“Dancing on My Own” by Robyn
The thesis sentiment upon which the story of Robyn’s “Dancing on My Own” is based, most simply put, is the vocalist having a hard time recuperating from a breakup. And we know that Robyn still has feelings for him based on wording present in the very first verse. But this is also one those songs in which, while being tasked with getting over her ex, she also has to deal with him seemingly quite promptly having moved on to someone.
The narrative is set in some type of a party or club. And unfortunately, the vocalist has found herself “in the corner” basically watcher her ex, i.e. this same dude she can’t get over, getting it on with his new hottie.
So it’s almost like salt being thrown on an emotional wound, so to speak. And in reaction, Robyn really has no choice but to “keep dancing on (her) own”. Or stated otherwise, the title is meant to ultimately symbolize that as it stands at the moment, she doesn’t have a romantic interest in her life. And more specifically, the guy she is interested in evidently does not feel the same about her at all.
“Dancing on My Own” Facts
Artist(s): Robyn
Album/EP: “Body Talk Pt. 1”
Was “Dancing on My Own” a single release?
Yes. It was single #1 from the singer’s “Body Talk Pt. 1” album. And its date of issuance was in April of 2010.
Is this a self-penned song?
Yes. It was written by the singer herself with assistance from its producer Patrik Berger.
Genre(s)
- Electropop
- Synth-pop
Robyn Receives a Nomination at the Grammys
At the 53rd Grammys, the song was nominated for “Best Dance Recording” award. It was unable to clinch the award thanks to Rihanna’s “Only Girl (In the World)”. The category included the following nominees:
More Accolades
“Dancing on My Own” became Robyn’s seventh top 10 song and her first song to top the charts.
For selling over 30,000 units, the song was certified platinum by the IFPI in Denmark.
It was voted the best track of 2010 by The Guardian.
The song was given a five-star rating by Digital Spy.
It was named the fourth best song and the best song for the year 2010 by Pitchfork and Slant Magazine, respectively.
Chart Performance
- US (13)
- UK (3)
- Sweden (1)
- Scotland (5)
- Norway (6)
- Israel (9)
- Denmark (2)
Covers
In 2017, Pentatonix came out with a cover of “Dancing on My Own”. Other notable covers include:
- Clef Hangers (2019)
- Ruins (2013)
- Marlo Mortel (2019)
- Leanne Harte (2014)
- Gab Maturan (2015)
- Elle Fanning (2019)
- Calum Scott (2016)
Movie and TV Appearances
“Dancing on My Own” was featured in the romantic comedy, “Long Shot” of 2019 and the following TV series:
- Season 1, episode 1 of “Never Have I Ever”
- Season 3, episode 1 of “The Masked Singer”
Robyn’s “Body Talk Pt. 1” Project
Swedish singer and songwriter Robyn recorded and co-wrote the Grammy-nominated song “Dancing on My Own” with Patrik Berger in 2010. The song was released as the first and only single from Robyn’s fifth studio album, Body Talk Pt. 1.
Body Talk Pt. 1 was released through Konichiwa Records on June 11, 2010. It is the first album from Robyn’s Body Talk Series. According to the singer, at the time of the album’s release, she wanted to release a record to shorten her long wait of not releasing a song.
She also stated that the songs on the album, are just the song that was finished and needed to be released as the first part of the Body Talk Series. A number of producers and songwriters including Klas Åhlund, Patrik Berger, Diplo, and Röyksopp helped Robyn compose and produce the album.
Body Talk Pt. 1 topped the Swedish Albums chart (Sverigetopplistan). Furthermore, it was ranked number three on the Billboard Top Dance Albums chart, fourth on the Danish Albums chart (Hitlisten) and Norwegian Albums (VG-lista), forty-seventh on the UK Albums chart (OCC), and ninety-seventh on the Billboard 200 chart.
In addition, it has solved over 30,000 copies in Europe and has been certified gold status by GLF (Sweden) and IFPI Danmark (Denmark).
