| "Dance for You" | |
|---|---|
| Song byBeyoncé | |
| from the album4 | |
| Released | June 28, 2011 |
| Recorded | 2011 |
| Studio |
|
| Genre | |
| Length | 6:17 |
| Label | Columbia |
| Songwriters | |
| Producers |
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| Music video | |
| "Dance for You" onYouTube | |
"Dance for You" is a song by American singerBeyoncé from the deluxe edition of her fourth studio album,4 (2011). It was written by Beyoncé,Terius "The-Dream" Nash andChristopher "Tricky" Stewart, while production was handled by the former two. "Dance for You" is amidtempoR&B song, in which Beyoncé adopts sensualvocals. The instrumental elements used on it include echoingdrum patterns andclappingsynthesizers. In "Dance for You", Beyoncé, as the female protagonist, speaks of the love she has for her man and about all the things she will do to show him her appreciation.
"Dance for You" was well received by contemporary music critics, who noted its similarity to songs byJanet Jackson; they also praised its production and Beyoncé's vocals. Following the release of4, "Dance for You" charted at number 200 on theSouth Korean International Singles Chart, and at number 147 on theUK Singles Chart. Though the song was never released as a single, it appeared on several charts in the United States based on radio support. "Dance for You" reached number 78 on theBillboard Hot 100 chart, and number six on theHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
Its music video was directed by Beyoncé andAlan Ferguson. The clip debuted on November 25, 2011 and was placed on the concert DVDLive at Roseland: Elements of 4 (2011). Inspired by 1940sfilm noir, the video is shot in black-and-white and captures Beyoncé dancing and flipping her hair in a detective's office to seduce him. Critics wrote that the video contains some of Beyoncé's best and most sensual moves, called her afemme fatale, and commented that its concept effectively matched the song's lyrics. The song was part of Beyoncé's set list during her residency showRevel Presents: Beyoncé Live (2012) and her world tourthe Mrs. Carter Show World Tour (2013).
'Dance for You' is about giving yourself fully to one person, it’s about being able to lose control with the person you’re meant for. Both the melody and the lyrics make it one of my most intimate songs.
"Dance for You" was written by Beyoncé,Terius "The-Dream" Nash andChristopher "Tricky" Stewart, with production by Beyoncé and Nash.[2] The song was recorded atMSR Studios in New York City andReal World Studios at Box, Wiltshire.[2] It was made available on the deluxe edition of4, which was available for purchase atTarget Corporation until January 2012.[3] The deluxe edition was released toiTunes Stores on January 2, 2012.[4] It includes two additional tracks, "Schoolin' Life" and "Lay Up Under Me", and three remixes of "Run the World (Girls)" (2011).[3] "Dance for You" is amidtempoR&B song with a sensual vibe.[5][6] In the song, Beyoncé sexifies hervocals and sings over echoingdrum patterns,[7] anelectric guitar,[8] a bluesy guitar,church organs, andclappingsynthesizers.[9] "Dance for You" bears resemblance toJanet Jackson's work.[7] Thematically, the song is similar to Beyoncé's "Speechless" (2003) andDestiny's Child's "Cater 2 U" (2005); it is about showing appreciation and gratitude.[8][10][11]
In "Dance for You", Beyoncé, as the female protagonist, expresses her feelings to her man and tells him how devoted she is to him.[11][12] Jocelyn Vena ofMTV News wrote that the song is "about keeping things hot with her man".[5] Echoing Vena's sentiments,Marc Hogan ofSpin magazine described the lyrics as detailing a "triumphantly monogamous relationship".[9] In the firstverse, Beyoncé sings about how understanding, loyal, and patient her man is. She further states that she really cares about his heart, she has a lot of valuable things to say, and that for all these reasons, she is going to dance for him.[12]
After telling her love interest to "sit back and watch",[13] Beyoncé sings thechorus, where she states the things she will do to show her appreciation to her love interest,[10][14] "Tonight I'm gonna dance for you / Tonight I'm gonna dance for you / Tonight I'm gonna put my body on your body / Boy, I like it when you watch me / Tonight it's going down."[5] In the second verse, she sings: "You'll never need two, because I will be your number one / Them other chicks are superficial / But I know you know I'm the one / That's why I'm all into you /Cuz I can recognize that you know that / That's why I’m backin' this thing back / Pop poppin' this thing back".[15] Before the song ends, Beyoncé repeatedly chants "yes" in the background as the electric guitarcrescendos into a piercing subliminal sound.[8]
On October 20, 2012, a remix of the song featuring a rap verse from American rapperT.I. was released online.[16] His rap appears at the three and a half minute mark of the song as he sings about "how he loves it when his lady gives it to him dirty when no one is around" and "lives out his fantasy with candlelight (for a little ambiance), lingerie andLouis Vuitton".[16] He later adds, "I just want to watch the moon glisten off your body... I really just want to peel you out dem clothes and show you how excited I am to lay you down right now."[17] The remix was well received by music critics. A writer ofVibe magazine commented that it "is sultry and will steam up any club, bedroom or wherever you like to get dirty".[16] A writer ofRap-Up magazine described the remix as "amazing", adding that "[t]he bedroom will be banging to this remix".[17] Similarly, X. Alexander of the websiteIdolator praised the remix, writing that T.I.'s vocals make the "smooth, bedroom-ready R&B track that much sexier".[18]
Idolator's staff members wrote that "Dance for You" is a "dangerously slick slow-jam".[19] Similarly, Carrie Batta ofPitchfork Media commented that the song is an "impeccable slow jam".[20] Describing the song as "saucy", Pip Ellwood ofEntertainment Focus wrote that "Dance for You" is the best of the three deluxe tracks.[7] Natalie Finn ofE! Online described the song as a "come-hither love letter to the man in her life, set to a sultry beat".[14] By contrast, Joshua Glossner of The Daily Collegian found the song to be too lengthy, adding, "Well I hope she hurries up and shows him how much she loves him before the eternity-long track is done." He further noted that "Dance For You" immediately reminded him of Ciara's "Promise" (2006).[21] Marc Hogan ofSpin magazine found "Dance for You" to be "a sort of strip-club jam set, as with the rest of the album".[9] He added that the song would fit squarely on a track byThe Weeknd, owing to "the bluesy guitar and smoky organ".[9] However, he concluded that "it's not exactly worth plunking down another 32 bucks for".[9] Danielle Cheesman ofMSN Music showed high favoritism for "Dance for You", writing:
'Dance for You' puts [Beyoncé] in the bedroom. Clocking in at over 6 minutes, the song of seduction plays as if it was being undressed, much like [Beyoncé] is, piece by piece, lyric for lyric. As with'Speechless' and 'Cater 2 U', [she] often forgoes the independent woman anthems and beautiful power ballads to remind us that she is a real sexual being rather than a formulated sex symbol. It is breathy, but not boring. It does not chronicle innocent lovemaking with sugarcoated terms, but the grittier things that really go down when you are completely comfortable (and overly confident) with, as she puts it, the person 'you'd like to thank, in case you don't thank them enough'.[8]
At the 2013ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Awards "Dance for You" was one of the songs to win in the category for Award-Winning R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.[22]
For the week ending July 30, 2011, "Dance for You" debuted at number 200 on theSouth Korean International Singles Chart, selling 3,142 digital downloads.[23] For the week ending March 29, 2012, the song became the sixth song from4 to chart on the USBillboardHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs as it debuted at number 76.[24][25] "Dance for You" entered the top ten of the chart issue dated September 29, 2012 at number 10.[25] It became Beyoncé's nineteenth top 10 as a soloist and extended her lead for the most top 10s among female artists since 2000.[25] "Dance for You" marked the third time Beyoncé had claimed a quartet of top 10s from a single album.[25] "Dance for You" continued its ascension on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart until it reached its peak position at number 6.[26] On the US Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, the song marked Beyoncé's fifth top 10 - the first time she has claimed five top 10s on that tally from one album.[25] For the week ending September 22, 2012, "Dance for You" debuted at number 100 on the USBillboard Hot 100.[27] It later reached a peak at number 78.[27]
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An accompanying music video for "Dance for You" was co-directed by Beyoncé andAlan Ferguson.[28][29][30] It was filmed in a vintageNew York City-styled office before Beyoncé's baby bump started showing.[31][32] Two previews of the video were posted online on November 21, 2011.[5] In the first preview, Beyoncé wears pants, garters and a wrap dress as she performs a sexy dance routine on a desk while a man (the late actor Brett G. Smith[33]) watches her dance.[5] In the second preview, she wears the same outfit and dances seductively in front of a chair in an office as the camera cuts to the same man, who is watching her.[5][6] Beyoncé pays homage toGerman-American actress and singerMarlene Dietrich in the video[1] as she channels a 1920s-inspired look and stars as a screen siren.[31][34] In the behind-of the-scene of the video, Beyoncé said:
I wanted the video to have the same rawness that both the melody and the lyrics of the song have because "Dance for You" is one of my most intimate songs. I wanted the video to have a classic feel; to be seductive but still keep the sense of mystery. When I write, when I perform, and when I make music videos, I don’t hold anything back. 'Dance for You' is about that same passion; to be free and unrestrained.[1]
Many critics, including Jocelyn Vena of MTV News and Erika Ramirez ofBillboard magazine, noted that the clip was inspired by 1940sfilm noir.[5][35] Similarly,The Improper Bostonian wrote that the setting looks like aHumphrey Bogart movie, further calling it "a clear take-off" on mid-20th Century film noir due to its utilization of sharpcamera angles and deep shadows.[36] Although initially planned to debut on November 27, 2011,[37] the release of the video was changed to November 25, 2011.[35] However, it premiered online before its official release onE! Online.[28][38] "Dance For You" is the seventh video from4.[31][35] It was included on the deluxe edition ofLive at Roseland: Elements of 4 (2011), which was released on November 29, 2011.[37] The video was digitally released to iTunes Stores on November 27, 2011.[39]
Many reviewers have commented on the sexiness displayed in the video. Erika Ramirez ofBillboard magazine commented that the video was "sexy" and that "Beyoncé pops it back for a mysterious detective."[28] Lewis Corner ofDigital Spy wrote that Beyoncé dances "seductively" in the office.[31] Andrew Martin ofPrefix Magazine wrote: "To anyone who finds Beyoncé attractive or has ever wanted her to dance for them, we bring you her latest video. The visuals for 'Dance for You' are more or less a chance for her to show off why so many of you think her husband,Jay-Z, is the luckiest man alive."[40] Leah Collins of Canadian magazineDose wrote, "It's all very sultry and intimate to a point—that point being the moment she unveils a line-up of back-up dancers."[34] Similarly, a writer of the website Idolator commented, "'Dance for You' doesn't compare to the spectacle of say, the 'Run the World (Girls)' clip, but it is effective. [...] It's a mostly private dance—until all those other ladies show up."[41] The writer also called Beyoncé afemme fatale in the video.[41] Likewise, Sarah Anne Hughes ofThe Washington Post wrote that Beyoncé "goes full on femme fatale" and concluded that the concept of the video "is about as straightforward as can be".[42] Marc Hogan ofSpin magazine noted, "The video follows pretty literally from the song's theme, with Mrs. Jay-Z grinding sensuously."[9] A writer ofVibe magazine noted that Beyoncé was "keeping things sexy" with the video for the song.[43]
Michael O'Connell ofThe Hollywood Reporter noted that the video contains Beyoncé's "trademark moves".[32] Likewise, Ben Kaye of the websiteConsequence of Sound wrote, "[In the clip], we witness the always mesmerizing songstress seducing a private detective with a sultry version of the twisting and twerking she's famous for. Essentially, it's just what you'd expect from the track's lyrics, and that's in no way a bad thing."[44] Contessa Gayles ofThe Boombox wrote that "Beyoncé rocks the racy shoot in satinhot pants, garters and a slinky wrap dress", further describing her look and the set as "sexy".[29] Matt Donnelly ofLos Angeles Times described the video as "sultry" and further found "aJessica Rabbit vibe".[45] Donnelly also wrote, "The video carries the standard Bey DNA—wind machines, plunging necklines and lots of hair. Not that we're complaining."[45] Derek Johnson ofLong Island Press commented that the video is "heating up the Internet and we're pretty sure we know why", referring to Beyoncé's figure.[15] He further commended Beyoncé for taking viewers back to the days of black and white television and "into the office of a lonely detective on a rainy day. We've all seen that show before, but not like this."[15] Natalie Finn of E! Online compared the video with the one for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" (2008), adding that it "sticks with the power of black and white", and describing the set as "naughty".[14] Katie Hasty of the website HitFix praised Beyoncé's look in the video but commented, "If you're a hetero sexual lady detective, however, this is sort of boring."[30]
Beyoncé performed the song for the first time as a part of her residency showRevel Presents: Beyoncé Live inRevel Atlantic City.[46] The performance featured Beyoncé leading a group of ten dancers to perform a choreographedbump and grind dance.[47] While performing the choreography, Beyoncé did not sing the song live, but was accompanied vocally by her three backup vocalists, the Mamas.[47] The performance of "Dance for You" was later included on the live albumLive in Atlantic City (2013) which was filmed during the revue.[48] "Dance for You" was also performed during the opening shows of the first leg of Beyoncé'sMrs. Carter Show World Tour.[49][50]
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[54] | Gold | 35,000‡ |
| Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[55] | 2× Platinum | 120,000‡ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[56] | Gold | 15,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[57] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[58] | 3× Platinum | 3,000,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
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