- The new research names the most popular tunes Americans listen to when they want to feel good – with Vance Joy’s famous hit Riptide proving to be the most popular
- The study analyzed Spotify playlists related to the phrase ‘feel-good songs’ to see which songs repeatedly cropped up as mood boosters
- Music from renowned rock band The Killers and international popstar Harry Styles also ranked in the top three
A new study has revealed Americans go-to hits to turn their bad mood around – and Vance Joy’s Riptide is the number one choice.
The research, conducted by Bonus Ninja, used Spotify’s Playlist Miner tool to determine the top songs included in ‘feel-good’ related playlists, to identify the music that the US listen to when they want to brighten their day.
Song | Number of times the song appears on feel-good related playlists |
Vance Joy-Riptide | 133 |
Harry Styles-As It Was | 126 |
Miley Cyrus-Flowers | 111 |
Glass Animals-Heat Waves | 111 |
Coldplay-Viva La Vida | 109 |
Outkast-Hey Ya! | 108 |
Neon Trees-Everybody Talks | 107 |
Train-Hey, Soul Sister | 105 |
The Killers-Mr. Brightside | 104 |
The Weeknd-Blinding Lights | 102 |
The Kid LAROI-STAY (with Justin Bieber) | 101 |
OneRepublic-Counting Stars | 101 |
WALK THE MOON-Shut Up and Dance | 101 |
Avicii-Wake Me Up | 101 |
GROUPLOVE-Tongue Tied | 100 |
The Neighbourhood-Sweater Weather | 99 |
Bruno Mars-Locked out of Heaven | 99 |
Tears For Fears-Everybody Wants To Rule The World | 97 |
BØRNS-Electric Love | 96 |
Post Malone-Circles | 96 |
MKTO-Classic | 95 |
JVKE-golden hour | 94 |
Nicky Youre-Sunroof | 93 |
Gorillaz-Feel Good Inc. | 91 |
Dua Lipa-Levitating (feat. DaBaby) | 90 |
a-ha-Take on Me | 89 |
OneRepublic-I Ain’t Worried | 89 |
Tyler, The Creator-See You Again (feat. Kali Uchis) | 87 |
American Authors-Best Day Of My Life | 87 |
fun.-We Are Young (feat. Janelle Monáe) | 86 |
Bastille-Pompeii | 86 |
Tame Impala-The Less I Know The Better | 86 |
Steve Lacy-Bad Habit | 85 |
Capital Cities-Safe And Sound | 85 |
Queen-Don’t Stop Me Now – Remastered 2011 | 84 |
Bruno Mars-Just the Way You Are | 84 |
Owl City-Fireflies | 81 |
Black Eyed Peas-I Gotta Feeling | 81 |
Of Monsters and Men-Little Talks | 81 |
Fleetwood Mac-Dreams – 2004 Remaster | 80 |
Jason Mraz-I’m Yours | 80 |
Smash Mouth-All Star | 80 |
Earth, Wind & Fire-September | 80 |
The Beatles-Here Comes The Sun – Remastered 2009 | 80 |
Electric Light Orchestra-Mr. Blue Sky | 79 |
The Chainsmokers-Something Just Like This | 79 |
Gym Class Heroes-Stereo Hearts (feat. Adam Levine) | 79 |
Hozier-Take Me to Church | 79 |
Taylor Swift-Cruel Summer | 79 |
Marvin Gaye-Ain’t No Mountain High Enough | 78 |
Gotye-Somebody That I Used To Know | 78 |
DNCE-Cake By The Ocean | 78 |
The Weeknd-Die For You | 78 |
Miley Cyrus-Party In The U.S.A. | 77 |
The Chainsmokers-Closer | 77 |
Daryl Hall & John Oates-You Make My Dreams (Come True) | 75 |
Avicii-The Nights | 75 |
Arctic Monkeys-Do I Wanna Know? | 75 |
Bruno Mars-That’s What I Like | 74 |
Michael Jackson-Billie Jean | 74 |
Florence + The Machine-Dog Days Are Over | 74 |
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis-Can’t Hold Us (feat. Ray Dalton) | 74 |
Drake-One Dance | 73 |
Childish Gambino-Redbone | 73 |
David Guetta-I’m Good (Blue) | 73 |
Dua Lipa-Don’t Start Now | 73 |
David Kushner-Daylight | 72 |
The Lumineers-Ophelia | 72 |
Doja Cat-Kiss Me More (feat. SZA) | 72 |
Fitz and The Tantrums-Out of My League | 71 |
Ed Sheeran-Shape of You | 71 |
Katy Perry-Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.) | 71 |
J. Cole-No Role Modelz | 71 |
One Direction-What Makes You Beautiful | 71 |
TOTO-Africa | 70 |
Mark Ronson-Uptown Funk (feat. Bruno Mars) | 70 |
Maroon 5-Moves Like Jagger – Studio Recording From “The Voice” Performance | 70 |
Mac Miller-The Spins | 70 |
Harry Styles-Watermelon Sugar | 69 |
Elton John-I’m Still Standing | 69 |
Twenty One Pilots-Ride | 69 |
The Weeknd-Save Your Tears | 69 |
Foster The People-Pumped Up Kicks | 69 |
Olivia Rodrigo-good 4 u | 69 |
Kanye West-Flashing Lights | 68 |
Arctic Monkeys-505 | 68 |
Doja Cat-Paint The Town Red | 68 |
Imagine Dragons-On Top Of The World | 68 |
Taylor Swift-Blank Space | 68 |
Imagine Dragons-Demons | 67 |
Clean Bandit-Rather Be (feat. Jess Glynne) | 67 |
Frank Ocean-Pink + White | 67 |
Journey-Don’t Stop Believin’ (2022 Remaster) | 67 |
Coldplay-Yellow | 67 |
Harry Styles-Late Night Talking | 67 |
Sam Smith-Unholy (feat. Kim Petras) | 67 |
The Weeknd-Starboy | 67 |
Kendrick Lamar-All The Stars (with SZA) | 67 |
SZA-Kill Bill | 67 |
Billy Joel-Uptown Girl | 66 |
Over 10 years on from its release, Australian singer songwriter Vance Joy’s Riptide is still making fans smile – so much so the track is the most featured song on the playlists people turn to when they fancy listening to uplifting music.
The famed tune featured on over a tenth (12.3%) of all the playlists scanned, included in 122 of the 993 playlists scanned.
Meanwhile, The Killers, Harry Styles and Glass Animals all had songs which made it onto 116 of the ‘feel-good’ music compilations (11.7%).
Unsurprisingly iconic hit Mr. Brightside, arguably the American bands’ most successful song, is The Killers claim to fame on the ranking. Some more recent music comes from pop sensation Harry Styles’ As It Was and English indie rock band Glass Animals’ Heat Waves.
The fifth spot is claimed by early 2000s hit Hey Ya by hip hop duo Outkast made up of rappers Big Boi and André 3000, with the pair’s groovy tune inspiring positive feelings on 106 playlists (10.7%).
Following closely behind at 105 mentions (10.6% of playlists) is Everybody Talks by Neon Trees, who actually have The Killers to thank for their nationwide recognition, which came from opening several tour dates for the band back in 2008.
Duo Tony Oller and Malcolm David Kelley are on 104 playlists (10.5%) as a result of their hit Classic – perhaps unsurprisingly as the song is largely responsible for MKTO’s global success.
Both featured 103 times (10.4%), Walk the Moon’s Shut up and Dance and Coldplay’s Viva La Vida make it in the top 10, with the two songs both well-suited for a sing along bound to lift spirits.
Even more than 40 years after it came out, Earth Wind & Fire’s hit September remains popular and is the final song to surpass featuring on more than 100 playlists, making it onto 101.
Top 10 feel-good songs
Artist | Song | Number of Playlist Appearances | Proportion of Playlist Appearances |
Vance Joy | Riptide | 122 | 12.3% |
The Killers | Mr. Brightside | 116 | 11.7% |
Harry Styles | As It Was | 116 | 11.7% |
Glass Animals | Heat Waves | 116 | 11.7% |
Outkast | Hey Ya! | 106 | 10.7% |
Neon Trees | Everybody Talks | 105 | 10.6% |
Walk the Moon | Shut Up and Dance | 104 | 10.5% |
MKTO | Classic | 103 | 10.4% |
Coldplay | Viva La Vida | 103 | 10.4% |
Earth, Wind & Fire | September | 101 | 10.2% |
Another notable mention is Miley Cyrus’ Flowers, which despite only being released in the last year, has already become loved enough as a feel-good song to rank in the top 20, included in 95 playlists.
Commenting on the findings, a Bonus Ninja spokesperson says: “With all the excitement of the holiday season over, many of us find ourselves feeling low in the January month as we settle back into our routines of work and normal life.
“Listening to music is a notoriously good way to boost your mood if you are feeling down in the dumps, with lyrics and rhythms having an ability like no other tool to influence our emotions.
“The only issue is when you can’t find that perfect playlist and you are constantly flicking between numerous ones. These findings remove this problem, by offering a list of Americans favorite songs that are guaranteed to turn your day around.”
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