Every once in a while a song pops up that we simply can’t get enough of. You put it on repeat on your phones and you request it on radio stations so it stays on the number one spot. It tops charts and the music video gets millions of views. You hear it everywhere! After a few months you get tired of it that you curse it and swear that you never want to hear it again. But before you move on, a new song pops up and the cycle starts all over again.
A song that everybody knows and that is always repeated everywhere is known to be the ‘pambansang awit.’ As we close out Independence month, let’s look back to the 8 songs that we once hailed, playfully, as the national anthem substitute.
1. Sila by Sud
Let’s begin from this gem of a song. Is there a person in this country who hasn’t heard this at least once? Sure it’s a great Pinoy original with a well-shot music video; it’s just been played one too many times that I see teenagers putting their right hand on their left chest to the song.
2. Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran
Remember when you streamed Ed’s then new music and you immediately liked Thinking Out Loud? Did you foresee that the whole country, nay, the whole world would go nuts for it? It’s everywhere, making it Ed’s highest charting single until “Shape of You” this 2017. As of writing, Thinking Out Loud has been played 885, 411, 146 times on Spotify and the music video viewed 1,679,689,124 times on YouTube. That’s a lot of numbers.
3. Blank Space by Taylor Swift
Of course TayTay is included in this list! This single has been very popular owing to its lyrics and aesthetic music video. It’s Taylor allegedly trying to one up the media by singing about herself – specifically about how other people perceive her fast-paced dating life. How many weeks has “Starbucks lovers” been stuck in your head?
4. See You Again by Charlie Puth ft. Wiz Khalifa
See You Again became famous because of the unfortunate passing away of Paul Walker, an actor for Fast & the Furious franchise whose soundtrack includes this song. Although everybody liked it because it’s in memory of a friend who passed away, there was still a point where we found ourselves saying “Ayan nanaman pinapatugtog.”
5. Closer by Chainsmokers
Songs nowadays can make no sense lyrics-wise but will still top charts because of its great mixing. Closer has 1,027,739,564 listens on Spotify and the lyric video has 1,643,219,747 plays which means.. a lot. According to Billboard Charts, Closer is the first song to spend its first 26 weeks on the Hot 100 in the top 10. Quite a feat, eh?
6. Somebody That I Used To Know by Gotye
We were impressed by the original version of this song but, let’s admit it, we all got hooked with the Walk off the Earth version. I mean, one guitar and five people, really?! And the next thing you know all your friends are attempting to play the song.
7. God Gave Me You by Bryan White
Once upon a time we were so kilig with this number – it wasn’t associated with anything then. Now, it’s more popular as the soundtrack for the love story of an iconic television duo that, let’s admit, has become quite old. It’s infectious how it’s being played everywhere with the specific love team in mind. Admit it, whenever you heard this you wanted your own whirlwind romance (on national television!).
8. Let It Go by Elsa
Now this song, surely you remember clearly. All those hours you sacrificed, just watching the movie with your baby siblings or cousins is enough to stamp Let It Go in your mind for all eternity. It was being sung by everyone – in the streets, in cars, in houses. The multiple parodies and covers created to this song overtime was enough to make us shout “Get out of our heads Elsa!”
Did looking back to these songs make you miss listening to them again? Well then, we’re not stopping you from re-adding them to your Spotify playlist! But beware, more songs like these will arise in the future to be repeated multiple times. Are they identified as blessings or curses?
Do you think overplaying a song makes it lose its beauty? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.
