Top 10 happy songs

In 2015 a study looked at what makes a song "feel-good" and we've decided to re-emerge it to help lift the spirits of those going through 'Blue Monday' today.

Dr Jacob Jalij is a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of Groningen in Holland and was commissioned to investigate UK residents' musical preferences and their favourite songs to improve their moods.

Dr Jolij said: “A feel-good song is very personal. Music is intimately linked with memory and emotion, and these associations strongly determine whether a song will put you in a good mood or not."

“However, there are some key criteria for composers to consider when creating feel-good songs - namely lyrical theme, musical key, and tempo.

“Holiday-themed lyrics naturally remind us of happy times, while a major third musical key sounds happy to our ears and something we associate with confidence.

“A high tempo of 150 beats per minute also subconsciously triggers a sense of energy.

“Combine these three ingredients together and you have the formula for the perfect ‘feel-good’ song.”

Based on Alba’s research and Dr Jolji’s analysis, these are the nation’s top ten feel-good tunes from the last fifty years.

1. Queen - Don’t Stop Me Now 

2. Abba - Dancing Queen

3. The Beach Boys - Good Vibrations

4. Billie Joel - Uptown Girl 

5. Survivor - Eye of the Tiger

6. The Monkees - I’m a Believer

7. Cyndi Lauper  - Girls Just Wanna Have Fun 

8. Bon Jovi - Living on a Prayer

9. Gloria Gaynor - I Will Survive

10. Katrina & The Waves - Walking on Sunshine 

We hope you get a chance to play one (or all) of these songs throughout your day to get rid of those Monday blues!