London is the birthplace of some of the world’s sexiest songs, new research has revealed.
The revelation comes from a new study by adult services site AdultWork. The research analysed 12,356 playlists that had titles relating to sex and intimacy, and contained more than 2.8 million songs. It examined which artists and songs appeared most frequently, to reveal the public’s most in-demand music when it comes to soundtracking intimacy.
Leading the capital’s acts is Sade, the group formed in London, whose tracks appeared 156 times on playlists made for intimacy. That places them 42nd overall and fourth among British artists, in a ranking topped by The Weeknd, whose songs have racked up 3,195 playlist appearances.
Eight separate Sade songs appear in the analysis, more than any other British act manages and as many as Rihanna, Frank Ocean and Britney Spears. The most chosen is ‘No Ordinary Love’, from the 1992 album ‘Love Deluxe’, which features on 50 sex playlists to rank 122nd overall and stand as the highest placed London song in the study. It is followed by ‘Like a Tattoo’ in 210th and ‘Smooth Operator’ in 302nd, with five further tracks appearing lower down, among them ‘Pearls’ and ‘The Sweetest Taboo’.
Coldplay, who formed in London while at university in the city, rank as the 74th most popular act with 66 playlist appearances across three songs. ‘Sparks’ is the most chosen at 208th with 26 appearances, ahead of ‘The Scientist’ in 215th and ‘Yellow’ in 320th.
The capital’s third entry is its most recent. beabadoobee, who was born in the Philippines and raised in London from the age of three, ranks 89th with 55 playlist appearances, and her three tracks are the newest of any London act in the ranking, all released since 2019. ‘the perfect pair’, from her 2022 album ‘Beatopia’, is the most chosen at 172nd with 33 appearances, followed by ‘A Night To Remember’ in 376th and ‘Apple Cider’ in 416th.
Bishop Briggs, who was born in the city, completes London’s entries in the top 100, ranking 99th with 43 playlist appearances. Unlike the others she reaches that position on the strength of a single song, ‘River’, which sits 137th overall and is the second highest placed London track in the study.
Looking beyond the top 100 artists, a fifth London act appears in the ranking. bôa, who formed in the city in the 1990s, place 133rd overall, and their song ‘Duvet’ features on 31 sex playlists to rank 183rd.
The other British acts to appear in the top 100 most popular artists for sex playlists are Arctic Monkeys (11th overall), Portishead (20th), ZAYN (23rd), Massive Attack (48th), Annie Lennox (58th) and Radiohead (97th).
Commenting on the study, a spokesperson for AdultWork, said: “It’s always interesting to see how much of a role music plays in our lives…including even soundtracking our bedroom habits and sex lives.
“Whether listeners prefer chilled-out R&B, upbeat pop or cool and grungey alternative, there’s no end to the creativity of playlists they can curate for themselves, in order to set the perfect mood. While The Weeknd reigns supreme as the go-to artist for intimate time, the sheer variety of artists in the top 200 shows just how unique we all are in our tastes and preferences, which is always worth celebrating.”
