There are three types of first dance songs: the classics (Etta James' "At Last"), top 40 hits (John Legend's "All of Me" or Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud"), or off-beat picks that are super personal to the couple (I went to a wedding that had the Avett Brothers' "January Wedding" as a first dance). But what genre wins out for most popular? The folks at Spotify analyzed more than 40,000 wedding-themed playlists around the world to find the most popular wedding music and first dance songs.
Some stats they found: John Legend's "All of Me" ranks as the most listened-to song across all of the wedding-themed playlists on Spotify, but Jason Mraz won for most popular artist with multiple songs appearing on playlists. For the first dance, however, Ed Sheeran wins—most notably with songs "Tenerife Sea" and "Thinking Out Loud."
Most Popular Wedding Songs Globally
"All of Me," John Legend
"Marry You," Bruno Mars
"Thinking Out Loud," Ed Sheeran
"A Thousand Years," Christina Perri
"Ho Hey," the Lumineers
"Marry Me," Train
"Lucky," Jason Mraz, Colbie Caillat
"You Are the Best Thing," Ray LaMontagne
"I'm Yours," Jason Mraz
"Home," Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
"First Day of My Life," Bright Eyes
"Happy," Pharrell Williams
"Let's Stay Together," Al Green
"Everything," Michael Buble
"Best Day of My Life," American Authors
"I Won't Give Up," Jason Mraz
"At Last," Etta James
"Blurred Lines," Robin Thicke
"Better Together," Jack Johnson
"Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)," Stevie Wonder
Most Popular First Dance Songs Globally
"Thinking Out Loud," Ed Sheeran
"At Last," Etta James
"Can’t Help Falling In Love," Elvis Presley, the Jordanaires
"Marry Me," Train
"Tenerife Sea," Ed Sheeran
"You Are the Best Thing," Ray LaMontagne
"First Day of My Life," Bright Eyes
"Make You Feel My Love," Adele
"Everything," Michael Buble
"Lucky," Jason Mraz, Colbie Caillat
"Can’t Help Falling in Love," Ingrid Michaelson
"Better Together," Jack Johnson
"God Gave Me You," Blake Shelton
"Come Away With Me," Norah Jones
"The Luckiest," Ben Folds