Lipa released Barbie the Album‘s lead single “Dance the Night” on Friday
It all “started with a DM.” After the official release of the Barbie soundtrack’s lead single “Dance the Night,” Mark Ronson shared his first-ever reach out (via IG DM) to Dua Lipa to join him on the song.
“Hey! I’m doing the songs for the Barbie movie with Margot Robbie as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken,” Ronson wrote Lipa. “It’s dir. by Greta Gerwig (Little Women, Ladybird) and it’s maybe the funniest script I’ve ever read, like [redacted] funny.”
“There’s a song with a huge 60 person dance number with the whole cast – I only have the track so far, as they started rehearsals, but I would fucking love it if you would consider co-writing and starring on it. I honestly think the movie’s going to be incredible,” Ronson continued in the message.
Clearly the message worked as Lipa — who plays a mermaid Barbie in the film — joined the soundtrack for its lead single. “It started with a DM… So over the moon excited that our song from this incredible movie is finally out today,” Ronson wrote on Instagram.
The release of “Dance the Night” comes several days after Rolling Stone exclusively revealed the stacked lineup of artists that are set to be featured on the soundtrack. Among the musicians participating are Ava Max, Charli XCX, HAIM, Lizzo, Nicki Minaj, Karol G, Tame Impala, and PinkPantheress.
Following the artist lineup reveal, Barbie released a second movie trailer, which included a snippet of a song by Minaj and Ice Spice that samples Aqua’s “Barbie Girl.”
“Dance the Night” sets the tone for Barbie, which shattered its own glossy image in an official trailer showing that life in paradise isn’t as dreamy as it seems. Like Margot Robbie’s Barbie, Lipa’s accompanying music video is as much glitter and glam as it is escapism and unease.