"Dirty Dancer" is a song by Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias and American singer Usher, recorded for Iglesias' sixth studio album, '' Euphoria'', and included on Usher's EP '' Versus''. A remix of the song, which features American rapper

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman, joining ...

and American singer

Nayer Nayer Regalado, known mononymously as Nayer, is an American singer. She gained recognition in 2011 after being featured on Pitbull's hit single " Give Me Everything", and releasing her single " Suave (Kiss Me)" featuring Pitbull and Mohombi whi ...

, was released on 9 May 2011 by

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

as the sixth single from ''Euphoria''. Written by the two singers with

Evan Bogart Evan Bogart (born January 23, 1978), better known as E. Kidd Bogart, is an American songwriter, music publisher, record executive and film & television producer. He is the son of Casablanca Records founder Neil Bogart and former music manager Joyc ...

, Erika Nuri and David Quiñones and producer RedOne, "Dirty Dancer" is a dance-pop song. The album version of "Dirty Dancer" appeared 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 ...

, the Dutch Single Top 100 and the Slovakian Radio Top 100 Oficiálna, while the single version entered the Australian Singles Chart, the

New Zealand Singles Chart The Official New Zealand Music Chart ( mi, Te Papa Tātai Waiata Matua o Aotearoa) is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The Music ...

and the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100. An Ethan Lader-directed

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

for "Dirty Dancer" has the three artists watching holographic dancers in nightclubs. The single has already been certified Gold in Australia and USA. It was covered by the Dutch symphonic metal band

Within Temptation Within Temptation is a Dutch symphonic metal band founded in April 1996 by vocalist Sharon den Adel and guitarist Robert Westerholt. They have been classified by critics as gothic metal and symphonic metal, although each album contains other inf ...

as part of their weekly radio covers in promotion for their upcoming event, ''Elements'' and was included on their April 2013 cover album The Q-Music Sessions. The song samples parts of the 1995 song "

Salva Mea "Salva Mea" (faux Latin for "save me") is a song by British electronic band Faithless, written by members Rollo, Sister Bliss, and Maxi Jazz. The female vocals on all versions are performed by Rollo's sister Dido. "Salva Mea" was released in ...

" by Faithless.

Background

"Dirty Dancer" was written by Enrique Iglesias, RedOne,

, Erika Nuri and David Quiñones, and was produced by RedOne. It was recorded at South Point Studios,

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

. "Dirty Dancer" is a dance-pop song with some influences of electropop, dubstep, and

rave music A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mu ...

. According to Adam Graham of MTV News, "Dirty Dancer" is about "a comely-yet-dangerous female"; its hook features the lyrics "She's a dirty, dirty dancer/ Dirty, dirty dancer/ Never ever lonely". At the beginning on the song, Usher dedicates it to "the dirty girls all around the world". Iglesias and Usher exchange verses before, on the single remix, Wayne gives his

rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

verse, which makes a reference to actor Eddie Murphy. "Dirty Dancer" was included on Iglesias' sixth studio album, '' Euphoria'', and Usher's EP '' Versus''. "Dirty Dancer" was sent to Australian contemporary hit radio (CHR) and nights radio on 9 May, while the single remix was sent to US CHR 10 May. The single was released as a

music download A music download (commonly referred to as a digital download) is the digital transfer of music via the Internet into a device capable of decoding and playing it, such as a personal computer, portable media player, MP3 player or smartphone. T ...

in North America on 12 June 2011, and was released in Europe and Oceania on 19 June.

Critical reception

Robert Copsey from '' Digital Spy'' and Allison Stewart from ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' chose "Dirty Dancer" as one of the best tracks on ''Euphoria'', with Stewart calling it "steamy". ''Prefix Magazine''s Wilson McBee criticized Wayne's appearance on the track, and wrote that the line "Ain't no money like young money" was his "weakest last line ever".

Chart performance

The album version of "Dirty Dancer" debuted at number 194 on the

on 17 July 2010, and at number fifty-one on the Dutch Single Top 100, where it later peaked at number thirty-nine. The album version also entered the Slovakian Radio Top 100 Oficiálna at number ninety-four in May 2011, as well as appearing on the Belgian

Ultratip Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium. Ultratop is a non-profit organization, created on the initiative of the Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA), the Belgian member organization of ...

charts of Flanders and Wallonia at numbers nine and thirty-six, respectively. On 16 May 2011, the single version debuted on the Australian Singles Chart at number thirty-six, and on the Australian Dance Chart at number thirteen. It has since peaked at numbers twenty-four and nine, respectively. On the issue dated 28 May 2011, "Dirty Dancer" debuted at number nine on the U.S.

Hot Digital Songs The Digital Songs or Digital Song Sales chart (previously named Hot Digital Songs) ranks the best-selling digital songs in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published by ''Billboard'' magazine. Although it originally starte ...

chart with 126,000 copies sold, and subsequently appeared at number eighteen on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The same day it entered the Canadian Hot 100 at number eighteen. On 4 June 2011, "Dirty Dancer" debuted at number thirty-three on the

Pop Songs Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/ CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played on a panel of Top 40 radio stations in the Un ...

chart, and later peaked at number seventeen. "Dirty Dancer" entered the

at number twenty-two on 30 May 2011. On the Dutch Top 40, the song debuted at number thirty-one and peaked at number twenty-five, while on the

, the single version of "Dirty Dancer" has reached number twenty-one. It entered the

French Singles Chart French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

at number ninety-nine on 11 June 2011. On 12 August 2011, the song charted at #1 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs making it his ninth #1 single on the chart. He is the only male artist in the chart's history to achieve this milestone, beating previous record-holder

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 ...

. It is his third consecutive #1 on this chart from his album ''Euphoria'', following " I Like It" and " Tonight (I'm Fuckin' You)".

Live performances

Enrique Iglesias first premiered "Dirty Dancer" live as part of a medley with " I Like It" that he performed on the tenth season of ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

'' on 12 May 2011. For the performance, he wore blue jeans and a black leather jacket, which featured Usher and Lil Wayne appearing on video screens behind

backing vocal A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are used ...

ists and a band. Initially, Iglesias was under a lone

spotlight Spotlight or spot light may refer to: Lighting * Spot lights, automotive auxiliary lamps * Spotlight (theatre lighting) * Spotlight, a searchlight * Stage lighting instrument, stage lighting instruments, of several types Art, entertainment, an ...

, before several green lasers beams lit the stage.

Music video

The

for "Dirty Dancer" was directed by

Yasha Malekzad Yasha Malekzad (born 1 October 1984) is an English music video director and producer from Beccles, Suffolk, England, who has worked with international artists including Enrique Iglesias, Will Smith, Pitbull, Usher, Lil Wayne, Sharon Stone, Nicky ...

, Jeff Dotson & Ethan Lader and premiered on 22 June 2011. It opens by showing a city during the night, and Iglesias making his way to a futuristic strip club, who then watches a holographic

pole dance Pole dance combines dance and acrobatics centered on a vertical pole. This performance art form takes place not only in strip club, gentleman's clubs as erotic dance, but also as a mainstream form of fitness, practiced in gyms and dedicated da ...

r performing a gymnastic routine while wearing a black latex outfit. Usher is shown donning black clothing and sings alone in a dark room. Throughout the video he alternates between reality and a holographic. Iglesias is shown in similar scenes, and at one point lowers his jacket to expose his blue luminous heart. Iglesias presses buttons on a remote control and the dancer is replaced by another, dressed in silver, who is in turn replaced by a gold bikini-clad dancer. Wayne begins his verse while being projected onto a building, while other shots show him in a dark room, similar to those of Usher. The dancer whom Iglesias watches leans in to kiss him but is replaced by a holographic message reading "credit expired". Sabrina Cognata of WNOW-FM wrote, "This video has everything. And I mean everything worth having." MTV Buzzworthy's Jenna Hally Rubenstein wrote, "If you want to be a baller, this video is how you do it." The video has been viewed over 137 million times.

Track listing

*;U.S. digital download # "Dirty Dancer" (Single Version) (with Usher featuring

) – 4:05 # "Dirty Dancer" (Music Video) # "Dirty Dancer" (Remix) (with Usher featuring Lil Wayne and

) - 4:04 *;German CD single / UK digital download # "Dirty Dancer" (Single Version) (with Usher featuring Lil Wayne) – 4:05 # "Dirty Dancer" (with Usher) – 3:35

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of "Dirty Dancer". ;Recording *Recorded at South Point Studios,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. ;Personnel * Enrique Iglesias – songwriter, vocals *

Nadir Khayat Nadir Khayat ( ar, نادر الخياط; born 9 April 1972), better known by his stage name RedOne, is a Moroccan singer, songwriter, record producer and record executive. As a record producer and songwriter, he has worked with many high-profi ...

(RedOne) – songwriter, producer, instrumentation, programming, vocal editing *

– songwriter *Erika Nuri – songwriter *David Quiñones – songwriter *Carlos Paucar – vocal editing, recording, engineering *Johnny "Sev" Severin – vocal editing * Usher – vocals *

– vocals

Charts and certifications

Album version

Single remix

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2011 singles Dance-pop songs Enrique Iglesias songs Lil Wayne songs Song recordings produced by RedOne Songs written by Enrique Iglesias Songs written by E. Kidd Bogart Songs written by RedOne Universal Republic Records singles Usher (musician) songs Songs written by Erika Nuri Songs written by David Quinones Songs about dancing