She shared that she had embraced 1970s-era psychedelia by working with Tame Impala's Kevin Parker, also hinting that the album would see a shift from the disco-influenced sound of Future Nostalgia.

[8] In May 2023, Lipa released "Dance the Night" as the lead single from the soundtrack for Greta Gerwig's film, Barbie in which she also made her acting debut.

[14][15] Fans of Lipa also drew parallels to English singer Kate Bush's 1982 song of the same name, who also references Houdini by presenting a key in her mouth on the cover of her album The Dreaming (1982).

Helen Brown from The Independent gave the song five out of five stars, mentioning that although "there's some daftness in the lyrics, (...) pop is no place for pedantry —especially not when it comes to a singer whose lockdown hit, 'Levitating', saw her laughing in the face of gravity".

[20] Rhian Daly from NME gave the song four out of five stars, writing that "while she might be switching up her sonic palette, there's one thing you can rely on Dua to be consistent with —giving us confidence-filled bops that help us unlock the best versions of ourselves, even if just for three minutes".

[21] Betsy Reed from The Guardian also gave the song four out of five stars, stating that "it's ferociously catchy without being bludgeoning, and does a more convincing job of combining her appreciation for vintage sonics with diamond-tooled pop songwriting than Future Nostalgia did.

[22] Variety's Jem Aswad declared the song a "banger" and "both a progression from and a continuation of Future Nostalgia", describing it as "more melodically nuanced" than her prior album's singles.

'"[24] Writing for Clash, Robin Murray said that the song is "Dua Lipa doing what she does best —a gleaming, sun-drenched pop star who yearns to dominate huge spaces.

"[25] Writing for Pitchfork, Shaad D'Souza mentioned that the song "doesn't reinvent the wheel: Lipa taunts a man into proving he deserves her attention, squarely in the brazen, invulnerable Future Nostalgia mode.