Top 20 Songs Used at Awards Ceremonies
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.
We always arrive onsite with a catalogue of popular music but this day and age we can access a great range of music thanks to technology via online media players such as Itunes and Spotify. We play all awards music through a queuing software which allows us to program each song to the exact moment we want it to play. With this long queue stack of pre-edited music we also have the luxury of hotkeys which permits us to be on the money every time with only a small bit of production.
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 that obscure that the pun is unrecognisable. For example, if your winner’s name is Mandy, using Barry Manillow ‘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 ‘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 our 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:
Mark Ronson- God Put a Smile upon Your Face
We could give you a huge list of the most popular music used at awards events that we’ve encountered over the years but we’d be here forever. Don’t be afraid to try something new with your music selection, mix some of the classics in with new choices to create a memorable experience for your audience.
24 Comments
Katie Bolton
9th November 2017Hi there,
We are holding Alzheimer’s Society Dementia Friendly Awards ceremony on the 29th November and would like to have a set of walk up stings. Is this something you could produce in advance or do you only provide this service onsite? We are using the venue AV, so unfortunately don’t need the full package.
Thanks,
Katie
Rachael Morey
13th November 2017Hi Katie! Thank you for your comment. We’ve just sent you an email 🙂
anthony giannantonio
5th January 2018Hello,
I’m producing a gala dinner presentation for a high stature museum. There will be several high profile speakers and I would like to put together a list of walk up and walk off music for them. The client is looking for a Golden Globes sort of feel. Any ideas?
Thanks
Anthony Giannantonio
Rachael Morey
17th January 2018Hello Anthony,
Thank you for getting in touch.
We will be doing an updated version of this blog post soon so be sure to check out our website again. We’re sure there will be lots of music you can use at your event!
Mel Wills
16th January 2018Hi Istead friends:
Do you have an updated 2017 list of songs to play at an Awards Ceremony? I am coordinating our corporate awards ceremony and I need new material. I used your list last year and it was a hit.
I could really use your help! Can you please send me a recommend list of about 25 songs if possible? This would save me as I am not a real music person to find songs.
Thank you so much!!
Rachael Morey
17th January 2018Hi Mel!
Thank you for getting in touch.
We’re so pleased to hear you found our list helpful last year! Due to the popular demand of this post we will be doing an updated version soon to include songs from 2017. Come back and check our website in the next couple of weeks, hopefully we will can help you out again with your Awards Ceremony! 🙂
Brian rapier
24th January 2018Doing an event for a pro rodeo hall of fame awards banquet. Do you have any good ideas for this event
Rachael Morey
9th March 2018Hi Brian,
Check out our updated post for some new song choices and ideas: https://www.istead.co.uk/2018/01/25/top-stings-used-at-awards-ceremonies/
Thanks!
Dean Kleinhaooel
24th January 2018Hi.We have award event for people who are renting apartments in Croatia(about 800 guests).Do you have any sugestion what kind of music should we play?Best regards Dean
Rachael Morey
9th March 2018Hi Dan,
Check out our updated post for some new song choices and ideas: https://www.istead.co.uk/2018/01/25/top-stings-used-at-awards-ceremonies/
Thanks!
sherif
23rd February 2018i am arranging a medical conference , do you offer opening ceremony music?
Rachael Morey
9th March 2018Hello Sherif,
Check out our updated post for some new song choices and ideas: https://www.istead.co.uk/2018/01/25/top-stings-used-at-awards-ceremonies/
On there you will find a few opening of ceremony songs.
Hope this helps!
Sam
17th October 2018Hi there, I’m hosting an awards ceremony, and was wondering whether you know where I can get some stings for presenter and winner walking up to stage music? Thank you!
Simon Puziak
8th November 2018Hi Sam, try these websites for a variety of stings to suit your awards ceremony needs.
https://www.jonlinney.co.uk/music/stings/index.html
https://www.audioblocks.com/royalty-free-audio/intro+stings
Hope this helps!
Vali Kila
22nd November 2018Please recommend musicfor our up and coming CEO’s Award Night in December – This is where the staff will be arwarded by our CEO according to 5 catergories.
Simon Puziak
28th June 2019Hi, try these websites for a variety of music to suit your awards ceremony needs.
https://www.jonlinney.co.uk/music/stings/index.html
https://www.audioblocks.com/royalty-free-audio/intro+stings
Hope this helps!
Alexander bentivoglio
19th March 2019Mabey some country songs but other than that it looks good
Alex
Calgary
15th April 2019Any recommendations for music that’s oscar-esque?
Simon Puziak
28th June 2019Hi, try these websites for a variety of music to suit your awards ceremony needs.
https://www.jonlinney.co.uk/music/stings/index.html
https://www.audioblocks.com/royalty-free-audio/intro+stings
Hope this helps!
codybecth
15th August 2022Great Article! Thank you for sharing this is a very informative post, and looking forward to the latest one
Top 10 Stings by a Female Artist - Istead AV
8th March 2023[…] for your audience. Mixing some of these newer tracks above with ‘the classics’ from our last post will make you event a memory for years to […]
Top 10 Music Stings by a Female Artist - Istead AV
8th March 2023[…] for your audience. Mixing some of these newer tracks above with ‘the classics’ from our last post will make you event a memory for years to […]
Julian Annells
8th June 2024Hi, I am hosting/arranging the music for walk-ons for an awards ceremony for a group of special needs students, in July. The school is for adhd and autistic children, and the children there have overcome some real issues.
I am looking for a playlist that I can use please…any suggestions?
Thanks in anticipation.
Julian
Simon
9th July 2024Hi Julian!
Please check our Top 10 Stings Used at Awards Ceremonies list for some ideas for your awards ceremony, hope this helps!