THE MOST POPULAR FEEL-GOOD SONGS

The best feel-good music to empower you for the day

Woman laughing

Raising your vibrations with music is a great way to help kick-start your day. Songs have the scientific* power to boost our mood, helping us to feel good and boost our confidence when we’re feeling down.

We know that everyone has their own vibe. Your music taste can change as easily as your mood. So to ensure we covered all bases, we looked at thousands of Spotify playlists around ‘girl power’, ‘love yourself’, ‘best friends’, ‘seize the day’ and ‘bath time’ to find the most featured songs. Then we overlaid YouTube music video views to reveal the ultimate feel-good tunes. Our Leading Lights, Larissa Crawford, Tommy Dorfman, Sara Mora and Nora McInerny have curated their very own feel-good Spotify playlist. Tune in to their empowering and self-love playlist here.

Keep reading for 100 feel-good songs to help empower you throughout the day.

The top 20 girl power songs of all time

Who run the world? Need we say more. These 20 female-empowering songs are a showcase of the icons, and they’re the perfect songs to listen to, well, always.

Four of Ariana Grande’s top hits feature in the top 20 girl power songs, crowning her the queen of empowerment. Britney Spears and Demi Lovato continue their reign as pop princesses with two of each of their songs featured in our playlist.

These iconic female artists are here to accompany you during an at-home workout, a girl’s night in or even to help you prepare for a big and exciting day. Whenever you need an empowerment pick-me-up, here’s your go to playlist:

  1. 7 rings - Ariana Grande
  2. Run the World (Girls) - Beyoncé
  3. thank u, next - Ariana Grande
  4. Wannabe - Spice Girls
  5. IDGAF - Dua Lipa
  6. God is a woman - Ariana Grande
  7. Toxic - Britney Spears
  8. Girl on Fire - Alicia Keys
  9. No Scrubs - TLC
  10. break up with your girlfriend, i'm bored - Ariana Grande
  11. Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) - Kelly Clarkson
  12. Boss Bitch - Doja Cat
  13. Woman Like Me (feat. Nicki Minaj) - Little Mix
  14. That's My Girl - Fifth Harmony
  15. Womanizer - Britney Spears
  16. Confident - Demi Lovato
  17. Sorry Not Sorry - Demi Lovato
  18. WAP (feat. Megan Thee Stallion) - Cardi B
  19. Most Girls - Hailee Steinfeld
  20. Bitch Better Have My Money - Rihanna

The top self-love songs to listen to, just for you

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, self-love is our superpower. There’s an endless list of self-love tips you can follow to upgrade your self-care routines, and music is one way that’s proven to release the feel-good hormones when we’re in need of some self-love.

We present you with 20 feel-good songs to listen to that’ll make you want to dance and give yourself a hug. Self-love queens like Ariana Grande and Lizzo are the most popular artists to listen to amongst Spotify users, but it’s ‘7 rings’ by Ariana Grande that hits the top spot for the best self-love song.

  1. 7 rings - Ariana Grande
  2. thank u, next - Ariana Grande
  3. Who Says - Selena Gomez & The Scene
  4. Fight Song - Rachel Platten
  5. I Love Me - Demi Lovato
  6. God is a woman - Ariana Grande
  7. Love Myself - Hailee Steinfeld
  8. Good Days - SZA
  9. Girl on Fire - Alicia Keys
  10. Scars To Your Beautiful - Alessia Cara
  11. Good as Hell - Lizzo
  12. Born This Way - Lady Gaga
  13. Love Myself - Olivia O'Brien
  14. Most Girls - Hailee Steinfeld
  15. Beautiful - Christina Aguilera
  16. drivers license - Olivia Rodrigo
  17. Soulmate - Lizzo
  18. I Am (feat. Flo Milli) - Yung Baby Tate
  19. Rise Up - Andra Day
  20. Juice - Lizzo

The best songs for a good morning

For when you need a little boost to start the day, these 20 tracks are the most popular to help you roll out of bed, cleanse, tone and moisturizer then seize the day.

Avicii’s hit ‘Wake Me Up’ tops the best tunes to listen to in the morning, but there’s lots of golden oldies and some fresh-hot newbies that feature in this ultimate list to set you on the path of a feel-good morning.

  1. Wake Me Up - Avicii
  2. Can't Hold Us - feat. Ray Dalton - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
  3. Here Comes The Sun - Remastered 2009 - The Beatles
  4. Viva La Vida - Coldplay
  5. Walking On Sunshine - Katrina & The Waves
  6. SICKO MODE - Travis Scott
  7. Happier - Marshmello
  8. Goosebumps - Travis Scott
  9. Wake Up in the Sky - Gucci Mane
  10. Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go - Wham!
  11. Lovely Day - Bill Withers
  12. XO Tour Llif3 - Lil Uzi Vert
  13. Life Goes On - BTS
  14. Sunrise - Norah Jones
  15. Feel It Still - Portugal. The Man
  16. I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me) - Whitney Houston
  17. Watermelon Sugar - Harry Styles
  18. Mr. Blue Sky - Electric Light Orchestra
  19. You Make My Dreams (Come True) - Daryl Hall & John Oates
  20. Put Your Records On - Corinne Bailey Rae

Most popular songs for friendship, to share with your BFF

Spread the love. Looking after yourself is the top priority, but what’s a super-powered day if it’s not shared with a loved one? Your crew is there for you through thick and thin, so reach out and share the good vibes with the most popular songs for friendship:

  1. Yellow - Coldplay
  2. Sweater Weather - The Neighbourhood
  3. Best Friend - Rex Orange County
  4. Someone You Loved - Lewis Capaldi
  5. Hold On - Chord Overstreet
  6. drivers license - Olivia Rodrigo
  7. Best Friend (feat. Doja Cat) - Saweetie
  8. Tongue Tied - Grouplove
  9. Heather - Conan Gray
  10. If the World Was Ending - feat. Julia Michaels - JP Saxe
  11. Electric Love - BØRNS
  12. Are You Bored Yet? (feat. Clairo) - Wallows
  13. Falling - Harry Styles
  14. Make You Mine - PUBLIC
  15. Sofia - Clairo
  16. Daddy Issues - The Neighbourhood
  17. Count on Me - Bruno Mars
  18. 18 - One Direction
  19. you were good to me - Jeremy Zucker
  20. 8TEEN - Khalid

The most popular songs to wind down to in the bath

Finding time to relax in times of stress can be tricky. However, it’s important to take a step back from the day to unwind and reset. Release tension with a hot bath while listening to the most popular relaxing songs, featuring the mellow sounds of Harry Styles, The Neighbourhood and Billie Eilish.

Ps. If you’re tempted to sing along to ‘All of Me’ by John Legend, remember that the bathroom acoustics are your friend. That’s right cue your own ‘The X Factor’ moment.

  1. All of Me - John Legend
  2. lovely (with Khalid) - Billie Eilish
  3. Daddy Issues - The Neighbourhood
  4. Sweater Weather - The Neighbourhood
  5. drivers license - Olivia Rodrigo
  6. SLOW DANCING IN THE DARK - Joji
  7. Someone You Loved - Lewis Capaldi
  8. Falling - Harry Styles
  9. Dancing On My Own - Calum Scott
  10. Heather - Conan Gray
  11. I Met Sarah in the Bathroom - awfultune
  12. i love you - Billie Eilish
  13. Star Shopping - Lil Peep
  14. Still Don't Know My Name - Labrinth
  15. Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High? - Arctic Monkeys
  16. The Less I Know The Better - Tame Impala
  17. i was all over her - salvia palth
  18. we fell in love in october - girl in red
  19. Fine Line - Harry Styles
  20. sex money feelings die - slowed version - Lykke Li
Woman closing her eyes

Once you’ve finished your rendition of Lewis Capaldi’s ‘Someone You Loved’, follow with a face cleanser to wipe your face clean, a toner for a more even skin tone, then enrich your skin with a moisturizer before heading off to bed feeling oh-so good.

Methodology and Sources

*https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/music-and-health

We reviewed over 100,000 songs that feature within Spotify playlists named ‘girl power’, ‘love yourself’, ‘best friends’, ‘seize the day’ and ‘bath time’. We took the 20 most commonly featured songs in each category, then looked at the number of YouTube views from Official Music Videos and Spotify’s score from Playlist Miner, combining them into a weighted rank to calculate the top 20 songs in each category. Data is correct as of March 2021.

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