"Dirty Dancer" is a song by Spanish singerEnrique Iglesias and American singerUsher, recorded for Iglesias' sixth studio album,Euphoria, and included on Usher's EPVersus. Aremix of the song, which features American rapperLil Wayne and American singerNayer, was released on 9 May 2011 byUniversal Music Group as the sixthsingle fromEuphoria. Written by the two singers withEvan Bogart, Erika Nuri and David Quiñones and producerRedOne, "Dirty Dancer" is adance-pop song.
"Dirty Dancer" was written byEnrique Iglesias,RedOne,Evan Bogart, Erika Nuri and David Quiñones, and was produced by RedOne. It was recorded at South Point Studios,Miami.[1] "Dirty Dancer" is adance-pop song[2] with some influences of electropop andrave music.[3] According to Adam Graham ofMTV News, "Dirty Dancer" is about "a comely-yet-dangerous female"; its hook features the lyrics "She's a dirty, dirty dancer/ Dirty, dirty dancer/ Never ever lonely".[4] At the beginning on the song, Usher dedicates it to "the dirty girls all around the world".[5] Iglesias and Usher exchange verses before, on the singleremix, Wayne gives hisrap verse, which makes a reference to actorEddie Murphy.[6] "Dirty Dancer" was included on Iglesias' sixth studio album,Euphoria, and Usher's EPVersus. "Dirty Dancer" was sent to Australiancontemporary hit radio (CHR) and nights radio on 9 May,[7] while the single remix was sent to US CHR 10 May.[8] The single was released as amusic download in North America on 12 June 2011, and was released in Europe and Oceania on 19 June.
Robert Copsey fromDigital Spy and Allison Stewart fromThe Washington Post chose "Dirty Dancer" as one of the best tracks onEuphoria,[3] with Stewart calling it "steamy".[2]Prefix Magazine's Wilson McBee criticized Wayne's appearance on the track, and wrote that the line "Ain't no money like young money" was his "weakest last line ever".[9]
The album version of "Dirty Dancer" debuted at number 194 on theUK Singles Chart on 17 July 2010, and at number fifty-one on the DutchSingle Top 100, where it later peaked at number thirty-nine. The album version also entered the SlovakianRadio Top 100 Oficiálna at number ninety-four in May 2011,[10] as well as appearing on the BelgianUltratip charts of Flanders and Wallonia at numbers nine and thirty-six, respectively.
On 16 May 2011, the single version debuted on theAustralian Singles Chart at number thirty-six, and on theAustralian Dance Chart at number thirteen.[11] It has since peaked at numbers twenty-four and nine, respectively.[12] On the issue dated 28 May 2011, "Dirty Dancer" debuted at number nine on the U.S.Hot Digital Songs chart with 126,000 copies sold,[13] and subsequently appeared at number eighteen on theBillboard Hot 100.[14] The same day it entered theCanadian Hot 100 at number eighteen.[15] On 4 June 2011, "Dirty Dancer" debuted at number thirty-three on thePop Songs chart,[16] and later peaked at number seventeen.[17] "Dirty Dancer" entered theNew Zealand Singles Chart at number twenty-two on 30 May 2011.[18] On theDutch Top 40, the song debuted at number thirty-one and peaked at number twenty-five, while on theUK Singles Chart, the single version of "Dirty Dancer" has reached number twenty-one. It entered theFrench Singles Chart at number ninety-nine on 11 June 2011.
On 20 August 2011, the song charted at #1 on theBillboardHot Dance Club Songs making it his ninth #1 single on the chart.[19] Inglesias was the only male artist in the chart's history to achieve this milestone, after beating previous record-holdersMichael Jackson andPrince with his song "I Like It". It is his third consecutive #1 on this chart from his albumEuphoria, following "I Like It" and "Tonight (I'm Fuckin' You)".
Enrique Iglesias first premiered "Dirty Dancer" live as part of a medley with "I Like It" that he performed on thetenth season ofAmerican Idol on 12 May 2011.[4] For the performance, he wore blue jeans and a black leather jacket, which featured Usher and Lil Wayne appearing on video screens behindbacking vocalists and a band. Initially, Iglesias was under a lonespotlight, before several green lasers beams lit the stage.[20]
Themusic video for "Dirty Dancer" was co-directed byYasha Malekzad,[21] Jeff Dotson & Ethan Lader[22] and premiered on 22 June 2011.[23] It opens by showing a city during the night, before transitioning to Iglesias inside a futuristicstrip club, where he is watching a holographicpole dancer performing a gymnastic routine in a black latex outfit. Usher is shown dressed in black clothing and singing alone in a dark room.[24] Throughout the video he alternates between reality and a hologram.[24] Iglesias is shown in similar scenes, and at one point lowers his jacket to expose his blue luminous heart.[24] Iglesias then presses buttons on a remote control and the dancer is replaced by another,[24] dressed in silver, who is in turn replaced by a gold bikini-clad dancer.[25] Wayne begins his verse while being projected onto a building, while other shots show him in a dark room, similar to those of Usher.[24] The dancer whom Iglesias watches leans in to kiss him but is replaced by a holographic message reading "credit expired".[22][24]
Sabrina Cognata ofWNOW-FM wrote, "This video has everything. And I mean everything worth having."[26] MTV Buzzworthy's Jenna Hally Rubenstein wrote, "If you want to be a baller, this video is how you do it." The video has been viewed over 137 million times.In France, following the controversy of its predecessor "Tonight (I'm Lovin' You)", which was banned for its sexual explicit and erotic content, the "Dirty Dancer" music video was immediately broadcast after 10 p.m. on some music channels with a warningNot advised to kids under 10 years old due to the suggestive content and the half-naked holographic pole dancers' appearance.[citation needed]
