The UK’s most-played wedding song of 2023 has been revealed... and the ginger wonder has done it again...
ADVERTISEMENTHow do you pick your all-important first dance song for your wedding?
Go for romance and sacrifice the danceability factor?
Ditch the sentiment and select a banger that will get everyone on the dancefloor with you and the person you’ve somehow managed to fool into thinking that a lifetime with you was a good idea in the first place?
Steer away from the tried and tested classics and pick a recent chart topper, or something so outrageously silly that it’ll remind your loved ones you shouldn’t be allowed out without adult supervision?
It’s a minefield.
If you’re looking for inspiration, you might be glad to know that the UK’s most-played wedding song of 2023 has been revealed.
According to a new study by Encore Musicians, based on more than 3000 events, Ed Sheeran‘s 2017 single ‘Perfect’ was the most popular track for first dances over the past 12 months - as 16 per cent of newlyweds in the UK picked the ‘÷’ (‘Divide’) track.
It’s... a choice.
Hardly baffling, considering the British songwriter has long been a modern wedding staple, but hardly good... But as my Euronews Culture colleague Jonny Walfisz reminded me this morning, quoting Peep Show’s Super Hans: “People like Coldplay and voted for the Nazis - you can’t trust people, David.”
Wise, wise words.
But back to the list.
Coming in at second and third place were John Legend‘s ‘All Of Me’ (sigh) and Elvis Presley‘s ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’ (solid), while Sheeran made another appearance for the fourth spot, with his 2014 ballad ‘Thinking Out Loud’.
Here’s the full list for the most popular songs for first dances at UK weddings in 2023:
Ed Sheeran – ‘Perfect’
John Legend – ‘All Of Me’
Elvis Presley – ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’
Ed Sheeran – ‘Thinking Out Loud’
Jason Mraz – ‘I’m Yours’
Adele – ‘Make You Feel My Love’
Earth, Wind & Fire – ‘September’
Etta James – ‘At Last’
Bruno Mars – ‘Marry You’
Stevie Wonder – ‘Isn’t She Lovely’
And where, pray tell, is The B-52's ‘Love Shack’? Marvin Gaye’s ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’ or ‘Let’s Get It On’ (to get the parents squirming)? How could one ignore the Spice Girls’ never-equalled ode to love and safe sex ‘2 Become 1’? No cheekiness with Dua Lipa’s ‘Blow Your Mind (Mwah)’ or Pat Benatar’s ‘Love is a Battlefield’? What about Whitney Houston’s ‘It’s Not Right But It’s Okay’?
OK, maybe not that last one.
What do you think? Ed Sheeran good enough for your special day? Or was Peep Show right – people can’t be trusted?
