If you have a kid, chances are your Spotify Wrapped, which collects the data of your listening habits each year, has been totally warped because of all the Disney music they request. Or maybe you’re just a kid at heart and love blasting the Moana or Lion King soundtracks just for you. No shame in that! Whatever the case, it’s clear that Disney music is very, very popular. But what are the most popular Disney songs of all time?
New data compiled by the theatre tickets company SeatPlan takes a look at what Disney releases Spotify users are listening to most often. Rather than purely rank the songs by the number of streams, SeatPlan took the top 1,000 playlists on Spotify with “Disney” in the title and looked at which songs appeared most frequently. In theory, this methodology gives a slightly more nuanced view of how popular Disney songs are, because it's not impacted by one song being replayed over and over again by certain subscribers. Instead, this list is a look at what the consensus is among Disney music fans, at least right now.
Did your favorite make the list? Read on for the 30 most popular Disney songs according to this new data.
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30 | “Can You Feel the Love Tonight,” The Lion King
Speaking of “replaying a song over and over again,” this song is currently my toddler’s favorite thing in the world. If she knew how to read, I’m sure she would be outraged that it’s only ranked 30th on the list of the top Disney songs.
The final musical number in The Lion King, “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” is a sweeping ballad about Simba and Nala’s budding romance. Even if they don’t see it at first, Timon (Nathan Lane) and Pumba (Ernie Sabella) sure do. “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” is the first of several songs on this list that won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
29 | “The Bare Necessities,” The Jungle Book
Baloo’s (Phil Harris) song about his easygoing philosophy about life is a charming highlight of 1967’s The Jungle Book. In a lot of ways, it’s the “Hakuna Matata” of its day: a laid-back tune about staying positive, humble, and unbothered—and in doing so, being happy in any circumstances.
28 | “A Whole New World,” Aladdin
Aladdin (Brad Kane) and Jasmine’s (Lea Salonga) soaring ballad (literally, the two are flying high on the Magic Carpet) is a highlight of Aladdin, and it won the Oscar for Best Original Song in 1993, beating out another Aladdin cut, “Friend Like Me.” It was the first Disney song to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and it’s one of Disney’s best love songs, capturing the feeling of how being with the right person opens up “A Whole New World.”
27 | “Friend Like Me,” Aladdin
The Genie (Robin Williams) makes his presence known in his introductory number in Aladdin, singing an energetic tune about his magical prowess. (It’s not boasting if you can back it up.) There’s a zingy zaniness to “Friend Like Me” that tells you everything you need to know about Genie, and with such effusive energy, it’s easy to see why this track is a fan favorite.
26. “Mother Knows Best,” Tangled
This song from Tangled has the distinction of being the only song from a Disney villain to appear in the Top 30. (Pour some out for “Poor Unfortunate Souls” and “Be Prepared.”) Mother Gothel (Donna Murphy), Rapunzel’s captor, sings about all the dangers that supposedly await her outside of her tower in this number. It’s a classic show tune, contrary to the rest of Tangled’s more pop-like music.
25 | “Un Poco Loco,” Coco
Coming in at No. 25 is the first of two Pixar songs on this list. “Un Poco Loco,” which translates to “A Little Crazy,” is sung by Miguel (Anthony Gonzalez) and Héctor (Gael García Bernal) in the Land of the Dead in 2017's Coco. It’s a jaunty little tune about how being in love can make you feel, well, a little crazy. (Another Coco track, “Remember Me,” won the Oscar for Best Original Song.)
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24 | “Colors of the Wind,” Pocahontas
Pocahontas’ Oscar-winning song “Colors of the Wind” is a gorgeous track about nature, harmony, and attentiveness. Full of clever parallelism in its lyrics and stunning vocal feats from singer Judy Kuhn, it’s a stand-out in the film. One thing to note? A “blue corn moon” is just something the songwriters made up, rather than a term with actual significance to Native Americans.
23 | “Surface Pressure,” Encanto
The first of many Encanto songs to appear on this list, “Surface Pressure” is Luisa Madrigal’s (Jessica Darrow) confession, as she explains how she’s actually constantly on the verge of crumbling under the stress of being the strong, oldest child. “Surface Pressure,” like all of Encanto’s songs, was written by Hamilton’s Lin-Manuel Miranda, and it ended up peaking at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100, joining the breakout hit “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” and making Encanto the first Disney movie to have two songs in the Top 10.
22 | “The Family Madrigal,” Encanto
Mirabel (Stephanie Beatriz) kicks off Encanto with this lively song introducing all of her magical family members—it’s some of the most upbeat and effective exposition you’ll ever hear. As befitting the movie's Colombia setting, the song has aspects of the Vallenato genre of folk music popular in the South American country.
21 | “Show Yourself,” Frozen 2
“Show Yourself,” from Frozen 2, is a big, brave song that Elsa sings as she attempts to learn the truth about her frosty powers. As with all of Elsa’s songs, it’s a tremendous showcase for Broadway icon Idina Menzel’s voice, and the message of self-acceptance and self-discovery is a good one.
20 | “Where You Are,” Moana
Consider the coconut! So much of Moana is about the journey the title character goes on, which makes this early song about her home, the tropical island of Motunui, important. In order to know where Moana (Auli'i Cravalho) is going, we need to appreciate where she’s coming from, and Lin-Manuel Miranda, who was also behind the Moana songs, does so in a warm, catchy fashion here.
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19 | “Circle of Life,” The Lion King
The Lion King opens in jaw-dropping fashion with this sweeping song about existence on the African savannah. Featuring lyrics in Zulu, “The Circle of Life” is one of the most epic songs from any Disney film. It was one of three songs from The Lion King to be nominated for an Oscar, but it lost out to “Can You Feel the Love Tonight.”
18 | “A Girl Worth Fighting For,” Mulan
In the context of Mulan, “A Girl Worth Fighting For” represents a major tonal shift, as Mulan (Lea Salonga) and her fellow soldiers go from singing a silly song about their dream women (dreams that Mulan—and the audience—know to be at least a little sexist) to stumbling upon the ruins of a village the Huns destroyed. There are no more songs in Mulan after this.
17 | “Part of Your World,” The Little Mermaid
With The Little Mermaid’s “Part of Your World,” Disney established a mold for all its musicals going forward, giving its characters a chance to sing what’s known on Broadway as an “I Want” song. Here, Ariel (Jodi Benson) sings about her hopes and dreams, her voice rising to beautiful, aching heights as she expresses her desire to rise up to the surface world, too.
16 | “You’ve Got a Friend in Me,” Toy Story
Randy Newman’s relaxing, comforting ode to friendship comes in as the highest-ranking Pixar song on this list, though admittedly Pixar movies tend not to be as song-focused as their pure Disney counterparts. “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song, but it was beat out by Pocahontas’ “Colors of the Wind.”
15 | “I’ve Got a Dream,” Tangled
“I’ve Got a Dream” is notable among the rest of the Disney canon, because it’s an inversion of both the classic Disney villain song and the “I Want” song, as Tangled’s gaggle of barbarians are given the chance to sing about their dreams, for once. It’s also one of Disney’s funnier songs, to boot.
14 | “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” Encanto
That Disney did not submit “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” for contention for the Best Original Song Oscar remains one of the House of Mouse’s most foolish mistakes. The song, which was only the second Disney song to ever reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, was a tremendous breakthrough success. However, the song didn’t blow up until after nominations were due, but it still felt silly to see Encanto’s actual submission, "Dos Oruguitas,” lose at the Academy Awards while in the real world, everybody was singing about the black sheep of the Madrigal family.
13 | “I See the Light,” Tangled
Rapunzel (Mandy Moore) and Flynn Rider (Zachary Levi) begin to realize their feelings for each other in Tangled’s big romantic song, and it resulted in an Oscar nomination. Unfortunately for Spotify listeners, just streaming the song means you can’t also see the countless lanterns that fill the sky in the movie, perhaps the most visually stunning scene in the whole film.
12 | “Under the Sea,” The Little Mermaid
Credit where credit is due: Sebastian (Samuel E. Wright) makes a really convincing case for the ocean being better than the surface world as he tries to get Ariel to give up her dreams. Clearly Ariel really, really wants to be part of that world. It’s the only explanation for how she's able to resist this joyous, infectious, calypso-inspired song.
Sebastian doesn't win Ariel over, but “Under the Sea” did win the Oscar for Best Original Song, beating out another Little Mermaid song, “Kiss the Girl."
11 | “For the First Time in Forever,” Frozen
A lot of Frozen is a deconstruction of classic Disney and fairytale tropes and its “I Want” song is no different. Anna (Kristen Bell) and Elsa sing about their hopes as Elsa's coronation approaches, but their desires are telegraphed as being somewhat humble, and it foreshadows the limits of Anna’s initial optimism and naivety.
10 | “When Will My Life Begin?” Tangled
“When Will My Life Begin,” which Rapunzel sings as she’s doing chores and making it through the monotony of her life imprisoned in a tower, is a surprisingly lively tune given that it’s about aimlessness. It could be called Tangled’s “I Want” song, but Rapunzel barely has the agency for that. She’s just passively waiting for her life to begin, a sense of longing that she, luckily, is more than ready to meet when the opportunity does arrive.
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9 | “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?,” Frozen
It’s easy to forget how much narrative heavy lifting Frozen’s “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” has to do in the movie, as it spans three time periods of Anna and Elsa’s lives as they grow up, grow apart, and lose their parents. But, when you’re just listening to the song, it’s a charming tune with lots of funny moments. And, since it’s about wanting to build a snowman, it slots right into Christmas playlists, too.
8 | “Into the Unknown,” Frozen 2
It was always going to be tough for the Frozen sequel to have a song that lives up to “Let It Go,” but “Into the Unknown” tries its hardest and comes pretty close. Menzel gets another chance to showcase her incredible vocal abilities again, singing about Elsa's choice to take a chance and go off on another adventure. “Into the Unknown” was nominated for an Oscar, though it did not win.
7 | “Hakuna Matata,” The Lion King
“Hakuna Matata,” a Swahili phrase that translates to, as Timon and Pumba, put it “no worries,” is the duo’s carefree philosophy to life and, as you might hope, it’s one of the happiest, most upbeat songs from The Lion King. It was one of three songs from the film to be nominated for an Oscar.
6 | “Love Is an Open Door,” Frozen
The joy of “Love Is an Open Door” is that it’s a song about love at first sight that slyly pokes fun at the very idea of love at first sight while also being an earnest song about infatuation. Anna and Prince Hans (Santino Fontana) have a cute quirkiness to them that’s a delight to hear, even if in reality “Love Is an Open Door” is also secretly Hans’ villain song.
5 | “I’ll Make a Man Out of You,” Mulan
There aren’t a ton of Disney songs that could unironically find themselves on a sports team’s pump-up playlist in addition to a Disney playlist, but “I’ll Make a Man Out of Your” certainly could. Captain Li Shang (Donny Osmond) whips his recruits into shape with this song that’s exhilarating and just a little campy.
4 | “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King,” The Lion King
Despite being the top Lion King song on this list (and the highest-ranking song from a movie made before the 2010s) “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King” was not nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song. The Oscars’ loss! It’s a spunky, joyful track about youthful exuberance, and Jason Weaver (young Simba) perfectly captures that sense of invincibility that we all felt at one point—and can still feel again when we play this song.
3 | “Let It Go,” Frozen
“Let It Go” is so good that, upon hearing it, Frozen’s directors knew they needed to rewrite the movie because Elsa was originally the villain and this power ballad was too empowering for her to be reduced to a basic baddie. “Let It Go,” which won the Oscar for Best Original Song, is a triumph—a vocally complex song that has since been adopted as an LGBTQ+ anthem.
2 | “How Far I’ll Go,” Moana
Moana’s “I Want” song is arguably the best in the entire Disney canon—and that’s a competitive field! It’s a bold, ambitious anthem, once that perfectly captures Moana’s desire to chase her dreams and see just how far she’ll go on the open sea.
1 | “You’re Welcome,” Moana
Coming in at No. 1 on the list of the top Disney songs is “Your Welcome,” Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s upbeat boast about all of Maui’s myriad of accomplishments. It’s playful, joyful, and undeniable. No wonder it’s at the top of the list. “You're Welcome” has brought a lot of people a lot of joy, and to that Maui would say... well, you know.
