Today, singer and songwriter Darren Criss releases his newest single, “I Can’t Dance,” via BMG.
This is the second in a series of new songs which Darren described as “character-driven singles.” He announced the track on Instagram earlier this week, writing, “Half masc, half fem, half bad bitch, half brazen baller. This song is an ode to both those we love to hate and those we hate to love. What can I say, I live for dualities.”
“I Can’t Dance” arrives on the heels of “f*kn around,” which Billboard described as “a slick alt-pop single built around a wiggly bass line.” MTV News praised, “With synthy distortions and a banging guitar loop, the song echoes the sharper edges of contemporaries like Shawn Mendes and Justin Timberlake’s with a theatrical flair fans have come to expect from Criss.” Darren made his late-night television performance debut with the single on The Late Late Show with James Corden alongside Este Haim of HAIM on bass, The Pocket Queen on drums, frequent collaborator and San Fermin frontwoman Charlene Kaye on guitar, and the track’s co-writer CJ Baran on keys.
Music has always played an integral role in Darren’s artistry. As a solo artist, his 2017 EP Homework debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Album chart. Criss has toured to sold-out audiences around the world including headlining the 2019 iHeartRadio Music Festival with multi-GRAMMY Award nominee and renowned DJ Steve Aoki. In 2019, he also headlined the Balmain Music Festival for the Balmain men’s spring 2020 show. He has been featured on the cover of numerous magazines including such music publications as Billboard and American Songwriter.
As a songwriter, Darren has penned songs for the comedy musical Royalties, for which he was also the creator and executive producer. He received his first Emmy nomination for songwriting in 2015 for Best Original Music and Lyrics for the song “This Time,” which appeared on Glee’s series finale. In addition to collaborations with fellow artists including Rufus Wainwright, Sabrina Carpenter, Bonnie McKee, Jordan Fisher, and many others, he has also written for Apple’s animated series “Central Park.”
