No matter where you go, there are certain tracks you simply can’t escape. From infectious dance anthems to heartfelt ballads, these tunes have taken over radio airwaves and are always just a dial away. Our countdown celebrates the catchy songs that have become constant companions, whether you love belting them out or groan when they play for the hundredth time.
00:00Welcome to Miss Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for those radio earworms that
00:09remain a constant presence on these terrestrial airwaves.
00:19Number 10, Beautiful Things, Benson Boone.
00:22The path to success has been a quick one for Benson Boone, with singles such as Ghost Town
00:34and In the Stars paving the way for Beautiful Things to hit in 2024.
00:38The American singer utilised the TikTok platform to his advantage, creating anticipation online
00:43prior to the final release of Beautiful Things.
00:45The end results sort of spoke for themselves, really, with nearly half a million views on
00:56YouTube accrued within an hour.
00:58Beautiful Things has lived on over the radio airwaves since then as well, becoming the sort
01:03of omnipresent song that always seems to be playing somewhere.
01:06We hear music everywhere we go, from the grocery store to restaurants, bars and apartment stores,
01:30so it's highly likely that you've heard a song such as Hey There Delilah without even knowing
01:35the artist.
01:36The song belongs to Plain White Tees, of course, and it's just one in a long line of tunes
01:40that benefited from the inclusion of a real name within its title.
01:44I'd write it all, even more in love with me you'd fall.
01:51Meanwhile, the song itself is a warmly sung and comforting acoustic ballad with a strong
01:56lead vocal melody.
01:57The innocuousness of its arrangement doesn't come as a slight, but instead assists Hey There
02:03Delilah in becoming a song that can basically fit any time, anywhere.
02:15Number 8.
02:16Fallen, Alicia Keys
02:17There's nobody out there that's going to deny the immense talent of singer-songwriter
02:28Alicia Keys.
02:29That said, even the best songs can become overplayed, including Fallen.
02:34Mileage may, of course, vary when it comes exactly when we, as music fans, become tired of a tune.
02:40Alicia Keys released Fallen back in 2001, so the piano ballad has existed within the public
02:53consciousness for almost 25 years, and it'll probably still be played 25 years from now.
02:58Keys' album, Songs in A Minor, has plenty of other great songs to its credit, however, so
03:03maybe radio should unearth some deep cuts instead.
03:14Number 7.
03:15Single Ladies Put A Ring On It
03:17Beyonce
03:17It's perhaps easy to blame the low-hanging fruit of the Single Ladies hand dance for effectively
03:27ensuring that this Beyonce song will remain with us forever.
03:31There's actually a long history of pop tunes where they connect the dance craze or fad,
03:35remaining a part of the pop culture zeitgeist.
03:45Now, we're not exactly saying that Single Ladies Put A Ring On It was the twist of its
03:49day, but the accompanying video certainly didn't hurt the song's cause.
03:53The song remains a terrestrial radio staple, and that probably isn't going away anytime soon.
03:58It's perhaps the melting pot of musical stars incorporated into his sound by George's
04:20Teddy Swims that enabled songs like Lose Control to stick around with such persistence.
04:25This 2023 track was Swims' second single, a difficult-to-categorise jam with influences from classic soul, pop, jazz, country, and R&B.
04:40This effectively means that Teddy Swims can receive airplay anywhere, as multitudes of radio stations, all dedicated to different formats, play his song.
04:48This visibility has helped make Lose Control a song that's inescapable on the radio, online, and in advertising.
04:555. Dynamite
05:04Sometimes all it takes is a shift in style to take an artist to the next creative level.
05:17British singer Tayo Cruz started off his career with a retro-based R&B sound, before eventually incorporating influences from beats-driven electronic dance music into his style.
05:26This resulted in a hit from Cruise in 2010, the EDM-inspired Dynamite.
05:40Sales were swift for Cruise after this success, as Dynamite's charted not only in the singer's native country, but in Canada, Australia, and the United States as well.
05:49Because it's gone, gone, gone, gone, gone, gone, gone, let me hear you sing it, come on!
05:58Dynamite became something of a dancefloor staple as a result of this success, and you'd be hard-pressed to avoid hearing this tune even today.
06:05Because I told you once, now I told you twice, we gon' light it up like it's dynamite.
06:134. Firework
06:15Artists of the commercial calibre of Katy Perry are always releasing or working on new music, so why does Firework still hang around radio stations over 15 years after its initial release in 2010?
06:33Well, the positive lyrical sentiment of the song might have something to do with it.
06:45Granted, that infamous opening line about a plastic bag is still as awkward now as it was back then, but the overall sentiment of shining bright in the face of adversity is a good one.
06:54Firework is also relentlessly melodic, hammering home that chorus for all it's worth, whether you want it or not.
07:00Make them go, oh, oh, oh, as you shoot across the sky.
07:073. Despacito
07:09Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber
07:13It doesn't really matter whether or not you're hearing the version of Despacito with or without Justin Bieber on the mic,
07:26the chances are probably pretty good that you've heard this Latin pop hit at least a couple of dozen times.
07:31Despacito was one of 2017's biggest crossover chart hits, and was pretty much inescapable for all of that year.
07:38Fast forward to the modern day, and Despacito still has legs on radio airwaves, with continued playback pretty much being the norm.
07:52And why not? A lot of people love to dance, and Despacito certainly does the trick in that department.
07:572. Happy Pharrell Williams
08:09Hits from movie soundtrack albums are definitely not uncommon. Some movie hits are of their time, however,
08:21and don't always continue to be radio staples years after the movie has left theatres.
08:25This isn't the case with Happy by Pharrell Williams, which continues to make its detractors…
08:29well, unhappy, since its release back in 2013.
08:41The tune was originally released to coincide with the first Despicable Me sequel,
08:45but this is yet another case with the song's bright optimism has worked in its favour.
08:49Happy feels tailor-made as a pick-me-up, and it's often been used as such in the years since it first dropped.
08:55Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honourable mentions.
09:05Shape of You, Ed Sheeran, heavy airplay lining the pockets of TLC.
09:17Sexy Back, Justin Timberlake featuring Timberland, the song that filled club floors back in the mid-naughties.
09:23Every Breath You Take, The Police. Still not a love song, guys.
09:33Blurred Lines, Robin Thicke featuring T.I. and Pharrell. Problematic yet ever-present.
09:47Rolling in the Deep, Adele. This song resonated with millions of people.
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10:231. I Got A Feeling, The Black Eyed Peas
10:35There's been a lot written and discussed over the years about how artists such as Imagine Dragons and The Black Eyed Peas have existed at the nexus between creativity and commercialism.
10:45Do Imagine Dragons simply write songs to be used in commercials? Are the Black Eyed Peas relevant beyond Super Bowl halftime shows or movie soundtrack contributions?
10:53I Got A Feeling either speaks to the fan in you or makes you want to run in the opposite direction.
11:05It's yet another Black Eyed Peas tune that's achieved massive commercial success but has also offered further evidence for the group's detractors on the other side of the fence.
11:14Either way, I Got A Feeling isn't going anywhere.
11:25Feel like defending any of these radio hits? Let us know in the comments.
