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Adrienne McGaha

Dr. Heather Johnson-Taylor

English Composition II

28 June 2020

Analyzing Visual Texts

The original “Dancing On My Own” by Robyn is a story of the heartbroken singer that

continues to be lonesome after she sees her love interest with another girl, however based on the

optimistic beat and music video style, one could conclude that Robyn wants better for herself and

wants to have a comeback. Contrary to the original, “Dancing On My Own” by Calum Scott is a

story of a young, heartbroken boy that sings out his sorrows of seeing his love interest remain

interested in someone else. Robyn’s version is empowering and inspires others to have a positive

outlook on a broken heart, where Calum Scott makes his audience feel grief and despair about

their painful situation.

Robyn’s version is empowering because she is singing and dancing and says,”I keep

dancing on my own” in a way that is hopeful and as if she does not need a man to dance with.

The audience for Robyn’s music video is girls that have had their heart broken and are adapting

to figuratively or literally “dancing on their own.” The audience is not limited to any one race or

socioeconomic status. However, Calum Scott seems much more defeated and heartbroken than

Robyn does. His cover leaves the viewer feeling hopeless and as if they will be alone forever.

The audience for Calum Scott’s cover and video is boys that have had their heart broken and are

feeling hopeless and feeling melancholy. In doing research, I saw that Calum Scott is gay and

tends to be interested in boys who are attracted to girls. His audience could possibly be other

homosexual boys in this position. He even says in his interview that he purposefully does not
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change the pronouns in the song in order to offer this song from that perspective. While both of

these songs have the same lyrics and the same general storyline, the stories are told very

differently. They are both a story of heartbreak but one is a story of revival and the other is

simply still feeling down on themselves.

One example from Robyn’s video that leads me to believe that she is attempting to

bounce back from her breakup is the mood of the song. It is an upbeat pop song, one you would

play in a car or at a club. Robyn’s video alternates between her singing and dancing alone to her

standing in a crowded club. At the end of the video, when she is dancing and singing by herself,

she does a dance move where she is “punching the air.” This is such a strong turning point in the

music video because she is symbolizing that she wants to “fight back.” She wants to come out of

this sadness she is in. After this breakthrough, she is no longer standing still in the club but she is

dancing. An example from Calum Scott’s music video that leads me to believe he is truly

struggling and that this song is not a success story is the mood of the song. The song is slowed

down from the original. His facial expressions when he is standing in the crowd of people

listening to him are as if he is in pain. Additionally, the music video alternates between Calum

Scott being the singer and Calum Scott being an audience member. What I mean by this is there

are sometimes where he is singing in the crowd and other times where he is simply standing in

the crowd watching. I think this is to symbolize him physically watching his love interest be

interested in someone else. The final words of his cover are “You don’t see me standing here.”

This does not end on a hopeful note for him. Contrary to Robyn’s version, Calum Scott does not

seem to have the drive to “bounce back.” There are many phases of heartbreak and I think Calum

Scott is not yet to the phase where he knows he is going to be okay just yet. In Robyn’s version
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there was a clear turning point in the video where she begins acting more positively. In Calum

Scott’s version, there is no turning point, the mood remains the same the entire video.

Due to these examples I think that Robyn is truly making a comeback after a breakup and

Calum Scott is still grieving. The way that Robyn carries herself and presents herself implies that

Robyn will have a comeback. She is also speaking for other girls that there is no shame in

“dancing on your own.” Calum Scott is making a different claim. He is speaking for other gay

men in his community that struggle with the hardships that come with their sexuality. Calum

Scott does not seem to be in the mindset where he can have a comeback and “dance on his own.”

For him, this is still fresh and painful but he is spreading the message that pain and grief is part

of the process of healing.

The explanations of each of these pieces is critical in understanding the relationship

between these two visual texts. While they both have the same words, one is a hopeful song

while the other makes you think and evokes true emotion out of the audience. As an audience

member, both of these pieces use pathos. Robyn’s version uses it because the lyrics of her song

are still sad and about heartbreak and even at the beginning of the video she is standing

uncomfortably in a crowd of happy, dancing people. This feeling is not only relatable to many

people but it makes people feel bad for her and could even remind them of moments that they

felt like that. Calum Scott’s version also heavily uses the rhetorical appeal of pathos. The lyrics,

mixed with his heart-wrenching facial expressions and the mood of the song truly evokes

emotion, especially for people in his target audience. It is critical to be able to understand

different pieces of music because most people, including myself, use music as a guide for

whatever they are going through. Depending on what phase of life a person is in, Robyn’s

version may be more appropriate. However, other phases may be helpful to listen to Calum
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Scott’s cover. These pieces are similar in the fact that they offer the same story but differ when

addressing the feeling that the viewer feels as they walk away after watching.

In researching both of these visual texts, it has become apparent that these songs have

similar messages but make the viewer feel completely differently. Robyn’s is a true story of

triumph and overcoming heartbreak, which can at times be a seemingly impossible task. Calum

Scott’s is a story of true agony. Both versions are crucial for viewers because they are both

relatable at one time or another in everyone’s life. Each singer has their own style, speed, facial

expressions, movements, camera angles and lighting that considerably impacts the feeling that

the audience member walks away with.

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Works Cited

Calum Scott. “Calum Scott - Dancing On My Own.” Youtube, 14 June 2016.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q31tGyBJhRY

Macpherson, Rachel. “Calum Scott Talks Difficulties of Coming out as He Supports

Emeli Sande on Tour.” The Scottish Sun, The Sun, 25 Feb. 2018,

www.thescottishsun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/1703654/calum-scott-britains-got-talent-dancing-on-

my-own-emeli-sande/.

Robyn. “Dancing On My Own (Official Video).” Youtube, 28 May 2010.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcNo07Xp8aQ