Known for his signature black suit and cigarette in hand, The Dare is a singer-songwriter and DJ who rose to fame for his hypersexual lyrics and electronic dance beats.
Harrison Patrick Smith, known professionally as The Dare, got into music while attending Lewis & Clark College in 2014. Originally, Smith released music with a band called Turtlenecked, which started as a passion project but developed a fan base of loyal listeners.
The band released four albums: “Pure Plush Bone Cage” (2016), “Vulture” (2017), “High Scores of the Heart” (2018) and “Kapow!” (2020). In June 2017, Pitchfork writer Ian Cohen reviewed Turtlenecked’s 2017 album “Vulture,” giving it 6/10.
“With his indie rock project Turtlenecked, Harrison Smith pens witty lyrics that riff on social media and scene politics,” Cohen wrote. “It’s often charming, but the navel-gazing can just as easily turn insufferable.”
Although his early work received mixed reviews, Smith and the band moved to New York City in 2017. He continued performing and making music with Turtlenecked, while working as a waiter, DJ, guitar instructor and substitute teacher.
During the pandemic, Smith halted playing gigs and instead worked on solo projects. According to an interview with GQ, Smith would send drafts to his friends, including his hit song “Girls,” his first solo single under his new stage name.
“We all made goofy songs just for fun, and I sent it to them just to make them laugh,” Smith said. “When I'm doing that as a goofy thing, I usually turn off the serious part of my brain that's like I'm going to release this. And when I made it and I listened back to it I was like, ‘You know what? This is pretty good.’”
Since its release, “Girls” has gained a following for its raunchy, provocative lyrics. The song has since amassed over 26 million streams on Spotify and blew up on TikTok, with many users posting clubbing videos in their going-out outfits.
Under this new persona, Smith never took himself too seriously. Smith was known for clubbing and deejaying in the same, sleek black suit. In an interview with the New York Times, Smith discussed the allure behind his new persona.
“All of my musical heroes typically commit to the bitand are larger than life, and the music is never secondary,” Smith said. “The bit — in this case, the suit — furthers the story of the music, or piques the interest or the imagination of the listener even more.”
After his newfound success, Smith released “The Sex EP” in May 2023, a collection of four songs starting with “Girls,” “Sex,” “Good Time” and “Bloodwork.”
As Smith’s work grew in popularity, he released his first full-length album titled “What’s Wrong With New York?” Sept. 6. The album included the songs from his EP along with some new, solid tracks such as “Perfume,” “All Night” and “I Destroyed Disco.”
This summer, Smith produced Charli XCX’s hit song “Guess” and joined her as the opening act for three nights of her "BRAT tour, which brought attention to Smith’s musical prowess and raunchy lyricism.
Smith seems to be following in Charli XCX’s footsteps after the success of “BRAT,” and under his moniker, is becoming the new face of the NYC club scene. Smith successfully created a persona that embraces the party scene and hyperpop genre currently taking over music streaming services.
