Figuring out the most played songs ever is pretty interesting, but it's not easy. Spotify and other streaming services keep track of plays really well, but then you've got to think about radio, people playing songs in public, and all those records and CDs sold before digital music. It's complicated, but some songs definitely stand out.
If we're talking about songs you just can't escape, "It's a Small World" from Disney is up there. That song's been playing in their theme parks for like 60 years. With all those people going on the ride every year, it's probably been played a crazy number of times.
When it comes to sales, though, "White Christmas" by Bing Crosby is the big winner. Guinness World Records says it's sold over 50 million copies, which is nuts. People have been playing that one every Christmas for ages.
For streaming, it's all about newer stuff. Right now, "Blinding Lights" by The Weeknd is killing it on Spotify with over 4 billion streams. It's just one of those songs that really caught on.
But we can't forget about the classics. Songs like "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen or "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin might not be topping the streaming charts, but they're always on the radio and people love them.
In the end, it really depends on how you look at it. "It's a Small World" might have been played the most times ever, and "White Christmas" has sold tons. But for a lot of people, songs like "Blinding Lights" or "Bohemian Rhapsody" are what they think of when they hear "popular song". It's all about what you're counting.
