Heat Waves by Glass Animals is the most popular FIFA song of all time, according to the number of times it’s been streamed on Spotify.
The release of FIFA 23 marks the end of the EA Sports FIFA franchise, with the game being the last instalment of the famous series in its current form—ending a partnership of more than 20 years between FIFA and EA Sports.
Since official soundtracks were first introduced as part of the games in 1998, every new release has brought with it a perhaps just as eagerly-anticipated soundtrack.
Research by Insure4Sport has revealed the most popular song from each edition of the game from 1998 to the present day to create the ‘ultimate’ FIFA playlist and unearth a few surprises along the way.
The FIFA 23 soundtrack, in particular, contains over 100 songs representing more than 30 different nations, but it’s a hit from FIFA 21 which takes the ‘best FIFA song’ accolade.
Glass Animals’ 2020 hit Heat Waves has clocked up a staggering total of more than 2 billion Spotify streams (as of September 2022), making it the most popular of the FIFA back-catalogue by far.
Football and music go hand in hand, and for those that have been playing FIFA for decades, the songs and artists associated with them are often a source of happy memories and nostalgia.
However, it is perhaps no surprise that the top five best FIFA songs, according to Spotify streams, have featured on games from the past ten years. The rapid rise of streaming and widespread changes to the way music is consumed in general owes a lot to the launch of Spotify in 2006, among other streaming platforms.
Behind Glass Animals, in second place in the list of the best FIFA songs, with around 1.2bn streams, is The Nights by the late Swedish DJ Avicii, which featured on FIFA 15.
The Nights would go on to become synonymous with sport. As well as FIFA 15, the song has been used by SportsCenter on ESPN and was previously used as the goal song for the Carolina Hurricanes—a professional US ice hockey team.
Billie Eillish’s you should see me in a crown sits in third place. The most streamed song from this year’s FIFA is Ojitos Lindos by Bad Bunny ft. Bomba Estéreo, with more than 586m streams.
The most popular FIFA songs may indeed surprise a few. When asked to reel off FIFA classics, many would probably list songs like Fools Gold by the Stone Roses and Kasabian’s Club Foot, for example. However, neither of these are anywhere near this list.
On the other hand, it’s no surprise that Jerk it Out by Caesars, from FIFA 04, features on the list. Many might even argue that this song should actually be number one.
The 1990s, in particular, was a decade renowned for its music, particularly British—but only two songs from this era make the cut here. Song 2 by Blur and Fatboy Slim’s The Rockafeller Skank have more than 650 million streams between them.
In contrast, Billie Eillish—who wasn’t even born until 2001—topples both with streams of you should see me in a crown. Whatever your musical taste, the stats don’t lie.
FIFA 23 boasts several firsts (and, indeed, lasts) for the franchise, such as women’s club football gameplay. And although the end of the EA Sports era certainly won’t mean the end of the video game, it does indeed draw a line under what’s been an iconic video game series.
After the current EA Sports/FIFA deal expires, the game will become EA Sports FC, leaving FIFA itself free to explore partnerships with other game developers and embark on a new era for the FIFA portfolio.
Watch this space.
