Robyn's midtempo versions were promoted well into the following decade on various media, including most prominently Saturday Night Live, the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize Concert, Mark Ronson 's Love Lockdown: Video Mixtape, 2018 film Teen Spirit, 2019 film Long Shot, 2021 film Swan Song, reality TV show RuPaul's Drag Race (2009–present), teen-drama series Gossip Girl (2007–2012) and comedy-drama series Girls (2012–2017), Orange Is the New Black (2013–2019) and Never Have I Ever (2020–present). The song later earned a nomination for Best Dance Recording at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards and was awarded Best Song at the Grammisgalan in Sweden.
"Dancing On My Own" became Robyn's first number one in her native country following its live premiere on Swedish TV show Sommarkrysset and also reached the top ten in Denmark, Norway and the United Kingdom later that month.įrequent collaborator Max Vitali directed its Rosie Perez-inspired music video, first released on, that showed Robyn portraying the protagonist in the song's lyrics in various club and rehearsal settings. Several reassessed its influence as Robyn's signature song, a gay anthem, and "the ultimate sad banger" of the poptimist movement, with Rolling Stone ranking it at number 20 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2021. The song was inspired by situations Robyn observed while on her previous tour then clubbing throughout Stockholm, her favorite "inherently sad gay disco anthems", and the dissolution of her engagement.Ĭritics praised "Dancing On My Own" as another bittersweet anthem for her song canon, with some ranking it as the greatest song of the year and eventually, the decade. It depicts a female protagonist in a crowded club just before last call who is dancing on her own while watching her ex-boyfriend who she sought out dancing with and embracing another woman, pondering confronting him for the last time before her time runs out. The song's stark mid-tempo electropop version from her album was the first version of the single released followed by a layered mid-tempo synth-pop edit designed for radio and a downtempo piano ballad recording for Radio 1's Live Lounge – Volume 5 later that year. "Dancing On My Own" was produced by Patrik Berger, co-produced by Robyn, and mixed by Niklas Flyckt, with Robyn and Patrik sharing writing credits. 1 (2010), the first in her Body Talk series. " Dancing On My Own" is a song by Swedish singer-songwriter Robyn, released on 20 April 2010 as the lead single from her fifth studio album, Body Talk Pt.