Robyn’s “Dancing on My Own” has a pretty specific use as one of the best crying-in-the-club anthems of this century. Unless you’re the 2021 Boston Red Sox, that is. The team has been using a Tiësto remix of the Calum Scott cover as its signature celebration song throughout its playoff run. Per a New York Times story on the team’s new anthem, the love stemmed from a few players living together at the beginning of the 2020 season. Andrew Benintendi, who now plays for the Kansas City Royals, introduced the song to Red Sox catcher Kevin Plawecki, who became an immediate fan. “The beat of it, the flow of it, puts you in a good mood,” Plawecki told the Times. (Yes, he knows the lyrics “don’t make sense at all” in a baseball context.) The song became his 2020 walk-on, then his personal anthem, and it eventually caught on with the team. “Now it’s become a little bit of a joke, but deep down, everybody thinks it’s a little catchy,” said Travis Shaw, an infielder. When the team scream-sang the song to celebrate its American League Division Series win against the Tampa Bay Rays, it even caught the attention of Robyn herself, who tweeted, “Bonkers.” The Red Sox next take on the Houston Astros, beginning tonight, October 15, in the American League Championship Series — when you can expect to hear a whole lot more of “Dancing on My Own.”
