Dance Off

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Following the large success of the duo's debut album The Heist (2012), Macklemore revealed the This Unruly Mess I've Made release with an Instagram post on January 15, 2016. "Dance Off" was released as second single of the album on February 25, 2016, succeeding "Downtown". The song's music video was uploaded to Ryan Lewis's YouTube, now known as Macklemore LLC, channel on May 17, 2016. It was directed by Lewis & Jason Koenig. The song received positive reviews from music critics. Killian Young said that "Dance Off" makes nod to the pillars of hip hop culture: rapping, DJing, tagging, breakdancing and piano groove. David Turner of MTV 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" (of Michael Jackson), 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." In Australia, "Dance Off" entered the Australian Singles Chart at number twenty one on March 7, 2016.

In Their Own Story

The narrative of the DCC is one of rapid evolution and media dominance rather than competitive dance-offs. In 1979, a made-for-TV movie starring Bert Convy and Jane Seymour aired with a 48% national audience share just before Super Bowl XIII. The late 1970s saw them dubbed "Dallas Cowgirls," a name they legally protected in 1983 when two former members tried to use it independently. From 2006 to 2021, the reality series "Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team" on CMT documented the rigorous audition process featuring "Training Camp Candidates" and "Veteran Candidates." In June 2024, a new Netflix series titled "America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders" premiered, continuing their cultural footprint without introducing any "Dance Off" format.

Reader's Guide

The song was released as the second single from the album This Unruly Mess I've Made. Its music video was directed by Lewis & Jason Koenig. Critical reception was positive, with specific comments from Killian Young, David Turner, and Spencer Kornhaber. Chart performance: entered the Australian Singles Chart at number 21 on March 7, 2016.

Did You Know?

• The song features British actor and musician Idris Elba and American musician Anderson .Paak.
• The music video was uploaded to Ryan Lewis's YouTube channel on May 17, 2016.
• The song entered the Australian Singles Chart at number 21 on March 7, 2016.