Top 20 Songs Used at Awards Ceremonies - (Updated for 2024)
Adam Fabulous, Award Ceremony DJ
For many companies, an awards ceremony is the highlight of the year. It is a time to recognise individual and industry achievements and essentially award people where credit is due. Gone are the days a presenter will walk up to ‘Simply the Best’, although sometimes it does still happen. Sigh. Don’t rely on your AV company’s Sound Engineer with their 2007 iPod unless you want the winners to be walking up to Steely Dan.
There are many great songs that you could choose for your event but we would advise you to avoid any major cliches. Yes, it is a fun idea to link songs to a winner but sometimes the song choice can be so obscure that the pun is unrecognisable. For example, if your winner’s name is Mandy, using Barry Manillow's ‘Oh Mandy’ is a bit of a mood kill to your upbeat and exciting evening not to mention a little bit cringe-worthy. We’ve also seen Heather Small's ‘Proud’ used far too much in media sequence videos. Try to use a song that is unique to your company and reflects the story you are trying to convey.
So without further ado, here are some top picks of the most popular music used at award ceremonies.
For when your audience enters the room:
Pirates of the Caribbean- He’s a Pirate (theme song)
Black Eyed Peas- I Gotta Feeling
For your presenter & winner walk-up’s:
Katy Perry- Firework (this one is definitely an old favourite)
Ocean Colour Scene- The Riverboat Song (notoriously known as the TFI Friday theme song)
Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars- Uptown Funk
Coldplay- Clocks (yep, pretty much any Coldplay song!)
Dandy Warhols- Bohemian Like You
Fatboy Slim- Right Here, Right Now
For when your audience exits the room:
