"Dance Off" is a song by American hip hop duo

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Macklemore & Ryan Lewis are an American hip hop duo from Seattle, Washington, formed in 2008 by Macklemore, a rapper,Trust, Gary (2013)Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' 'Can't Hold Us' Makes Hot 100 History, '' Billboard'', May 8, 2013. Retrieved Januar ...

featuring British actor and musician

Idris Elba Idrissa Akuna Elba (; born 6 September 1972) is an English actor.

and fellow American musician

Anderson .Paak Brandon Paak Anderson (born February 8, 1986), better known by his stage name Anderson .Paak (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and drummer. He released his debut mixtape, ''O.B.E. Vol. 1,'' in 2012 and went on to rel ...

, released in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and selected European countries on February 25, 2016 as the second single from the duo's studio album ''

This Unruly Mess I've Made ''This Unruly Mess I've Made'' is the second studio album by American hip hop duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. It was released on February 26, 2016, by Macklemore LLC and Alternative Distribution Alliance. Following the success of the duo's hit album ...

'' (2016).

Background and release

Following the large success of the duo's debut album '' The Heist'' (2012),

Macklemore Benjamin Hammond Haggerty (born June 19, 1983), better known by his stage name Macklemore ( ; (formerly Professor Macklemore), is an American rapper and songwriter. A native of Seattle, Washington, he has collaborated with producer Ryan Lew ...

revealed on January 15, 2016 with an Instagram post the ''

'' release. "Dance Off" was released as second single of the album on February 25, 2016, succeeding "

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...

Music video

The song's music video was uploaded to

Ryan Lewis Ryan Scott Lewis (born March 25, 1988) is an American record producer, DJ, videographer, photographer, graphic designer, music video director, rapper, and songwriter. Along with producing his own album, ''Instrumentals'', Lewis produced the alb ...

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

, now known as Macklemore LLC, channel on May 17, 2016. It was directed by Lewis & Jason Koenig.

Critical reception

The song received positive reviews from music critics. Killian Young said that "Dance Off" makes nod to the pillars of

hip hop culture Hip hop or hip-hop is a culture and art movement that was created by African Americans, Latino Americans and Caribbean Americans in the Bronx, New York City. Hip hop culture is characterized by four key elements: rapping, DJing and turntablis ...

: rapping, DJing, tagging, breakdancing and piano groove. David Turner of

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

said that "Dance Off" sounds like rolling into the morgue by the 27th second, when the song says "I grab my ankle and pull it up / And do that thing where I move my butt". Spencer Kornhaber of The Atlantic commented that the song sounds like the director Vincent Price in "

Thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

" (of

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

), and said that Macklemore "frets about the adequacy of what's between his legs. In his world, music does not help you transcend your insecurities—it heightens them.".

Chart performance

In Australia, "Dance Off" entered the

Australian Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian 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 became the offici ...

at number twenty one on March 7, 2016.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Downtown (Macklemore and Ryan Lewis song) 2016 singles 2016 songs Macklemore songs Ryan Lewis songs Anderson .Paak songs Comedy hip hop songs Idris Elba songs Songs written by Anderson .Paak Songs written by Idris Elba Songs written by Macklemore Songs written by Ryan Lewis