"Dancing" is a song by Kylie Minogue, taken from her fourteenth studio album Golden (2018). It was released by BMG on 7" vinyl, and for digital consumption. The track was written by Kylie, Steve McEwan and Nathan Chapman. It was produced by Sky Adams. Musically, "Dancing" is a departure from Kylie's usual electronic dance sound, and shifts to country pop with influences of electronica and electropop. "Dancing" premiered as the album's lead single on 19 January 2018.
The single received acclaim from music critics, with compliments aimed to the song's production and country-influenced sound. Critics also highlighted it as one of Kylie's best and more personal recordings to date. Commercially, it performed moderately on several record charts, reaching the top ten in Spain and the top fifty in Australia, Belgium, France, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, amongst others. The official audio was uploaded to Kylie's YouTube channel that same day, and an accompanying music video premiered on 1 February 2018.
Background and production[]
In 2016, Kylie released her final studio album with long-term record label Parlophone, entitled Kylie Christmas: Snow Queen Edition. After her departure from the label, Kylie signed a new record deal with BMG Rights Management which will release her upcoming album internationally. In December 2017, Kylie and BMG had struck a joint-deal with Mushroom Music Labels — under the sub-division label Liberation Music to release her new album in Australia and New Zealand. Throughout that year, Kylie worked with writers and producers for her fourteenth studio album including Amy Wadge, Sky Adams, DJ Fresh, Nathan Chapman, and teamed with previous collaborators Richard Stannard, The Invisible Men and Karen Poole. "Dancing" was one of the tracks written and recorded in Nashville, Tennessee, where she felt the location had a "profound" effect on her. It was co-written by Kylie alongside Wadge and Adams, whereas production was solely handled by the latter artist. Kylie used Instagram to discuss the story of the single, saying that the track is about removing "hurdles" in life by "dancing and having a good time".
Composition[]
Musically, "Dancing" is a musical departure from Kylie's usual electronic dance sound, and shifts to country pop with influences of electronica and electropop. Writing for Rolling Stone, Daniel Kreps noted that Kylie's work in Nashville was "evident" to the single, exemplifying its "acoustic guitar fingerpicking and Kylie brandishing some twang" at the opening of the song. Similarly, Nick Reilly from NME noticed Kylie's "unlikely foray" to Country music, but complimented the track's progression to the "huge pop chorus". Noiseys editor Lauren O'Neill found elements of electronic music in the song. Additionally, she compared the track's sound to the innovations of electronic dance music today—alongside Kylie's previous experimentations—and felt Kylie's offering was "more successful" than other "popstars". A contributor at Spin described it as a "top 40 version of Young Thug’s country rap experiment "You Said"", though they noted its more of a "rootsy dance" hybrid.
Kylie commented about the track's production and entire form in an interview with Herald Sun in Australia;
| “ | “You’ve got the lyrical edge, that country feel, mixed with some sampling of the voice and electronic elements, so it does what it says on the label. And I love that it’s called ‘Dancing’, it’s immediately accessible and seemingly so obvious, but there’s depth within the song”. | ” |
Critical reception[]
"Dancing" received critical acclaim from music critics. Joey Nolfi from Entertainment Weekly called it a "welcome return to form for the singer-songwriter", and believed it to be her most "refreshing" offering since her work on Impossible Princess (1997). Sam Damshenas at Gay Times agreed, calling it a "country-pop banger" that may "becom[e] a future Kylie classic". Matt Bagwell, writing for The Huffington Post, wrote an article defining 10 moments of Kylie's career where she "redefined pop music", and listed Golden and "Dancing" as one of them; he called it her most "surprising" material yet, and praised the songwriting for being more "in-depth". Daniel Kreps from Rolling Stone described it as "euphoric", whereas Idolator writer Mike Wass called it a "cute country-pop hybrid with an instantly hummable chorus." Hannah J. Davis from The Guardian listed it as their "Track of the Week", declaring it as "Raw yet danceable,". She compared it to "Dancing on My Own" by Swedish singer Robyn, believing it to be "one of those songs that's a total bop but which, after a couple of merlots, might push you into the foetal position."
Described a lot "mellower" than her previous music, Express.co.uk contributor Shaun Kitchener believed it was "still unmistakably Kylie" by it's production, and believed it's chorus will "satisfy her loyal fan base". Although PopCrush editor Erica Russell felt the track lacked the "instantly-contagious, sleek, lush production" of Kylie's previous lead singles, she concluded "Dancing" "contains just enough glitter to keep Minogue's eternal dance floor shimmering long into the night." Similarly, MuuMuse's Bradley Stern acknowledged that it wasn't what was "expected", but concluded that "Dancing" is a "perfectly fine first step into this bold new era, and an assurance that she’s going to keep doing what she does best until the very last shimmy,". Cameron Adams from The Northern Star believed the track's sound would "divide" fans, but also compared its appeal to the work of Impossible Princess—which made a similar impact. Nevertheless, Adams said that "Dancing" is a "smart first single as it is one of the most traditional Kylie moments on Golden."
Commercial performance[]
Commercially, "Dancing" performed moderately on several record charts. The single made its official charting debut in New Zealand; it opened at number seven on the Heatseeker Singles Chart, a top 10 ranking of songs just outside the top 40. This became Kylie's first single to chart in the region since 2012's "Timebomb", which reached number 33 on the country's original chart. In Belgium, it entered the Wallonia Ultratip chart at number 46, and peaked at 36 one week later. Although it was not ranked on the Flanders Ultratip chart, it made an appearance due to strong airplay and sales. "Dancing" became Kylie's highest charting single in France since 2010's "All The Lovers", opening at number 23 for a sole week; it also reached number five on Finland's Digital Songs chart, provided by Billboard. In Spain, the song opened at number 9, becoming her first top ten there since "All the Lovers".
In the United Kingdom, "Dancing" opened at number 47 on the UK Singles Chart, Kylie's first appearance since 2015's "Only You" with British comedian James Corden. Moreover, it debuted at number 5 on the UK Indie Chart, and number 13 on the Scottish Singles Chart. It underperformed in Australia, opening at number 46, tying with "Into the Blue" as her lowest-charting lead single; it also reached number eight on the region's dance chart. Additionally, "Dancing" made appearances on three radio charts throughout Europe: number 91 in Germany, number 17 in Hungary, and number 21 in Poland.
Music video[]
Kylie uploaded the official audio of "Dancing" on her YouTube channel on the same date of its release. The audio only video features the single's artwork, consisting of her wearing a cowgirl outfit and leaning back while sitting in front of a stage.
The video for "Dancing" premiered on 1 February, following a backstage teaser confirming the date. Directed by Sophie Muller, the country-inspired video was an homage to singers such as Dolly Parton as well as a return to Kylie's earlier choreography based videos. Kylie told Rolling Stone, "I always thought I could learn routines quickly, but this was different," she said. "However, by the time I had to dance with the Grim Reaper at the end I had mastered it. And if that’s not a funny allegory for life I don’t know what is!"
Live performances[]
| Dates | Show | Channel | Country |
|---|
| 2018 | |||
| 24 February | Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway | ITV | England |
| 23 March | Sport Relief | BBC | |
| 12 April | ECHO Awards | VOX | Germany |
| 13 April | Let's Dance | RTL | |
| 25 April | Late Night with Seth Meyers | NBC | United States |
| 27 April | Good Morning America | ABC | |
| 30 April | The Late Late Show with James Corden | CBS | |
| 9 September | Radio 2 Live in Hyde Park | BBC | England |
| 2019 | |||
| 26 August | Strictly Come Dancing | BBC | England |
| 25 December | Kylie's Secret Night | ||
| Dates | Location | City | Country |
|---|
| 2018 | |||
| 22 March | Porchester Hall | London | England |
| 25 March | Shaw Studios | Hong Kong | China |
| 7 April | G-A-Y | London | England |
| 29 April | White Party Palm Springs | Palm Springs, CA | United States |
| 20 June | Unknown Venue | Cannes | France |
| 24 June | Pier 97, Hudson River Park | New York, NY | United States |
| 2019 | |||
| 26 July | Omeara | London | England |
| 23 October | Annabel's | ||
| 2022 | |||
| 31 December | Atlantis | The Palm, Jumeirah | United Arab Emirates |
| 2023 | |||
| 27 September | Shepherd's Bush Empire | London | England |
| 2024 | |||
| 6 April | Thermomix Vian | Stockholm | Sweden |
| 2 June | West Hollywood Park | West Hollywood, CA | United States |
| 4 June | Capital Maritime Party | Athens | Greece |
| 21 June | Mawazine Festival | Rabat | Morocco |
| Tour | Dates | Performances |
|---|
| Kylie Presents Golden | 13 March―25 June, 2018 (All dates) | 6 |
| Golden Tour | 18 September, 2018―17 March, 2019 (All dates) | 33 |
| Kylie Summer 2019 | 20 June―7 March, 2020 (All dates) | 17 |
| Tension Tour | 9 April, 2025 17 April—26 August, 2025 |
44 |
| Total: | 100 |
Notes[]
"Dancing" was fist performed live on Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway on 24 February 2018, where it was performed at the end of the show; she then used a small excerpt of the song during a hits medley that also featured "Can't Get You Out of My Head", "Spinning Around", "I Should Be So Lucky", "Especially For You" and "The Loco-Motion". Kylie sang the song as the closing song to her set for the Kylie Presents Golden concerts in March 2018, and was performed as the final song of the show during the Golden Tour. The song was also performed in the encore of Summer 2019 shows. "Dancing" was requested at the Boston show of the Tension Tour, and was permanently added to the set list on 17 April.
Formats and track listings[]
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Lyrics[]
No one wants to stay at home
Nobody wants to be alone
When you come knocking, I’ll be at your door
I don’t ever wanna stop
I’m gonna give it all I've got
And when they ask me, “Who could ask for more?”
Can’t stand still
I won’t slow down
When I go out, I wanna go out dancing
Ah-ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah-ah
When I go out, I wanna go out dancing
Ah-ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah-ah
I wanna go out dancing
I wanna go out
I wanna go out dancing
This is where I wanna be with you
Your arms wrapped around me
And fireworks reflecting in your eyes
This is how I wanna feel
The wine, the kiss, the music real
And getting down, riding all the highs
Can’t stand still
I won’t slow down
When I go out, I wanna go out dancing
Ah-ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah-ah
When I go out, I wanna go out dancing
Ah-ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah-ah
I wanna go out dancing
I wanna go out
I wanna go out dancing
Everybody’s got a story
Let it be your blaze of glory
Burning bright, never fade away
And when the final curtain falls, we could say we did it all
The never ending of a perfect day
Can’t stand still
(Can’t stand still)
I won’t slow down
(Won’t slow down)
When I go out, I wanna go out dancing
Ah-ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah-ah
When I go out, I wanna go out dancing
Ah-ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah-ah
I wanna go out dancing
I wanna go out
I wanna go out
(I wanna go out dancing)
I wanna go out
I wanna go out
(I wanna go out dancing)
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