Research has revealed that Whitney Houston’s ‘I Wanna Dance with Somebody’ is the most popular wedding song of all time, appearing on a quarter of wedding-related playlists on Spotify.
Discovery platform Breezit analysed 49,091 songs from 2,000 wedding-themed Spotify playlists and found that Houston’s classic anthem appeared 484 times – in 24.2 percent of wedding playlists.
It is often said that weddings are a day to remember and nothing helps to capture new memories, or bring back old ones, like music. So it’s no wonder that songs play such an important role on our wedding day – but some of the most popular songs on wedding playlists might come as a surprise.
‘Dancing Queen’ by ABBA is the second most popular wedding song, making 394 appearances across the playlists. The 1976 song tends to be listed under the “Wedding dancefloor” category, and appears in 19.7 percent of wedding playlists.
Following in third is Usher’s ‘Yeah!’, featuring in 19.5 percent of compilations. This is then followed by The Killers’ ‘Mr. Brightside’, which occupies 18.8 percent of wedding playlists with 376 mentions.
‘September’ by Earth, Wind & Fire comes in at fifth place, appearing 369 times on 18.45 percent of wedding playlists. Next is ‘I Gotta Feeling’ by the Black Eyed Peas, making sixth place with appearances on 17.95% of playlists.
The more sentimental ‘Marry You’ by Bruno Mars is the seventh most popular track, featuring on 17.7 percent of wedding playlists under categories such as “Walking down the aisle” and “First dance”.
Beyoncé’s 2003 hit ‘Crazy in Love’, which features rapping from her own future husband Jay Z, is ranked in eighth place for appearing on 17.45 percent of wedding playlists – 349 times in total. In ninth place is ‘Shut Up and Dance’ by WALK THE MOON, which is included in 16.8 percent of compilations.
Finally, Flow Rida’s ‘Low’, in which the American rapper fantasises about a woman in a strip club, makes a surprise appearance in tenth place. The 2007 hit appeared in 16.55 percent of wedding playlists, most often under the “Wedding dancefloor” category.
Responding to the findings, Arturas Asakavicius, CEO of Breezit, said: “Music plays an incredibly important role in wedding celebrations, and it’s fascinating to see which songs are still hailed as wedding classics, even years after their initial release. Certain songs have become intertwined with the celebration of a wedding, which is why some have become timeless classics for many couples’ big day.”
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