Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s hit song from 2001, “Murder on the Dancefloor,” has re-entered the Top 10 charts after 22 years, thanks to its feature in the climactic scene of the movie “Saltburn,” directed by Emerald Fennell.
According to data from the Official Charts Company (OCC), the song reached No. 8 on the charts and had 2.2 million streams. Before the release of Saltburn on Amazon Prime, the song had a peak of 293,000 weekly streams.
Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s second solo release reached the No. 2 spot in December 2001, but was unable to surpass Daniel Bedingfield’s Gotta Get Thru This for the top spot.
The song’s sudden popularity was boosted by TikTok, with famous figures such as Paris Hilton using it as a soundtrack for videos, including one where she announced her pregnancy. The song’s hashtag has amassed over 40 million views on the platform.
According to BBC, Spotify reported that the song was included on various New Year’s Eve playlists and had its highest number of streams on December 31st, 2023 with 1.5 million plays.
44-year-old Ellis-Bextor shared with the OCC, “My music has always been a strong connection for me. One of the things I appreciate most about my work is its ability to constantly surprise me. Even after 20 years, I still have a great relationship with ‘Murder on the Dancefloor’. I thoroughly enjoy singing and performing it, and what’s happening right now with it is truly special.”
She expressed gratitude to her fans for embarking on a “magical adventure” with her song and shared that she is thoroughly enjoying the experience.
The final scene of Saltburn features the song and shows protagonist Oliver, portrayed by Barry Keoghan, dancing without clothes in his university friends’ mansion. He has killed the matriarch Elspeth and taken over the mansion and the family’s wealth.
In recent times, a popular trend has emerged where a song gains popularity due to its inclusion in a movie or television series. For example, in 2022, Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill reached the top spot on the charts after being featured in Netflix’s Stranger Things.
Earlier this week, Ellis-Bextor marked the song’s climb in the midweek charts by sharing a video of her performing it while wearing a pair of antlers, a symbol of the Saltburn estate, as a nod to Oliver’s dance moves in the scene.
Pass over the promotion for the newsletter.
after newsletter promotion
According to Ellis-Bextor’s interview with the BBC, she was aware of Fennell’s plans for using the song when she requested permission for it to be included in the movie. She had previously watched the controversial and graphic film with her mother, Janet Ellis, and her 19-year-old son, Sonny. She expressed concern about how her son would react to the more explicit scenes while watching the movie with his mother and grandmother.
“He expressed that he thoroughly enjoyed the film, as it made it into his list of top 10 favorite films. Although I was concerned, I couldn’t help but have moments where I buried my face in my hands while watching – you can probably guess which parts.”
The top song of the week is “Stick Season” by Noah Kahan, a Vermont-based singer-songwriter. This is his first time at the top of the UK charts. In the previous week, it was one of the only three non-Christmas songs in the Top 40, but many of those songs have since fallen out of the charts in the first week of the new year.
Source: theguardian.com
