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MANILA, Philippines – It’s the song many people really, really recognize: Spice Girls’ “Wannabe,” according to initial results of an online experiment released Saturday, November 1.
“Wannabe” can be recognized by most people in an average of 2.29 seconds, based on responses made on an interactive game “Hooked on Music,” according to researchers in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
Top 10
1. Spice Girls – Wannabe – 2.29 s
2. Lou Bega – Mambo No. 5 – 2.48 s
3. Survivor – Eye of the Tiger – 2.62 s
4. Lady Gaga – Just Dance – 2.66 s
5. ABBA – SOS – 2.73 s
6. Roy Orbison – Pretty Woman – 2.73 s
7. Michael Jackson – Beat It – 2.80 s
8. Whitney Houston – I Will Always Love You – 2.83 s
9. The Human League – Don’t You Want Me – 2.83 s
10. Aerosmith – I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing – 2.84 s
Coming in second is “Mambo Number 5” by Lou Bega (recognized in an average of 2.48 s), followed by “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor (2.62 s). Songs by Lady Gaga, ABBA, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, and Aerosmith are in the top 10.
The citizen science experiment was conducted by a team from the Museum of Science & Industry in Manchester, the University of Amsterdam, and the Manchester Science Festival.“Hooked on Music” is part of a study that seeks to “understand and quantify the effect of catchiness on musical memory and predict the catchiest fragments of music.”
A team of researchers, led by computational musicologist Ashley Burgoyne, is credited for conceptualizing the game.
In the game, people were asked to identify tunes and then identify the hook in that particular song. More than 12,000 people took part in the online experiment, MOSI said.
The playlist has more than 1,000 chart-topping songs, from the 1940s up to the present.
“The results of the game have the potential to inform and provide insights into what makes music memorable,” the site said.
The study also has potential to help in research about long-term memory and even failing memory, the Manchester Science Festival said.
“While it is fun to know this – because people love music but in the long run – if we have a better understanding of how the musical memory works, we are hopeful that we can move into research on people with dementia,” Burgoyne told BBC News.
People can still participate in the study, by going to http://www.hookedonmusic.org.uk/. – KD Suarez/Rappler.com
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