The best motivational song of all time is Kanye West’s “Stronger” – with rock anthem “Eye of the Tiger” only securing fourth spot, research has found. An analysis of the 65 most popular motivational playlists, on Spotify and Apple Music, was carried out, to determine which track made the most appearances.
And “Stronger”, which was a UK number one in 2007, came top, after featuring in 14 playlists on the digital music services.
Second spot went to Eminem’s “Till I Collapse” – followed by David Guetta and Bebe Rexha’s “I’m Good (Blue)”, and Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger”.
The deep dive into the most motivational songs was carried out on behalf of 888Poker, after its ambassador, Alexandre Mantovani, revealed what he listens to prior to major tournaments.
The poker player said: “I always workout before playing, to be my best version and have stamina for long hours of playing. I like listening to rock music and hip-hop, depending on the kind of workout I’m doing.”
Other popular motivational tracks include “Run” by Snow Patrol, “Forever” by Drake, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, and Eminem, and “Can’t Hold Us” by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.
“Beast – Southpaw Remix”, by Rob Bailey and The Hustle Standard, also features on a number of playlists – as do “Remember the Name”, by Fort Minor (featuring Styles of Beyond), and “Not Afraid” by Eminem.
The research also found Kanye West’s “Graduation” is the most motivational album, featuring on 23 playlists. This was ahead of “Recharge”, by Fearless Motivation, and “The Eminem Show”, by Eminem, which came second and third respectively.
Speaking about the 888Poker research, Dr Michael Bonshor, teacher in music psychology at the University of Sheffield, said: “We all have individual musical tastes, and personal associations with certain songs or types of music. This can affect whether we find them motivational.
“One of the strongest research findings is that music we choose to listen to, is more motivational than music other people have chosen for us. If we don’t like a song, it’s not likely to motivate us to do anything!”
