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Instantly recognisable songs: the top 20 catchy songs



The Museum of Science and Industry in the United Kingdom conducted a study of catchy songs. The study was based on how fast it took people to recognize the song once it started playing. Participants were timed, and the clock stopped when they identified the song title (Daily Life, 29 April 2016).

There is no clearly identifiable artist with the most instantly recognizable songs in the top 20, nor is there a clearly identifiable decade.

The winning song – the most instantly recognizable song – took an average of 2.3 seconds to identify.

In the top 20 most recognizable songs are two by Elvis Presley, two by Michael Jackson, and two by Lady Gaga.

Nine of the top 20 most recognizable songs were performed by a group, seven were performed by a male artist, and four were performed by a female artist.

In the top 20 most recognizable songs are five from the 1970s, five from the 1980s, and five from the 1990s, with three from the 1960s and two from the naughties (2000-2009).


The top 20 songs that are instantly recognizable (counting down) are:

20. Candle in the Wind by Elton John (1973)
19. Rivers of Babylon by Boney M (1978)
18. Devil in Disguise by Elvis Presley (1963)
17. Baby, One More Time by Britney Spears (1998)
16. Kama Chameleon by Culture Club (1983)
15. Billie Jean by Michael Jackson (1982)
14. You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet by Bachman-Turner Overdrive (1974)
13. It’s Now or Never by Elvis Presley (1960)
12. Mmmbop by Hanson (1997)
11. Poker Face by Lady Gaga (2008)
10. I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing by Aerosmith (1997)
9.   Don’t You Want Me by The Human League (1981)
8.   I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston (1974)
7.   Beat It by Michael Jackson (1983)
6.   Oh, Pretty Woman by Roy Orbison (1964)
5.   SOS by ABBA (1975)
4.   Just Dance by Lady Gaga (2008)
3.   Eye of the Tiger by Survivor (1982)
2.   Mambo No 5 by Lou Bega (1999)
1.   Wannabe by The Spice Girls (1996).


http://www.dailylife.com.au/photogallery/dl-people/celebrity-news/the-catchiest-songs-of-all-time-according-to-science-20160427-gogow7.html










MARTINA NICOLLS is the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).
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