"Can We Dance" is the debut single by British

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ( ...

band the Vamps. It was released in the United Kingdom on 29 September 2013 as the lead single from their debut studio album ''

Meet the Vamps ''Meet the Vamps'' is the debut studio album by British pop band The Vamps. It was initially released in Australia and New Zealand on 11 April 2014, and released in the United Kingdom through Virgin EMI Records on 14 April. The album includes th ...

'' (2014). The song debuted and peaked at number two on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, being kept off the top spot by

OneRepublic OneRepublic is an American pop rock band formed in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 2002. It consists of lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Tedder, lead guitarist and violist Zach Filkins, rhythm guitarist Drew Brown (musician), Drew Bro ...

's "

Counting Stars "Counting Stars" is a song by American pop rock band OneRepublic from their third studio album, ''Native'' (2013). The song was written by lead singer Ryan Tedder, and produced by Tedder and Noel Zancanella. It was released as the album's seco ...

Background

"Can We Dance" was written by Karl Michael,

Bruno Mars Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is known for his stage performances, retro showmanship, and for performing in a wide range of musical ...

, Philip Lawrence, Timz Lam and

Espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tang ...

, and produced by Mars and Espionage.

Music video

The official music video was uploaded to

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 mo ...

on 6 August 2013. It features The Vamps playing to a crowd of screaming fans in lead singer

Bradley Simpson The Vamps are a British pop band consisting of Brad Simpson, James Brittain-McVey, Connor Ball and Tristan Evans. They formed in 2012 and signed to Mercury Records (now Virgin EMI Records) in the November of the same year. In 2017, they had th ...

's garage. At the end of the video, his parents come home, having seen the action unfold on YouTube and show it to him. As of December 31, 2019, the video has over 82 million views.

Chart performance

On 2 October 2013, it was reported that "Can We Dance" was leading the midweek UK charts and on course to debut at number one on the

, 13,000 copies ahead of its nearest competitor, "

" by

, which had been climbing the chart for two months. Two days later, "Can We Dance" was still on course to reach the top, but "Counting Stars" was now just 6,000 copies behind. On 6 October, following a late surge by OneRepublic fans, "Counting Stars" was announced a number one, while "Can We Dance" was at number two, having sold 66,730 copies. In the closest chart battle of 2013 (at the time), there were just 1,150 copies separating the two songs. On 29 November, the song was certified Silver by the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with ...

for sales of over 200,000 copies. In Ireland, "Can We Dance" debuted and peaked at number 21, spending just three weeks in the top 50. In Australia, the song entered the

ARIA Charts 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 47, before eventually rising to its peak of number 17. It spent a total of 13 weeks in the Australian top 50. On 14 February 2014, it was announced that the song had been certified Platinum in Australia for sales of over 70,000. In

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

, "Can We Dance" debuted at number 35 and later rose to number 19, staying there for two weeks. In 2015, the band performed the song as themselves in a season 4 episode of the Disney Channel series Jessie.

Formats and track listings

*Digital download – EP # "Can We Dance" (Single version) – 3:11 # "

Year 3000 "Year 3000" is a song performed by British pop rock band Busted. It was released as the second single from their debut studio album '' Busted'' (2002). "Year 3000" reached number two on the UK Singles Chart and became the 34th-biggest seller ...

" – 3:20 # "

MMMBop "MMMBop" is a song written and performed by American pop rock band Hanson. It was released on April 15, 1997, as the lead single from their debut full-length studio album, '' Middle of Nowhere'' (1997). The song was nominated for two Grammys at ...

" – 4:01 # "

Teenage Kicks "Teenage Kicks" is the debut single by Northern Irish punk rock band the Undertones. Written in the summer of 1977 by the band's principal songwriter, the song was recorded on 15 June 1978 and initially released that September on independent Be ...

" (Live) – 1:54 *CD1 # "Can We Dance" (Single version) – 3:11 # "

Mr. Brightside "Mr. Brightside" is the debut single of American rock band the Killers. It is taken from their debut studio album, ''Hot Fuss'' (2004). Written by band members Brandon Flowers and Dave Keuning, it was one of the first songs the Killers ever wrot ...

" # " 22" # " Wild Heart" (Live) *CD2 # "Can We Dance" (James' version) – 3:40 # " Little Things" *CD3 # "Can We Dance" (Connor's version) – 3:41 # "Weightless" * Digital download – Remix EPCan We Dance (Remixes) - EP by The Vamps on iTunes
/ref> # "Can We Dance" (James' version) – 3:40 # "Can We Dance" (Connor's version) – 3:41 # "Can We Dance" (Tristan's version) – 3:38 # "Can We Dance" (Brad's demo version) – 3:37 # "Can We Dance" (Seamus Haji club mix) – 6:06

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{authority control 2013 songs 2013 debut singles The Vamps (British band) songs Songs written by Jax Jones Songs written by Bruno Mars Songs written by Amund Bjørklund Songs written by Espen Lind Song recordings produced by Espionage (production team) Mercury Records singles Virgin EMI Records singles