The Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Recording (formerly known as Best Dance Recording) is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards,^[1] to recording artists for works containing quality vocal performances in the dance music and/or electronic music genres. Honors in several categories are presented at the ceremony annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position".^[2]

The award for Best Dance Recording was first presented to Donna Summer and Giorgio Moroder in 1998 for the song "Carry On". In 2003, the Academy moved the category from the "Pop" field into a new "Dance" field, alongside the category Best Dance/Electronic Album.^[3] According to the Academy, the award is designated for solo, duo, group or collaborative performances (vocal or instrumental), and is limited to singles or tracks only.^[4]

The award goes to the artist, producer and mixer. The engineer and songwriter can apply for a Winners Certificate.^[5]

Skrillex has won the award a record four times, with Justin Timberlake, Diplo and The Chemical Brothers winning twice. Skrillex, Bonobo, The Chemical Brothers and Madonna share the record for the most nominations, with five. Bonobo also holds the record for the most nominations without a win.

Though she was not the first to suggest that the genre be recognized officially, Ellyn Harris and her Committee for the Advancement of Dance Music lobbied for more than two years to encourage the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to acknowledge dance music.^[6] Some Academy members debated whether dance music, with its heavy use of layering, remixing, "lack of melody or verse", and numerous varieties, was truly considered music. Others were concerned that dance music was not a long-lasting genre, fearing the category would face retirement much like the award for Best Disco Recording, which was presented for one year only at the 22nd Grammy Awards in 1980.^[6]

In 1998, Harris' efforts paid off when the Academy first presented the award to Donna Summer and Giorgio Moroder at the 40th Grammy Awards for the song "Carry On". While the Academy had once been quoted as saying that "they considered dance music as something pop artists had created in their most frivolous moments", Ivan Bernstein, executive director of the organization's Florida branch, insisted that an award for excellence in dance music would not exist "if there were concerns about excellence".^[6]

Starting from the 64th Annual Grammy Awards in 2022, the category was renamed from Best Dance Recording to Best Dance/Electronic Recording.^[7] Starting from the 66th Annual Grammy Awards in 2024, a sister category Best Dance Pop Recording, was established in order to prevent well-established pop artists who incorporate dance music into their work from dominating the category over dedicated dance acts.^[8]

Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys has criticised the award, saying "there's always been a sense that people just think you've pressed a few buttons rather than do real music, the Grammys [...] kind of diss two huge massive genres at the same time by putting them together".^[9]

Writing for Mixmag, Annabel Ross noted a lack of gender and racial diversity associated with the award, claiming that one "might assume, judging by the winners and nominees [in the category] that the best dance music is made by white people (mostly men), and that commercial success is a marker of quality".^[10]

^{^[I]} Each year is linked to the article about the Grammy Awards held that year.

• Dance Music Hall of Fame

• Official website