The 10 catchiest songs ever made, according to science
There’s a fine line between a song being catchy and irritating to the point of despair. However, from an artist’s perspective, it doesn’t matter if you love a song or loathe it as long as it’s not forgettable, and there’s a science involved in ensuring it stays in the head of a listener.
Letting a scientific study define art is, by and large, a somewhat evil practice. After all, a science is meant to be precise, but there is never anything clean about why you love or a song, or how a voice might make you feel. But if you wanted a reason for why one of the world’s most annoying songs is secretly one of your favourites, then we have you covered.
In a 2016 study published by St Andrews University in Scotland, scientists revealed the formula they believe makes for infectious music. According to the report, the recipe is “Receptiveness + (predictability-surprise) + (melodic potency) + (rhythmic repetition x1.5) = earworm.” If an artist follows that advice, they’ve got a hit on their hand. But what exactly does it mean?
Well, according to researcher Bede Williams, an earworm needs to have five crucial components to exist. It’s required to include surprise, predictability, rhythmic repetition, melodic potency and, most importantly, listeners must be receptive to the creation.
Williams said: “If you look at the songs which emerged from the research, they all have a distinctive rhythmic fingerprint. If we remove the melody, they’re still recognisable by their rhythm alone.”
According to their research, the track that came out top is ‘We Will Rock You’ by Queen, from their 1977 album, News Of The World. Although science suggests the song was created in a lab, it was created organically following a concert in Stafford.
Speaking to BBC Radio 1 in 1977, Brian May said: “We did an encore and then went off, and instead of just keeping clapping, they sang ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ to us, and we were just completely knocked out and taken aback – it was quite an emotional experience really, and I think these chant things are in some way connected with that.”
Queen had the formula perfect to a tee, and ‘We Will Rock You’ isn’t their only contribution to the top ten. Additionally, ‘We Are The Champions’ placed third on the list and ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ came in sixth.
Meanwhile, Pharrell Williams is in second place with ‘Happy’, which appeared on the soundtrack to Despicable Me 2. Remarkably, Williams had nine previous tracks rejected for the film, but it turned out to be tenth time lucky for the singer. “I’m thankful for all the people behind the song’s success and how I was constantly pushed to do more — my song submissions for this scene in Despicable Me 2 were rejected nine times,” he said to The New York Times about the song’s success. “I’m thankful that people now know my name where they hadn’t before.”
Interestingly, there’s plenty of room for novelty songs on the list, with ‘YMCA’ by the Village People in fifth, ‘The Final Countdown’ by Europe in seventh position, and Baha Man’s ‘Who Let The Dogs Out’ also managed to squeeze onto the bottom of the list. Additionally, the festive ‘Jingle Bells’ is a place higher than the Baha Men and landed in ninth.
In all likelihood, you will find every single track on the list below tiresome because they’ve been overplayed to a hellish extent. However, there is a scientific reason why they all make for such exasperating listens.
Does that make it feel better? No. It is still humanly acceptable to completely detest every single entry on the list. But if you do find yourself defending your reason to be a huge fan of Bon Jovi, the Baha Men or The Proclaimers, then you can simple point at science and lay all the blame at the collective study’s feet.
The 10 catchiest songs of all-time
1. Queen – ‘We Will Rock You’
2. Pharrell – ‘Happy’
3. Queen – ‘We Are The Champions’
4. The Proclaimers – ‘I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)’
5. Village People – ‘YMCA’
6. Queen – ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’
7. Europe – ‘The Final Countdown’
8. Bon Jovi – ‘Living On A Prayer’
9. Traditional – ‘Jingle Bells’
10. Baha Man – ‘Who Let The Dogs Out?’
