"One Dance" is a song by Canadian rapper

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

from his fourth studio album '' Views'' (2016). It features guest vocals from Nigerian

afrobeats Afrobeats, not to be confused with Afrobeat or Afroswing, is an umbrella term to describe popular music from West Africa and the diaspora that initially developed in Ghana, Nigeria, and the UK in the 2000s and 2010s. Afrobeats is less of a st ...

artist

Wizkid Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun (born 16 July 1990), better known as Wizkid, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. Born in the Ojuelegba suburb of Surulere, Lagos, Wizkid is a voice in the emerging Afrobeats movement. His music is a blend of Afrobea ...

and British singer Kyla. The artists co-wrote the dancehall and afrobeats song with its co-producers Nineteen85 and Noah "40" Shebib, with production assistance from Wizkid. Crazy Cousinz and Kyla received songwriting credits for the sampling of their 2008

UK funky UK funky (sometimes known as UKF or funky) is a genre of electronic dance music which originated in England that is heavily influenced by soca, soulful house, tribal house, funky house, UK garage, broken beat and grime. Typically, UK funky ...

song " Do You Mind". "One Dance" was released for digital download on April 5, 2016, and was serviced to US urban, rhythmic, and

contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (CHR, also known as contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top ...

on April 12, 2016. "One Dance" was released shortly after the release date for ''Views'' was announced, alongside " Pop Style". "One Dance" was the first of three dancehall singles to be released from ''Views'', along with " Controlla" and " Too Good". "One Dance" reached number one in 15 countries, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Switzerland, the United Kingdom - where it later also became the longest running top 10 single of the 2010s decade in the region, and the United States, becoming Drake's first number-one single in all 15 countries as the lead artist. It topped the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for 10 non-consecutive weeks and became the joint-second longest consecutive number one in the UK Singles Chart with 15 consecutive weeks at the summit. Featured artist

became the first Nigerian artist to (chart on and) top the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. "One Dance" became the second dancehall song of 2016 to top the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 after

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...

's "

Work Work may refer to: * Work (human activity), intentional activity people perform to support themselves, others, or the community ** Manual labour, physical work done by humans ** House work, housework, or homemaking ** Working animal, an ani ...

" which also featured Drake. On September 7, 2016, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' named "One Dance" the 2016 Song of the Summer. As of December 2016, it has sold 2 million copies in the US, thus being the fifth-best-selling song of the year. For

Apple Music Apple Music is an audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users can select music to stream to their device on-demand, or listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the sister internet radio stations Apple Musi ...

it was the best performing song of the year. On October 15, 2016, "One Dance" became the most played song ever on

streaming media Streaming media refers to multimedia delivered through a Computer network, network for playback using a Media player (disambiguation), media player. Media is transferred in a ''stream'' of Network packet, packets from a Server (computing), ...

service

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

, with over one billion individual streams, overtaking the previous record held by

Major Lazer Major Lazer is an American electronic dance music and DJ trio, which includes record producer Diplo, and DJs Walshy Fire and Ape Drums. They were founded in 2008 by Diplo and Switch, with Switch leaving after three years in 2011. He was the ...

and DJ Snake's " Lean On".

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran ( ; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...

's "

Shape of You "Shape of You" is a song by English singer Ed Sheeran. It was released on 6 January 2017 as one of the lead single, double lead singles from his third studio album ''÷ (album), ÷'' (2017), along with "Castle on the Hill". The Dancehall pop, ...

" overtook "One Dance" as the most streamed song on Spotify on September 21, 2017. "One Dance" was the best-performing single worldwide of 2016 and is one of the best-selling digital singles of all-time.

Background and release

In early 2016, UK funky artist Kyla was first contacted by Drake's production team regarding the use of her 2008 song "Do You Mind (Crazy Cousinz remix)", in a new

and

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots reggae, roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2 ...

song with Drake and Nigerian artist

, whom Drake had met one year previously through British grime artist

Skepta Joseph Olaitan Adenuga Jr. (born 19 September 1982), known professionally as Skepta, is a British grime MC, rapper, record producer and DJ. Alongside his younger brother Jme, he briefly joined Roll Deep before they became founding members of ...

, to work on a remix of Wizkid's song Ojuelegba. Drake had reportedly been a fan of Kyla's song for several years and so convinced his producer Nineteen85 to use "Do You Mind (Crazy Cousinz remix)" as a bridge within their new song. "Do You Mind" was subsequently worked on by South African

DJ Maphorisa Themba Sekowe (born 15 November 1987), known professionally as DJ Maphorisa, is a South African DJ, record producer, singer, and songwriter. As a record producer with a blend of house music, amapiano and afro pop music, afropop, he has worked ...

who slowed down its tempo before adding Wizkid's background vocals. Production of "One Dance" was finished within one week and quickly released in early April 2016 due to fear of it being leaked, which had occurred with Drake's " Controlla"'s original version featuring Jamaican dancehall artist Popcaan in March 2016. In addition to Wizkid's work on "One Dance", Drake provided vocals for the Wizkid track " Come Closer", which was recorded at the same time, but released a year later in March 2017. Drake and his team were unsure over how "One Dance" would be received upon being released since they considered it to be a considerable shift from his previous work. They therefore decided on it being released jointly with the song "Pop Style", featuring The Throne (

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

and

Jay Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named the greatest rapper of all time by ''Billboard'' and '' Vibe'' i ...

), since they felt it was a more conventional rap record and would therefore cushion the criticism had it been negative.

Composition and recording

"One Dance" is a

, pop and

song with a length of two minutes and fifty-four seconds. The song is Drake's first dancehall single as the lead artist, having previously explored the genre in his 2015

mixtape In the modern music industry, a mixtape is a musical project, typically with looser constraints than that of an album or extended play. Unlike the traditional album or extended play, mixtapes are labeled as laid-back projects that allow artists mo ...

, '' If You're Reading This It's Too Late'' and in the January 2016 single "

" with

. The single marks the second time Drake has worked on an afrobeats song, having previously featured on Wizkid's " Ojuelegba (Remix)" (2015) along with British grime artist

. According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com, "One Dance" is written in the key of

B minor B minor is a minor scale based on B, consisting of the pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative major is D major and its parallel major is B major. The B natural minor scale is: Changes need ...

and has a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

of 104 beats per minute in

common time A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates the ...

. The song follows a chord progression of BmDEm, and Drake's vocals span from A₂ to B_3.

Critical reception

Jon Caramanica of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' wrote "One Dance" is a transnational dance-floor lullaby, one of Drake's breeziest and most accessible songs, and also one of his savviest." ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' stated of the song: "Kyla's voice and that resonant piano mash are the first things heard before they cave into a throbbing, wine-worthy tropical thumper. The message is as simple as the beat is mesmerizing: "One Dance" is about the spiritual connection two people can have in a club, when vibrations charge the air and they lose themselves. Drake's verses drift while Wizkid's echoing chirps melt into the fabric of the rhythm. In the closing seconds, a series of tones and polyrhythms collapse in on one another as Kyla's croons give way the Drake's once more. It feels symbolic of the full-fledged multiculturalism on display." Luke Morgan Britton of ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' called "One Dance" a "

-indebted dancefloor-filler, the size of which we've not heard since '

Hotline Bling "Hotline Bling" is a song recorded by Canadian rapper Drake (musician), Drake, which served as the lead single from his fourth studio album ''Views (album), Views'' (2016). The song is credited as a bonus track on the album. It was made availabl ...

'." Similarly, Mikael Wood of ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' praised the song's "swirl warm, bubbly dance styles from Africa and the Caribbean."

Accolades

"One Dance" was placed at number three on Rob Sheffield's list of "50 Best Songs of 2016" in ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'', describing it as a "tropical summer jam with a Caribbean lilt that evokes

Lionel Richie Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of the Motown group Commodores; writing and recor ...

in pastel-shirt mode. When he mixes in Nigerian singer Wizkid and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

diva Kyla, he turns "One Dance" into a utopian fusion of global styles, by way of Toronto." ''

'' ranked "One Dance" at number seven on their "100 Best Pop Songs of 2016" list: "With a molasses-sweet-and-slow Kyla hook (lifted from her own "Do You Mind?") and a bouncing, piano-led dancehall groove so hypnotic not even a midsong round of gunfire could break its spell, the tropical track served as an infinitely repeatable summer jam." ''

'' considered it the 30th best song of the year, and ''NME'' the 17th. In the annual ''

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Ma ...

''s

Pazz & Jop Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper ''The Village Voice'' and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year abse ...

mass critics poll of the year's best in music in 2016, "One Dance" was ranked at number 15.

Commercial performance

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, "One Dance" debuted at number 21 on the UK Singles Chart on April 8, 2016—for the week ending date April 14, 2016—with just three days of sales. The following week, the single jumped twenty spaces to the top of the chart, becoming Drake's second number-one single in the UK and first as a lead artist, having previously peaked at the top in collaboration with

on " What's My Name?" in January 2011. Furthermore, "One Dance" became Kyla's first chart-topping song in her home country. In its ninth week at number-one, it gained the lowest ever paid-for sales for a number-one single, with just 16,903 downloads. The following week, on its tenth week at the top, it sold even less, with just 13,152 paid-for sales; it also equalled Rihanna's ten-week reign with "

Umbrella An umbrella or parasol is a folding canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs that is mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic pole. It is usually designed to protect a person against rain. The term ''umbrella'' is traditionally used when protec ...

" in 2007 to become the longest-lasting number one single of the century. It remained at number one for fifteen consecutive weeks, tying with Wet Wet Wet's " Love Is All Around" as the second longest consecutive number-one hit in UK chart history and behind only "

(Everything I Do) I Do It for You "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Bryan Adams. Written by Adams, Michael Kamen, and Robert John "Mutt" Lange, the power ballad was the lead single for both the Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves#Music, soundtr ...

" by

Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born November 5, 1959) is a British and Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, and photographer. He is estimated to have sold between 75 million and more than 100 million album, records and Single (music), si ...

. The song was later replaced at the top by

's " Cold Water" on the week of August 4, 2016. It was later named the best-selling single of 2016 in the United Kingdom, selling a total of 1.95 million combined units consisting of 530,000 digital copies and 142 million streams. As of September 2017, the song has gained 554,000 copies in sales, 179 million in streams, making a total of 2,345,000 combined units.

United States

In the United States, the single debuted at number 21 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on April 12, 2016—for the week ending date April 18, 2016. The following week, it moved to number 13. It sold 104,000 copies during its first week of release, debuting at four on the US Digital Songs chart. The song reached number one on the Digital Songs chart the following week, its sales increasing by 14% to 119,000 copies, becoming Drake's seventh leader on the chart. In its third week, "One Dance" jumped to number three, aided by large gains on radio and streaming. In its fourth week, it climbed to number two, tying with " Best I Ever Had" and "

" as Drake's highest-charting ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles as a lead artist. In the next week, the song topped the chart, making it Drake's first number one on the chart as a lead artist. In the next week, "One Dance" fell to number two on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 behind

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, and dancer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Prince of Pop", ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' honored him as the b ...

's " Can't Stop the Feeling!" but regained the spot for an additional nine weeks until it was knocked off by Sia's " Cheap Thrills" on the week ending August 6, 2016. On the issue dated July 30, 2016, "One Dance" became the 32nd song to top the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for at least ten weeks. As of December 2016, "One Dance" sold 2 million copies in the US, thus being the fifth best-selling song of the year, behind

Lukas Graham Lukas Graham is a Danish pop band consisting of lead vocalist Lukas Forchhammer, and drummer Mark Falgren. The band released '' Lukas Graham'', their first album, with labels Copenhagen Records and in 2012. The album peaked at number one on ...

's " 7 Years",

Flo Rida Tramar Lacel Dillard (born September 16, 1979), known professionally as Flo Rida ( ), is an American rapper and singer. His 2007 debut and breakout single "Low (Flo Rida song), Low" was number one for 10 weeks in the United States and broke the ...

's " My House",

The Chainsmokers The Chainsmokers are an American electronic DJ and production duo consisting of Alex Pall and Drew Taggart. They started out by releasing remixes of songs by indie artists. The electronic dance music, EDM-Pop music, pop duo achieved a breakth ...

' " Closer" and Justin Timberlake's "Can't Stop the Feeling!".

Canada

In his native Canada, the single debuted at number 13 on the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007 as the standard record chart in Canada; a new chart ...

on the week of April 23, 2016 and moved up to number two on the week of April 30, 2016. On the week of May 7, 2016, Drake received his first number-one as the lead artist in his native Canada, having previously peaked at the top in collaboration with Rihanna on "

" in March 2016.

Lack of music video

David Bakula, Nielsen's SVP of Analytics said in an interview that "If a song is going to reach that pinnacle of success, it's got to be everywhere". However, the lack of a music video for "One Dance" contributed to its success in countries where YouTube streams do not influence the singles charts, such as in the UK, as those wanting to listen to "One Dance" were forced to stream it on services such as

, which do count towards the singles charts. A scene with "One Dance" featured on the short film ''Please Forgive Me'' directed by Anthony Mandler, released on September 26, 2016, exclusively on

. The short film was produced in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. Material Culture, part of the country's dance battle subculture, is part of the dance crew.

Performances and remixes

Drake gave his first live performance of "One Dance" on April 14, 2016, in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

during Rihanna's

Anti World Tour The Anti World Tour (stylized as ANTI World Tour) was the seventh concert tour by Barbadian singer Rihanna, in support of her eighth studio album, ''Anti (album), Anti'' (2016). The tour was announced on November 15, 2015 and began on March 12, ...

. Drake later promoted the song, along with "Hype" from ''Views'', on NBC's ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' on May 14, 2016. "One Dance" was later performed during Drake's Summer Sixteen Tour (2016) and was performed during his Boy Meets World Tour (2017). A remix of the song, featuring lead vocals by Canadian singer

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is recognized for his multi-genre musical performances. He was discovered by record executive Scooter Braun in 2008 and subsequently brought to the U ...

, premiered on Drake's

Beats 1 Apple Music 1, previously branded as Beats 1, is a 24/7 music radio station owned and operated by Apple Inc. It is accessible through iTunes or the Apple Music app on a computer, smartphone or tablet, smart speaker (such as the Apple HomePod), ...

radio show OVO Sound on June 4, 2016, but was never released to music outlets or mainstream music sites. A Greek Easter parody of the song, titled "One Lamb," was released by

Greek-American Greek Americans ( ''Ellinoamerikanoí'' ''Ellinoamerikánoi'' ) are Americans of full or partial Greek ancestry. There is an estimate of 1.2 million Americans of full or partial Greek ancestry. According to the US census, 264,066 people o ...

parody artist So Tiri and musical artist Annet Artani on the former's YouTube channel on April 16, 2017. "One Dance" is sampled in Palestinian rapper Saint Levant's 2022 song "Baby".

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2016 songs 2016 singles Drake (musician) songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Canadian Hot 100 number-one singles Cash Money Records singles Dancehall songs Reggae fusion songs Dutch Top 40 number-one singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Number-one singles in Australia SNEP Top Singles number-one singles Number-one singles in Germany Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in Norway Number-one singles in Portugal Number-one singles in Sweden Number-one singles in Switzerland UK singles chart number-one singles Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders) number-one singles Song recordings produced by Nineteen85 Songs written by Drake (musician) Songs written by Nineteen85 Wizkid songs Kyla (British singer) songs Songs about dancing Song recordings produced by DJ Maphorisa Song recordings produced by Sarz Number-one singles in Lebanon Songs written by Wizkid