For the last several weeks, I’ve been driven mad by an obsession, and now I can finally admit it. I can’t stop thinking about the Perfect Couple dance.
Netflix’s new series The Perfect Couple has a lot of factors that could make it a hit. It’s based on a best-selling book by beloved author Elin Hilderbrand, the third in her highly popular “Nantucket” series. The cast is absolutely stacked; it stars Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Dakota Fanning, Eve Hewson, Meghann Fahy and other actors you’ll definitely recognise, like the guy who played the awful boyfriend in Midsommar. It’s a sexy, salacious murder mystery set in a wealthy enclave that provides both an entertaining plot and tons of real estate porn.
But the real draw of the show? Its completely nonsensical yet utterly delightful opening credits sequence. In the start of every episode, the entire cast —leads, supporting characters, and extras— perform a choreographed dance routine to an extremely catchy pop song during a rehearsal dinner before a wedding. Why? Extremely unclear.
I first fell in love with the dance routine when watching the pilot episode. “Why, this is delightful!” I said to myself. Imagine my surprise when this was not just an element of the first part of the show, but something that would repeat every episode. My husband soon joined me to watch the rest of the series, and every time the song and dance routine would come on, we’d groove on the couch, attempting the moves (badly) and singing the song.
Predictably, the song soon got hopelessly stuck in my head. So I pulled out Shazam to identify it. When nothing came up, I assumed it was a song that had been written especially to be used in this manner, like one of my other favourite songs of all time, Raise Your Glass by Dena Deadly, aka the Vanderpump Rules theme song.
I was completely wrong! Turns out, the song, Criminals, is by the one and only Meghan Trainor. The reason I couldn’t find it was because it hadn’t been released yet. The song officially dropped on 16 August, as part of the deluxe edition of Trainor’s sixth studio album, Timeless.