More than 20 years after the song was first released and following a recent surge in popularity —thanks almost entirely to Barry Keoghan‘s naked dance scene in “Saltburn” —Sophie Ellis-Bextor‘s “Murder on the Dancefloor” is getting a major moment at the BAFTAs.
The British Academy has announced that Ellis-Bextor will perform her smash hit at the film awards ceremony on Feb. 18, marking the latest stage in a triumphant comeback for the track, first released in December 2001.
The “Saltburn” effect has seen the disco romp become something of a viral sensation, amassing hundreds of thousands of TikTok videos and storming back up international charts. Just a few weeks after Emerald Fennell’s dark comedy landed on Amazon, Ellis-Bextor made her first-ever Billboard Hot 100 appearance with “Murder” bowing at No. 98 and continuing to rise since then. At the start of the year, it crowned Spotify’s Viral 50 chart in the U.S.
On home soil in the U.K., where the song peaked at No. 2 following its original release, it recently hit the top of the Dance Singles Chart and currently stands at No. 2 on the Spotify Top 50 U.K. list with more than half a million plays.
“I’m just so glad I’m still on such good terms with the song,” Ellis-Bextor told PvNew in a recent interview. “It’s been communal, it’s been owned by other people for so long already. I’m really happy to keep sharing it. It’s given me a real adventure.”
At the BAFTA ceremony, which David Tennant is set to host, “Saltburn” is nominated for five awards, including Keoghan for leading man. Given his birthday-suited assistance in helping “Murder on the Dancefloor” reach its new heights, however he reacts to the performance may well create a viral moment similar to Ariana DeBose’s peculiar rap at the BAFTAs last year.
