Some years ago, I read that deejays at wedding receptions are tired of playing "You Shook Me (All Night Long)" at every wedding, but someone always asked for it. I remember that because it's a rockin' dance song, yet quite explicit for a party where your grandparents are celebrating the beginning of your marriage. But that must have been from a different generation, because the song doesn't appear anywhere in the list. This data is gleaned from Spotify, which only launched in the US in 2011. The popularity of songs were determined by the number of Spotify playlists that were tagged with "wedding" or related keywords. The top song is "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" by Whitney Houston. Despite the fact that it's 36 years old, the tune is perfect because it's got a great dance beat, it's about love and dancing, and it's Whitney Houston. However, Bruno Mars is the most popular artist on wedding playlists, with three songs on the top 50. Still, only the top ten songs are shared with us.
The site Givetastic also generated lists of popular artists in playlists for pre-wedding parties, which they call "stag dos" and "hen dos." The notable artist among the stag do playlists is Neil Diamond, whose song "Sweet Caroline" from 1969 was featured in 1,038 playlists, making it the number one Spotify song for a stag do. It makes sense, as the song is commonly used for sporting events of all kinds in many English-speaking countries.
See the top ten wedding songs and the related lists as generated by Spotify data at Givetastic. -via Mental Floss
(Image credit: Paulhaberstroh)