Nursing a broken heart? A new study has listed the top breakup songs across Spotify and YouTube. And while it may not cover the tracks that most heartbroken people listen to, the list highlights the popularity of breakup songs among a wide variety of listeners.
On Monday, Fox 5 Atlanta reported about the most popular breakup songs of the last five years, citing a study conducted by Learn Divorce Law. The company analyzed data from Spotify and YouTube and determined which among the nearly 100 breakup songs released from 2018 to early 2023 made it to the top ten list.
Olivia Rodrigo’s “Good 4 U” rounded off the top ten. Meanwhile, Ariana Grande managed to secure two spots on the list with her hit singles “Thank U, Next” (No. 7) and “No Tears Left To Cry” (No. 9). This made Grande the only female singer and only artist to have two entries on the list.
K-pop act Blackpink, the biggest girl group in the world at present, also made it to the list. Their hit song “Kill This Love” placed fifth. Meanwhile, Lewis Capaldi’s “Someone You Loved” topped the list with over 3.2 billion plays across Spotify and YouTube.
“Break-up songs have been one of the pillars of popular music for the longest time, and we could confidently say that some of the most popular songs of the last decade are about broken hearts,” a spokesperson for the company said in a statement to Fox 5 Atlanta.
The spokesperson continued, “This list highlights the most popular of the last five years, and most of these are also among the most popular songs of the year they were released in, ‘Someone You Loved’ being a perfect example of this.”
The complete list of the ten most popular breakup songs in the last five years is found below:
1. “Someone You Loved” by Lewis Capaldi
2. “SAD!” by XXTentacion
3. “Happier” by Marshmello and Bastille
4. “Don’t Start Now” by Dua Lipa
5. “Kill This Love” by Blackpink
6. “Without Me” by Halsey
7. “Thank U, Next” by Ariana Grande
8. “When the Party’s Over” by Billie Eilish
9. “No Tears Left to Cry” by Ariana Grande
10. “Good 4 U” by Olivia Rodrigo