Sophia Ellis-Bextor Celebrates 'Murder On The Dancefloor' Success Despite 'Saltburn' Oscar Snub

Sophie Ellis-Bextor
OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images

In the past few years, period media (may it be in television or film), has helped songs from a different generation to be reintroduced in a newer one thanks to masterful use or integration into the material.

If successful, the song experienced its renaissance, much like Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill" which peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, released in 1985, after it was featured in "Stranger Things."

The same thing is happening to Sophie Ellis-Bextor's "Murder On The Dancefloor" after it was used in Emerald Fennell's "Saltburn." While many thought that it would secure some Academy Award nominations, the film was snubbed.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor Celebrates 'Murder On The Dancefloor' Success

Speaking to Variety about the success the song has amassed, Sophie Ellis-Bextor was thrilled to see the song flourish 23 years after it was released.

"I'm just so glad I'm still on such good terms with the song," the British singer admitted. "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."

Since being used in the film, "Murder On The Dance Floor" has become a part of pop culture fabric again. The chorus was used on TikTok on more than 500,000 videos, propelling the song to the heights of various music charts.

Since the film has been made available on Prime Video, "Saltburn" made its Billboard Hot 100 debut at No. 98, and it started peaking at No. 58.

When 2024 came, it topped the Spotify Viral 50 chart and TikTok Viral 50 chart. In the United Kingdom, it rules the Dance Singles Chart and is at No. 2 on the Spotify Top 50 UK Daily.

Initially, Ellis-Bextor wasn't sure how it would be placed in the film when she gave consent for its usage.

"I didn't really know exactly how it would play in terms of the role it was in the movie until I saw it at the screening, but I absolutely loved it," she confessed to People Magazine. "I think it's such a clever, funny, smart film. I really enjoyed it."

The British singer even met Keoghan after watching the film and said that they had a "giggle" talking about the now-iconic last part.

Saltburn Oscar Snub

Sadly, the film, despite its wild acclaim from fans and critics, was one of the many films that were snubbed at the 2024 Academy Awards.

The 2023 film had Barry Keoghan and Rosamund Pike nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actor and Actress for a Motion Picture Drama earlier this year. It was also nominated for Best Production Design, Best Cinematography, and Best Picture at the 2024 Critics' Choice Awards.

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