Get the tunes going and elbow grease flowing!
From doing the dishes to disinfecting everything in sight, we’ve all been cleaning our homes more than ever over the past year. But just because we’ve been doing it more, doesn’t make it any less dull – which is why so many of us have been reaching for our headphones to inspire us to tackle the mess.
Noticing this trend, home furnishings retailer, Terrys, has dived into the data to reveal which are the most popular songs people have been listening to whilst undertaking household chores.
Music is known to boost motivation and even increase productivity, so it comes as no surprise that over 1,000 cleaning playlists covering 201,704 songs have been created so far, with many of us looking for ways to inspire our cleaning regime.
Most of the top songs revealed here are energetic songs from across the decades, proving that many of us need fast-paced and often thumping music to keep us motivated to smash through those dreaded jobs (oven grease – we’re looking at you!).
The perfectly ironic “No Scrubs” hit by TLC comes out on top, featured in a total of 930 playlists, and listened to a staggering 607 million times.
Smash hits from more current artists such as “Good 4 U” by Olivia Rodrigo and “Watermelon Sugar” by Harry Styles were also popular choices overall, with both appearing in the top 10.
Both the top 10 and top 50 songs are heavily dominated by an eclectic mix of artists, with the top 50 featuring everything from country mega-star Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats” to iconic R&B anthem “Sexy Back” by Justin Timberlake.
THE TOP 10 MOST POPULAR CLEANING SONGS
- No Scrubs, TLC
- I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me), Whitney Houston
- Uptown Funk, Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars
- Hips Don’t Lie, Shakira ft. Wyclef Jean
- Sweater Weather, The Neighbourhood
- Good 4 U, Olivia Rodrigo
- Closer, The Chainsmokers
- 9 to 5, Dolly Parton
- Wannabe, Spice Girls
- Watermelon Sugar, Harry Styles
Whilst the data reveals that most people opt for upbeat pop songs, the research also found a few humorous choices people have included in their cleaning playlists. Funny and ironic songs frequently featured in cleaning playlists included “9 to 5” by Dolly Parton, “Aint No Fun” by Paramore and “Toxic” by Britney Spears.
Whether you’re always on your cleaning A-game or you take a little more persuasion to get out the duster and polish, Terrys has combined the top 100 most popular songs into the ultimate cleaning playlist, to help keep you motivated. You can listen to it here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5wR6pmtxlCN8GcpruRvrSt?si=c49ab902675f440f
