The 50 Best Dance Songs of 2022: Staff Picks

The creative collision of these Swedes culminated in a dance-pop single with clear staying power, so much so that it’d go on to spend 26 weeks on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart—and in good company, at that. (Upon its release in April, “Words” was settling into the chart while Alesso and Katy Perry’s self-confident collab, “When I’m Gone,” was coasting into its 16th week.) Zara Larsson’s forward confessions of romantic feelings that might or might not be requited add vocal muscle to a tune that affirms what’s long been known about Alesso: he can just as capably command radio airwaves as he can a main stage. —RACHEL NAROZNIAK

Overthinking and anticipatory grief are a paradoxically sobering cocktail; take it from Alison Wonderland. The third single from her third studio album, Loner (which debuted at No. 3 on the Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart), traces the arc of an all-consuming, anxiety-fueled panic rooted in the fear of loss. But in signature Wonderland style, she stares fear in the face, her gaze unfaltering — even amid the climactic hop-skip of drums, tumble of breaks and blip of synths. —R.N.

From her days singing electro-pop bursts with AlunaGeorge to demonstrating her equivalent production skills on her phenomenal 2020 debut solo LP Renaissance, Aluna’s output is vital to club culture, and in 2022 she continued that legacy via “Forget About Me.” With the help of frequent collaborator Diplo and Anjunadeep regular Durante, Aluna added another enduring hook (along with a deep, seething beat), to her catalog.  – HARRY LEVIN

On “Break the Rules,” the final single from his expansive double album, Duality, Andrew Bayer taps the resplendent house vocalist Kaleena Zanders for one of her trademark anthemic performances, designed to break through even the most jaded listener’s sonic malaise. Still, it’s Bayer who embodies the track’s title: After a decade-plus career as a trance/progressive artist, the Anjunabeats mainstay delivers a house track with an unexpectedly shattering bass drop. – ZEL MCCARTHY

It’s safe to say Barry Can’t Swim delivered on his one-to-watch status in 2022. In April, the Scottish producer released his latest EP, More Content, on Ninja Tune’s Technicolour label. More than a co-sign from one of electronic music’s biggest tastemakers, the EP showed that Barry’s more than the jazzy, summer-beckoning house through which he initially made his name. “God Is the Space Between Us,” the EP’s introspective lead single, leans more into winter with its breakbeats and melancholic vibe. Made in the isolation of lockdown, its message of connection — inspired by the 1995 film Before Sunrise — felt ever resonant as ravers continued their return to the dancefloor. – KRYSTAL RODRIGUEZ

Beyoncé’s “Break My Soul” was such a moment, it earned an MTV Video Music Award nomination without even having a music video. Such is the power of the Queen. With Hot 100 stalwarts Tricky Stewart and The-Dream on production, the harbinger of the icon’s mirrorball era earned its house cred through invoking the synths of Robin S’s “Show Me Love,” underscoring its role as an everyfan anthem, unifying dancefloors in a discordant era. – Z.M.

While their 2021 album, Isles, was finely tuned for headphones, Bicep’s latest is made to dominate club soundsystems. Written with the duo’s frequent collaborator, vocalist Clara La San, “Water” opens in the deep end, bypassing any chance to merely get our toes wet. Pulsating bass anchors La San’s mezzo throughout, but it’s the midpoint when we’re introduced to the track’s signature: high-end laser synths that could make even Wario smile. – Z.M.

With roots in three disparate regions of the Francophone world (Quebec, Haiti, and Mali, respectively), the triumvirate of Blond:ish, Francis Mercier, and Amadou & Mariam could have easily descended into the musical language of banality, built around their most obvious common denominators. Instead, “Sete” sees each artist drawing from the rhythmic edges, forging a global groove more unifying than “Tukoh Taka” ever imagined. – Z.M.

Coming from Bonobo’s seventh studio album Fragments, released in January by his longtime label Ninja Tune, “Age of Phase” shimmers with urgency, with a vocal sample chopped into indecipherable bits playing like a language you’ve heard spoken only in a dream. That spiritual center of the track is layered heavily with bells, synths and complex percussion, giving this one the same signature depth and nuance Bonobo has made his name on, while simultaneously evolving the signature sound he’s become known for over his 20-year career.  – KATIE BAIN

Channel Tres is walking into his pop icon era, and we are following him every step of the way. The producer, rapper, singer and all-around performer has grown from cool-scene favorite to breakout star, and his forthcoming debut LP Real Cultural Sh*t is his ticket to the top of the pops. This slick-as-hell tune is just a taste of the funk perfection to come. “6am is a happy song, and I never really let myself make happy songs,” he says. “Some people get off work at 6:00 a.m., some people leave the club at 6:00 a.m. and this can be the soundtrack to it all.” – KAT BEIN

If Crash was producer/singer/songwriter Charli XCX’s album of pure dance pop, “Used to Know Me” is a reminder that the hyperpop icon knows her house music history. Structured around an extensive interpolation of Robin S’s “Show Me Love,” the song is an ode to reinvention and a declaration of freedom for an artist who wears those values proudly, and for her audience who cheers loudly as she does. – Z.M.

“Work, baby, work,” demands the April anthem from Confidence Man’s sophomore LP, Tilt. And boy baby, does it. The Australian electro-pop duo threw the kitchen sink at this one, piling on insistent ‘90s piano house stabs, layers of percussion, an air-raid siren and a gospel choir proclaiming the song’s titular declaration at full throttle. Hectic like a strobe light on a packed dancefloor, “Feels Like a Different Thing” is a full-on, all-in, energy-rising heater that brought a sweat-soaked spirit of theatricality to clubs and radio waves this year.  – K. Bain

Amid warm synths and an unimposing guitar riff, Miguel makes a rare appearance in the dance genre on a record that sits among the 2023 Grammy Award nominees for best dance/electronic recording. Hailing from Diplo’s eponymous 2022 LP — his first full-length electronic album in 18 years, also up for best dance/electronic album — “Don’t Forget My Love” hears Miguel make the song’s sweet titular appeal. Combining the butterflies-in-the-stomach feeling of new love with the innocence of first love, “Don’t Forget My Love” also earned both Diplo (as a solo artist) and Miguel their first No. 1 on Billboard‘s Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart. The pair also star in the song’s music video, which puts an unsettling twist on the idea of unforgettable romance. —R.N.

Is it warm in here, or is it just Disclosure and Raye? “We all knew within five minutes we were gonna make a UKG summer sunshine banger, and that’s exactly what we ended up with,” the English duo says of their March single “Waterfall.” A smooth mélange of U.K. garage drums and synths accented by vocals from Raye, “Waterfall” is one of only two originals released this year by the Lawrence brothers — who’ve mastered the art of doing a lot with a little, on a single that’s detailed, but not overdeveloped. —R.N.

Two absolute groove titans came together in one of the most surprising collaborations of 2022. Zedd and Disclosure have both bridged the gap between pop and dance with chart-topping hits and A-list collaborators. Still, we’d never imagined their distinctive styles to be siblings. Turns out the blend of Zedd’s textures and Disclosure’s soulful melodies is exactly what our dancing feet craved. – K. Bein

DJ_Dave arrived on a wave of synths in April via her hypnotic “Castles.” A masterful fusion of pop and electronic, the song gallops confidently while giving vibes reminiscent of a lighter take on The Knife’s classic “Silent Shout.” Its release helped cement the NYC-based producer as a rising star of 2022, with her method of live coding shows – a process called algorave – further distinguishing her from the pack. – K. Bain

DJ Minx is a Detroit house hero, founder of the Women of Wax DJ collective and record label, and an award-winning DJ who’s been putting in the work since the ‘90s. She started this year with the infectious single “Do It All Night,” a true masterclass in the power of one truly solid, hypnotic groove. DJ Minx lands in this loop and works it for nearly eight minutes, and if we’re being honest, we could ride with it another 10. – K. Bein

It’s no secret that tech house has a hold on the U.S, dance scene, with tracks from the genre ruling the Beatport Top 100, and countless producers embracing the genre over the last 12 months. In this state of inundation, there need to be artists that maintain the integrity of the sound, and Australian favorite Dom Dolla did just that via tracks like “Miracle Maker.” The track is a high-octane scorcher furnished with intricacies that showcase both his attention to detail and the white hot vocals of Clementine Dougles, who recently snagged BBC Radio 1’s dance vocalist of the year award for this and other power-lunged efforts.  – H.L.

Two years into this decade, Dragonette’s Martina Sorbara is still mourning the last one. This track’s production (from Dan Faber, known for work with Dizzee Rascal, Lizzo, Tkay Maidza) is undeniably precise, while lyrical allusions to Lil Jon and Miley Cyrus convey some ambiguity. In the music video from director Wendy Morgan, Sorbara strips while bicycling through the Toronto suburbs, ending up topless and unafraid of anything, including the passage of time. – Z.M.

With Honestly, Nevermind, Drake released what’s statistically the biggest dance album of the year, the Canadian superstar delving into low-key house vibes via the stuttering “Sticky.” Producer Gordo — who reached No. 1 on Hot 100 Producers chart for his work on the LP — masterfully blended Drake’s rap roots with his house music makeover, with Drake’s sentimental flow beautifully translating to the dance floor on this gritty head-bobber. – LUCAS VILLA

If 2022 was a banner year for U.K. dance music, then consider Eliza Rose its face. The budding British artist’s “B.O.T.A.,” made alongside producer Interplanetary Criminal, sparkles with a youthful joie de vivre and a warmth that comes from gassing yourself up with the track’s main refrain: “She’s the baddest of them all.” From a bouncy, noughties-recalling club cut, “B.O.T.A.” ballooned beyond the dancefloor into TikTok virality — and also topped the U.K. Singles Chart, making it the first No. 1 by a female DJ in over two decades. – K.R.

In the two years since his previous collaboration with L.A.-based singer/producer Lorely Rodriguez, a.k.a. Empress Of, co-writer/co-producer BJ Burton has racked up credits on some of pop’s biggest releases, from the likes of Kacey Musgraves and Taylor Swift. Listeners straining to hear a commonality between those records and “Dance for You” might be dismayed, but they’ll instead be treated to one of the best 2022 dance-pop confections two-and-a-half minutes can contain. – Z.M.

Though her DJ sets are perhaps why 2022 may go down as a breakthrough year for ESSEL, the Liverpool, U.K.-based artist was also busy dropping half a dozen original tracks and a fistful of remixes on tastemaking imprints like Toolroom and Solotoko. Among this bounty, it’s “Bubblegum,” released on seminal U.K. label 3Beat, that perhaps best showcases the smart and infectious personality of the artist, foreshadowing a sticky career ahead. – Z.M.

There was already a spiritual thread between the Four Tet oeuvre and that of Fred again.., but in June that connection became tangible with “Jungle,” a collaboration between the U.K. legend (whose work on the track is uncredited) and the U.K.’s new crowned prince of electronic music. Released in June while the artist born Fred Gibson was on a tear — after breakout shows at Coachella in April, and just before his viral Boiler Room set in August — “Jungle” hits like a shot of adrenaline to the heart, with the pair sampling vocals from Elley Duhé’s “Immortal” and turning out a production that falls amongst the raviest work of either’s catalog. – K. Bain

When Fred again.., HAAi and The xx’s Romy all teamed up for power collaboration “Lights Out” back in January, Billboard Dance called it “arguably the best peak time anthem of the year thus far.” A bold statement? Yes. A true statement, however? Also yes. “Lights Out” celebrates the practice of dancing in the dark, but it’s also about resilience. The combination of Romy’s soul-piercing vocals, skittering drums, strobing synths and swelling sirens results in a bittersweet banger that we — as she puts it herself — “never want [it] to end.” – K.R.

Some songs are cool for keeping a vibe on the dance floor, and then some tracks are designed to rip you from your reveries, grabbing you by the throat until everyone is throwing their phones up to Shazam what the heck it is that just transformed the room. Gorgon City’s October release “Sidewindah” is one of those latter tunes, due in large part to Flirta D’s manic vocal that’s been chopped and freaked to absolute mind-bending perfection. Pair that with piano-crashing keys and buzzy bass burps, and you’ve got a truly weird and wonderful must-hear bop. – K. Bein

In the company of Canadian metal band Spiritbox, future bass pioneer Illenium breaks from his anthemic custom to embrace a heavy, melancholic sound antithetical to the melodic, often euphoric, reverie of his repertoire. Stylistically, it’s not a whim nor a phase, but rather a new chapter. “This new album is my favorite one…it’s the most ‘me,’ but it’s definitely not gonna be everyone’s favorite…if you’re into songs like ‘Feel Something’ [with rock band I Prevail], ‘Story of My Life,’ ‘Shivering,’ ur probably gonna love it,” he stated on Reddit. The forthcoming project, led by “Shivering,” will be his fifth studio album, following 2021’s Fallen Embers, which won him his first Billboard Music Award (for top dance/electronic album) in May. — R.N.

After “Ferrari” dropped in March, it seemed everyone in the dance scene became aware of English producer James Hype. The track – one of the year’s most successful examples of dance tracks sampling early-2000s hits – garnered Hype international reverence, a remix treatment from Oliver Heldens and a major label signing with Universal. What’s more, the song is worthy of all the hype (pun intended), with its slick sampling of P. Diddy’s “I Need a Girl (Part 2)” and a groove as refined as it is funky.  – H.L.

As the post-pandemic world continued to open up this past year with festivals and concerts, Jamie Jones ushered in good times and good vibes with “My Paradise.” The Welsh producer evoked the electronic music scene of Ibiza in his tropical house anthem, out via Defected, the U.K. powerhouse label that also had a massive 2022. With layers of horns, piano, a funky bassline and a soulful voice resolutely proclaiming, “You made my lonely life a paradise,” Jones made the world feel larger than life again with this breezy banger.  – L.V.

When Jamie xx returned to the scene with April’s “Let’s Do It Again,” the titular sentiment held a double meaning: The track marked the U.K. producer’s first release in two years while also serving as a warm welcome back to dancefloors as clubs and festivals opened en masse post-pandemic. Certainly the song embodies that gleeful, high-speed feeling of running into your friends in the dance tent, with the bouncy house production laying a foundation for almost deliriously upbeat vocals insisting “I wanna get high on love with you!” Let’s do it again, indeed.  – K. Bain

Disco: It’s still one of the best moods in music, and Jessie Ware taps into this endless fountain of funk and groove for “Free Yourself,” a bright and evocative summer single the British singer called “the beginning of a new era for me.” This track bursts into the room like a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day, inviting you to stop worrying about what others might think, and to follow your pleasure to whatever heights the universe has in store. – K. Bein

2022 was a breakthrough year for John Summit, the Chicago-born phenom who pushed house music to steamy places with the tropical “La Danza.” In the tech house banger, vocals delivered in Spanish invite listeners to sweat it out on the dance floor, with Summit clearly finding his global groove on a track that demonstrated Latin music’s continued permeation of every genre – including, and especially, dance music. – L.V.

Kaskade and deadmau5 teased their superduo collaboration at Kaskade’s July 2021 show at SoFi stadium in Los Angeles, where the pair shared the stage for their 2008 classic “I Remember” while standing under the cryptic symbol, “Kx5.” Eight months later they revealed its meaning upon the release of the debut Kx5 single, “Escape.” Made of the same progressive DNA as “I Remember,” the track drips with emotion while maintaining the pristine, glowing production these two legends are known for, altogether serving as the foundation for British singer Hayla to belt the query, “What if I escape with you?” – H.L.

We weren’t ready for the superstar mash-up of music’s smoothest personalities, but as soon as we heard Kaytra and .Paak were droppin’ a treat, we rushed to press play. “Twin Flame” is sexy and cool, with an immediately accessible and soulful groove that still pushes the listener with its challenging rhythm. It’s the pop hit that can get rinsed 1.7 million times and still feel like some kind of underground gem. – K. Bein

Kelela returned with her first new original single in five years, “Washed Away” — and what a return it was. Described by the avant artist as “an ambient heart-check,” “Washed Away” is a transcendent synth shower filled with Kelela’s angelic runs and soothing vocals. Spiritually, it evokes the feeling you get when staring at the horizon at the edge of ocean’s tide: of serenity, vastness and the realization of being so very small on this earthly plane. Truly divine. – K.R.

The past couple of years have no shortage of tunes sampling ‘90s and early 2000s vocals (especially in the increasingly formulaic tech house corner of the club), but this explosive mood from Four Tet’s KH alias is anything but ordinary. Working with a sample of 3LW’s 2000 track “No More (Baby I’ma Do Right),” the froggy bass synths of “Looking At Your Pager” rumble with unpredictable quirk, while the toy-like top melodies give the whole tune an air of innocent fun. “I wanted something new to play that would feel universal, positive and futuristic,” the producer says, and we’d say he nailed it. – K. Bein

While other marquee DJs deviated from their signature sounds in 2002 – with Calvin Harris exploring lo-fi hip-hop and Swedish House Mafia doing their take on house and IDM – Kygo dug his heels further into what he does best: the seamless fusion of dance and pop. This year, the product of this effort was “Dancing Feet,” a collaboration between the Norwegian producer and Joe Jonas’ DNCE project that stacked piano stabs, a brass section and Kygo’s signature chopped-up vocal chorus into one of his slickest singles to date. – K. Bain

LF System revisited the ‘70s disco era with their breakthrough hit, “Afraid To Feel.” The Scottish duo, Conor Larkman and Sean Finnigan, revamped a sample of the 1979 Silk classic “I Can’t Stop (Turning You On)” into a vibrant, soulful house music anthem that also made history this year when it became the longest-running U.K. No. 1 dance track of the decade thus far, with eight weeks atop the Official U.K. Charts. – L.V.

Lizzo released one of the biggest anthems of the year with “About Damn Time,” which reached No. 1 on the Hot 100 and also got a dance world crossover when German favorite Purple Disco Machine transformed the feel-good track into a dance-floor scorcher. As if the song couldn’t be any more fierce and fabulous, Purple Disco Machine helped Lizzo find a galactic groove in the clubs by expanding the disco influence of the Special standout with some additional house bounce.  – L.V.

If you don’t know who Lolahol is, to quote her famous mother, “Look it up.” Still, it’s one of her mother’s acolytes who is invoked on Lolahol’s debut single, via Mother Monster’s “plane, bus, club” meme. Lyrical winks to pop audiences aside, it’s assists from experimental artist Eartheater and her frequent collaborator, producer Kiri Stensby (aka Hara Kiri), that transform “Lock&Key” into a quintessentially 2022 sensation of d’n’b-infused electronica. – Z.M.

“When I dropped it the whole place just turned upside down. After posting a video of that on my Instagram I started to get a lot of messages about it, and from there on the rollercoaster just never ended,” Dutch producer Mau P told Billboard of his August breakout hit “Drugs From Amsterdam.” The tech house anthem was a genre standout that hit as hard as its titular controlled substances, reaching No. 1 on Beatport’s overall chart and currently enjoying an 11-week run on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs. – K. Bain

Now that Annie Mac has retired from BBC Radio 1, she’s transitioned from supporting nascent artists with airplay to building them up in other ways, and Melle Brown has been the recipient of this expert guidance. Mac booked the London-born producer for Mac’s club series, Before Midnight, along with her Lost & Found festival in Malta — and also contributed her legendary voice to Melle’s “Feel About You.” Mac’s spoken-word lyrics are an homage to romantic love and lend themselves perfectly to a silky groove that blends house, neo-soul and jazz. Don’t sleep on the DJ Koze mix, either. – H.L.

Another one of Billboard Dance’s Artists to Watch in 2022, Nia Archives is helping bridge the gap between U.K. jungle and the world. The producer, DJ and singer-songwriter creates addicting, vibe-setting soundscapes with lyrics that could have come out of our own Instagram captions (or Twitter drafts). Her song “Luv Like” turns heavy topics like body dysmorphia and self-love into a dreamy bop with mellow guitar plucks and jittering breakbeats. “I was nervous to talk about it, but the response I’ve got has been quite crazy,” Archives told Apple Music. “A lot of people messaged me saying they can really relate to it.” – K.R.

You never forget your first music festival. While most of us can only look back at blurry photos and shaky videos taken on our phones, English duo piri & tommy wrote a song about their first fest – Manchester’s Parklife 2021 – “on & on.” A hybrid of sugary pop and aqueous drum & bass, “on & on” perfectly bottles the peak-summer essence of muggy days and sleepless nights; of being young, broke and stoned, and eating a pizza slice the size of your head. Above all, it’s about living in the now: “We’ve got tomorrow left to ground us.” – K.R.

The inverse of romantic rapture is a dwindling flame, at least on “Something About Your Love“/”Missing You,” the double-single with which SG Lewis lays the conceptual groundwork for his second studio album, AudioLust & HigherLove, due January 27, 2023 via Astralwerks. Lewis’ dichotomous study of the “darker, lusty, infatuated, short-lived, and ego-driven” and the “much deeper, actualized, and fulfilled” versions of love commences with the twofer. Taking cues from Daft Punk’s Discovery, “Something About Your Love” embodies buzzy, total-body infatuation — a sharp contrast to the waning interest lyrically chronicled on its ‘80s synth-inflected accompaniment. — R.N.

Sofi Tukker continued keeping dance music refreshing with “Summer in New York.” The duo’s love letter to the Big Apple perfectly captures the bustling life of summer in the city — with a little help from an interpolation of another NYC homage, Suzanne Vega’s “Tom’s Diner.” Colliding grit and glamor with kaleidoscopic beats, the song also served as the soundtrack of the US Open promo campaign on ESPN. – L.V.

This first half of the year, anonymous duo Two Shell had a grip on the electronic community with an online magazine interview that “self-destructed” after eight hours, a question-raising Boiler Room performance –  in which the pair performed in bizarre costumes that left some wondering if it was even them – and not least of all, their similarly cheeky bass music. “Ghosts,” the opener of their Icons EP, sounds like the control system of a malfunctioning robot. Short bursts of stuttering vocals drive the track like a short-circuiting brain occasionally capable of comprehensible thought. Cheeky: yes, but also cerebral and a little dark — perfect. – K.R.

Given her relative dearth of underground bonafides, Taylor Swift turned more than a few house heads when she enlisted DJ/producer Jayda G to remix the first single from Midnights. Reimagined as a buoyant, upbeat piano house jam, the vocals of this “Anti-Hero” crescendo into an original violin riff—courtesy of the classically-trained violinist-remixer herself — delivering the rare major-label remix that honors the original while showcasing the remixer’s own distinctive artistry. – Z.M.

Released only six weeks after Sofia Carson’s “It’s Only Love, Nobody Dies,” Tove Lo’s “No One Dies From Love,” could be heard as a response track; the chorus completes a lyrical couplet with the title by supposing, “I guess I’ll be the first.” Yet from the opening arpeggiated synths to the foot-stomping final minute, the track is (perhaps ironically) one of the most life-affirming in Lo’s delightfully dark pop catalogue. – Z.M.

One might assume that because Warner Case has fun with his music, he doesn’t take it seriously. Au contraire: The NYC-based producer’s commitment to the art of musical seduction is earnest, a raison d’être first established on 2019’s “If It Fits,” and brought to glorious denouement on 2022’s undulating “show you how i feel.” Topped with vocals from Parisian producer Carl Caste, this could be the best of Case’s oeuvre yet. — Z.M.