Entertainment
The most popular Disney songs
A new study has revealed the most loved Disney hits of all time…
The data, collected by theatre tickets company SeatPlan, looked at the top 1,000 playlists featuring the word ‘Disney’ in their title on Spotify using the tool Spotify Playlist Miner and saw which songs appeared most frequently across the lists. The royalty calculator Music Gateway was then used to determine how much money the top songs have made from the number of global streams on Spotify.
#1 You’re Welcome
The research revealed Moana’s You’re Welcome is the most popular song after featuring in 293 of the playlists. The song has so far been streamed over 538 million times, earning Disney approximately £1.72 million in royalty profits.
In addition, the song, sung by Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson who plays Maui, currently has over 1.6 billion YouTube views too. Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote the song after researching the rich history of the demigod Maui’s perception and said that he was initially worried about whether The Rock would be happy singing for the role. Thankfully, it turned out that he was more than happy to do so, and the track has proved a much loved fan favorite.
#2 How Far I’ll Go and Let It Go
Coming next in joint second is another Moana song, How Far I’ll Go, alongside the classic Frozen hit, Let It Go. Both featured in 288 playlists, with a combined total of over 1.3 billion global streams.
The iconic Moana hit, sung by Auli’i Cravalho, is the most streamed song from the film’s soundtrack, with over 595 million streams. Thanks to its huge popularity, Disney has earned approximately £1.91 million in royalties. Adding in royalties from Alessia Cara’s pop version, played through the film’s credits, Disney has earned over £4.15 million as this version boasts of over 734 million streams alone.
As for Idina Menzel’s Let It Go, the song has been played over 742 million times on Spotify and is reported to be Disney’s most streamed song globally, resulting in over £2.37 million made from it.
#3 I Just Can’t Wait to Be King
Placing third is The Lion King’s hit I Just Can’t Wait to Be King, sung by Simba actor Jason Weaver featuring Rowan Atkinson, who plays Zazu, and Nala actress Laura Williams. The song was the third most popular, featuring in 276 playlists and amassing 290 million streams, earning approximately £930,000 in royalties.
This year, The Lion King is celebrating its 30th anniversary since its initial release and can thank its hugely successful soundtrack to Elton John and Tim Rice’s musical genius. The original soundtrack has over 1.5 billion streams on Spotify.
#4 I’ll Make a Man Out of You
Coming in fourth place is I’ll Make a Man Out of You, sung by Donny Osmond on the original Mulan soundtrack. The song featured in 270 playlists and thus far has gained over 319 million streams on Spotify. It is estimated that Disney has earned over £1.02 million thanks to the song.
Interestingly, Osmond came to sing the song after he had previously auditioned for and been rejected from Hercules due to sounding ‘too old.’ However, he was cast to sing Shang’s song as the team felt his singing voice sounded enough like Shang’s voice actor, BD Wong. Clearly, the song has made its way into the Disney classic hits list and continues to be streamed millions of times worldwide each week.
#5 Love Is an Open Door
The fifth most popular is another Frozen hit, this time sung by Kristen Bell. Love Is an Open Door appeared in 263 playlists and, so far, the song has been streamed over 362 million times on Spotify, making Disney a hefty profit of approximately £1.16 million so far in royalties.
The playful duet between the characters Anna and Hans was intended to sound like ‘the perfect first date’, according to its married songwriters Robert and Kristen Lopez.
Top 20 Disney hits on Spotify
| Rank | Song | Occurrences | Streams | Royalties |
| 1 | You’re Welcome | 293 | 538,000,000 | £1,720,000 |
| 2 | How Far I’ll Go | 288 | 595,000,000 | £1,910,000 |
| 2= | Let It Go | 288 | 742,000,000 | £2,370,000 |
| 3 | I Just Can’t Wait to Be King | 276 | 290,000,000 | £930,000 |
| 4 | I’ll Make a Man Out of You | 270 | 319,000,000 | £1,020,000 |
| 5 | Love Is an Open Door | 263 | 362,000,000 | £1,160,000 |
| 6 | Hakuna Matata | 261 | 268,000,000 | £860,000 |
| 7 | Into the Unknown | 260 | 394,000,000 | £1,260,000 |
| 8 | Do You Want to Build a Snowman? | 246 | 323,000,000 | £1,040,000 |
| 9 | When Will My Life Begin? | 239 | 275,000,000 | £880,000 |
| 9= | For the First Time in Forever | 239 | 232,000,000 | £740,000 |
| 10 | Under the Sea | 234 | 284,000,000 | £910,000 |
| 11 | I See the Light | 227 | 298,000,000 | £960,000 |
| 12 | We Don’t Talk About Bruno | 215 | 491,000,000 | £1,570,000 |
| 12= | I’ve Got a Dream | 215 | 139,000,000 | £450,000 |
| 13 | You’ve Got a Friend in Me | 214 | 292,000,000 | £930,000 |
| 14 | Part of Your World | 200 | 257,000,000 | £820,000 |
| 15 | A Girl Worth Fighting For | 188 | 115,000,000 | £370,000 |
| 16 | Circle of Life | 186 | 214,000,000 | £690,000 |
| 17 | Where You Are | 179 | 289,000,000 | £930,000 |
| 18 | Show Yourself | 178 | 256,000,000 | £820,000 |
| 19 | The Family Madrigal | 177 | 213,000,000 | £690,000 |
| 20 | Surface Pressure | 174 | 310,000,000 | £990,000 |
#6 Hakuna Matata
Another classic song from the Lion King soundtrack, Hakuna Matata comes in sixth place featuring in 261 playlists on Spotify. Timon and Pumbaa’s iconic song, titled after a Swahili phrase meaning ‘no worries’, has racked up 268 million streams and £860,000 in royalties from the platform alone.
#7 Into the Unknown
Placing as the seventh most popular is another Idina Menzel song, this time from Frozen 2. Into the Unknown featured across 260 playlists and globally has gained 394 million streams, earning Disney an estimated £1.26 million in royalties.
#8 Do You Want to Build a Snowman?
Frozen proves extremely popular on this list, claiming another additional spot in eighth place with Anna’s song in the first movie, Do You Want to Build a Snowman?, after featuring on 246 playlists. The song, which has over 365 million views on YouTube, has earned Disney over £1.04 million thanks to its 323 million streams.
#9 When Will My Life Begin? and For the First Time in Forever
The first Tangled song to make it on this list is Mandy Moore’s iconic When Will My Life Begin?, which has gained over 275 million streams and earned Disney approximately £880,000 in royalties. According to the playlists surveyed, this song was ninth most popular in Disney playlists, featuring in 239 of them.
Also, in joint ninth place, featuring on 239 playlists, is For the First Time in Forever. The song has been streamed over 232 million times and has proved very popular, making an estimated £740,000 in profits.
#10 Under the Sea
The Little Mermaid’s Under the Sea rounds off the top ten after appearing in 234 of the playlists. The song is The Little Mermaid’s most popular and has globally been played over 284 million times. Currently, the royalties stand at approximately £910,000.
Commenting on the findings, Ben Jackson, CEO of SeatPlan:
“Disney’s ability to consistently make incredibly successful songs is fascinating. The songs can encompass an array of experiences and emotions and their popularity speaks to the cultural legacy Disney’s films have. Clearly, audiences love returning to the lyrical magic of Disney tracks. It is encouraging to see many tracks in the top ten are from films that were released even before the millennium, proving the timeless quality they have.
“As streaming continues to dominate the music world, it is great for Disney to consistently have hugely popular tracks that bring in plenty of royalties. This vast success of every soundtrack cements Disney’s eternal popularity and status in the discourse of music and shows how Disney continues to enchant new generations of fans with their fun melodies and classic tales.”
