Revealed in February 2011, "Marry the Night" was inspired by the energy of Gaga's previous songs like "Dance in the Dark" and her love for her hometown, New York City.

The track features electronic church bells, a driving electro organ sound, techno beats and a funk rock influenced breakdown.

They furthermore found influences of Italian disco music producer Giorgio Moroder and American rock musician Bruce Springsteen in the song.

Before starting work on "Marry the Night", Gaga listened to "Dance in the Dark" and decided she wanted to top that song's energy with her new collaboration with Garibay.

[6][7] The song starts out with electronic church bells and Gaga softly singing "I'm gonna marry the night/I won't give up on my life/I'm a warrior queen/Live passionately tonight.

[11] In a pre-release review of certain album tracks, Peter Robinson from the NME blog wrote that Gaga channels "Whitney Houston-esque pop euphoria" into the song, notably that from the singer's musical peak.

[19] In September 2011, Interscope Records, Gaga's label, stated that while "Marry the Night" is sure to be released as the fifth single internationally, they were undecided which song would serve in its place in the US.

[22] Gaga's label later decided to release "Marry the Night" in the United States as well; it was added to the playlists of rhythmic[23] and mainstream music radio[24] on November 15, 2011.

On October 17, 2011, Gaga revealed the official artwork for "Marry the Night" via TwitPic, citing the lyrics from the bridge of the song, "New York Is Not Just A Tan That You'll Never Lose".

[15] Kerri Mason from Billboard found influences of gothic rock in it, but went on to call it an "unapologetic disco-powered pop" that could have been a production number on Gaga's debut album, The Fame (2008).

"[37] Awarding the song with four out of five stars Lewis Corner of the same website wrote: "'I'm gonna marry the night/ I won't give up on my life/ I'm a warrior queen, live passionately, tonight,' GaGa calls out over a suitably grand introduction of deistic bells and rumbling techno synths – the result not to dissimilar, we imagine, to Paul Van Dyk playing an organ at a wedding ceremony.

Defiant and epic, the track feeds into Stef's cult-focused fan base like a prophet calling upon their disciples – and given it's the single they've been waiting for, we have no doubt they'll come in their droves.

[47][51][52] In October 2017, the song was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA),[53] and has sold 713,000 pure copies in the United States as of April 2015.

[63] Later, other photos of the filming were published on several websites and they showed Gaga with blue lipstick and a leather romper with several male dancers, in a long-sleeve red dress with padded shoulders,[67] a satellite dish and a big black hat.

[84] Gaga is undressed from an outfit designed by Stéphane Rolland and taken to bed,[83] but is interrupted by a phone call that notifies her of being dropped from her record label.

The video later shifts to a night scene on a building rooftop, where half of Gaga's body is inside a Pontiac Firebird, while her legs protrude from the window and onto the roof of the car.

During the breakdown, Gaga and her team dance on a street while interspersing scenes show her causing chaos, including falling down the stairs, attempting to get into a car with a ridiculously oversized hat and pouring water over herself with a marble plant pot in the bath.

"It's a succinct summary of Gaga's aesthetic, but the video itself is a sprawling epic, with the song preceded by several minutes of cheeky, artsy psycho-drama set in a mental health clinic.

Jason Lipshutz of Billboard commented that the video "features the pop star at her most gloriously provocative, with extended dance sequences, explosions, nudity, and a violent attack on a box of Honey Nut Cheerios.

[87] Jocelyn Vena from MTV opined that "with references to everything from Fame and Black Swan to The Bell Jar, the video is a sweeping look into Gaga's psyche.

"[90] Oscar Moralde of Slant Magazine wrote that the video, "is one of her biggest epics not merely by length (a weighty 14 minutes), but by the breadth of its modes of expression.

"[91] Michael Cragg of The Guardian gave a positive review for the video and wrote: "Superstars are at their best when they're simultaneously aware and unaware of their own ridiculousness and that's what Marry the Night delivers for Lady Gaga.

[105] At the Children in Need Rocks Manchester concert on November 17, 2011, "Marry the Night" was performed as the final song of her set list, along with "Born This Way" and "The Edge of Glory".

[106] On the British comedy show, Alan Carr: Chatty Man, Gaga performed a piano version of the song, while decked up in a pink dress and a gigantic bow on her head, which prompted Becky Bain from Idolator website to comment, "It's been some time since we’ve seen Lady Gaga rock a bow on top of her noggin', and though the one she wore during her [performance] wasn't her signature hairbow, it still made a big (as in HUGE) impression.

Her look, consisting of a shoulder-less black dress with matching hand gloves, was compared by James Dinh of MTV News to actress Audrey Hepburn.

Todd Martens from Los Angeles Times described it as a "dance-meets-hair metal mix-up", while comparing the choreography of the dance to Michael Jackson's music video for "Thriller", and complimented Gaga's vocals.

[109] At the 2011 Jingle Ball in Los Angeles, Gaga performed the song in an imitation of the music video, by perching atop a hospital bed and singing from there.

Her set included current hits from Born This Way and a hospital gown-clad "Marry the Night" finale that paid tribute to her music video.

[103][104] In 2013, pop singer Adam Lambert performed a cover version on Glee's fifth-season episode "A Katy or a Gaga" as his character Elliot "Starchild" Gilbert.

[120] Also in 2021, American actress Camila Mendes performed the song as her role of Veronica Lodge in Riverdale's sixth-season Rivervale episode "Chapter Ninety-Eight: Mr.