Dancehall Queen (Robyn song)

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"Dancehall Queen"
Promotional single by Robyn
from the album Body Talk Pt. 1
Released13 April 2010 (2010-04-13)
Genre
Length3:39
YouTube

"Dancehall Queen" is a song by Swedish recording artist

Diplo. The initial writing and production of the song arose from a discussion by Robyn, Diplo and Åhlund about Ace of Base. The song features a dancehall and reggae
-infused sound with 1980s synths and bass. It was released as a promotional single before the album was launched in April 2010.

The song received mixed to positive reviews from critics. Some praised its hook and chorus, while others dismissed its overall sound. "Dancehall Queen" charted at number fifty-six on the Sverigetopplistan chart and was listed there for only a week. The accompanying music video, released in November 2010, was directed by Diplo, Red Foxx and Pomp&Clout. It resembles a karaoke tape with sing-along lyrics on the bottom of the screen. Robyn herself does not appear in the clip.

Background

In November 2009, a video of Robyn and

Pitchfork
, she spoke of the song's musical style, stating;

In my world, there are people who have already pushed those boundaries [of musical style] forward enough for me to feel comfortable doing a song like 'Dancehall Queen', so it's not a big deal to me. It's not about making black music as much as it's about making music that relates to real things that I grew up with. Back then, when Dr. Alban came to Sweden from Africa and started making reggae music with Denniz Pop—who did Ace of Base—it was too weird to be offensive. It's the same thing with Mad Decent and Diplo now.[4]

"Dancehall Queen" was released digitally in the US on 13 April 2010,[5] and on 28 April 2010 in Sweden.[6] It was one of three promotional singles released before the album's release.[7]

Composition

Robyn – "Dancehall Queen"
"Dancehall Queen" is a reggae-infused song with Caribbean sounds influenced by Ace of Base.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

"Dancehall Queen" was written by

About.com, Robyn "raggas her way through a laid back and bouncy electronic atmosphere".[15] The chorus features Robyn singing "I still run this thing like a dancehall queen/I really don't want no hassle."[2] The song also includes a shoutout to Sleng Teng; "I came to dance, not to socialize."[11] According to Marc Hogan of Pitchfork, the song's title is a "sideways allusion" to ABBA.[11]

Reception

Marc Hogan of Pitchfork called the song a "so-wrong-it's-right collaboration with tastemaking Philadelphia DJ/producer Diplo." Hogan wrote that "It's here, dancing, with a chorus that Santigold and Gwen Stefani might kill for, that Robyn is free from all the worries that are "killing" her at the album's start."[11] Christopher Muther of The Boston Globe wrote that "[Robyn's] take on Jamaican music has the potential to reek of day-old Ace of Bass", but called it "surprisingly solid".[14] Noel Gardner of Drowned in Sound called it "frankly peculiar", and wrote, "It’s evidently laced with irony, and is possibly the most fun tune on here".[13] Luke Lewis of NME wrote a mixed review of the song, stating, "It feels less authentic, especially on ‘Dancefloor Queen’, a misfiring collaboration with Diplo that features the least convincing patois this side of a George Lamb radio show."[16]

Ben Norman of About.com wrote, "Nothing against 'Dancehall Queen,' but it just isn't the Robyn people have come to love."

Consequence of Sound wrote that the song "is what you’d expect to hear: a smooth beat and an international sound, but nothing you’ll keep on repeat. It seems like a match made in heaven, but ultimately it’s fairly safe."[17] Matthew Horton of BBC Music called the song "superfluous".[10]

The song entered the Sverigetopplistan chart at its peak position of number fifty-six, before dropping out the next week.[18] The song also peaked at number fifty-one on the Swedish Digital Chart.[19]

Music video

The music video for "Dancehall Queen" was directed by Diplo, Red Foxx and Pomp&Clout.[20] It premiered on 29 November 2010 via Robyn's official YouTube account.[21] Ryan Staake of Pomp&Clout referred the video to as a "really weird VHS/karaoke video".[22] The video resembles a faded karaoke tape with occasional sing-along lyrics on the bottom of the screen. Robyn does not appear in the video.[22] Larry Fitzmaurice of Pitchfork said that the video is "complete with awkward/sexy dancing and footage of bustling city life".[20] Erika Brooks Adickman of Idolator wrote a mixed review of the clip, stating, "We’re guessing Robyn didn’t want the “hassle” of appearing, so instead we’re treated to—seemingly—random grainy footage of the streets of Japan and gyrating women as the words of the chorus appear karaoke-style on the screen. We can say one good thing about the flick, if you were confused about the song’s lyrics, they’re fairly easy to read."[21]

The video features dancing Japanese former Jamaican Dancehall Queen Junko Kudō.

Track listing

  • Digital download[5]
  1. "Dancehall Queen" – 3:39

Credits and personnel

Charts

Chart (2010) Peak
position
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[23] 56

References

  1. ^
    Buzzmedia
    . Retrieved 6 April 2011.
  2. ^
    MTV Networks
    . Retrieved 5 April 2011.
  3. Buzzmedia
    . Retrieved 3 April 2011.
  4. Pitchfork Media, Inc
    . Retrieved 3 April 2011.
  5. ^ a b "Robyn - Dancehall Queen MP3 music downloads". 7digital US. Archived from the original on 14 January 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
  6. ^ "Robyn - Dancehall Queen MP3 music downloads". 7digital Sweden. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
  7. Buzzmedia
    . Retrieved 3 April 2011.
  8. ^ a b c d Body Talk Pt. 1 (booklet). Robyn. Konichiwa Records. 2010.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  9. About.com. The New York Times Company. Archived from the original
    on 16 October 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
  10. ^
    British Broadcasting Corporation
    . 10 June 2010. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
  11. ^
    Pitchfork Media, Inc
    . Retrieved 5 April 2011.
  12. ^ Chinen, Nate (13 June 2010). "Critic's Choice - New CDs". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
  13. ^ a b Gardner, Noel (9 June 2010). "Robyn - Body Talk (Part 1)". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 12 June 2010. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
  14. ^ a b Muther, Christopher (14 June 2010). "Robyn, 'Body Talk, Pt 1'". The Boston Globe. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
  15. ^
    About.com. The New York Times Company. Archived from the original
    on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
  16. IPC Media
    . Retrieved 5 April 2011.
  17. Complex Media Network
    . Retrieved 6 April 2011.
  18. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Robyn – Dancehall Queen". Singles Top 60. Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
  19. ^ "DigiListan – 16 May 2010". DigiListan (in Swedish). Sveriges Radio. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
  20. ^
    Pitchfork Media, Inc
    . Retrieved 5 April 2011.
  21. ^
    Buzzmedia
    . Retrieved 6 April 2011.
  22. ^
    Buzzmedia
    . Retrieved 3 April 2011.
  23. ^ "Robyn – Dancehall Queen". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 28 July 2011.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dancehall_Queen_(Robyn_song)&oldid=1159191683"