing2" by Keli Holiday, becoming Tame Impala's 19th appearance on the annual list since 2012, and their seventh appearance in the top ten.^[28]

"Dracula" was the first Tame Impala song to chart on the US Billboard Hot 100, debuting at number 55 with 6.5 million streams, 1.7 million radio audience impressions and 1,000 sold in its first week of release. The song also debuted at number seven and eight respectively on the Hot Alternative Songs and Hot Rock & Alternative Songs charts. It became the first song from Deadbeat to enter a radio chart, debuting at number 23 on Rock & Alternative Airplay and number 31 on Alternative Airplay.^[31] Following the release of Deadbeat, "Dracula" debuted at number one on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart dated 1 November 2025 becoming the project's first number-one, and rose from number seven to its peak at number three on the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart. On the all-genre Billboard Hot 100, "Dracula" entered the top 40 for the first time in the same week, rising from number 59 to 33.^[32] The song saw an increase in streams on Halloween, achieving over 1.8 million on-demand U.S. streams, up 49% from the previous Friday.^[10] The song subsequently reached a new peak at number 30 on the Hot 100 in November and also remained at number one on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart for five weeks. On the chart dated 7 February 2026, "Dracula" topped the Alternative Airplay chart, becoming Tame Impala's second number-one after "Neverender" with Justice in 2025.^[33]

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Deadbeat.^[34]

Recording

• Recorded and mixed at Kevin Parker's home studio (Fremantle, Western Australia) and Wave House (Injidup, Western Australia)
• Additional recording at Diamond Mine (New York City)
• Mastered at Metropolis Mastering (London)

Personnel

• Kevin Parker – vocals, songwriter, producer, mix engineer, recording engineer
• Sarah Aarons – songwriter
• Loren Humphrey – additional production, recording engineer
• Matt Colton – mastering engineer

Quick facts (Jennie remix), Released ...

"Dracula" (Jennie remix)
Digital cover
Single by Tame Impala and Jennie
Released	6 February 2026 (2026-02-06)
Genre	Disco electropop
Length	3:29
Label	Columbia
Songwriters	Kevin Parker Sarah Aarons Jennie Carly Gibert
Producer	Kevin Parker
Tame Impala singles chronology
"My Old Ways" (2025) "Dracula" (Jennie remix) (2026)
Jennie singles chronology
"Handlebars" (2025) "Dracula" (Jennie remix) (2026)
Lyric video
"Dracula" (Jennie remix) on YouTube

Close

A remix of "Dracula" with South Korean singer and rapper Jennie was released as a single on 6 February 2026. It was co-written by Kevin Parker and Jennie with Sarah Aarons and Carly Gibert, and produced by Parker. Upon release, it produced a viral trend on video-sharing app TikTok and caused the song to surge in popularity. Commercially, the remix peaked at number two on the Billboard Global 200, becoming Tame Impala's first and Jennie's fifth top-ten hit. It also entered the top ten in countries such as Canada, Croatia, the Czech Republic, France, Greece, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Romania, and Slovakia and the top fifteen in Hong Kong, Norway, and the United States.

• List of number-one hits of 2026 (Germany)
• List of number-one hits of 2026 (Switzerland)