Help, I’ve Got Worms in My Ears!
20 Great ‘Earworm’ Songs
According to Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary, an earworm can be defined in one of two ways. One definition refers to a corn earworm, which is a noctuid moth that can be especially destructive to corn, tomatoes, tobacco, and cotton bolls.
After seeing his happy dance moves, I would assume that the guy below did not have to deal with any notorious corn earworms.
The other definition of earworm is: a song or melody that keeps repeating in one’s mind.
That’s the kind we’ll be talking about here today.
Both music lovers (my kind of people) and music haters (definitely not my kind of people) get songs and melodies stuck in their heads from time to time. Sometimes those worms are from songs we love, and we don’t mind that they’re repeating in our heads. However, sometimes they’re from annoying songs we don’t care for — but they’re playing repeatedly in our heads.
Here are 20 earworm songs that I love. They’ve been stuck in my head countless times (mainly because I’m bad at math), and I welcome them back whenever they want to visit me again.
1. Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go — Wham!
The word jitterbug is repeated several times throughout this song. A lot of people may not know this, but a jitterbug is actually a distant cousin of an earworm.
At least that’s what I read somewhere.
2. Magic — Pilot
Remember when the tune of this song was used a few years ago in a popular television commercial for the diabetes medication Ozempic? It had to have been the most fun-sounding song ever about diabetes!
3. Take A Chance On Me — ABBA
Take a chance…take a chance…take a chance…take a chance…take a chance…
4. Xanadu — Olivia Newton-John and Electric Light Orchestra
Xanadu may not have been a great movie — but it definitely had some great music in it. I love this theme song from it.
5. Karma Chameleon — Culture Club
Ever since “Karma Chameleon” came out in 1983, I’ve never even once been able to look at a chameleon without having this song pop into my head.
6. Everybody Have Fun Tonight — Wang Chung
I have plans to go out this evening. While I fully intend to have fun, the jury is still out as to whether I’ll be doing any actual Wang Chung-ing tonight.
I’m not saying it won’t happen — but I’m not sure I want to commit 100% to it yet.
7. …Baby One More Time — Britney Spears
Oh, baby, baby…
8. MMMBop — Hanson
A very fun-sounding song! Some may dismiss it because of its “poppy” title and chorus, but it’s not a “fluffy” song. My friend and fellow writer Laura Lind recently wrote a great article about how “MMMBop” actually has some great, deep lyrics in it. Check it out here.
9. Man! I Feel Like A Woman — Shania Twain
Let’s go, girls!
Come on!
You too, Eileen.
10. Come On Eileen — Dexy’s Midnight Runners
Too-Rye-Ay, my friends!
11. Torn — Natalie Imbruglia
Not only do the great lyrics of this song get stuck in my head a lot, but the great guitar riffs in it also spend a lot of time up there.
12. Tubthumping — Chumbawamba
Even though I’ve loved this song since it came out in 1997, I still can’t tell you exactly what “Tubthumping” is about.
I can tell you, though, that if I get knocked down, I’ll get up again — and you’re never gonna keep me down!
13. Smooth Criminal — Michael Jackson
I don’t know if it’s the same for the rest of you, but since I first heard this song in 1988, I’ve never even once been able to meet a woman named Annie and not want to ask her if she’s okay.
14. Straight Up — Paula Abdul
This is one of my favorite pop songs ever.
I’m going to say it again using italics to emphasize my point.
This is one of my favorite pop songs ever.
Great vocals, great music, great production, etc. A truly awesome song!
My favorite part of it?
“A-b-b-b-bye, b-b-b-b-bye!”
15. Goody Two Shoes — Adam Ant
I don’t drink and don’t smoke — but I’m not going to go into details about what I do do.
And yes, I know I said, “do do.”
Let’s move on from that, okay?
16. Livin’ la Vida Loca — Ricky Martin
Off the top of my head (and all the other parts of my body), I can’t name any other songs by Ricky Martin. I love this one a lot, though. Just on the strength of this one alone, I consider myself a Ricky Martin fan.
17. Poker Face — Lady Gaga
The stuttered-sounding singing of the word “poker” throughout this song is incredibly fun and memorable. I can’t even think of the game of poker anymore without instantly hearing Lady Gaga’s voice in my head singing “poker” that way.
18. Dance Monkey — Tones And I
I recently wrote an article that was partly about the song “Mahna Mahna” by The Muppets. When I told my wife about it, she said that “Mahna Mahna” was a real earworm — and then she suggested I write an article about earworm songs.
What does that have to do with “Dance Monkey?” My wife loves it and says it gets stuck in her head a lot. Because she plays it frequently in our home, I’ve grown to like the song a lot too.
So, this one’s dedicated to my beloved wife. Thanks for the inspiration, sweetheart!
19. Happy — Pharrell Williams
I think the title of this one pretty much says it all. I don’t know how anyone couldn’t be happy while listening to “Happy.”
20. Why Can’t We Be Friends — War
This has been one of my favorite songs since I first heard it when I was a little kid, so it seems fitting for me to close out this list with it.
Also, even though I initially told myself I wasn’t going to include any music videos in this article, I can’t not share the video for “Why Can’t We Be Friends.”
It’s just too darned fun not to include!
Here’s my complete Spotify playlist of the above 20 songs. Enjoy!
So, next up...I have a question for you:
What songs make you happy when they keep repeating in your head?
What are your favorite earworm songs?
Let me know in the comments below — or, better yet, in your own article! If you do the latter, please tag me in it so that I can read your wonderful words.
I’d love to know what songs these cool kids would choose:
Terry Barr, Alex Markham, Kevin Alexander, Amber Walters, Laura Lind, Charlie Cole, Nicole Brown, Jeffrey Harvey, Arpad Nagy, Aimée Gramblin, Paul Combs, AB, Steven Hale, Steve Devine, Katemiya, Nichola Scurry, Susie Kearley, Jasmine Aguilar, David Acaster, Lark Morrigan, Gentry Bronson, Sarah Paris, Jessie Waddell, Eric Pierce, David Perlmutter, Kiki Wellington, and Kristen Stark.
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