"[5] His girlfriend, in "a backless dress and beat up red Chucks", abruptly invited him to dance with her, inspiring the song's title.

[13] It incorporates production that is reminiscent of the 1980s, with gated ambience added to the drums, sheeny synth pads, reversed snare 'whooshes', and stadium-sized reverb and delay effects.

[20] Steve Baltin and Shirley Halperin of Billboard called the song a "new-wave throwback",[21] while Rolling Stone's Brittany Spanos referred to it as "a Killers-style update on Eighties pop hits" such as "And We Danced" (1985) by the Hooters.

[3][5] The song finds the singer taking to the dance floor with a female friend who wears "[a] backless dress and some beat up sneaks", referring to her as his "discotheque, Juliet teenage dream".

[28][29] The chorus, consisting of two "shut up and dance with me" hook-lines, is accentuated by kick drum hits and accompanied by gang vocals.

[25] Upon the song's release, Mike Wass of Idolator said "Shut Up and Dance" is "pretty irresistible" with its "monstrous chorus and a plethora of hooks".

[23] Billboard's Ryan Reed gave the song a four and a half stars out of five, mentioning how Petricca's vocal runs are "catchier than most bands' choruses".

[17] AbsolutePunk's Anthony Sorendino wrote that the track is not "a cookie cutter chorus rigged to a cheap set of verses" and that the chord progression is what sells it.

[18] AllMusic's James Christopher Monger described the song as a "pulsing, closing credits-ready anthem that oozes upbeat millennial enthusiasm" while having "just enough angst to evoke a Breakfast Club post-lunch therapy session".

[31] Mitchell Bozzetto of Renowned for Sound felt it is one of the better tracks off Talking Is Hard, saying "its catchy chorus and overall refreshing atmosphere is quite enjoyable".

Killian Young, writing for the publication, viewed the song as "[i]nsipid pop", but complimented its catchiness and called the chorus "crowd-pleasing".

[35] The song is considered by Billboard to be heavily influenced by The Edge of U2 and Vulture describes how the opening riff resembles U2's "Where the Streets Have No Name".

[49] "Shut Up and Dance" proved to be a bigger success in Sweden, entering at position 58 on the Swedish Singles Chart on January 16, 2015.

"Shut Up and Dance" peaked at number 12 on May 8, 2015, a position it held for two non-consecutive weeks,[50] and has been certified quadruple platinum by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry of Sweden as of September 23, 2015.

[61] As of August 22, 2015, "Shut Up and Dance" has been certified quadruple platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipments of over 210,000 copies.

[63] The music video for "Shut Up and Dance", directed by Josh Forbes and co-directed by the band members, was shot in Los Angeles in September 2014.

[64] In an interview with Mashable, he said that the band intended for it "to be kooky, but also stylish [with] a story you could follow" like the video for Michael Jackson's "Beat It" (1983).

[67] Vulture's Lauretta Charlton wrote that the video's plot "is a retelling of th[e] events" at The Echo, with the exception of "look[ing] like it was filmed in a laser-tag arena instead of a nightclub".

Idolator's Mike Wass called it a "hilarious visual" where "things get really weird thanks to a serious case of dance floor concussion".

[71] Stereogum's Chris DeVille said the video is "an excellent sendup" that pointedly embraces its '80s influences as "a knowing pastiche of side ponytails, neon, and references to early MTV".

[81] Since the band hails from Cincinnati, "Shut Up and Dance" and "Different Colors" was performed in front of a hometown audience at the 2015 Major League Baseball Home Run Derby at Great American Ball Park prior to the start of the exhibition contest on July 13, 2015.

[82] The band made a guest appearance at Taylor Swift's 1989 World Tour, performing the song together on July 24 in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

[83] Walk the Moon performed the song at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards pre-show on August 30, 2015, where the band played on a circular, multicolored stage prior to the show's start.

On February 13, 2016, the band performed "Shut Up and Dance" and "Work This Body" at the 2016 NBA All-Star Game in Toronto, Canada.