Music

Science Decrees the Most Danceable Songs

Timbaland is on top in new analysis

By Newser Editors

Timbaland performs in 2010.   (AP Photo/Kristian Dowling, File)

It's got a good beat and you can dance to it. Researchers have taken that old line to a whole new level with a study published in the American Sociological Review, reports Quartz.


You can dig into the particulars here, but the upshot is that researchers from the Columbia Business School and the French business school INSEAD say they've determined the most danceable songs, at least among those that hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts going back to 1958 (though that wasn't the main point of the research). They applied a number of factors, including tempo and beat regularity, with Timbaland's "Give It to Me" coming out on top:The top 10 most danceable songs:

1. "Give It to Me," Timbaland, 2007
2. "SexyBack," Justin Timberlake, 2006
3. "Hot in Herre," Nelly, 2002
4. "Ice Ice Baby," Vanilla Ice, 1990
5. "Pop Muzik," M, 1979
6. "Another One Bites the Dust," Queen, 1980
7. "Funkytown," Lipps, Inc., 1980
8. "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down," Puff Daddy, 1997
9. "Baby Got Back," Sir Mix-a-Lot, 1992
10. "Billie Jean," Michael Jackson, 1983