‘We Will Rock You’ Is Top Sports Song Again, But NHL and MLB Teams Differ

Posted in News on February 23, 2011

“We Will Rock You” again is the most-played BMI song at NFL games, but professional baseball and hockey teams have different favorites. NHL teams play “Twilight Zone” more often, while MLB teams like “Car Wash.”

Songs at NFL, NHL, and MLB events are tracked each year for BMI’s 475,000 songwriters, composers and publishers. As the global leader in rights management, BMI processed more than 92 billion music performances during 2010.

The new list of Top 10 sports anthems includes many recent titles. These include “Boom Boom Pow,” “Run This Town,” “Fire Burning,” “Let It Rock,” “Burn It To The Ground” and “Turn My Swag On,” all of which were released within the last couple of years. Two performers with songs among the Top 10, the Black Eyed Peas and Christina Aguilera, were tapped for live performances in Super Bowl XLV.

The overall Top 10 songs at sports events for the 2009-2010 season are as follows:

  1. “We Will Rock You” by Brian May, performed by Queen
  2. “Let It Rock” by Dwayne Carter and Kevin Rudolf, performed by Kevin Rudolf, featuring Lil Wayne.
  3. “Burn It To The Ground” by Chad Kroeger, Mike Kroeger, and Joey Moi, performed by Nickelback.
  4. “Boom Boom Pow” by will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo and Fergie, performed by the Black Eyed Peas.
  5. “Car Wash” by Norman Whitfield, performed by Christina Aguilera with Missy Elliott.
  6. “Fire Burning” by Paul Anderson, Bilal Hajji and Nadir Khyat, performed by Sean Kingston.
  7. “Song 2” by Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree, performed by Blur.
  8. “Turn My Swag On” written by Kelvin McConnell, Antonio Randolph and Deandre Way, performed by Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em,
  9. “Run This Town” written by Athansios Alatas, Jeffrey Bhasker, Jay-Z, Rihanna, Kanye West and Ernest Wilson, performed by Jay-Z, featuring Rihanna and Kanye West.
  10. “Machinehead” written by Gavin Rossdale, performed by Bush

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