Dance Again

Album: Dance Again... the Hits (2012)
Charted: 11 17
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Songfacts®:

  • This uptempo dance song finds Jennifer Lopez teaming up once again with Moroccan-born songwriter and producer RedOne, following their successful collaboration on On The Floor. "I wanna dance, and love, and dance again," Lopez sings on the hook. The song received its world premiere on On Air With Ryan Seacrest and was made available on iTunes four days later.
  • Speaking with Ryan Seacrest about the concept behind the song, Lopez said, "I love the message of the song. That when something bad happens, your life is not over. You have to get up. You're gonna live. You're gonna to be okay. You're gonna dance again."
  • "Dance Again" features Pitbull, marking the third time that Lopez and the Cuban-America rapper have collaborated on a song. They previously linked up on Lopez's promotional single "Fresh Out The Oven" and "On the Floor."
  • Paul Hunter, a longtime collaborator of Lopez', directed the music video. It premiered during the April 5, 2012 episode of American Idol.

    Lopez teamed up with her dancer boyfriend, Casper Smart, in the visual. It's not the first time Lopez recruited a real-life love to play her love interest in one of her promos. The singer/actress has appeared alongside her beaus Diddy, Ben Affleck, Chris Judd and Marc Anthony in previous clips.

    Lopez appears with very little clothing during the video, which also features an erotic orgy. Several commentators criticized its premiere on American Idol, which has a huge tween audience. Dan Gainor from the Media Research Center said: "J Lo's new orgy video is a typical example of why parents have found there are few family-friendly programs on TV... If even American Idol can't be trusted, is there anything appropriate for families anymore?"

    The visual also includes product placement for Jennifer Lopez' fragrance Glowing and Voli vodka, for which Pitbull is a spokesperson.
  • RedOne co-wrote the song with Enrique Iglesias, Bilal "The Chef," AJ Junior, and Pitbull. Lopez, whose husband Marc Anthony had just filed for divorce, heard a demo version and begged Iglesias to let her record the track. "I kind of took from Enrique Iglesias," she recalled to Apple Music's Zane Lowe in 2021. "That was his song. And I was like, 'This is my song. You have to let me do this song.' And he was like, 'That's my song.' And I was like, 'Please, it's my song. I'm telling you.' And it just represents happiness to me, because I love dancing so much because it's kind of my first love, it represents joy, happiness, a freedom."

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