Saltburn saga: How a provocative dance made a forgotten song a global Spotify hit
Starting at the beginning, "Saltburn" is the second high-profile film by the British director, who previously garnered industry attention and recognition three years ago with "A Promising Young Woman," starring Carey Mulligan. It's an ensemble piece featuring an array of Hollywood's hottest young actors, such as Barry Keoghan ("The Batman" "The Killing of a Sacred Deer") and Jacob Elordi . However, crowds did not swarm to the film merely because of its star-studded cast.
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Fennell's film is rife with provocative scenes like masturbating on a fresh grave or bathing in a tub where another character had just masturbated. Understandably, these sequences didn't make as much of an impact online as other more "refined" scenes.
Another dance goes viral
The case of "Saltburn" brings to mind the viral dance by Jenny Ortega in the Netflix series "Wednesday," which spread like wildfire across the internet. Even those who have never watched the series have likely encountered it. Moreover, people enthusiastically replicated and shared videos performing the iconic choreography.
Similarly, Keoghan's nude dance scene in "Saltburn" has become a standalone sensation. Affluent American children recreate it in their homes, joining the catchy trend without fully grasping the movie's essence. But does that even matter?
Revival of a forgotten song
Worth noting is how a spontaneously emerging TikTok trend contributed to the resurgence of a song more than two decades old: "Murder on the Dancefloor" from Sophie Ellis-Bextor's debut album "Read My Lips".
The track featured in the TOP10 of the UK's Official Singles Charts, highlighting the popularity of songs on streaming platforms and album sales. As "People" magazine noted, on the eve of New Year 2023 and 2024, the song registered the highest global plays on Spotify within a day of its history.
On New Year's Eve, the song racked up 1.5 million plays worldwide on Spotify, marking a 340% surge in listenership compared to last year's Eve. This achievement earned it a debut on the global list of songs on the streaming service, occupying the 130th spot.
The reason for this unexpected popularity of the song is self-evident. The hit experienced a 360% increase in online plays in the USA within the week following the premiere of "Saltburn" on November 22, 2023. Concurrently, the number of plays for Ellis-Bextor's referenced album surged by 340% in the same week.
The singer herself acknowledged the "Saltburn effect". On the last day of December of the previous year, the British songstress posted a video of herself dancing to her song, bringing this cinematic story full circle.
