Ubisoft really caught lightning in a bottle back in 2013. If you were there, you remember. The Wii was aging, the Wii U was... well, the Wii U, and the Xbox One and PS4 were just about to drop. Amidst all that hardware transition, a neon-soaked rhythm game arrived that basically defined a specific era of pop culture. Honestly, looking back at the Just Dance 2014 tracklist, it’s kind of wild how many "forever" songs they packed into one retail disc. It wasn't just a collection of radio hits; it was a snapshot of a time when EDM-pop was absolutely peaking and everyone, for some reason, was obsessed with fox noises.
The weird magic of the Just Dance 2014 tracklist
Think about the sheer variety here. You’ve got Katy Perry's "Roar" sitting right next to "The Final Countdown" by Europe. It’s chaotic. It shouldn't work, but it does. Most rhythm games struggle with longevity because they lean too hard into one genre. Ubisoft avoided that trap. They knew that a house party needs a mix of "I'm a teenager who loves One Direction" and "I'm a dad who only knows classic rock."
The heavy hitters are obvious. "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke ft. Pharrell Williams and T.I. was inescapable that year. Regardless of how that song has aged in the public consciousness, in 2013, it was the definitive floor-filler. Then you had "Get Lucky" by Daft Punk. That song alone makes the Just Dance 2014 tracklist feel more "prestige" than its predecessors. It wasn't just bubblegum pop; it was actual cool music.
But then, the game pivots. Hard.
Suddenly you're dancing to "Prince Ali" from Disney's Aladdin. Or you're doing a Russian folk dance to "Moskau." This is the secret sauce of this specific entry. It didn't take itself too seriously. While Dance Central on Kinect was trying to be a legitimate dance simulator with precise hip-hop choreography, Just Dance 2014 was perfectly happy letting you look like an idiot in your living room while mimicking a Ghostbuster.
Breaking down the heavy hitters and the oddballs
Let's get into the weeds of what you actually get when you fire this up. The core list features over 45 tracks. That's a lot of sweat.
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The pop lineup was basically a "Best of 2013" Billboard chart. You had Lady Gaga’s "Applause," which had some of the most creative, high-energy choreography in the game. You had "Starships" by Nicki Minaj and "Pound The Alarm," both of which are high-intensity cardio disguised as fun. If you wanted to ruin your cardio for the week, those were the go-to choices. Then there’s "Gentleman" by PSY. Coming off the back of "Gangnam Style," expectations were sky-high, and the game delivered that specific brand of K-pop absurdity that fans craved.
But it's the legacy tracks that give the Just Dance 2014 tracklist its legs.
Ray Parker Jr.’s "Ghostbusters" is a four-player masterpiece. It’s one of those tracks where the choreography tells a story—one person is the ghost, the others are the hunters. It's cheesy. It's campy. It's exactly why people buy these games. Similarly, "Y.M.C.A." by Village People and "Careless Whisper" by George Michael (complete with a guy in a suit and a literal saxophone) provided the comedy.
A quick look at the standout 2014 jams:
- The Modern Pop: "Stay" by Rihanna ft. Mikky Ekko, "Troublemaker" by Olly Murs ft. Flo Rida, "Just Dance" by Lady Gaga ft. Colby O'Donis.
- The "WTF" Tracks: "The Fox (What Does The Fox Say?)" by Ylvis, "I've Had The Time of My Life" by Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes.
- The Global Vibes: "Dançando" by Ivete Sangalo, "Limbo" by Daddy Yankee.
The diversity here is staggering. You go from the bubblegum energy of "Kiss You" by One Direction to the gritty, stomp-heavy choreo of "I Need Your Love" by Calvin Harris ft. Ellie Goulding. It feels like a fever dream, but a very rhythmic one.
Why the DLC and Alternatives changed the game
Back then, Ubisoft was still figuring out the "service" model. They hadn't fully committed to the "Just Dance Unlimited" subscription stuff yet. Instead, we got specific DLC tracks. If the base Just Dance 2014 tracklist wasn't enough, you could go out and grab "Waking Up in Vegas" by Katy Perry or "We Can't Stop" by Miley Cyrus.
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They also introduced "On-Stage" modes. This was a big deal. Instead of everyone doing the same moves, one person was the lead singer/dancer, and the others were backup dancers. It added a layer of performance that felt different from just mirroring a silhouette. It made certain songs on the tracklist feel like a theatrical production rather than a workout routine.
Then there were the "Extreme" versions. If you thought "Pound The Alarm" was easy, the Extreme alternate choreo would absolutely wreck you. This was Ubisoft’s way of nodding to the hardcore community—the people who actually learned the steps and didn't just flail their arms. It gave the game a skill ceiling that most people didn't know existed.
Technical quirks and the Kinect vs. Wii divide
Playing through the Just Dance 2014 tracklist today highlights how much the hardware mattered. If you played on the Wii, you were just shaking a Wiimote. You could sit on the couch and flick your wrist and get a "Megastar" rating. It was a lie, but it felt good.
On the Xbox 360 or Xbox One with Kinect, though? It was a different beast. The Kinect tracked your whole body. If your knees weren't bent or your left hand was out of place, the game knew. It made the tracklist feel more "real." Dancing to "Timber" by Pitbull ft. Ke$ha on Kinect felt like a genuine workout. Doing it on the Wii felt like a light wrist exercise.
The PS3 and PS4 versions were in this weird middle ground, using the Move controllers or the PlayStation Camera. Honestly, most people stuck with the Wii version because that's where the franchise lived, but the "next-gen" versions at the time offered much crisper visuals. The 2014 entry was the first one where the dancers started to look like high-definition art rather than just glowing neon blobs.
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The lasting legacy of 2014
Why do we still talk about this one? There have been over a dozen games since.
It’s the balance. Later games started to feel a bit too corporate, or the tracklists started leaning too heavily into TikTok trends that die in three weeks. The Just Dance 2014 tracklist feels evergreen because it caught the last era of "monoculture" pop music. These were songs that everyone knew, regardless of what corner of the internet they lived in.
There's also the nostalgia factor. For a lot of Gen Z and younger Millennials, this was the "sleepover" game. It was the background noise to countless birthday parties. When "Feel So Close" by Calvin Harris starts playing, it doesn't just trigger a dance reflex; it triggers a memory of a specific time in the early 2010s.
How to play it in 2026
If you're looking to revisit the Just Dance 2014 tracklist, you have a few options, though it’s getting trickier. The Wii servers are long gone, and the DLC store is a ghost town on many platforms. However, the physical discs are dirt cheap.
You can find a copy for the Wii or Xbox 360 at almost any thrift store for five bucks. If you have an old Kinect gathering dust, it's genuinely the best way to experience it. Some of these tracks have migrated to the modern "Just Dance+" subscription service, but not all of them. Licensing music is a nightmare, and many of the best songs from 2014 are stuck in legal limbo, meaning the original disc is the only way to play them.
Actionable steps for the ultimate throwback session
If you’re planning to boot this up for a nostalgia night, don’t just wing it.
- Check your hardware compatibility: If you’re on Xbox One or Series X, remember that Kinect support is basically dead on the newest consoles without a very expensive adapter. Dust off the old 360 or the original Wii for the most authentic (and easiest) setup.
- Clear the space: The 2014 choreography, especially for songs like "Flashdance... What a Feeling," involves a lot of lateral movement. Don't kick your coffee table.
- Try the Mash-ups: One of the best features of this era was the Mash-ups, where characters from other songs would pop in. It's a great way to see the full breadth of the tracklist in one go.
- Unlock the Alternates: Spend the "Mojo" points you earn to unlock the Extreme or Sweat versions. They breathe new life into songs you’ve heard a thousand times on the radio.
- Calibrate your lag: If you're playing on a modern 4K TV, make sure your TV is in "Game Mode." The audio sync in rhythm games is sensitive, and even a few milliseconds of lag will make "Fine China" by Chris Brown impossible to time correctly.
The Just Dance 2014 tracklist remains a high-water mark for the genre. It wasn't just a game; it was a vibe. It was the fox, it was the Daft Punk helmets, and it was a whole lot of neon spandex. Even years later, it’s still the most reliable way to get a room full of people to look absolutely ridiculous together.