Gays have always had the best taste in music, curating playlists and posting bops that could inspire even the most curmudgeony heteros to hit the dance floor.
Or at least tap their toes.
And as it turns out, it goes even deeper than just knowing the newest pop girly or having a collection of Madonna remixes on your hard drive.
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According to a new study from Science Advances, there’s actually a scientific reason why certain tunes propel us to dance more than others.
Apparently, “a rhythm of moderate complexity” in a track “triggers the highest desire to move,” hitting the left sensorimotor complex in our brains and “hinting at a deeply intertwined relationship between motor actions and sensory processes.”
Basically, the right level of grooviness tickles our minds and signals to the rest of our body the desire to start shaking our groove thangs.
So, Deee-Lite was right when they said, “Groove Is In the Heart.” But it’s also in the brain, too.
Honestly, we didn’t need a team of researchers to tell us that some songs –– namely those by our favorite LGBTQ+ artists and allies –– are better than others. But it’s still nice to get that scholarly validation.
We hit the Queerty Research Lab –– a.k.a. our most banging Spotify playlists –– to conduct our own study on what modern pop songs evoke the biggest need to dance.
1. “Dance To This” by Troye Sivan and Ariana Grande
It’s no secret that pop’s resident twink-king knows a good beat when he hears it. On last year’s Something to Give Each Other, Sivan transformed a 2009 Bag Raiders sample into a sexy late-night invitation on “Got Me Started,” while lead single “Rush” somehow evoked Village People, an undeniable house beat, and poppers fumes all at once.
Nevertheless, his dance floor-driving history can be traced back as far as the aptly titled “Dance to This.” Even without its straightforward lyrics, the 2018 electropop bop is a tension-filled synthy call to shake your shoulders.
2. “Padam Padam” by Kylie Minogue
Yes, it’s been nearly a year since Mother Minogue unleashed “Padam Padam” onto the world. But we still haven’t moved past the pulsating and hypnotic tune, which recently snatched Best Anthem at this year’s Queerties.
The choreography-inspiring psychology behind “Padam” likely runs as deep as its heartbeat-referencing lyrics, auditorily entering our blood stream and quickening our blood flow from that very first “I hear it and I know.”
3. “Stupid Love” by Lady Gaga
OK, the more obvious pick would have been Gaga’s breakout hit “Just Dance.” But there’s no denying the lead single from 2020’s Chromatica also inspires a synapse-tickling, house-drenched missive to move. Thank you Dr. Germanotta, Dr. BloodPop, and Dr. Tchami.
Furthermore, Gaga’s pop lore runs deeper than her discography. In 2011, the University of South Carolina at Columbia offered a 300-level academic course called “Lady Gaga and the Sociology of Fame.” The class was even taught by Mathieu Deflem, a professor who ran a fan site in his spare time and owned more than 300 of her albums on vinyl and CD at the time. Little Monsters in STEM are so important!
4. “Unholy” by Sam Smith and Kim Petras
What kind of sexual hyperpop sorcery did these two LGBTQ+ pop stars harness to make 2022’s “Unholy” so sonically addictive? In addition to its scandalous lyricism, a refrain that harkens back to Wizard of Oz‘s flying monkeys, and the Gregorian choir influence, the track apparently shifts “between the Phrygian and Phrygian dominant scales,” creating a suspenseful and horrific feeling a lá Jaws. You know, without the sharks and blood and everything.
And the science didn’t just hit the gays, either. There’s a good reason why both Smith and Petras became the first non-binary and trans artists to score a No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively.
5. “Break My Soul” by Beyoncé
And, of course, Beyoncé! There’s a reason why “Break My Soul”‘s thumping beats propelled fans to literally quit their jobs and empty their 401Ks on tour tickets. The 2022 diva-house bop builds upon movement-inspiring samples of Big Freedia’s “Explode” and Robin S.’s “Show Me Love” to command listeners to “release ya wiggle.”
In fact, Bey’s last album Renaissance is about to hit universities en masse. The HRC just debuted a new syllabus featuring “a sprawling collection of academic articles, essays, films and other pieces of media rooted in Black queer and feminist studies and directly inspired by each track” of the record, which will be shared with nearly 30 historically Black colleges across the country. Open the schools! Finally, queer Black herstory is getting the spotlight it deserves.
And there’s no doubt we’ll be further propelled to move (or at least square dance) when her new country record Cowboy Carter drops this Friday, March 23.
abfab
Groove is in the heart
He’s not vicious or malicious
Just de-lovely and delicious
I couldn’t ask for another
mildredspierce
One of the danciest songs ever!
nm4047
I must be gay, have 3 of the 5. The other 2, nah. A couple of Beyonce maybe considered but that would be about it, Sam Smith, sounds the same no matter what weight he is or what he wears.