The rest of the album manages to match the momentum of the monumental lead single, each song flickering with its own unique charm. Today, the official music video counts just 60 million views since its 2010 release, but the Calum Scott cover, released in 2016, has over 400 million views. Yet despite its near-unanimous acclaim, it somehow remains a fairly fringe track to the general (read: straight) public.

This was established foremost by the album’s centerpiece, the aforementioned near-perfect power ballad “Dancing On My Own.” The structure of the song is simple: throbbing synths and glittering melodies accompany lyrics that describe the universal pain of seeing a former flame with someone else. Beyond the experimental format, the strength of the album was successful in challenging the critical merit of pop music at large: Not only could the genre be commercially valuable, but it could be good, like, really good. The two-part delivery was an early example of the alternative album release that would become the new normal, before traditional LPs were eclipsed by buzzy mixtapes, surprise drops, high-production visual albums, and one-off singles.

Originally released as two mini concept albums, the compilation of both parts, plus a few new tracks, culminated in one of the best records of the decade, if not all time. Body Talk is a powerful record both in its scope and quality pop music of the highest caliber.

Robyn dancing on my own album video