When I’m not handicapping the song of the summer, I also think about what song is next in line to be the No. 1 classic hit on Earth — the guaranteed all-ages crowd-pleaser, usually as ratified by radio research, but also by anybody who deejays events or plays in a cover band.
Over the last 20 years, the No. 1 song on Earth has usually been Classic Rock: “Sweet Home Alabama,” “We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions” (or “Bohemian Rhapsody”), “Don’t Stop Believin’,” and now perhaps “Livin’ on a Prayer” or “Pour Some Sugar on Me.” Maybe “Take on Me” — often the most-played Classic Hits title — is in there as well. But ‘70s, then ‘80s songs that could play on Classic Rock, Classic Hits, Adult Hits, and Adult Contemporary were the ones that felt ubiquitous.
But when Classic Hits moved into the ‘90s, it had to acknowledge more R&B. Now, some stations are even pushing into the teen-pop era. It might not have happened yet, but based on the song recognition stats from the “name that tune” game Heardle, the battle for No. 1 song on Earth could soon be between:
- Spice Girls, “Wannabe”
- TLC, “No Scrubs”
- Backstreet Boys, “I Want It That Way”
- Britney Spears, “Toxic”
Heardle is the UK-based Wordle variant that became phenomenal among music fans earlier this year. On July 12, it was purchased by Spotify. Until now, from a radio veteran’s point of view, the clues have fallen into (mostly) one of four categories:
- Ridiculously easy megahits (about 80%);
- Relatively obscure recent songs that became part of pop culture, but never quite radio hits (10%);
- Songs that would be far more easily recognized if you’re in the UK or listening to UK radio. (Judging from the clues, the POV seems to be 35-year-old Brit.) (5%)
- Ridiculously easy megahits made unfairly hard by a clue that differs significantly from the radio version. (5%)
When I last wrote about Heardle, the game’s creators had not yet released stats about which songs were most quickly or successfully guessed. Shortly before the sale, they did post those stats, at least for clues through June 20. For all but the first week of clues, you could see a second-by-second breakdown of what percentage of players guessed a clue when, or at all. (After the Spotify sale, the history tab became less robust and those stats seem to be missing for now.) Heardle’s celebrity endorser Questlove may feel the clues are either facile or ridiculous, but for other players, there’s far more differentiation.
The percentage of people guessing a song in the first second can be affected by the differences between Heardle and radio on where a song starts, as well as by the nature of the intro itself, it seems. The percentage of people ultimately guessing a song tracks more with our sense of “what the hits are.”
It’s important to note that familiarity doesn’t equal preference, and that there’s no demographic information attached here. But there are consistent patterns among the songs that were ultimately familiar, and some of them also suggest which songs are multi-generational vs. merely big with part of the audience.
These are the top 17 most recognized songs by Heardle players. (The entire list to date can be seen here.)
- Abba, “Dancing Queen” (97%)
- Spice Girls, “Wannabe” (97%)
- Britney Spears, “Toxic” (96%)
- Backstreet Boys, “I Want It That Way” (94%)
- Dolly Parton, “Jolene” (94%)
- Roy Orbison, “Oh Pretty Woman” (94%)
- Aretha Franklin, “Respect” (91%)
- Bruno Mars, “Locked Out of Heaven” (91%)
- Elvis Presley, “Can’t Help Falling in Love” (91%)
- Whitney Houston, “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” (90%)
- Eagles, “Hotel California” (89%)
- Pink, “Get the Party Started” (89%)
- a-Ha, “Take on Me” (88%)
- TLC, “No Scrubs” (87%)
- Lizzo, “Truth Hurts” (86%)
- Usher, “Yeah!” (86%)
- Oasis, “Wonderwall” (86%)
It’s no surprise, given the seeming 35-year-old’s POV of Heardle, that late ‘90s/early ‘00s songs are huge. But “Oh Pretty Woman,” “Respect,” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love” are all songs that clearly endure in the celestial jukebox as well. It’s worth noting that all three of those songs have been thought of by radio people as the “No. 1 Oldie on Earth” at various points over the years, usually when they were about as old as “I Want It That Way” is now.
While two decades’ worth of TV talent shows and music and movie syncs have put a lot of songs back into listener consciousness, without radio, the only song at the top of the list without consistent radio airplay over the years is “Jolene.” That song may have gotten some help from a vocal that starts at :08, but I can attest to that song having a bigger pop-culture footprint than most radio people realize. (ELO’s “Mr. Blue Sky,” another song known mostly though synchs now, is at 73% familiarity.)
For the most part, the songs that never became multi-format radio hits are the ones at the bottom of the list. Feeling old because of the Heardle clues you didn’t get? These might make you feel better:
- Wu-Tang Clan, “C.R.E.A.M.” (15%)
- Koffee, “Toast” (16%)
- Wizkid f/Tems, “Essence” (18%)
- Kate Bush, “This Woman’s Work” (29%)
Most of the recent hits that have been clues are mid-pack. On the radio, “Adore You” “That’s What I Want,” and “Shivers” are unavoidable, but they aren’t apparently ubiquitous, since all had 65% ultimate recognition. But besides Lizzo, we also see The Kid Laroi & Justin Bieber’s “Stay” at 81% and Cardi B’s “Up” at 78%. (Again, that song’s vocal starts at :06, perhaps making it easier to guess or Google.)
Songs that were bigger in the UK than America start to show up around No. 35:
- Toploader, “Dancing in the Moonlight” (77%)
- Mark Ronson f/Amy Winehouse, “Valerie” (70%)
- Annie Lennox, “Walking on Broken Glass” (69%–it’s still on the radio in the UK in a way that it isn’t in America, but some readers disagreed with my assessment of it as “lost” in America)
- Wheatus, “Teenage Dirtbag” (62%)
- Jamiroquai, “Virtual Insanity” (57%)
Some iconic songs, no matter how easy they seem to me and Questlove, have lower total recognition. They are often ‘70s titles that have become harder to find on the radio over the last decade, such as:
- Blue Oyster Cult, “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” (66% overall, but a 48% one-second score)
- Al Green, “Let’s Stay Together” (65%)
- Simon & Garfunkel, “Bridge Over Troubled Water” (58%)
- Emotions, “Best of My Love” (55%, despite a distinctive intro)
When it came to getting songs from one note, some songs were complicated by trick clues, such as “Wannabe” where only 11% recognized the laugh that begins the LP version or the particularly controversial “Wonderwall” (8% recognized a cough that some claimed really belonged to the previous track on the album).
In general, however, songs with distinctive opening flourishes did better:
- “Dancing Queen” (89% got it right away)
- “Toxic” (89%)
- “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” (84%)
- “Respect” (74%)
Even songs with strong ultimate familiarity that fade in or begin with sparse beats were harder to pin down, something worth noting at a time when few songs have commanding intros:
- Tracy Chapman, “Fast Car” (19%)
- AC/DC, “Back in Black” (28%)
- Joan Jett & Blackhearts, “I Love Rock & Roll” (23%) — a more forceful drum intro, but apparently not as ingrained as I would have thought.
It’s also worth noting that the first 11 songs are not Classic Rock. Only three songs out of the top 20 titles are. That could be the influence of the UK, where Classic Rock is not a stand-alone format of the same magnitude. It could also be generational, as well as the choice of clues. “Don’t Stop Believin’” was a clue, but after the June 20 cutoff, and I’m hoping the scoring info returns so we can see that song’s info. Also in the wings, the Foundations’ “Build Me Up Buttercup” and Ginuwine’s “Pony” — so we’ll have common-currency songs from three generations. Meanwhile, Spotify has, of course, posted a playlist of songs to date.
