"Dancing with a Broken Heart" is a song by Australian singer–songwriter

Delta Goodrem Delta Lea Goodrem Order of Australia, AM (born 9 November 1984) is an Australian singer, songwriter, television personality and actress based in Sydney. Goodrem signed a recording contract with Sony Music at the age of 15. Her debut studio album ...

. It was sent to Australian radio on 26 July 2012 and was released physically and digitally on 10 August 2012. The song is the second single released from Goodrem's fourth studio album '' Child of the Universe'', on which it appears slightly remixed. It debuted on the

ARIA Charts The ARIA Charts are the main Australian record chart, music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA beca ...

at number 15, but only stayed in the top 50 for three weeks. It received mixed to positive reviews.

Background and composition

"Dancing with a Broken Heart" was released three months after Goodrem had major success with "

Sitting on Top of the World "Sitting on Top of the World" (also "Sittin' on Top of the World") is a country blues song written by Walter Vinson and Lonnie Chatmon. They were core members of the Mississippi Sheiks, who first recorded it in 1930. Vinson claimed to have co ...

". The song is about evolving after removing yourself for a bad situation, for your soul or spirit, making a big move, in leaving it, and becoming a better person from the experience, like in the lyrics "I'm gonna bury all the past just six feet under, under/I'm gonna make a storm from lightning and thunder, thunder/I won't let dogs lie in the peace and quiet/Moving on to another time." The song was written by Goodrem and Vince Pizzinga, and produced by

John Shanks John Matthew Shanks (born December 18, 1964) is an American songwriter, record producer and guitarist. He has been a longtime session and touring member of the rock band Bon Jovi. Early life and education Shanks was born in New York City and m ...

. The song has heavy EDM guitar elements and is very pop.

Promotion

Live performances

Goodrem performed the song live on the ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * The current day and calendar date ** Today is between and , subject to the local time zone * Now, the time that is perceived directly, present * The current, present era Arts, entertainment and m ...

'' show on 22 August 2012. She also did two instore performances to promote the single. The first was in Adelaide on 10 August and one in Perth on 12 August with crowds of over 3,000 people at both. Goodrem appeared on many radio stations around the country and on some occasions performing ''Dancing with a Broken Heart''.

Music video

The video (directed by

Hannah Lux Davis Hannah Lux Davis (born May 17, 1986) is an American music video, commercial and film director. She's known for her work especially with female artists, such as Ariana Grande, Katy Perry, Demi Lovato, Nicki Minaj, Miley Cyrus, Avril Lavigne, Christ ...

) was released on 17 August 2012. The video features people who have had situations that are heartbreaking which include an Olympian whose heart is broken because of an injury, parents who have lost their child and a marriage proposal which fell through. It also features Goodrem dancing around on different backdrops and singing to the camera, including dancing in water under the stars with a Mythology element of the Goddess "Hecate". There are also moments in the music video devoted to the fact that she is an artist and heals people through "Touching" them with her art.

Track listings

*CD single / digital download # "Dancing with a Broken Heart" – 3:52 *Limited edition CD single / digital EP # "Dancing with a Broken Heart" – 3:52 # "Waiting for Forever" – 3:37 # "Dancing with a Broken Heart" (Acoustic) – 3:57

Charts

Certifications

Release history

Steps version

British group Steps recorded a

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of c ...

of "Dancing with a Broken Heart" for '' Tears on the Dancefloor: Crying at the Disco'', the re-release of their fifth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

Tears on the Dancefloor ''Tears on the Dancefloor'' is the fifth studio album by British group Steps. It was released on 21 April 2017, by Absolute and Fascination Records. The album is the group's first album in five years since ''Light Up the World'', and their fi ...

'' (2017). Originally performed by

and co-written by Goodrem, Vince Pizzinga and

, it was produced for Steps by The Alias. "Dancing with a Broken Heart" was released as the first single from the re-issue and the fourth single overall from the two albums.

Background and release

Following their reunion performance at

G-A-Y G-A-Y is a long-running gay nightclub brand, based at the Heaven nightclub in Charing Cross, London, owned by Jeremy Joseph. G-A-Y also operates a sister gay bar on Soho's Old Compton Street, and previously operated another club at Goslett ...

on New Year's Eve of 2016 to celebrate their twentieth anniversary, Steps announced that their fifth studio album ''

'' would be released in April 2017 and its supporting concert tour, the

Party on the Dancefloor Tour The Party on the Dancefloor Tour was the eighth concert tour by British group Steps (group), Steps. It was launched in support of their fifth studio album, ''Tears on the Dancefloor'' (2017) and its Tears on the Dancefloor: Crying at the Disco, ...

, would take place in November and December later that year. The album, which peaked at number-two on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

and number-one on the

UK Independent Albums Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the r ...

, generated three singles: "

Scared of the Dark "Scared of the Dark" is a song recorded by British group Steps for their fifth studio album, ''Tears on the Dancefloor'' (2017). On 6 March 2017, the group announced their twentieth anniversary celebrations in the form of a new single, album ...

", "

Story of a Heart ''Story of a Heart'' is a compilation album by Swedish group Benny Andersson Band, released in July 2009. Album Information Benny Anderssons Orkester is the current band of former ABBA member Benny Andersson. As ''"Story of a Heart"'' was the ...

" and " Neon Blue". On 18 September 2017, Steps announced that the album, titled '' Tears on the Dancefloor: Crying at the Disco'', would be reissued on 27 October with five new songs, as well as three previously unreleased remixes for "Happy", "Glitter & Gold" and "I Will Love Again" from the original track listing. The following day, the group announced that "Dancing with a Broken Heart", a cover originally performed by Australian singer and songwriter

, would be released as the lead single from the reissue. In an interview with Rob Copsey for the

Official Charts Company The Official UK Charts Company Limited (formerly Music Industry Chart Services Limited), trading as the Official Charts Company (OCC) or the Official Charts (formerly the Chart Information Network), is a British inter-professional organisation ...

, band member

Faye Tozer Faye Louise Tozer Smith (born 14 November 1975) is an English singer and actress, best known as a member of the pop group Steps. Career Music Steps are a pop group that have had a series of charted singles between 1997 and 2020. Their name ...

revealed that some of the new songs had originally been recorded for ''Tears on the Dancefloor'' but were ultimately not included, but confirmed "Dancing with a Broken Heart" had been chosen and recorded specifically for ''Tears on the Dancefloor: Crying at the Disco''. She went on to say that the song stood out for her personally and felt that it, along with the other deluxe material, felt "cooler" than the original track listing. Originally co-written by Goodrem, Vince Pizzinga and

and produced for Steps by The Alias, "Dancing with a Broken Heart" appears as the first song on the track listing of the reissue, while a radio mix produced by 7th Heaven is included as the seventeenth song on the digital bonus track edition of the album. Steps premiered the song on

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...

's ''

The Ken Bruce Show Kenneth Robertson Bruce (born 2 February 1951) is a Scottish radio and television presenter. He hosted a weekday mid-morning show on BBC Radio 2 between 1986 and 1990, then again from 1992 to 2023. Since April 2023, he has presented the same s ...

'' on 19 September 2017, the day after the reissue was announced, and it was released that day. On 6 October 2017, a five-track EP containing the video mix, a radio mix and club mix by 7th Heaven and a radio mix and club mix by Nathan Jain was released.

Composition

The first song on the track list of the reissued album, "Dancing with a Broken Heart" lasts for a duration of three minutes and 29 seconds. Steps' cover of the song is inspired by

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

and differs musically to the original

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

performed by Goodrem. The majority of the vocals are sung by the members

Claire Richards Claire Richards (born 17 August 1977) is an English singer and member of the pop group Steps. As a solo artist, Richards has released two studio albums: her debut, '' My Wildest Dreams'', was released in 2019 and ''Euphoria'', a covers album, ...

Lisa Scott-Lee Lisa Scott-Lee (born 5 November 1975) is a British singer from St Asaph, Wales. She is a member of the pop group Steps, formed in 1997. Scott-Lee signed a record deal with Mercury Records and launched a solo career in 2003, achieving only min ...

and

Ian "H" Watkins Ian Watkins (born 8 May 1976), known by his stage name H, is a Welsh singer and actor. He is a member of the British pop group Steps. In 2020 he competed in the twelfth series of the British television series ''Dancing on Ice''. Career St ...

over a "dazzling production", while

Lee Latchford-Evans Lee Latchford-Evans (born 28 January 1975) is an English singer, dancer, stage actor and one of the five singers of the British pop group Steps (pop group), Steps. Early life From Ellesmere Port, Evans was born as Lee Latchford Evans, with hi ...

sings what Lucas Villa of

AXS AXS may refer to: Anschutz Entertainment Group * AXS (company), primary ticket platform developed by Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG). * AXS TV, a cable channel partially owned by Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG). Other * Access (group), a Japa ...

described as a "

Daft Punk Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. They achieved popularity in the late 1990s as part of the French house movement, combining house music, funk, disco, tech ...

-like moment" during the latter half of the song. It's noted for its similarities to their 2000 single

Deeper Shade of Blue "Deeper Shade of Blue" is a song by British dance-pop group Steps, released as the fourth single from their second studio album, ''Steptacular'' (1999), on 3 April 2000. The song was originally recorded by English singer-songwriter Tina Cousins ...

, with its official music video again showing a darker side to the band.

Critical reception

AXS writer Lucas Villa praised the band's cover of "Dancing with a Broken Heart" for "

ringing Ringing may mean: Vibrations * Ringing (signal), unwanted oscillation of a signal, leading to ringing artifacts * Vibration of a harmonic oscillator ** Bell ringing * Ringing (telephony), the sound of a telephone bell * Ringing (medicine), a ri ...

the melodrama and haunting melodies to the dance floor," and added that the female members "charge of their heartache and channel it into passionate performances."

Formats and track listings

Digital download – ''Tears on the Dancefloor: Crying at the Disco''

"Dancing with a Broken Heart" – 3:29

"Dancing with a Broken Heart" (7th Heaven Radio Mix) – 3:29

Dancing with a Broken Heart (Remixes) – EP #"Dancing with a Broken Heart" (Video Mix) – 3:37 #"Dancing with a Broken Heart" (7th Heaven Radio Edit) – 3:28 #"Dancing with a Broken Heart" (Nathan Jain Radio Edit) – 2:33 #"Dancing with a Broken Heart" (7th Heaven Club Mix) – 5:52 #"Dancing with a Broken Heart" (Nathan Jain Club Mix) – 3:36 Tears on the Dancefloor – The Singles Collection (4-CD Box Set) Dancing with a Broken Heart # "Dancing with a Broken Heart" – 3.29 # "Dancing with a Broken Heart" (Video Mix) – 3.37 # "Dancing with a Broken Heart" (7th Heaven Club Mix) – 5.53 # "Dancing with a Broken Heart" (7th Heaven Radio Mix) – 3.29 # "Dancing with a Broken Heart" (Nathan Jain Club Mix) – 3.37 # "Dancing with a Broken Heart" (Nathan Jain Radio Edit) – 2.33 # "Dancing with a Broken Heart" (Nathan Jain Dub) – 3.45 # "Space Between Us" (Club Junkies Radio Mix) # "Space Between Us" (Club Junkies Club Mix) # "Beautiful Battlefield" (Gordon Pogoda Dance Remix)

Personnel

*Lead vocals – Faye Tozer, Claire Richards, Lisa Scott-Lee, Ian "H" Watkins *Background vocals – Lee Latchford Evans

Charts

References

{{authority control 2012 singles 2017 singles 2012 songs Delta Goodrem songs Music videos directed by Hannah Lux Davis Song recordings produced by John Shanks Songs written by Delta Goodrem Songs written by John Shanks Songs written by Vince Pizzinga Steps (group) songs Songs about heartache