Discover the Songs Inspiring the Most Google Searches Around the Globe

Whether rocking out in the car, partying with friends at karaoke, or singing into your hairbrush in front of a mirror, there’s something special about jamming out to your favorite songs. But you have to learn the lyrics before you can experience such joy. Luckily, Google was invented! With one quick search, you can find the words to all your favorite tunes and confidently belt them out

With our favorite jams in mind, we set out to find the most searched song lyrics across the U.S. and the world. We collected Google Trends search volume from January 2019 through July 2023, looking at the 20 most popular songs in country music, EDM, hip-hop, rap, indie, metal, pop, punk, R&B, and rock.

Which song lyrics do Americans search for the most, and which are most popular in each state? What genres are searched for most in countries worldwide? Let’s rock and roll as we find out.

Key Takeaways

• Americans are searching for the lyrics to “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen the most.

• “Enter Sandman” by Metallica is the most searched metal song.

• Rap lyrics are the most searched genre of lyrics in the U.S.

Lookin’ for (Lyrics You) Love

Music tastes vary widely from one person to the next, but some songs strike a chord among the masses. Let’s take a look at the most searched song lyrics in the U.S. and by genre.

Arguably one of the greatest songs ever written, Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” topped the charts for most searched song lyrics. With its fast-paced bridge and operatic vocals, the classic rock song had Googlers in a frenzy—likely trying to decipher the “Scaramouches” from the “Bismillahs.”

After “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the Eagles’ “Hotel California” had the second most searched song lyrics, with Americans desperate to find the words to all six verses. Also stuffing an impressive amount of words into one song, but with sheer speed rather than length, Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” had the third most searched song lyrics.

Other songs in the top 10 included Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean,” Don McClean’s “American Pie,” the Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That Way,” and Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven.” Britney Spears even made an appearance at No. 10 with “Toxic.”

Breaking things down by genre, Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” and Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” had listeners curious about their title characters, as they had the most searched lyrics in country and pop, respectively. For more hardcore listeners, Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” had the most searched metal lyrics.

On the dance floor, David Guetta’s “Titanium” had the most searched EDM lyrics, Parliament’s “Flash Light” had the most funk searches, and Destiny’s Child’s “Say My Name” had the most R&B searches.

While some listeners search for lyrics to sing along to, others search to understand what a song actually says. Such is likely the case with warbled “Breezeblocks” by alt-J and French-filled “Psycho Killer” by the Talking Heads, the most searched song lyrics in indie and punk, respectively.

In a Lyrics State of Mind

The songs above were popular among song lyric searches nationwide, but we wanted to find out which songs are uniquely popular in each state. To do this, we compared national to state search data to see which song lyrics were searched in each state at a significantly higher rate than national averages.

Which songs have state residents more curious than the average American, and what is the most searched music genre in each state? Let’s find out.

Surprisingly, 13 states had higher than average search rates for EDM song lyrics, with a few of the most unexpected states being Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, and Wisconsin. Another 12 states had higher than average search rates for metal lyrics, with Arkansas, Maine, and Rhode Island (shockingly) among them. Conversely, only New York and California had a high frequency of hip-hop lyric searches.

However, the most uniquely popular song lyric search in New York and California was not a hip-hop classic but punk’s “London Calling” by The Clash. This punk standard was the most uniquely popular song lyric search in nine states, by far the most of any song. Several songs were uniquely popular in two or three states, while other song lyrics were singled out, like Miguel’s “Sure Thing (Sped Up)” in Alaska, Prince and the Revolution’s “Let’s Go Crazy” in Minnesota, and deadmau5’s “Strobe” in Utah.

In a perfect fit of song and state, lyrics for “Coal Miner’s Daughter” by Loretta Lynn had higher than average search rates in Kentucky, Tennessee, and West Virginia. Nevada’s most uniquely popular lyric search was “Eat Sleep Rave Repeat” by Fatboy Slim and Riva Starr—pretty spot on for the home of party-central Las Vegas. Finally, “Barley” by Water From Your Eyes was the most uniquely popular lyric search in barley-field spotted Wyoming.

Every Genre Wants to Rule the World

After looking at song lyric searches across the U.S., we decided to go global and analyze song lyric searches around the world. Let’s take a look at the genres of song lyrics being searched for in each country at higher rates than the global average.

What hip-hop lacked in unique stateside searches, it made up for in global popularity, as 38 countries searched hip-hop song lyrics at higher than average rates. The only genre with more unique country searches was metal, with 43 countries. Countries on almost every continent searched both genres, but metal was favored in South America and Europe, while hip-hop was favored in Africa and South Asia.

Following metal and hip-hop, searches for R&B song lyrics were uniquely popular in 29 countries, punk lyrics in 20 countries (with a heavy presence in Europe), and country and pop lyrics in 18 countries.

While most uniquely popular in a dozen U.S. states, searches for EDM lyrics were only popular in 14 countries globally, and the U.S. wasn’t one of them. Rap was the most uniquely popular lyric search genre in the U.S., along with eight other countries.

Finally, at the bottom of the charts, only three countries were home to higher-than-average searches for rock lyrics: Benin, Chad, and Nigeria. It seems the world does not want to rock the Casbah.

Endless Lyrics

No matter where you live or your preferred genre of music, your favorite songs often write the soundtrack to your life—and it’s nice to know the words to your life’s album. With trusty Google at your fingertips, you can access the lyrics of almost any song ever written. Whether you want to rhapsodize with Queen, practice your emcee skills alongside Eminem, or find out exactly what way the Backstreet Boys want it, the internet will provide all the lyrics you need.

Methodology 

WordList Finder collected search volume dating from January 2019 through July 2023 and looked at the 20 most popular songs from the following genres: country, EDM, hip-hop, rap, indie, metal, pop, punk, R&B, and rock.

About WordList Finder

From preparing for a spelling bee to finding the perfect word to fit a rhyme scheme, from crafting a word study list to a list of 5-letter Wordle words, WordList Finder is the perfect tool to help you achieve your goals. We have the most popular word lists right here.

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