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The Disney Listening Guide

Here at Next, to celebrate 100 years of Magic with Disney, a brand-new Disney100 kids clothing, and footwear collection has just been released, featuring characters from Disney, Pixar, Star Wars™ and MARVEL.

And in celebration of this, we’ve taken an in-depth look into the average person’s Disney listening habits. From the number of listening minutes per year to the most played songs, we’ve covered every occasion.

Many of us will have grown up with Disney movies and their soundtracks. And whether you’re trying not to talk about Bruno, or heigh-ho’ing your way to work, Disney anthems feature as part of the soundtracks of many people’s lives, from childhood right the way through to adulthood.

So, take a seat and Be Our Guest as we take a deep dive into Disney music listening habits from across the globe.

The most featured songs in Disney Spotify playlist

Listening to Disney songs has never been easier, with all the classics and modern-day songs available via music streaming services. In fact, more than one in 10 UK adults (12%) have cherry- picked their favourites and created custom Disney playlists.

I See the Light' from the Disney film Tangled tops the charts when it comes to the most frequently featured Disney song in Spotify playlists, closely followed by the certified earworm 'Let it Go' from Frozen. 'How Far I'll Go' from Moana, and 'I Just Can't Wait to be King' from The Lion King are the third and fourth most featured Disney songs respectively.

Looking at the top 20 songs, The Lion King and Frozen soundtracks both have four songs each that feature most frequently in Spotify playlists. The Tangled soundtrack follows with three songs, while Moana and The Little Mermaid close out the top five most Spotify 'playlisted' Disney soundtracks.

The UK's most listened to Disney songs

Regarding the UK's most listened to Disney songs, it's a battle between the nostalgia of Disney classics, and the catchy beats from modern-day movie releases.

Frozen's 'Let it Go' takes the top spot, with two in five Brits (39%) repeatedly listening to this song the most. This is followed by a quarter (26%) of Brits repeating The Lion King's 'Can You Feel the Love Tonight' and another quarter (24%) playing 'Hakuna Matata' over and over again.

'A Whole New World' from Aladdin gets the most airtime for a fifth (21%) of us, along with 'You've Got a Friend in Me' from Toy Story, and the 2022 smash hit 'We Don't Talk About Bruno' from Encanto.

Other notable mentions include 'Under the Sea' from The Little Mermaid, with 20% as well as Beauty and the Beast's, 'Be Our Guest' with 14%.

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The average UK adult listens to 6,420 minutes of Disney songs each year

Brits are certainly making time for Disney in their lives, as it’s revealed that the average UK adult still listens to 6,420 minutes of Disney songs each year - the equivalent of 4.5 days.

This number increases by 25% for men, with the average UK man listening to 8,041 minutes versus the average UK woman listening to 5,267 minutes.

Those aged between 18-24 listen to the most Disney songs, with this generation racking up 10,099 minutes of listening time each year on average. That number decreases with age, with 25–34-year-olds listening to 5,990 minutes and those aged 45 and over listening to 4,817 minutes per year.

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The average UK adult knows every word to five Disney songs

With many of us listening to so many hours of Disney songs each year, it makes sense that we would have picked up some of the lyrics, word-for-word, along the way. In fact, the average UK adult claims to know every word to five Disney songs, with men knowing four and women knowing six on average.

Most of us only put this knowledge into practice in the comfort of our own home, with more than a fifth (23%) of Brits breaking into song around the house or garden. Another fifth (21%) flex the vocal cords partaking in some Disney soundtracked carpool karaoke. A further 9% of Brits are making the most of the bathroom acoustics with Disney shower singing, whilst a bold 2% admit to bursting into Disney songs in the gym or at their workplace.

When it comes to Brits' go-to Disney karaoke songs, 'A Whole New World' from Aladdin along with 'Breaking Free' from High School Musical are some of the leading choices, along with 'Let it Go' from Frozen. Also joining the list is 'Part of Your World' from The Little Mermaid, 'Waiting on a Miracle' from Encanto, and 'The Bear Necessities' from The Jungle Book.

Other notable mentions include 'Under the Sea' from The Little Mermaid, with 20% as well as Beauty and the Beast's, 'Be Our Guest' with 14%.

The most internationally popular Disney movie soundtracks revealed

We have also uncovered the most searched for Disney movie soundtracks in each European country and other highly populated countries across the globe*, to gather a continental gauge of the love for Disney soundtracks.

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Within Europe, The Lion King dominates as the most searched for Disney movie soundtrack across 82% of European countries, closely followed by Frozen II and The Greatest Showman, Frozen, and Moana rounding off the top five.

Looking across the Atlantic, Frozen II snaps up the most-searched-for spot in both the United States and Canada, while Aladdin floats to the top of the most searched-for list in Mexico .

Moving down into South America, The Lion King reigns throughout Brazil, while Encanto has enraptured Columbia, and the Moana soundtrack has topped searches in Argentina.

Crossing the Pacific Ocean, Moana is riding the waves of top searches in Papua New Guinea and New Zealand, while once again The Lion King reigns supreme in Australia.

Heading into Southeast Asia, Frozen II has both the Philippines and Vietnam under its spell, while Indonesia’s top soundtrack search result is Aladdin.

We’re seeing a similar story happening in South Asia, with both Pakistan and Bangladesh’s top result being Frozen II, while India is searching most for The Lion King.

Finally, looking at East Asia, Frozen II once again tops the annual soundtrack searches in both China and South Korea, while Japan’s top soundtrack search result is Aladdin.

Life is a highway with a quarter of Disney playlists created for road-trips

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Whether it’s a family singalong or a bit of steering wheel serenading, it’s clear Brits love a custom road-trip playlist, with a quarter (24%) of all Disney playlists on Spotify created for soundtracking our driving adventures. A further third of Brits (32%) also have a work/study Disney playlist, with 7% saying Disney songs help them to focus when in the workplace.

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As for the top locations Brits are listening to Disney songs, almost half of us (45%) are listening whilst relaxing at home, with a further 13% listening when spending time with friends in our homes. Over a quarter of Brits (27%) are bringing out their inner Mary Poppins listening to Disney music whilst doing the housework, with a further 16% choosing to listen whilst cooking.

A fifth of Brits (20%) play Disney songs to soundtrack the morning commute, while 7% tune in and listen when taking a pet for a walk. A further 6% of Brits are also listening to Disney songs whilst working on their Hercules figure in the gym.

The total number of Disney Spotify playlists by theme

With different occasions come different themes, with 1,132 Disney named Spotify playlists being created for sleep or lullaby purposes. This is followed by 1,105 piano/acoustic Disney playlists, 1,088 love/wedding Disney playlists, and 998 musical-themed.

Other notable playlist themes include 662 for karaoke, 494 for the gym/working out, and 576 Disney themed playlists created for baby listening.

Why do we love listening to Disney songs?

With all these different listening locations and occasions, we spoke to acclaimed recording engineer Matt Taylor, to find out exactly why we love Disney songs so much. Here is what he had to say.

"The thing that makes Disney songs stand the test of time is that they're also attached to films which stand the test of time. Disney has a unique place because, for most people, it's their first encounter with music, as they consume Disney films as children.

Often Disney songs have a strong hook, a defining moment that makes it instantly recognisable as to what it is. This hook can be rhymical, lyrical or melodic in nature, and often brings a sense of familiarity and novelty to the song. I’m sure many of us can relate to belting out a Disney classic from time to time.”

As to the reasons why Brits are listening to Disney songs, the top reason is because they make great sing-along-songs with 40% of Brits agreeing with this statement. This is followed by 36% citing childhood nostalgia as the reason they gravitate towards Disney music over mainstream music.
Research also shows that Disney songs can impact our emotions with over a third (34%) of Brits finding them uplifting, a quarter (25%) finding them comforting, and 12% finding them motivational. Almost a fifth of us (17%) simply think Disney songs are so catchy that you just can't resist indulging in a listen - We Don't Talk About Bruno being a prime recent example.

Encanto is the most TikTock'd Disney movie of all time

TikTok now also plays a huge role in allowing users to engage directly with their favourite songs or movies in a bitesize way. Matt Taylor explains how this is influencing Disney listening habits.

"Based on the nature of the videos being short in TikTok, it allows for short song hooks to be repeated continuously time after time, therefore engraving the song or sound into the viewer's mind. The more times we hear that song or sound the more likely we will remember it. By repeatably getting exposed to the same Disney songs over and over again, they get firmly cemented into our minds - creating earworm songs or sounds."

Looking into the numbers behind some of Disney's most well-known songs, the latest smash hit film Encanto has racked up a total of 30.3 Billion video views across TikTok from its hashtag, with the song 'We Don't Talk About Bruno' being used 729,900 times in user generated videos on the platform. This makes Encanto the most TikTok'd Disney movie of all time.

This is followed by Coco, with the song 'Un Poco Loco' having been used in 561,000 user generated videos, then Frozen's 'Let it Go' being used in 544,000 TikTok videos. The Lion Kings' 'Circle of Life' follows with 216,900 user videos, and Frozen's 'Do You Want to Build a Snowman' appearing in 209,400 videos.

Coincidentally all the most popular Disney TikTok songs are also within the top 20 most listened to Disney songs on Spotify, showing just how impactful TikTok is on our listening habits.

Come be part of the story...

Disney’s cultural influence doesn’t stop with music. Over the past 100 years it has shaped everything from what we listen to, to what we watch, the characters we love and of course the clothes we wear.

The Disney100 clothing collection at Next has been inspired by many beloved Disney songs, to remind fans of their cherished Disney moments.

So whether you’re road-tripping and want the kids to wear an outfit to match the soundtrack, or if you want to help them channel their inner Disney icon whilst belting out a classic movie anthem, the Disney100 centenary range has something for all Disney kids.

Methodology

Next surveyed a nationally representative sample of 2,028 UK adults in February 2023. Global Google Search data was also obtained for all European countries and global countries with the highest population in each continent, to determine the most searched for Disney movie soundtracks. Data was also scraped globally from Spotify and TikTok.

*Google Search data was gathered from the following countries; Albania, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, China, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, India, Pakistan,
Bangladesh, Brazil, Columbia, Argentina, Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Egypt.