NEWS COPY
By Rob Knight
‘Happy’ is Britain’s favourite car karaoke song.
Research found Pharrell Williams’ infectious hit is most likely to get drivers and their passengers singing at the top of their voices.
Bon Jovi’s Livin' On a Prayer is the UK’s second most popular in-car sing along tune, followed by Abba’s Dancing Queen in third.
While other favourites in the top 40 include Beyoncé’s Single Ladies, Madonna’s Holiday and Take That’s Never Forget.
Commissioned by BP Ultimate, the survey of 2,000 motorists also found four in ten have been embarrassed when other drivers have caught them belting out their favourite hits.
A spokesman for BP Ultimate said: “Music and driving often go hand-in-hand, so perhaps it’s inevitable that so many motorists and their passengers like to have a good sing-along in the relative privacy of their vehicles.
“Our survey explores the relationship between music and driving and it’s no surprise to us that respondents voted for some real classics.”
Also among the singalong favourites are David Bowie’s Starman, Spandau Ballet’s Gold and Justin Timberlake’s Can’t Stop the Feeling!
And Taylor Swift’s Shake it off, The Killers’ Mr Brightside and Ed Sheeran’s Shape of You are also hits likely to get people singing along.
Playing music over the car radio is the number one tactic people use to avoid passengers getting restless and to keep them content.
But in-car entertainment doesn’t always involve a sing-along - the survey by OnePoll also found half of respondents keep themselves occupied by chatting and 28 per cent like to play traditional games like I spy.
A spokesman for BP Ultimate added: “Our innovative Ultimate fuels with ACTIVE technology are specially designed to help your engine perform at its best, so you can keep moving.
“As Brits take to the road this summer we wanted to find out how they keep things moving in the car.
“It’s great to see drivers using a variety of different strategies to keep everyone entertained, and that music, traditional games and the lost art of conversation are still hugely popular - even in this digital age.”
For some musical inspiration from professional drivers, BP has enlisted the help of Renault Formula 1 team mates Nico Hülkenberg and Jolyon Palmer who have compiled their ultimate driving playlists.
The playlists can be downloaded at: www.bp.com/keepingbritainmoving
TOP 40 CAR KARAOKE SONGS:
1. Pharrell Williams - Happy
2. Bon Jovi - Livin' On a Prayer
3. Abba - Dancing Queen
4. Justin Timberlake - Can't Stop The Feeling!
5. Beyoncé - Single Ladies
6. Taylor Swift - Shake It Off
7. The Killers - Mr Brightside
8. Ed Sheeran - Shape Of You
9. Spandau Ballet - Gold
10. Oasis - Wonderwall
11. Culture Club - Karma Chameleon
12. Kings of Leon - Sex On Fire
13. Madonna - Holiday
14. Mark Ronson - Uptown Funk ft. Bruno Mars
15. David Bowie - Starman
16. Aretha Franklin - Respect
17. Take That - Never Forget
18. Katy Perry - Roar
19. The Black Eyed Peas - I Gotta Feeling
20. Depeche Mode - Just Can't Get Enough
21. Cyndi Lauper - Girls Just Want To Have Fun
22. Duran Duran - Rio
23. Michael Jackson - Smooth Criminal
24. The Weather Girls - It's Raining Men
25. The Beatles - Hey Jude
26. Hozier - Take Me to Church
27. David Bowie - Let's Dance
28. Van Morrison - Brown Eyed Girl
29. Blur - Parklife
30. Kool and the Gang - Get Down on It
31. Kings of Leon - Use Somebody
32. Rod Stewart - Maggie May
33. Marvin Gaye - I Heard It Through The Grapevine
34. Frank Sinatra - My Way
35. Demi Lovato - Let It Go (from the movie Frozen)
36. Petula Clark - Downtown
37. Lionel Richie - Hello
38. The Walker Brothers - The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore)
39. Sam Smith - Stay With Me
40. The Righteous Brothers - Unchained Melody
TOP FIVE CAR GAMES:
1. I spy
2. Spotting different coloured cars
3. Counting similar objects (cows, bridges)
4. The Animal Game (naming an animal beginning with last letter of the animal shouted out by the person sitting next to you)
5. Name that tune
ENDS
