Dance to This

Summary

"Dance to This" is a song by Australian singer-songwriter Troye Sivan, featuring American singer Ariana Grande. Written by Sivan, Leland, Noonie Bao and its producer Oscar Holter, the song was released by EMI Music Australia on 13 June 2018 as the fourth single from Sivan's second studio album, Bloom (2018).

"Dance to This"
A high exposure polaroid-like still of Sivan and Grande
Single by Troye Sivan featuring Ariana Grande
from the album Bloom
Released13 June 2018 (2018-06-13)
Genre
Length3:51
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Oscar Holter
Troye Sivan singles chronology
"Bloom"
(2018)
"Dance to This"
(2018)
"Animal"
(2018)
Ariana Grande singles chronology
"No Tears Left to Cry"
(2018)
"Dance to This"
(2018)
"Bed"
(2018)
Music video
"Dance to This" on YouTube

Background edit

Sivan first revealed the song during an interview with Nick Grimshaw on BBC Radio 1 in February. "This was not a planned announcement, but I'm so excited. It sounds exactly like I dreamt it would. [Grande] and I are friends. She's really fun. I said 'would you ever sing on this song?' And she just did it. My favourite thing is not telling people who it is, and then starting to play the song and as soon as she starts to sing, everyone's like 'are you serious?' Her voice is nuts."[1][2] He wrote on Twitter immediately after the show: "Yes! The rumours are trumours! [Grande] is my pop queen and I can't wait for you guys to hear our song."[3][4][5]

Describing the song as a "mellow dance track", Sivan later revealed its title in an interview with GQ Australia.[6][7] On 11 June 2018, Sivan officially announced the title and release date of the song on social media and teased an 11-second preview the following day.[8][9][10] The teaser features a close-up still of Sivan and Grande, whose faces are illuminated by blue lights. He also confirmed that the track would debut on Beats 1 with Zane Lowe.[11] Sivan told Lowe that he was initially nervous to ask Grande to sing on the song. After he sent her the song, Grande replied instantly and excitedly asked when she could work on it. They happened to be working at the same studio that day and they hung out to discuss life and decide on Grande's part in the song. Sivan got the voice demo back from her the next day.[12]

Composition edit

"Dance to This" is a pop and electropop song with '80s influences,[13][14][15] lined with "muted, shuffling percussion" and a "syncopated, polyrhythmic beat".[16][17][18] The song opens with "heavy beats and melodic guitars",[19] before joining "flickering drum machines and feathery synth pads, with the occasional presence of dreamy guitars",[20][21] eventually building up to "an atmospheric bridge with massive drums". Lyrically, the song is about "that moment when you feel like you've been to enough house parties or events, and staying home making out in the kitchen and cooking dinner sounds like a much, much better alternative", according to Sivan.[13]

Critical reception edit

Katherine Barner of Complex praised the song, writing: "The two voices are a true match made in dance music heaven and blend beautifully together during the second chorus." She found it "a great candidate for any playlist of summer anthems".[20] In a lukewarm review, Sasha Geffen of Pitchfork regarded the song as "a subtle, low-key affair" rather than "the kind of pop banger that gets blasted at every single Pride party for the rest of the month". She praised the two artists' voices, but noted that the track "doesn't push them to the heights they've achieved separately". She was displeased that Grande mostly serves as a background vocalist, faulting the track for its failure to "justify Grande's sidelining".[22]

Music video edit

The music video was first teased with a series of pictures via Instagram by Sivan and Grande on 28 June 2018. A teaser for the video was released on 16 July 2018 announcing that the video would premiere on 19 July 2018 at 9 am PST.[23] W magazine described the video as Sivan and Grande "goofily danc[ing] their night away" in a rec room in front of a "disinterested audience decked out in nylon neon-colored '90s sportswear", with the pair continuing to perform the song until all the others present leave.[24] The video is an homage to the 2003 music video for "Pass This On" by Swedish duo The Knife; Sivan stated the video was also inspired by High School Musical, Grease and a "gif of Cher spinning around".[24]

Credits and personnel edit

Credits adapted from Tidal.[25]

Charts edit

Chart performance for "Dance to This"
Chart (2018) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[26] 39
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[27] 36
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[28] 85
Croatia Airplay (HRT)[29] 91
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[30] 69
Greece (IFPI)[31] 16
Ireland (IRMA)[32] 52
New Zealand Heatseekers (RMNZ)[33] 1
Portugal (AFP)[34] 64
Romania (Airplay 100)[35] 92
Scotland (OCC)[36] 38
Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[37] 66
South Korea International Downloads (Gaon)[38] 45
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[39] 98
UK Singles (OCC)[40] 64
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)[41] 15

Certifications edit

Certifications for "Dance to This"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[42] Platinum 70,000
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[43] Gold 20,000
Poland (ZPAV)[44] Gold 10,000
Portugal (AFP)[45] Gold 5,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[46] Silver 200,000
United States (RIAA)[47] Platinum 1,000,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References edit

  1. ^ Thomas, Chris (23 February 2018). "Don't Scream (Too Loud) But Troye Sivan & Ariana Grande Made a Song Together". Out. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  2. ^ "Ariana Grande and Troye Sivan have recorded a song together". BBC News. 23 February 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  3. ^ Prance, Sam (23 February 2018). "Troye Sivan Reveals That Ariana Grande Features on His New Album". MTV News. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  4. ^ Braca, Nina (23 February 2018). "Troye Sivan Confirms Collaboration With His 'Pop Queen' Ariana Grande". Billboard. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  5. ^ Puckett, Lily (23 February 2018). "Troye Sivan confirms upcoming Ariana Grande collaboration". The Fader. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  6. ^ Sivan, Troye (13 April 2018). "Troye Sivan GQ Exclusive: "I've Made The Album I Always Wanted To Make"". GQ Australia (Interview). Interviewed by Jake Millar. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  7. ^ Nied, Mike (11 June 2018). "Troye Sivan & Ariana Grande's "Dance To This" Is Dropping This Week". Idolator. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  8. ^ Brandle, Lars (10 June 2018). "Troye Sivan Announces 'Dance to This' Featuring Ariana Grande". Billboard. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  9. ^ Renshaw, David (11 June 2018). "Troye Sivan and Ariana Grande announce new single "Dance To This"". The Fader. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  10. ^ Dresden, Hilton (11 June 2018). "Troye Sivan Announces Title & Release Date of Duet With Ariana Grande". Out. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  11. ^ Brandle, Lars (12 June 2018). "Troye Sivan Shares Preview of Ariana Grande Collaboration 'Dance to This': Listen". Billboard. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  12. ^ Honeycutt, Shanté (13 June 2018). "Troye Sivan Discusses Pride, 'Dance to This' With Ariana Grande & More on Beats 1". Billboard. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  13. ^ a b Reed, Ryan (13 June 2018). "Hear Troye Sivan's New Party Jam With Ariana Grande, 'Dance to This'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  14. ^ Youtt, Henry (13 June 2018). "8 Troye Sivan Songs to Celebrate Pride Month: Listen". Billboard. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  15. ^ Copperman, Joshua (13 June 2018). ""Dance to This" – Troye Sivan (ft. Ariana Grande)". Spin. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  16. ^ Schatz, Lake (14 June 2018). "Ariana Grande and Troye Sivan link up on new song "Dance to This": Stream". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  17. ^ Crowley, Patrick (13 June 2018). "Troye Sivan & Ariana Grande Drop Sexy 'Dance To This': Listen". Billboard. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  18. ^ Zaynab (13 June 2018). "Troye Sivan & Ariana Grande Harmonize On "Dance To This"". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  19. ^ Braidwood, Ella (13 June 2018). "Troye Sivan drops new track with Ariana Grande". PinkNews. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  20. ^ a b Barner, Katherine (14 June 2018). "Ariana Grande Joins Troye Sivan on New 'Bloom' Bop "Dance to This"". Complex. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  21. ^ "Troye Sivan & Ariana Grande's 'Dance To This' Is Here & It's A Chillout Dream". MTV News. 13 June 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  22. ^ Geffen, Sasha (13 June 2018). ""Dance to This" [ft. Ariana Grande] by Troye Sivan Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  23. ^ Salvatore, Maicki (17 July 2018). "Troye Sivan and Ariana Grande preview "Dance To This" video". The Fader. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  24. ^ a b Munzenrieder, Kyle (19 July 2018). "How Troye Sivan and Ariana Grande's "Dance to This" Video Pays Homage to the Knife". W Magazine. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  25. ^ "Dance To This / Troye Sivan TIDAL". Tidal. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  26. ^ "Troye Sivan feat. Ariana Grande – Dance to This". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
  27. ^ "Troye Sivan feat. Ariana Grande – Dance to This" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  28. ^ "Troye Sivan Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  29. ^ "Croatia ARC TOP 100". HRT. Archived from the original on 11 September 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  30. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – SINGLES DIGITAL – TOP 100 and insert 201825 into search. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  31. ^ "Charts". 2018-08-30. Archived from the original on 2018-08-30. Retrieved 2020-06-05.
  32. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Troye Sivan". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  33. ^ "NZ Heatseeker Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. June 25, 2018. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
  34. ^ "Troye Sivan feat. Ariana Grande – Dance To This". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  35. ^ Arvunescu, Victor (26 November 2018). "Top Airplay 100 – Avem ritm, avem dans, avem un nou lider!" [Top Airplay 100 – We have rhythm, we have dancing, we have a new leader!] (in Romanian). Un site de muzică. Archived from the original on 26 November 2018. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
  36. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  37. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select SINGLES DIGITAL - TOP 100 and insert 201825 into search. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  38. ^ "2018년 24주차 Download Chart" (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
  39. ^ "Troye Sivan feat. Ariana Grande – Dance to This". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  40. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
  41. ^ "Troye Sivan Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  42. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2020 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  43. ^ "Brazilian single certifications – Troye Sivan – Dance To This" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  44. ^ "Wyróżnienia – Złote płyty CD - Archiwum - Przyznane w 2019 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
  45. ^ "Portuguese single certifications" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  46. ^ "British single certifications – Troye Sivan – Dance To This". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  47. ^ "American single certifications – Troye Sivan – Dance To This". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 13 September 2023.

External links edit