Music critics overwhelmingly compared the song's sound to Lipa's second studio album,Future Nostalgia (2020), which was viewed positively by some but left others disappointed. It was nominated for several awards, includingSong of the Year andBest Song Written for Visual Media at the66th Annual Grammy Awards. "Dance the Night" reached number one in several countries, including the UK, and receivedmulti-platinum certifications in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Poland, and the UK, as well as diamond in France. It also reached number six on theBillboard Hot 100.
Themusic video for "Dance the Night" has a pink theme inspired by theBarbie aesthetic. It intersperses Lipa performing choreographed dances while singing the song with clips ofMargot Robbie,Issa Rae, andEmma Mackey dancing at a disco party in the film, featuring a cameo appearance fromBarbie's directorGreta Gerwig at the end. The video received praise for its playful nature and Lipa's outfit. The song was included as the primary musical motif in the film. In 2024, Lipa sang one line from it while opening the 66th Annual Grammy Awards and performed it in full live for the first time at theRoyal Albert Hall.
In March or April 2022,[1]Mark Ronson received a text message from music supervisorGeorge Drakoulias that simply stated: "Barbie?"[2] Ronson was initially asked to create two songs for the fantasy comedy filmBarbie: apop song for a big dance sequence that was to be filmed within two weeks and a 1980s-stylepower ballad inspired byKen.[1][2] The film's director,Greta Gerwig, was inspired by theBee Gees' work on the 1977Saturday Night Fever soundtrack and requested that the pop song also bedisco, sending him a playlist of her favourite music for reference.[3][4][5] Observing similarities between Barbie and the ebb and flow of disco's popularity, Ronson watched the 2020 documentary filmThe Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart, which depictedDisco Demolition Night in 1979 Chicago, an event that signaled the genre's decline and closely paralleled Barbie's situation according to him.[5] He set out to create a disco song which had "an unexpected slightly harder edge to it" and created a track called "Tastes Like Barbie" withAndrew Wyatt, while nearing the deadline.[6] Gerwig was impressed and played it "100 times" while going to the film's set.[6][7] Subsequently, they made a "dream list" of artists they desired to feature on the soundtrack and Ronson produced several other songs for it.[5][8]
Ronson believed "Tastes Like Barbie" sounded likeDua Lipa's second studio album,Future Nostalgia (2020),[6][7] and direct messaged her onInstagram to ask her to sing it for the soundtrack.[9][10][11] Lipa, who was busy headlining theFuture Nostalgia Tour and planned to distance herself from that disco sound on thefollow-up album, accepted as she was a fan of Gerwig's work.[3][4] She flew to New York and wrote the lyrics withCaroline Ailin in a studio over one week, the song now titled "Dance the Night";[4][6] Wyatt and Ronson are also co-writers.[12][13] Lipa intended to soundtrack a scene where all things go "from good to bad" for Barbie, and she goes from being happy to thinking about death: "Ilove dance-crying. I knew it had to be fun, but I knew it needed a little element of sadness or a little pang of insufficiency".[3][4][14] Initially satisfied with the melodies, chorus and verses, she later felt it could be improved and created new verses. Lipa wanted to synchronise the song to the choreography in its accompanying dance scene in the film—which she watched—approaching the process like writing afilm score.[4][15] Ronson and Lipa abandoned an initial melancholy version of the song and made it more upbeat to suit the scene, which represented a flawless day in Barbie's life.[3] It was rewritten several times, and Lipa recalled: "Barbie completely took over our lives — we were completelyBarb-ified."[3][15] Parts of the song were updated to complementMargot Robbie's hand movements during the scene.[16] ThePicard Brothers assisted Ronson with the string arrangement.[17]
In April 2023, it was revealed that Lipa had joined the cast ofBarbie as Mermaid Barbie.[18] On 22 May 2023, "Dance the Night" was announced as the lead single from the soundtrack,Barbie the Album (2023), set for release three days later.[19][20][21] This marked her first musical output since the conclusion ofFuture Nostalgia's release cycle.[19][20] Lipa shared a clip, in which she steps out of heels and recreates a shot of Robbie's arched foot in the secondBarbie trailer before blowing a kiss to the camera;[22][23] the song was later included in an official trailer.[24]Warner Music Group sent it forradio airplay in Italy on 26 May, andAtlantic andWarner Records co-promoted the song tocontemporary hit radio stations in the United States four days later.[25][26] Warner also released "Dance the Night" on physical formats likecassette andCD.[27][28]
"Dance the Night" is a disco,disco-pop, andsynth-pop song with influences ofdance-pop. It incorporates violins andfunky bass over a synth instrumental.
"Dance the Night" is 2 minutes and 56 seconds long.[29] Wyatt, Ronson, and the Picard Brothers produced the song. Wyatt plays bass andsynthesiser; Ronson plays guitar andRhodes piano; and the Picard Brothers playkeyboards andprogrammed the track with itsengineer Brandon Bost. The song also features cello, violin, and viola in its instrumentation, and it wasmixed bySerban Ghenea at MixStar Studios inVirginia Beach with assistance from Bryce Bordone.[12]
Musically, "Dance the Night" is a disco,[30][31][32]disco-pop,[33][34][35] andsynth-pop song[36] with influences ofdance-pop.[37]Consequence's Mary Siroky described it as "a pitch-perfect mixture of synth-pop and disco", andTime Out's Ella Doyle believed the song to be pop but "reminiscent of disco at points".[36][38] An up-tempo song, "Dance the Night" begins with violins and theatrical strings, followed by a beatdrop.[34][36][38] The song incorporates disco elements,acoustic guitars, andfunky bass over its synth instrumental.[31][39][40] Lipa employs a low yet distinctively feminine voice, which adeptly infuses emotional depth into manufactured-sounding music according to Lucas Martins ofBeats Per Minute.[41] Writing forPopMatters, Peter Piatkowski believed its neo-disco pays homage to the classic disco sound ofChic,Ashford & Simpson, andHal Davis, and the strings and bass resemble the work ofDonna Summer andGloria Gaynor.[42]
The lyrics of "Dance the Night" relate to the plot ofBarbie and are about someone who always appears flawless.[40] They detail how the narrator cannot be bothered to cry about a complex relationship and heartbreak when dancing.[39] Lipa asks the listeners to "come along for the ride" and declares that she shines the most when faced with difficult situations.[43] In the chorus, Lipa sings that she will keep dominating the party and "dance the night away", without anybody finding out that she is heartbroken.[44][45] Despite being emotionally on edge, she continues to make herself look good and does not miss a beat while dancing.[34] Lipa compares the tears streaming down her face to diamonds: "Even when the tears are flowin', they're diamonds on my face."[46]
"Dance the Night" received acclaim according toPeople's Jack Irvin.[47] Siroky picked the track as "Song of the Week" and believed it could contend for the title of "song of the summer". She thought it would continue the trend of Lipa's songs being successful in playlists.[36] Megan Armstrong ofUproxx opined that "Dance the Night" would receive a high amount of airplay during the summertime.[48] Writing forPaste, Victoria Wasylak said the song could compete with any track onFuture Nostalgia.[49]The Sydney Morning Herald's Robert Moran and Doyle found it the embodiment of Lipa's signature sound.[38][50]
The sound of "Dance the Night" was overwhelmingly compared toFuture Nostalgia by music critics, some of whom viewed this positively while others considered it a disappointment.[a] Rebekah Gonzalez ofiHeartRadio described the track as "another disco banger", and Tomás Mier ofRolling Stone thought several songs on the soundtrack bore a similarity to the artists' previous material and that this is what made it succeed.[45][51]Pitchfork's Cat Zhang believed it was a "throwaway product" that was only half saved due to the film usage, andThe Independent's Adam White thought the song was a "flat imitation" that did not match the quality ofFuture Nostalgia.[32][52]
Critics also commented on Ronson's role as the producer.The Guardian's Elle Hunt believed "Dance the Night" featured the same sophisticated orchestration and meticulous attention to detail that made Ronson a highly sought-after producer;The Observer's Kit Buchan thought he succeeded but did not have "a requisite sprinkling of saccharine camp" for it.[35][55] Martins praised the strings and thought the song fittedBarbie perfectly, but he opined that it did not reach the same level as Ronson and Lipa's first collaboration, "Electricity" (2018).[41] Piatkowski praised the disco production for defying thebubblegum-pop expectations,[42] and a couple of others thought it was suitable to dance to.[44][56]
"Dance the Night" became Lipa's fourth number-one single on theUK Singles Chart, making her the sixth British female solo artist to achieve four chart-toppers, and received a double platinum certification from theBritish Phonographic Industry.[68][69][70] The song peaked at number six on the USBillboard Hot 100 issued for 16 September 2023, becoming her fifth to reach the top ten.[71] It reached number four on theCanadian Hot 100 issued for 12 August 2023 and became Lipa's fourth top five single.[72] "Dance the Night" was certified 3× platinum in Canada byMusic Canada.[73] In Australia, the song charted at number three and received a 4× platinum certification from theAustralian Recording Industry Association.[74][75] It peaked at number five in New Zealand and was certified 2× platinum.[76][77]
The music video for "Dance the Night" has a pink theme inspired by theBarbie aesthetic.[20][110] It prominently showcases items from La Vacanza, a clothing collection that Lipa created with Italian fashion designerDonatella Versace. Lipa wore metallic makeup and a high ponytail in it. Her outfit consisted of a pink and glittery cross-strap halter neck top with a keyhole cutout, alongside an ice-blue sparkling mini skirt with a thigh-high slit and butterfly embellishments. She also donned high-sheen metallic stiletto boots and gold jewellery including earrings, rings, bracelets, and a choker.[9][111] The video features a cameo appearance from Gerwig and clips of Robbie,Issa Rae, andEmma Mackey in the film.[46][36] It was released alongside the song.[48]
In the video, Lipa gets ready to shoot a music video and learns choreography for it on a pink set, when a large disco ball plummets from the ceiling.[46][112] According to Ronson, this represents her plans to move away fromFuture Nostalgia's dance sound with her future music.[6] The words "This Barbie is making a music video" are briefly displayed on-screen.[112] The following scenes intersperse Lipa performing choreographed dances while singing the song on a hot pink stage,[113] near giant perfume bottles,[30] and atop a huge Barbie heel, with scenes of Robbie, Rae, and Mackey dancing at a disco party in the film. At its conclusion, Gerwig gets out of a director's chair to praise Lipa's performance and question what happened to the disco ball as it is required for another music video.[112][33]
Critics believed the video was playful[33][34][114] and fitted theBarbie universe, successfully raising anticipation for the film.[31][54]Harper's Bazaar Arabia's Pranita Garg thought that everything about it—ranging from the set design and costumes to the cameos—made her anticipate the film's premiere with great excitement.[54] Larisha Paul ofRolling Stone stated that it is "as much glitter and glam as it is escapism and unease".[30] Garg also praised Lipa's outfit, which she believed proved Lipa was a "style icon".[54] Writing forCosmopolitan, Megan Wallace opined it was worth fawning over and the inclusion of items from La Vacanza would help viewers get in the mood for parties.[111]
Clarice Jensen, Alan Stepansky, Caitlin Sullivan, Susannah Chapman, Joel Noyes, Sarah Kwon – cello
Lisa Kim, Matt Lehmann, Jungsun Yoo, Jennifer Kim, Joanna Maurer, Annaliesa Place, Ann Kim, Tallie Brunfelt, Henry Wang, Kristi Helberg, Jeongmin Lee, Peter Bahng, Angela Lee, Julia Choi, Sein Ryu, Jeremia Velazquez – violin
Danielle Farina, Michael Roth, Robert Meyer, Alexis Sykes, Will Frampton, Torron Pfeffer – viola
^ab"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic.Note: Select 38. týden 2023 in the date selector. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic.Note: Select 33. týden 2023 in the date selector. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic.Note: Select 34. týden 2023 in the date selector. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic.Note: Select 32. týden 2023 in the date selector. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
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