Dance music is a form of music designed to get people moving, ideal for exercise, holiday celebrations and brain breaks. These songs offer fun danceability for the entire family to enjoy!
This song has taken the world by storm! With its catchy tune and vibrant lyrics, its infectious beat is hard to resist dancing to!
Uptown Funk
Uptown Funk is one of the greatest dance songs ever to hit the charts and has enjoyed massive success across demographics. The song spent 14 consecutive weeks atop Billboard Hot 100 chart and also attained this status in several other countries worldwide.
Even though its lyrics allude to drugs and sexuality, this song remains upbeat and encouraging, encouraging listeners to let loose and enjoy themselves. The music video for it features clips from movies like Scarface and The Godfather as well as being used for Cadillac and Skippy peanut butter advertising campaigns.
This catchy tune was composed and recorded by Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson – known for working with some of music’s top musicians like Adele, Lady Gaga and Amy Winehouse – at Mark’s studio in his home city of Los Angeles. They began as jam sessions before writing lyrics together before going on to win both a Grammy and BRIT Award!
This song is an ode to New York City, highlighting many of its landmarks with lyrics that pay homage. Its title refers to Uptown neighborhood in Manhattan; thus evoking its nightlife scene. With its fast beat and unique musical stylings combining elements from various musical genres to create an unforgettable sound.
Producers of this song had difficulty creating it, but in the end it paid off. Completion took approximately 7 – 14 months; producers even needed to travel between six cities.
Baby Shark
Baby Shark has recently overtaken Luis Fonsi’s “Despacito” to become YouTube’s most-viewed video ever, surpassing even Ellen DeGeneres and James Corden as stars join in dancing along. So where did it originate, and why has it gone viral?
Pinkfong created this song from an oral tradition passed down through children’s campfire sing-alongs, adapting it into an educational content provider’s video version that first debuted in November 2015 but only saw widespread popularity as a meme meme in Asia by 2017 according to Forbes. It’s easy to see why: its catchy, repetitive lyrics make it easy for toddlers and preschoolers alike to memorize while the domestic setting with baby shark, mommy shark, daddy shark and grandma shark makes for engaging storytelling for younger children while its hand motion which further reinforces its meaning further cementing its theme into their memories and brains!
Baby Shark video not only boasts an infectious melody and repetitive lyrics, but it also includes menacing strings reminiscent of Jaws theme song to signal their arrival as family sea creatures. Together with its positive message, this gives this tune an air of authority that makes it hard to resist.
Although it may seem counter-intuitive, songs designed for toddlers help prepare them for language by building world-to-lyric connections that help them recognize themes like family. Plus, no one can resist songs featuring two flower-wearing dancers backing up the main performers!
Basil the Cat
One solution for many problems can only be resolved with an energetic dance party. From car dancing and clubbing, to just shaking it out in your room – dancing to an upbeat beat releases happy chemicals like dopamine, oxytocin and serotonin into your brain that create feelings of pleasure and relief. So get loose with this dance music playlist from Billboard!
Toni Basil famously made this song famous in 1982 when she covered British band Racey’s “Kitty” as “Mickey.” Toni also appeared in its accompanying low-budget video, which was cheerleader themed.
No matter your musical taste – from electronic dance music (EDM), disco funk pop and radio staples, to EDM. We have something here for every genre! So grab some headphones and turn up the volume!
Ke$ha
Kesha’s dance music 5 minute track “Animal (2010),” inspired by The Great Gatsby film, uses an autotuned beat. Kesha uses auto-Tune for her vocals which uses hand clap sounds interpreted as handclaps layered over Kesha’s signature Auto-Tune vocals to promote self-esteem; however, according to Stransky it appears more “plain ol’ trashy and Kesha-ed out good time.”
The music video opens with a leopard with glowing blue eyes walking down an alleyway while flashes of its title appear on screen. After this sequence, we move on to Kesha donning a leopard costume at a party where she spray-paints a dollar sign onto a man.