Vacuuming, dusting and washing dishes are all necessary household tasks, but they can often be tedious or daunting. That’s why some people turn to music to make such domestic sessions more entertaining.
Some 2,000 adults in the United Kingdom were recently asked by Samsung what music they like to listen to when doing household chores.
Queen’s “I Want to Break Free” tops the list of best songs to clean to, which isn’t surprising, given that the song’s music video features Freddie Mercury dressed as a housewife and vacuuming – something that saw the video banned from many North American TV channels, including MTV.
Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin'” and Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” are in second and third place, respectively. One thing they have in common? They’re all uptempo.
Numerous scientific studies have shown that upbeat music improves performance and reduces the perception of effort, which can have a positive impact on motivation. This is why most of the tracks included in the top 20 are danceable tunes, including “Happy” by Pharrell Williams and “Shake It Off” by Taylor Swift.
While listening to music while cleaning is a matter of individual preference, it can be a good strategy for efficiency. Indeed, 31% of people surveyed ended up spending more time than expected on their chores thanks to the playlist they listened to while completing these tasks.
It’s worth noting that many of the songs in the list are not from recent years. Many of them date back to the 1980s and ’90s, which shows the extent to which these decades have left their mark on music lovers. Case in point: this 1985 gem from a-ha:
The top 20 best songs to clean to are:
- “I Want to Break Free” – Queen
- “Don’t Stop Believin'” – Journey
- “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)” – Whitney Houston
- “Happy” – Pharrell Williams
- “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” – Cyndi Lauper
- “I Will Survive” – Gloria Gaynor
- “Uptown Funk” – Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars
- “I Want to Know What Love Is” – Foreigner
- “Total Eclipse of the Heart” – Bonnie Tyler
- “Shake It Off” – Taylor Swift
- Take On Me” – a-ha
- “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” – Aerosmith
- “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” – Justin Timberlake
- “September” – Earth, Wind & Fire
- “November Rain” – Guns N’ Roses
- “Is This Love” – Whitesnake
- “I’ll Be There for You” – Bon Jovi
- “Shut Up and Dance” – Walk The Moon
- “Alone” – Heart
- “Heaven” – Bryan Adams