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Research Reveals the World’s Favourite Musical Hits of All Time (Your News)

The team over at Stubhub have delved into Spotify Data to discover the soundtracks that get the world singing the most…

Ever since 1728 (the world’s first musical, The Beggar’s Opera!) we have been tapping our feet and shimmying along to our favourite musical theatre tunes. But what are world’s ALL TIME favourite hits? To see both of the top 100 lists and discover where your favourite song sits, visit: www.stubhub.co.uk/backstage/content/best-loved-musicals/

Top 5 Movie Musical Hits (no. of listens)

1. The Greatest Showman – Rewrite The Stars (416,207,352)

2. Grease – You’re The One That I Want (174,869,256)

3. Moulin Rouge! – Lady Marmalade (161,849,896)

4. La La Land – City of Stars (125,947,336)

5. Dreamgirls – Listen (80,023,410)

Top 5 Broadway / West End Musical Hits (no. of listens)

1. Hamilton – Alexander Hamilton (114,934,000)

2. Dear Evan Hansen – Waving Through a Window (72,017,121)

3. Wicked – Defying Gravity (66,636,045)

4. Heathers – Candy Store (32,693,819)

5. The Sound of Music – Preludium (23,225,451)

Other movies that make the cut include Hairspray, Mamma Mia!, Fame and many more. When it comes to the onstage picks, Jersey Boys, The Book of Mormon, The Lion King, Matilda, The Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables and Chess all make the top 20!

In order to compare songs, a list of popular musicals was created using IMDB and What’s On Stage as well as looking at Spotify playlists to determine which musicals people are listening to. Then all the songs on musical albums that have at least 1 million listens were looked at. Only true musical movies are considered as opposed to those films featuring singing such as A Star is Born, Bohemian Rhapsody and Once. To create the final ranking, the top song from each musical was used. While top 20 features the most popular songs from 20 productions, the full lists feature 150 songs as a comprehensive collection.

 

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