How a Nude Scene Got Everyone Listening to “Murder On The Dancefloor”

This piece originally appeared on January 18, 2024 in Sound Signal, our biweekly newsletter that identifies emerging artists, scenes, and trending tracks, crafted by the world's best writers and curators. Sign up here to never miss our take on what's next in music.

‍

Spoiler alert: The final scene of Saltburn—the Talented Mr. Ripley-meets-Brideshead Revisited psychological thriller—was made to go viral. Barry Keoghan’s character, Oliver Quick, dances naked through the empty manor for which the movie is titled to Sophie Ellis-Bextor's 2001 hit “Murder On The Dancefloor.”

‍

If you're online in any capacity, you'll understand why the scene has people talking. Saltburn’s soundtrack, which has been lauded and criticized, features ‘00s staples Bloc Party, Arcade Fire, Ladytron, MGMT, Cold War Kids, The Killers, and, of course, Flo Rida’s debut single, “Low,” featuring T-Pain. But it’s “Murder On The Dancefloor” that’s caught on as the film’s emblematic track. Since Saltburn hit streaming, Sophie Ellis-Bextor has seen her Spotify monthly listeners double (now at 11M) and her Chartmetric rank soar from 2700 to 174. The song has reached 268M Spotify streams, up 39M, and almost 4K air plays in the past month. And it inspired over 100K TikTok posts.

‍

A minor controversy has sprung up on TikTok, where every Saltburn-related video is posted along with “Murder On The Dancefloor.” Wealthy people have created a new “trend” for themselves: dancing to the track through their own huge houses. Critics of this trend claim that those posting these videos didn’t get the movie and that Saltburn's message was lost on them. As in, Don’t you get this is a class revenge film?

‍

Critics of those critics (and the film) argue that there wasn’t anything to get from Saltburn in the first place. It is indeed irritating and definitely cringe for wealthy TikTok users to emulate the dance the Charles Ryder/Tom Ripley character performs after rubbing out a family of aristocrats. But as Saltburn is ultimately empty of class commentary, the critique doesn’t actually stick.

‍

Either way, the film’s music supervisor, Kirsten Lane, understood the assignment. It’s not every day a song from a film soundtrack — an indie song from 2001 — gets so much traction. It’ll be hard to hear Ellis-Bextor and not think of Barry Keoghan murdering the dancefloor.

‍

If you’re aiming to uncover emerging artists, grasp key cultural shifts, or gain actionable insights from data-driven research, Third Bridge Creative delivers the expertise you need. Connect with our Music Intelligence team today to learn how we can help your organization navigate the cultural zeitgeist with precision and impact.