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Hello! I present to you my top 10 first dance songs for 2021! 2021 has been an amazing year for weddings and first dances have been a huge part of that. Learn all about my top 10 first dance songs and so much more in today’s guide. There’s a first dance for everyone in this list so come and find your perfect song. 2021 rocks for weddings!
Speaking of 2021 weddings, we have a great offer that may be right up your street…
I’ve helped many wedding couples choose a first dance in my main role as a wedding musician performing in our wedding bands here at Seventh Second over the years. I’ve also organised my own first dance for my wedding so I know how hard it can be to narrow down your choices let alone pick a first dance!
I’ll admit it, we’re wedding music nerds here at Seventh Second. We’re obsessed with making sure every couple has the wedding of their dreams and a big part of that dream is your first dance. Our customers are used to this high level of dedication and it’s why I work long into the night collating my top 10 guides for you all. This guide is no exception and below you can see what I did to make sure these are the ultimate top 10 first dance songs for 2021!
As many of you now know, I also give you so much more than a simple top 10 list. That would just be far too boring! There’s some great info included which is designed to be fun to read and help you narrow down those first dance choices. Here’s what you’ll get with each song in my top 10 list.
My scoring system is nice and simple so you can easily figure out which songs might be for you. 1 is low and 10 is high so if a song gets 10 in every category that’s a seriously memorable, romantic, fun but difficult song to dance too. Don’t worry, I didn’t pick any songs that are too hard to dance too!
Love a list? In no particular order here are my top 10 first dance songs. If you love your lists in infographic form, scroll to the bottom for one of those.
Want to learn all about my top 10 first dance list? It’s all here and who knows, you may have found your perfect first dance and wedding band by the end of reading it!
I’m going to start my top 10 first dance songs for 2021 with a first dance classic! Drops of Jupiter by Train is coming back in a big way for 2021 weddings and is just one of many Train songs that are adored by wedding couples and their guests year on year.
Memorable score
6 out of 10
Romance score
8 out of 10
Fun factor score
6 out of 10
Dance difficulty score
5 out of 10
Always romantic and catchy, Trains songs are wedding gold and our acoustic duo wedding band Electric Jukebox (above) pull off a rather lovely version of this song whenever it’s requested as they love it! Did you know that this was Trains second big hit which was a big relief for the band as they were worried they would become a one-hit-wonder?
Let’s have some modern romance with Love Again by Dua Lipa. Not a song many people would first think of for their first dance but I did say it was a must-see for a reason! The lyrics and tempo are perfect for a first dance plus it’s another awesome song by the talented Miss Lipa! Did you know it samples sections of massive 90s hit, “Your Woman” which you may recognise?
Memorable score
8 out of 10
Romance score
8 out of 10
Fun factor score
7 out of 10
Dance difficulty score
7 out of 10
This song is the perfect song for our acoustic duo band Talking with Fireworks (above) to perform as their singer sounds just like Dua!
No first dance list is complete without Mr Ed! His songs have been doing the rounds at weddings for years because they are just so perfect for weddings.
Memorable score
7 out of 10
Romance score
9 out of 10
Fun factor score
5 out of 10
Dance difficulty score
4 out of 10
Speaking of perfect, that’s the song on show here and check out The Avengers cover of it above! They really enjoy performing any of Ed’s songs at weddings as they are great to dance to and oh so romantic. Ed wrote Perfect intending for it to be bigger and better than his no.1 wedding song Thinking Out Loud. In 2021 his wish could come true!
Another first dance modern classic that’s hard to ignore, All Of Me by John Legend is perfect for that slow dance of a first dance.
Memorable score
7 out of 10
Romance score
10 out of 10
Fun factor score
4 out of 10
Dance difficulty score
5 out of 10
It’s uber-romantic too and if you have a band such as Southside Sparkle (above) performing it you will have memories to last a lifetime. It’s a fantastic first dance song that all of us at Seventh Second love. You just can’t go wrong with this song and did you know that it was Johns live Grammy performance of the song that really made the song take off with sales rising by 174%. Wow!
I’ve mentioned this song a few times in my other wedding song lists and it must have struck a chord as it’s becoming one of our most requested first dance songs of 2021! Romantic, epic and easy to dance to, you can see why it’s becoming so popular.
Memorable score
8 out of 10
Romance score
10 out of 10
Fun factor score
4 out of 10
Dance difficulty score
5 out of 10
Our award-winning wedding band Party Republic (above) love this song to bits and will perform a stunning version for you. This is going to be a big wedding song in 2021 and did you know that Bradley Cooper worked really hard on his guitar playing skills for this song? The hard work paid off!
Another popular 2020 wedding song that is going to keep wedding parties foot-stomping away for 2021 is Riptide by Vance Joy.
Memorable score
7 out of 10
Romance score
8 out of 10
Fun factor score
8 out of 10
Dance difficulty score
6 out of 10
Have Paper Boats (above) perform their unique version of this song and your wedding party will be off to a cracker! It’s fun, upbeat and full of folky brilliance so get it on your first dance shortlist for sure! We can’t wait to see what other folky wedding crackers Mr Joy comes up with and despite Mr Joy admitting some of the lyrics make no sense (on purpose) people still love this song at weddings. It’s all about the musical vibes!
A great first dance for you and your guests, Don’t Stop Me Now is a firm favourite with all the musicians at Seventh Second and weddings parties up and down the country every year!
Memorable score
8 out of 10
Romance score
6 out of 10
Fun factor score
9 out of 10
Dance difficulty score
6 out of 10
Playback (above) have performed this song more times than they can count but they and wedding parties always come back for more from this absolute classic first dance. One for your shortlist and did you know that Top Gear named this the greatest driving song ever? It explains why it’s such fun to dance along to!
Fancy some more folky, festival goodness for your first dance? Ho Hey is for you then! It’s another happy song with a great opportunity for you all to show off your dancing and shouting skills.
Memorable score
8 out of 10
Romance score
7 out of 10
Fun factor score
9 out of 10
Dance difficulty score
7 out of 10
The Wildlings (above) are big fans of this tune and will perform it any chance they get. A great first dance for your whole wedding party and did you know that the first time we heard this song in the UK was when it featured on an Eon energy advert?
I’m sure anyone who’s been to a wedding has heard this song. Have you? Don’t be put off by that though as Brown Eyed Girl is always really popular and already a big wedding song classic.
Memorable score
7 out of 10
Romance score
7 out of 10
Fun factor score
7 out of 10
Dance difficulty score
6 out of 10
If you have a great wedding band like The Usual Suspects (above) performing this song for you, you can easily have the lyrics changed to “blue-eyed girl” too. A first dance song for everyone and like many on my list, pretty easy to dance to and enjoy! Did you know that Brown Eyed Girl has been performed on TV and radio over 9 million times!
Christina has graced my top 10 lists before and her Twilight-inspired song A Thousand Years is becoming really popular again! It’s no surprise as it’s another song that seemed destined to be a beautiful first dance for so many couples.
Memorable score
8 out of 10
Romance score
9 out of 10
Fun factor score
6 out of 10
Dance difficulty score
5 out of 10
Our eclectic band of musicians in the Emmet Scanlan Collective (above) have performed a stunning version of this song for many years and there are not many wedding bands that can perform it as well. A Thousand Years is a great choice for any first dance and did you know that Christina is a huge Twilight fan? That worked out well!
As always, it was way too difficult to narrow down just 10 first dance songs. There are just so many brilliant first dance songs to choose from. I’m sure you feel my pain so you can see my full list of 25 handpicked 2021 first dance songs here and below I’ve listed a few more tunes that just can’t be ignored in 2021. Spoilt for choice? Yes, you are!
Shut Up And Dance – Walk The Moon
Can’t Take My Eyes Off You – Frankie Valli
Better Together – Jack Johnson
The Luckiest – Ben Folds
My Girl – The Temptations
How Long Will I Love You – Ellie Goulding
Thinking Out Loud – Ed Sheeran
Can’t Help Falling In Love – Elvis
The One – Kodaline
Iris – Goo Goo Dolls
Your Song – Elton John
Chasing Cars – Snow Patrol
I’m Yours – Jason Mraz
Everything – Michael Bublé
You’ve Got The Love – Florence and the Machine
Signed Sealed Delivered – Stevie Wonder
Marry You – Bruno Mars
Grow Old With Me – Tom Odell
Pencil Full Of Lead – Paolo Nutini
Make You Feel My Love – Adele
Valerie – Amy Winehouse
You And Me Song – The Wannadies
Truly Madly Deeply – Savage Garden
I Will Wait – Mumford and Sons
I know from my own experience how hard it can be to choose a first dance for you and your partner in crime. Sometimes simply deciding on whether to have a first dance can be a tricky one! That’s why everyone here at Seventh Second is dedicated to helping you get to where you want to be with your first dance. It’s also why we have such a busy blog as there are so many topics couples need help with! Below are some of our most popular guides when it comes to the topic of a first dance. I hope it helps you as much as the hundreds of other couples it has!
Do I need a first dance at my wedding?
The top 10 first dance songs for 2020
I hope most of you who are reading this are enjoying a relatively covid-19 free world now. 2021 has been such a better year for all and the wedding world has really bounced back! We’ve spoken many times about how couples planning to get married in 2020 or 2021 have really suffered this year and so we’ve kept busy writing helpful guides for all of you. So, below is a fantastic offer for all you recovering couples out there and below that are guides that many couples have found super useful this year.
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Our covid cover and your questions answered
10 corona proof wedding bands for 2021 and 2022!
I promised you an infographic and here is it. I’m quite happy with it even if I do say so myself.
That’s all from me today, I hope you enjoyed my 2021 first dance list and found the perfect song and wedding band for you or at least some ideas and inspiration. Don’t’ forget to have a look at our other guides on first dances. Make your first dance perfect! Oh, and check back next week for another post. We post every week with topics covering everything in the wedding entertainment world!
Around 90% of our couples always want a live band to perform their first dance. Here at Seventh Second, we’ve been performing first dances for years and so if you want an expert group of musicians performing your first dance just how you want it why not get in touch with us? We can design your dream wedding entertainment so click here to peruse our fantastic wedding bands or enquire now about what’s on offer. We’re open 7 days a week, 10am to 10pm via phone, email, all the socials, live chat and text. Don’t you think it’s time you celebrated with Seventh Second?
Thanks so much for taking the time to read my guide today and if you liked what you read or know someone who needs some first dance inspiration please consider sharing my guide.
Bye for now!
Oana and the boys and girls at Seventh Second
