I’ve heard of researchers studying Twitter feeds to get their fingers on the pulse of current events.
Well now maybe we can use music to do the same thing.
OnBuy.com, a UK-based online marketplace, recently completed some interesting analysis to determine the most popular lockdown songs on Spotify.
The words ‘Coronavirus’, ‘COVID-19’, ‘lockdown’, and ‘quarantine’ were inserted into Spotify, and the top 500 playlists (defined as the 500 playlists with the most followers) with these in their titles were collected. Totaling over 35,000 songs, each Spotify playlist was cross-compared to identify any duplicate songs, any of which with the highest number of occurrences across playlists were included in the final list of most popular songs.
Featured in 95 of the 500 playlists considered, Toxic by Britney Spears is the world’s favorite lockdown song.
Coming in second, and my personal favorite on this list, appearing on 87 of the playlists is Stayin’ Alive by the Bee Gees(with one of the all-time best opening scenes to a movie):
Rounding out the top five are:
U Can’t Touch This by MC Hammer
Don’t Stand So Close To Me by The Police
I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor
Here are the 20 songs that made the list:
Song | Artist(s) | No. of playlists |
---|---|---|
Toxic | Britney Spears | 95 |
Stayin’ Alive | Bee Gees | 87 |
U Can’t Touch This | MC Hammer | 85 |
Don’t Stand So Close To Me | The Police | 83 |
I Will Survive | Gloria Gaynor | 75 |
SICKO MODE | Travis Scott | 70 |
Mask Off | Future | 69 |
Work From Home | Fifth Harmony, Ty Dolla $ign | 67 |
Survivor | Destiny’s Child | 66 |
Fever | Peggy Lee | 65 |
It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) | R.E.M. | 62 |
Harder To Breathe | Maroon 5 | 60 |
Closer | The Chainsmokers, Halsey | 59 |
Can’t Feel My Face | The Weeknd | 57 |
Down With The Sickness | Disturbed | 55 |
Take My Breath Away | Berlin | 55 |
Every Breath You Take | The Police | 54 |
I Feel It Coming | The Weeknd, Daft Punk | 53 |
Bohemian Rhapsody | Queen | 52 |
Toxicity | System Of A Down | 51 |
You can see what the common thread is to all these songs: toxicity, breathing, survival.
My favorite songs on the list, besides Stayin’ Alive, are Bohemian Rhapsody and Fever.
I was going to close with a clever sentence that incorporated many of the songs listed above, but once I read it back, it seemed kind of insensitive.
So let me just say that I think the one thing we can agree on, none of us can wait until we can take our Mask Off.
But until then, Don’t Stand So Close to Me because I would rather be Stayin’ Alive than coming Down with the Sickness…
*image from Biggleswade Today
No corny covid songs, But I have managed to listen to the entire Jethro Tull and Ian Anderson catalogue while working from home. Some good stuff from yesteryear.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Well hey you have some good taste in music.
Just throw in Take My Breath Away , to replace Fever. 😉
Good job on the ending with how you weaved the songs together.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I don’t think I know take my breath away. I’ll give it a listen. And thanks for reading to the end! 😀
LikeLike
Oh yes, you have to listen to it! Let me know what you think. 🙂
Remember the movie Top Gun? Its in that movie.
I am glad I read to the end!
LikeLiked by 1 person
OK. I just watched the music video, and yes, I do know that song, from Top Gun. It’s just been so long since I’ve heard it. I guess the coronavirus has brought it back!
LikeLike
🙂 its been going through my head now since last night!
LikeLiked by 1 person
the song, or Tom Cruise? 🙂
LikeLike
LOL!! Oooh, yeah, good question… as I shake my head! Wellll…. the song, of course! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
just making sure…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Patrick Swayzee was better than Tom Cruise. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
so that’s who your latest character is based on! Will Tanya and Patrick be doing some Dirty Dancing? 🙂
LikeLike
Ooooh my gosh, someone’s wit is sharp this morning!
No, I was not thinking of him, but now … ! I need to change his name, LOL!
LikeLiked by 1 person
or hers…
LikeLike
Haha!! You do realize that I would really hear it if I changed her name again, right!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
it will throw everyone into a tizzy…
LikeLike
Totally!! And I wouldn’t hear fhe end of it, just like Anna/Annie which is now Anna/Tanya. More names would confuse the poor writer and I am sure you would hate that! Jason already is trying to get me to write Tonya not Tanya, so its his fault if you see that spelling!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ll keep an eye out for the Tonya/Tanya thing…
LikeLike
Oh thanks, another pair of eyes is just so “helpful!”
Sorry to disappoint but I do believe I will be extra careful to not have Tonya show up in the next story! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am sure you will… 🙂
LikeLike
Its posted and I was. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
We won’t say how many times I watched that movie! I just may have all the lines memorized. ☺ And now a line will probably come out in the story, thanks to you! Ha Ha!
LikeLiked by 1 person
so we’ll call it evening – you’ve got Dirty Dancing, I’ve got Napoleon Dynamite… 🙂
LikeLike
LOL!! But comparing the 2 is like ….. well……..yeah. we will call it even! ☺
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
That is some good stuff.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wait, how does Bohemian Rhapsody fit in? I’m drawing a blank…
LikeLiked by 1 person
I thought the same thing! But then I went back and read the lyrics and then I could see the connection.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hmm. The “I don’t wanna die” part? Seems like a stretch. But I’ll let it go because that song is dope and Freddie is amazing. 🥰
LikeLiked by 2 people
I agree, not as obvious as the others. there’s also “body’s aching all the time”.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ahh, gotcha.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It looks like old folks are using Spotify more than others. I agree about Saturday Night Live. What ever happened to the John Travolta in that movie?
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is a bit of an older set of songs. And what a string of hits for travolta back then. Saturday Night Fever, Urban Cowboy, and Grease. And I noticed that Urban Cowboy is on Netflix this month.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve listened to all the songs on the list in the last week except the Berlin song. Bohemian Rhapsody is definitely my favourite on the list!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Bohemian Rhapsody is one of the all time great song, for any occasion!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Agreed!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well I’ve been listening to all sorts of songs. Today I must have been in a hippie mood because I was rocking Joni Mitchell, Janis Joplin, and Jefferson Airplane. On the list though, Bohemian Rhapsody and Staying Alive are a couple of my favorites!
LikeLiked by 1 person
wow – you list some classic folk singers there! It seems like we have similar tastes in music…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Love that kind of music… but I love most music…today is starting out with a bit of Bon Jovi!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Bon Jovi seems like a good way to get your day going!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Very good use of the songs in your wishes. I’m listening to podcasts, not music.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I wonder if there are any podcasts that are particularly popular during the lockdown?
LikeLiked by 1 person
A good blog idea for you?
LikeLiked by 1 person
perhaps, although I personally don’t listen to any podcasts, so it could make it a bit challenging! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great list! Don’t Stand So Close To Me—I feel like I want to break that one out when somebody gets right behind me in line instead of standing the recommended six feet away.🤣
LikeLiked by 2 people
same here. what is so hard to understand about six feet away?
LikeLike
Great post for a Monday morning, Jim! Watching those video clips certainly gets the toes tapping and the heart pumping for what the week has in store. It would be hard to pick a favorite, until you include Bohemian Rhapsody. That songs was ground-breaking and only a hand full of people can compare to the vocal stylings of Freddie Mercury. Thanks for sharing the great music!
LikeLiked by 1 person
thanks, Brad! Bohemian seems to be a favorite song of a lot of people!
LikeLiked by 1 person
King sentence (#danishslang). I like that they’re almost all about surviving and so on…
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have not heard of them – I’ll check them out!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nice idea!
LikeLike
love this list, and it all makes sense
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t know all of the songs, but I can see why they made the list…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Another fantastic post for a music Monday. Oddly or not, I’m listening to less music today then I was before the Pandemic, as my commute drive to and from work is now less than half the time. I make up for it a bit in the morning getting ready and at home preparing dinner. I’m listening to the same mixes and curated playlists on Spotify, and really nothing I’m aware is of a “distancing” theme. So, it’s pretty much eclectic as ever from classic 70s rock to Latino to World Music … old hurtin’ Country before it became Pop. Also, my car karaoke still needs to be silenced. 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
thanks, Michael. your choices are eclectic for sure. And I think I scared my wife and son last night when I announced it was time for the Borden Family Karaoke night. Needless to say, it never got off the ground… 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve been banned from singing in my car, too. Perhaps, consider a short medley of Show Tunes to mix it up. Or, this ditty from Step Brothers https://youtu.be/x97BxYCldDo 🎤
LikeLiked by 1 person
great movie clip – I had forgotten about that scene. needless to say, my family would have sounded nothing like that… 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a miserable bunch we must be! Not a single one of those is on my playlist, nor will be. Maybe they should try listening to the lyrics: the subject of Don’t Stand So Close To Me might come as a surprise to some 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
and their other song Every Breath You Take is also a bit questionable…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Not much of a choice, is it: under age attraction or stalking!
LikeLiked by 1 person
exactly! I guess sometimes people don’t really pay close attention to the lyrics…
LikeLiked by 1 person
They really should!
LikeLiked by 1 person
the lyrics are often the best part of a song!
LikeLiked by 1 person
No surprises there methinks…although I am a Freddie Mercury fan…I am listening to Bett Midler at the moment and some of the real old ones like Snow Patrol and Run are also calling to me as well…Freddie has had to take a back seat…
LikeLiked by 1 person
hmmm. it looks like some new artists I need to listen to ; I’ve never heard of Snow Patrol or Run. I was able to find several songs by Snow Patrol on YouTube – do you have a favorite? And is Run the name of a band? Is there a song of theirs you recommend?
LikeLike
Sorry Run is one of Snow Patrols tracks..
LikeLiked by 1 person
ok, got it. I’ll give it a listen…
LikeLiked by 1 person
I like all the songs on the list except Brittany Spears. Not a fan. I’ve been listening to a lot of 50’s – 70’s. Fever sung by Elvis was on my SiriusXM on my way to the bank ATM today. I just love music and whatever makes my hula hoop goes faster is what I listen to. Great post on our BS way of life right now.
LikeLiked by 1 person
thanks, Lisa! I do like the Elvis version of Fever better than Peggy Lee’s. And yes, I think a lot of us are using music to hep get us through the pandemic! (hula hoop, huh 🙂 )
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yep. I hula hoop 30-60 minutes a day along with long walks with my dog and stretching. I’ve lost 2” in my waste in a month. I’m okay with social distancing. I can entertain myself. 😳😝
LikeLiked by 1 person
that is a lot of hula hooping! sounds like your exercise plan is working, and it’s one that you enjoy!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes it is. I’m short and was pushing into the next size up just before I lost my job. It’s done wonders for me physically and mentally. I’m little but my love handles were taking over. At 54 years young, I wasn’t going to buy new clothes. I might be one of a few people on the planet that this quarantine has had a positive effect on. 😳😂😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
that’s great to hear! I wish you continued success!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks. I’m up to 30 sit ups. I could only do 5 when I started. 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
that is quite an improvement! slow and steady wins the race!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes…I’m the turtle. Don’t think I will ever get back into my Blues but that would be cool to try. 😳
LikeLiked by 1 person
at the rate you’re improving, the sky’s the limit…
LikeLiked by 1 person