Tones and I says she ‘loathes’ hit song Dance Monkey: ‘A lot of times I don’t want to sing it’

Australian artist Tones and I has revealed that she no longer enjoys performing her hit song “Dance Monkey”.

Soon after its release in 2019, “Dance Monkey” topped charts in 30 countries and saw the singer invited to perform on shows such as The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and Jimmy Kimmel Live.

However, the 24-year-old singer, whose real name is Toni Watson, has now confessed that she often “loathes” the track, because she feels as though it has pigeonholed her as an artist.

During an interview with Nova’s Smallzy’s Surgery, Watson said she believes that “Dance Money” has branded her into one category.

“They do this thing [in Los Angeles] where they put you in a room with a different person every day,” she said.

“I was in the room with men every day, which is fine, but there [were] a few of them that had all worked together heaps before and so they just kind of start going off on a tangent.

“And, usually, it was directed at ‘Dance Monkey’ like, ‘OK, this girl had a hit with this kind of song, like, let’s go there.”

The singer said that while she still feels that “Dance Money” is a “great” song, she doesn’t “want to go there anymore”.

“I wrote that song on my own, not trying to do a single thing, and it happened,” she said. “I loathe that song a lot of the time. A lot of times I don’t want to sing it. I’m not gonna write another song like it... I just want to tell people how I’m feeling.”

Last year, the singer also revealed that she plans to quit performing altogether in four years.

In an interview with Hit NSW’s Breakfast with Gawndy and Maz, the singer said: “I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be Tones and I for.”

“I mean, realistically I’m going to give myself another four years and then I want to be a songwriter,” she revealed. “I feel like this is a lot and I want to keep writing music. As soon as my mental health isn’t wanting to do this I’m stopping, I’m not pushing through this.”