You Can't Stop the Beat:
The Ultimate Musicals Playlist

The songs of musical theatre have become indelibly woven into the fabric of our culture over the past 100 years, but which tracks are the most popular?

We've used Spotify's data to find out which songs from musicals most often appear in playlists. We also discovered the musical elements that most often occur in these songs, and much more.

Select metric:

Rank	Track Title	Playlist Popularity Score
1st	Alexander Hamilton	70
2nd	The Schuyler Sisters	60
3rd	Satisfied	58
4th	You Will Be Found	57
5th	Burn	54
6th	Seasons of Love	52
7th	Defying Gravity - From "Wicked" Original Broadway Cast Recording/2003	52
8th	Take Me or Leave Me	51
9th	My Shot	49
10th	Helpless	49
11th	Sincerely, Me	45
12th	You'll Be Back	44
13th	Waving Through A Window	41
14th	Never Enough	40
15th	Candy Store	39
16th	Only Us	37
17th	For Forever	37
18th	We're All In This Together - From "High School Musical"/Soundtrack Version	37
19th	If I Could Tell Her	36
20th	Start of Something New - From "High School Musical"/Soundtrack Version	35
21st	Revolting Children	35
22nd	The Greatest Show	35
23rd	Rewrite The Stars	35
24th	Dead Girl Walking	34
25th	A Million Dreams	34
26th	This Is Me	34
27th	Anybody Have a Map?	32
28th	Wait for It	32
29th	Dear Theodosia	32
30th	Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story	31
31st	That Would Be Enough	30
32nd	Non-Stop	30
33rd	Seventeen	30
34th	When I Grow Up	30
35th	Popular - From "Wicked" Original Broadway Cast Recording/2003	30
36th	The Room Where It Happens	29
37th	Guns and Ships	29
38th	Omigod You Guys	29
39th	World Burn	29
40th	She Used To Be Mine	29
41st	Journey to the Past	28
42nd	Cell Block Tango	28
43rd	Words Fail	28
44th	It's Quiet Uptown	28
45th	Beautiful	28
46th	So Much Better	28
47th	Honey, Honey - From 'Mamma Mia!' Original Motion Picture Soundtrack	28
48th	Hello!	28
49th	From Now On	28
50th	Bad Idea	28
51st	When He Sees Me	28
52nd	Once Upon a December	27
53rd	Say My Name	27
54th	Don't Lose Ur Head	27
55th	Dead Mom	26
56th	You Can't Stop The Beat - From 'Hairspray'	26
57th	Say No to This	26
58th	Someone Gets Hurt	26
59th	Bet On It	25
60th	Suddenly, Seymour	25
61st	Mamma Mia - From 'Mamma Mia!' Original Motion Picture Soundtrack	25
62nd	I'd Rather Be Me	25
63rd	Revenge Party	25
64th	La Vie Boheme	25
65th	The Other Side	25
66th	Good For You	24
67th	Just Wanna Be With You - Original Version	24
68th	Fabulous	24
69th	Can I Have This Dance - Original Version	24
70th	Six	24
71st	In a Crowd of Thousands	23
72nd	Requiem	23
73rd	Aaron Burr, Sir	23
74th	Work This Out	23
75th	Now Or Never - Original Version	23
76th	One Day More	23
77th	Seize The Day	23
78th	Tightrope	23
79th	Come Alive	23
80th	Opening Up	23
81st	In My Dreams	22
82nd	One Last Time	22
83rd	Gotta Go My Own Way	22
84th	Breathe	22
85th	Ex-Wives	22
86th	I See the Light	22
87th	Anything Goes	21
88th	History Has Its Eyes on You	21
89th	I Don't Dance	21
90th	Bop To The Top - From "High School Musical"/Soundtrack Version	21
91st	All You Wanna Do	21
92nd	You Matter to Me	21
93rd	For Good - From "Wicked" Original Broadway Cast Recording/2003	21

Rank	Track Title	Musical	Artists	Key	Scale	Total Streams	Playlist Popularity Score
1st	Alexander Hamilton	Hamilton	7 artists	B	Minor	210,644,329	70
2nd	The Schuyler Sisters	Hamilton	5 artists	D	Major	169,838,165	60
3rd	Satisfied	Hamilton	2 artists	F	Minor	182,741,387	58
4th	You Will Be Found	Dear Evan Hansen	5 artists	A	Major	74,146,034	57
5th	Burn	Hamilton	1 artist	D	Major	108,373,075	54
6th	Seasons of Love	Rent	8 artists	F	Major	81,270,069	52
7th	Defying Gravity - From "Wicked" Original Broadway Cast Recording/2003	Wicked	2 artists	F#	Major	52,125,810	52
8th	Take Me or Leave Me	Rent	2 artists	G	Minor	37,182,040	51
9th	My Shot	Hamilton	6 artists	Ab	Major	182,189,859	49
10th	Helpless	Hamilton	2 artists	F	Major	153,922,122	49
11th	Sincerely, Me	Dear Evan Hansen	3 artists	G	Major	69,447,207	45
12th	You'll Be Back	Hamilton	2 artists	C	Major	167,115,226	44
13th	Waving Through A Window	Dear Evan Hansen	2 artists	A	Major	132,678,682	41
14th	Never Enough	The Greatest Showman	1 artist	Ab	Major	404,455,839	40
15th	Candy Store	Heathers	4 artists	C#	Minor	3,288,482	39
16th	Only Us	Dear Evan Hansen	2 artists	C#	Major	43,129,489	37
17th	For Forever	Dear Evan Hansen	1 artist	F	Major	59,802,810	37
18th	We're All In This Together - From "High School Musical"/Soundtrack Version	High School Musical	1 artist	C#	Major	83,597,512	37
19th	If I Could Tell Her	Dear Evan Hansen	2 artists	E	Major	63,303,468	36
20th	Start of Something New - From "High School Musical"/Soundtrack Version	High School Musical	2 artists	G	Major	77,177,562	35
21st	Revolting Children	Matilda	1 artist	G	Major	17,045,069	35
22nd	The Greatest Show	The Greatest Showman	5 artists	B	Minor	410,458,166	35
23rd	Rewrite The Stars	The Greatest Showman	2 artists	Bb	Major	679,348,740	35
24th	Dead Girl Walking	Heathers	2 artists	Eb	Major	2,401,845	34
25th	A Million Dreams	The Greatest Showman	3 artists	G	Major	384,460,017	34
26th	This Is Me	The Greatest Showman	2 artists	D	Major	600,961,600	34
27th	Anybody Have a Map?	Dear Evan Hansen	2 artists	G	Major	43,110,912	32
28th	Wait for It	Hamilton	2 artists	F#	Major	152,197,213	32
29th	Dear Theodosia	Hamilton	2 artists	A	Major	110,131,883	32
30th	Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story	Hamilton	1 artist	D	Major	76,789,922	31
31st	That Would Be Enough	Hamilton	2 artists	D	Major	89,376,333	30
32nd	Non-Stop	Hamilton	6 artists	F#	Major	124,954,403	30
33rd	Seventeen	Heathers	2 artists	A	Major	2,616,525	30
34th	When I Grow Up	Matilda	1 artist	F	Major	13,690,228	30
35th	Popular - From "Wicked" Original Broadway Cast Recording/2003	Wicked	1 artist	C	Major	52,125,810	30
36th	The Room Where It Happens	Hamilton	5 artists	E	Minor	103,068,906	29
37th	Guns and Ships	Hamilton	3 artists	G	Major	133,741,012	29
38th	Omigod You Guys	Legally Blonde	5 artists	G	Major	18,425,597	29
39th	World Burn	Mean Girls	2 artists	Ab	Minor	14,877,992	29
40th	She Used To Be Mine	Waitress	1 artist	F	Major	96,995,129	29
41st	Journey to the Past	Anastasia	1 artist	Eb	Major	17,231,621	28
42nd	Cell Block Tango	Chicago	7 artists	C#	Major	36,104,188	28
43rd	Words Fail	Dear Evan Hansen	1 artist	C	Major	34,267,771	28
44th	It's Quiet Uptown	Hamilton	4 artists	F	Major	75,009,125	28
45th	Beautiful	Heathers	2 artists	C#	Major	2,188,293	28
46th	So Much Better	Legally Blonde	2 artists	D	Major	16,067,437	28
47th	Honey, Honey - From 'Mamma Mia!' Original Motion Picture Soundtrack	Mamma Mia	3 artists	E	Major	99,675,549	28
48th	Hello!	The Book of Mormon	8 artists	C	Major	31,588,835	28
49th	From Now On	The Greatest Showman	2 artists	E	Major	266,020,643	28
50th	Bad Idea	Waitress	3 artists	C#	Major	18,700,152	28
51st	When He Sees Me	Waitress	4 artists	Bb	Major	35,705,839	28
52nd	Once Upon a December	Anastasia	1 artist	B	Minor	22,849,671	27
53rd	Say My Name	Beetlejuice	4 artists	F	Minor	47,323,886	27
54th	Don't Lose Ur Head	Six	2 artists	G	Minor	47,746,573	27
55th	Dead Mom	Beetlejuice	2 artists	D	Major	23,503,911	26
56th	You Can't Stop The Beat - From 'Hairspray'	Hairspray	6 artists	G	Major	55,792,633	26
57th	Say No to This	Hamilton	5 artists	A	Major	89,221,763	26
58th	Someone Gets Hurt	Mean Girls	3 artists	B	Minor	14,001,053	26
59th	Bet On It	High School Musical	1 artist	F	Minor	71,258,185	25
60th	Suddenly, Seymour	Little Shop of Horrors	5 artists	A	Major	4,422,976	25
61st	Mamma Mia - From 'Mamma Mia!' Original Motion Picture Soundtrack	Mamma Mia	1 artist	D	Major	96,091,426	25
62nd	I'd Rather Be Me	Mean Girls	2 artists	E	Major	22,404,953	25
63rd	Revenge Party	Mean Girls	4 artists	Ab	Major	17,132,412	25
64th	La Vie Boheme	Rent	1 artist	Ab	Major	15,960,313	25
65th	The Other Side	The Greatest Showman	2 artists	C	Major	308,535,806	25
66th	Good For You	Dear Evan Hansen	4 artists	Eb	Major	33,775,357	24
67th	Just Wanna Be With You - Original Version	High School Musical	5 artists	D	Minor	65,453,150	24
68th	Fabulous	High School Musical	2 artists	Ab	Major	48,187,999	24
69th	Can I Have This Dance - Original Version	High School Musical	3 artists	C	Major	131,470,316	24
70th	Six	Six	1 artist	Eb	Major	27,240,319	24
71st	In a Crowd of Thousands	Anastasia	2 artists	C#	Minor	13,277,397	23
72nd	Requiem	Dear Evan Hansen	3 artists	E	Major	47,557,629	23
73rd	Aaron Burr, Sir	Hamilton	5 artists	G	Major	151,088,577	23
74th	Work This Out	High School Musical	1 artist	F	Minor	42,318,155	23
75th	Now Or Never - Original Version	High School Musical	1 artist	F	Minor	42,903,100	23
76th	One Day More	Les Misérables	1 artist	B	Minor	46,425,373	23
77th	Seize The Day	Newsies	3 artists	Eb	Major	20,227,441	23
78th	Tightrope	The Greatest Showman	1 artist	A	Major	194,367,999	23
79th	Come Alive	The Greatest Showman	5 artists	G	Major	233,982,036	23
80th	Opening Up	Waitress	5 artists	D	Major	17,460,784	23
81st	In My Dreams	Anastasia	1 artist	E	Minor	9,100,129	22
82nd	One Last Time	Hamilton	3 artists	Ab	Major	76,204,587	22
83rd	Gotta Go My Own Way	High School Musical	2 artists	A	Major	117,613,332	22
84th	Breathe	In The Heights	2 artists	Bb	Major	19,017,712	22
85th	Ex-Wives	Six	1 artist	C	Minor	27,151,285	22
86th	I See the Light	Tangled	2 artists	F	Major	185,034,926	22
87th	Anything Goes	Anything Goes	2 artists	G	Major	7,925,124	21
88th	History Has Its Eyes on You	Hamilton	3 artists	C	Minor	94,179,880	21
89th	I Don't Dance	High School Musical	2 artists	A	Minor	54,652,320	21
90th	Bop To The Top - From "High School Musical"/Soundtrack Version	High School Musical	3 artists	G	Minor	32,840,439	21
91st	All You Wanna Do	Six	2 artists	B	Minor	29,721,273	21
92nd	You Matter to Me	Waitress	2 artists	E	Major	17,462,454	21
93rd	For Good - From "Wicked" Original Broadway Cast Recording/2003	Wicked	2 artists	C#	Major	38,760,051	21

What's the Perfect Tempo for Songs from Musicals?119 BPM
What's the Perfect Length for Songs from Musicals?4:01
Percentage of Happy Songs (Major Scale)75%
Percentage of Sad Songs (Minor Scale)25%

What Keys are the Most Common...

Rank	Key	Appearances
1st	F	4
2nd	G	3
3rd	C#	3
4th	D	2
5th	A	2
6th	Ab	2
7th	B	1
8th	F#	1
9th	C	1
10th	E	1

Rank	Key	Appearances
1st	G	14
2nd	F	12
3rd	D	10
4th	A	9
5th	Ab	7
6th	B	6
7th	C	6
8th	C#	6
9th	E	6
10th	Bb	6
11th	Eb	6
12th	F#	3

Broadway Shows with the...

Rank	Musical	All Time Attendance Numbers
1st	Wicked	12,197,368
2nd	Les Misérables	10,601,757
3rd	Chicago	9,499,822
4th	Mamma Mia	7,566,124
5th	Rent	5,026,616
6th	The Book of Mormon	4,100,342
7th	Hairspray	3,418,653
8th	Hamilton	2,608,540
9th	Matilda	2,087,293
10th	Waitress	1,473,758
11th	Dear Evan Hansen	1,373,383
12th	Anything Goes	1,329,761
13th	In The Heights	1,322,889
14th	Newsies	1,156,757
15th	Mean Girls	980,469
16th	Anastasia	881,733
17th	Legally Blonde	814,072
18th	Beetlejuice	539,484
19th	Little Shop of Horrors	350,389
20th	Six	29,617

Rank	Musical	Gross Ticket Sales ($)
1st	Wicked	1,367,904,817
2nd	Chicago	681,071,494
3rd	The Book of Mormon	659,604,361
4th	Hamilton	649,868,673
5th	Mamma Mia	624,391,684
6th	Les Misérables	549,916,673
7th	Rent	274,248,128
8th	Hairspray	252,181,270
9th	Dear Evan Hansen	241,083,756
10th	Matilda	198,165,845
11th	Waitress	168,426,420
12th	Mean Girls	124,199,595
13th	Newsies	109,000,709
14th	In The Heights	105,302,932
15th	Anastasia	93,439,879
16th	Anything Goes	77,524,972
17th	Legally Blonde	56,338,126
18th	Beetlejuice	51,789,652
19th	Little Shop of Horrors	20,607,589
20th	Six	3,448,637

Methodology

We gathered the data for this study in December 2021 using several sources:

We used Spotify's Playlist Miner to discover which tracks most commonly appear in over 1,000 playlists with names containing the word "Musical".
We used the Spotify app to gather each track's number of streams.
We used TuneBat to find each track's key and scale.
We used Spotify's OrganizeYourMusic to gather more info on the tracks. To get the perfect tempo and length, we combined every track to find each metric's average.
Finally, we used Broadway League's data to find each show's total Broadway attendance and gross ticket sales.

You Can't Stop the Beat: The Ultimate Musicals Playlist

What Keys are the Most Common...

Broadway Shows with the...

Methodology

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You Can't Stop the Beat:
The Ultimate Musicals Playlist