‘Careless Whisper’ voted UK’s favorite song for seventh year in a row

A song that recently celebrated its 40th anniversary has been voted the U.K.’s best-loved song for the seventh year in a row.

The U.K.’s nationwide radio station Smooth Radio conducted a listener poll to compile its annual All-Time Top 500 Chart. After all of the more than 42,000 votes were counted, “Careless Whisper,” credited to Wham! featuring George Michael, came out on top yet again. The song, which has topped the charts in both the U.S. and the U.K., marked its 40th anniversary in 2024 and has racked up more than 1.4 billion views on YouTube.

Overall, Michael is the artist featured most frequently in this year’s countdown, with 19 songs in total, including 13 solo hits. Whitney Houston is the most popular female artist, with 13 songs in the countdown. ABBA is the most popular group, with 16 entries, including “Dancing Queen” at #10.

Elton John is the most popular living artist on the countdown: He has 13 entries, including “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me” with Michael at #9.

No current pop artist made the top 10, which comprises acts like Queen, The Eagles, Michael Jackson and Luther Vandross. The closest was Ed Sheeran, in at #11 with “Perfect.”

By the way, the #500 song is Billy Ocean‘s “Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car.”

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