| "We Don't Have to Dance" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single byAndy Black | ||||
| from the albumThe Shadow Side | ||||
| Released | March 18, 2016 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 3:14 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter(s) |
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| Producer(s) | ||||
| Andy Black singles chronology | ||||
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"We Don't Have to Dance" is a song by American singerAndy Black. It was released as the first single from his debut studio album,The Shadow Side, on March 18, 2016. The music video for the song directed by Patrick Fogarty was also released three days later. It charted on multipleBillboard charts, peaking number 23 on theBillboardHot Rock Songs chart.
"We Don't Have to Dance" was produced byRicky Reed[4] andJohn Feldmann.[5] The song is described as a "upbeat, dance-able" song and Black's "departure" from the musical style ofBlack Veil Brides.[6] Black described the song as "poppier than his work with Black Veil Brides".[5] The song's lyrics are about social anxiety,[2] loathing social events and hatred of small talk.[1] The song was written by Black and his team of writers in collaboration withFall Out Boy vocalistPatrick Stump and formerThe Used guitaristQuinn Allman.[2] On writing with Stump, Black said that it was "very simple in that we just sat and talked about things that we mutually hated for like a half an hour and then we just put them in a list and that is the lyrics to the song.”[6]
On March 9, 2016, a 15-second teaser for "We Don't Have to Dance" was released.[7] A week later, the title for Black's debut album was confirmed to be titled asThe Shadow Side and would be released on May 6.[8] The song was released as the first single to the album on March 18,[1][9] alongside a music video released three days later.[10][11] The song was the official theme song forWWE pay-per-view eventPayback[12] and is included in the video gameWWE 2K17.[13] At the2017 Alternative Press Music Awards, it was named "Song of the Year".[14]
The music video of the song was released on March 21, 2016 and was directed by Patrick Fogarty.[10][15] The video is inblack and white and is described as "eerie" with "vintage horror film aesthetic".[6]
| Chart (2016) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100)[16] | 11 |
| USAlternative Digital Songs (Billboard)[4] | 16 |
| USHot Rock Songs (Billboard)[17] | 23 |
| USRock Digital Songs (Billboard)[18] | 16 |