Dancing with a Stranger

According to Billboard, the collaboration happened through a chance encounter at a recording studio in Los Angeles. When Smith was writing a track with their frequent collaborator Jimmy Napes and the Norwegian production team Stargate, Normani happened to be in the studio next door. After talking, the two decided to work together.^[3]

Musically, "Dancing with a Stranger" is a disco-R&B^[4] and pop^[3] duet that contains 1980s-inspired R&B production.^[5] Smith, Normani, Napes, and Stargate wrote the song. The latter two also handled production for the track, alongside Danny D and Tim Blacksmith. Journalist Monica Mercuri of Forbes described the single as "sultry" and showing off the singer's "powerful" vocals.^[6] David Renshaw, writing for The Fader, called the song a "veer away from [Smith's] gentle soul sound".^[7] Lyrically, the song is about coping with loneliness and moving past a lost love.^[6] The song is composed in the key of A-flat major, with a tempo of 103 bpm in common time, according to Musicnotes.com.^[8]

Brittany Spanos, writing for Rolling Stone, stated that the song "plays to [Smith's] retro-leaning strengths and Normani's own solo vision of being a Sexy soul-dance diva". She concluded her review by calling the song "simple and fun".^[4] Rose Dommu of Out praised the duo's vocals, saying Normani's "sultry voice is the perfect counterpoint to Smith's own deep tone".^[9] Mike Nied of Idolator wrote that the song "expertly capture the frustration and loneliness of heartbreak, bottling it and presenting it as something both deeply personal and infinitely relatable".^[10] Billboard magazine called the song a "sexy earworm",^[11] lauding the pair's "standout vocal delivery", with Smith's "seductive falsetto accompanied by Normani's smoky counterpart".^[11]

Associated Press ranked it as the 2nd Best Song of 2019.^[12] Billboard ranked it 38th on their Best Songs of 2019 list.^[11] The song received praise from actress Reese Witherspoon, who dubbed it the "Song of the Summer".^[13]

In the United Kingdom, "Dancing with a Stranger" peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart in January 2019, becoming Smith's eleventh, and Normani's first top ten single in the UK as a solo artist.^[14] It was certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry.^[15] In the United States, the song peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 2019, making it Smith's sixth and Normani's second top-ten single as a solo artist.^[16] In May 2019, "Dancing with a Stranger" topped the US Radio Songs chart, becoming Smith's second and Normani's second chart topper there.^[17] It also topped the US Adult Top 40 and reached number two on the Mainstream Top 40 chart, behind "Sucker" by the Jonas Brothers.^[17][18] The song also topped the Big Top 40 chart.^[19]

In other countries, "Dancing with a Stranger" peaked inside the top ten in Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, Australia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Canada, South Africa, Singapore, Malaysia, Iceland, Lebanon, and Sweden.^[20][21] It was also certified 8× Platinum in Australia,^[22] 4× Platinum in Canada,^[23] 5× Platinum in New Zealand,^[24] and Gold in a few other European countries. "Dancing with a Stranger" was the most-played global radio song in 2019, according to Forbes.^[25] The song was also the 4th most-played song on the radio in 2019 in the US, receiving over 3.134 billion audience impressions, according to Billboard.^[26]

In March 2021, the single was named by the Official Charts as one of the most-streamed songs by a female artist in the United Kingdom.^[27] As of March 2022, the song has surpassed over three billion streams.^[28] It has sold over 10 million units worldwide, according to Capitol Records.^[29]

"Dancing with a Stranger" was selected by music executive Clive Davis for his quarantine playlist, which compiled songs that he and Barry Manilow considered to be "the most impactful and lasting songs of the 21st century" that the latter was set to cover.^[30] 5 Seconds of Summer performed a cover of the song for BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge.^[31] The band's version won an iHeartRadio Music Award for Best Cover Song.^[32][33] Kelly Clarkson sang a rendition of the track during her Meaning of Life Tour and told the audience that the two singers inspire her to "keep making music."^[34]

The music video was released on 29 January 2019.^[47] The video was directed by Vaughan Arnell and was shot in London. It features Smith and Normani moving and dancing through a "sleek, stark home"^[48] while being surrounded by hologram projections of dancers.

The music video for "Dancing with a Stranger" was the most viewed in the United Kingdom on Vevo in 2019,^[49] and was the second most viewed video in the United Kingdom on YouTube in 2019.^[50]

• Digital download^[51]

1. "Dancing with a Stranger" – 2:51

• Digital download (Acoustic)^[52]

1. "Dancing with a Stranger" (Acoustic) – 3:07

• Digital download (Cheat Codes Remix)^[53]

1. "Dancing with a Stranger" (Cheat Codes Remix) – 2:39

• 12-inch vinyl^[54]

1. "Dancing with a Stranger" – 2:51
2. "Dancing with a Stranger" (Instrumental) – 2:51

Credits adapted from Tidal.^[55]

• Sam Smith – vocals, songwriting
• Normani – vocals, songwriting
• Jimmy Napes – songwriting, production
• Stargate – songwriting, production, music production
• Randy Merrill – master engineering
• Kevin "KD" Davis – mixing