Can We Dance

For the 2004 song from the album Stronger Together, see D-Side.
"Can We Dance"
Single by The Vamps
from the album Meet the Vamps
Released6 August 2013
Recorded2013
GenrePop
Length3:11
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Espionage
  • Bruno Mars
The Vamps singles chronology
"Can We Dance"
(2013) 		"Wild Heart"
(2014)
Music video
"Can We Dance" on YouTube

"Can We Dance" is the debut single by British 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 (2014). The song debuted and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, being kept off the top spot by OneRepublic's "Counting Stars".

Background

"Can We Dance" was written by Karl Michael, Bruno Mars, Philip Lawrence, Timz Lam[2] and Espionage, and produced by Mars and Espionage.

Music video

The official music video was uploaded to YouTube on 6 August 2013. It features The Vamps playing to a crowd of screaming fans in lead singer Bradley Simpson'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 October 22, 2024, the video has over 96 million views.[3]

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 UK Singles Chart, 13,000 copies ahead of its nearest competitor, "Counting Stars" by OneRepublic, which had been climbing the chart for two months.[4] Two days later, "Can We Dance" was still on course to reach the top, but "Counting Stars" was now just 6,000 copies behind.[5] 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.[6] In the closest chart battle of 2013 (at the time), there were just 1,150 copies separating the two songs.[7] On 29 November, the song was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry 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 at number 47, before eventually rising to its peak of number 17.[8] It spent a total of 13 weeks in the Australian top 50.[8] On 14 February 2014, it was announced that the song had been certified Platinum in Australia for sales of over 70,000.[9] In New Zealand, "Can We Dance" debuted at number 35 and later rose to number 19, staying there for two weeks.[10]

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[11]
  1. "Can We Dance" (Single version) – 3:11
  2. "Year 3000" – 3:20
  3. "MMMBop" – 4:01
  4. "Teenage Kicks" (Live) – 1:54
  • CD1
  1. "Can We Dance" (Single version) – 3:11
  2. "Mr. Brightside"
  3. "22"
  4. "Wild Heart" (Live)
  • CD2 (James edition)
  1. "Can We Dance" (James' version) – 3:40
  2. "Little Things"
  • CD3 (Connor edition)
  1. "Can We Dance" (Connor's version) – 3:41
  2. "Weightless"
  • Digital download – Remix EP[12]
  1. "Can We Dance" (James' version) – 3:40
  2. "Can We Dance" (Connor's version) – 3:41
  3. "Can We Dance" (Tristan's version) – 3:38
  4. "Can We Dance" (Brad's demo version) – 3:37
  5. "Can We Dance" (Seamus Haji club mix) – 6:06

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[19] Platinum 70,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[20] Platinum 600,000‡

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Country Date Format Label Ref.
Australia 6 August 2013 Digital download
[21]
Ireland [22]
United Kingdom [11]

References

  1. ^ "AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  2. ^ "AllMusic". AllMusic.
  3. ^ "The Vamps - Can We Dance (Official Video)". YouTube. 6 August 2013. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  4. ^ Corner, Lewis (2 October 2013). "Justin Timberlake, The Vamps lead midweek chart update". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
  5. ^ Corner, Lewis (4 October 2013). "Chart update: Justin Timberlake, Haim, The Vamps". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
  6. ^ a b "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  7. ^ "OneRepublic beat The Vamps to UK number one after heated chart battle". clickmusic.com. 6 October 2013. Archived from the original on 2014-01-02. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  8. ^ a b c "The Vamps – Can We Dance". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  9. ^ London Newsdesk (14 February 2014). "The Vamps' 'Can We Dance' goes platinum in Australia". Pressparty. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  10. ^ a b "The Vamps – Can We Dance". Top 40 Singles.
  11. ^ a b "Can We Dance - The Vamps - Single". iTunes Store (UK). Apple. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
  12. ^ Can We Dance (Remixes) - EP by The Vamps on iTunes
  13. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 05. týden 2014 in the date selector.
  14. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Can We Dance". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  15. ^ "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100.
  16. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  17. ^ "End of Year Singles Chart Top 100 – 2013". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  18. ^ "Utwory, których słuchaliśmy w radiu – Airplay 2014" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
  19. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2014 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association.
  20. ^ "British single certifications – Vamps – Can We Dance". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  21. ^ "Can We Dance - The Vamps - Single". iTunes Store (AUS). Apple. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  22. ^ "Can We Dance - The Vamps - Single". iTunes Store (IRE). Apple. Retrieved 4 October 2013.