Outnumbered

Dermot Kennedy busked on Grafton Street in Dublin for years before his 2019 debut album Without Fear went to number one in the UK and Ireland. Outnumbered, its biggest single, is a promise to stand beside someone through whatever comes, sung in the gravelly, half shouted voice that made him famous. Couples choose it because it feels protective rather than pretty, and because the song moves from a quiet verse into a chorus with real force, giving a first dance momentum. The tempo is a steady mid pace that works for a slow dance with a lift at the end. Kennedy has described it as an attempt to comfort anybody who is feeling overwhelmed.