Which FIFA game has the best soundtrack?

With FIFA 23’s release comes the end of an era, as the last game released under the current branding. 

Aside from the game itself, every fan recognises the significance of FIFA’s soundtrack to the overall gaming experience. Over the years, the songs have served as a backdrop to many people’s lives. But which FIFA song is the best? And which game provided us with the best soundtrack?

Analysis has been done on Spotify streams and YouTube views for 865 songs from every FIFA release between 1993 and 2022, to create a ranking of the best songs and soundtracks.

Glass Animals’ Heatwaves revealed as best ever FIFA song

Spotify playlist with the top 50 songs click here.

Heat Waves by Glass Animals is the best FIFA song of all time with 2,238,663,694 total streams. EA is well-known for its excellent music selection, and the success of Heat Waves was no exception, with the song gaining over 1.8 billion Spotify streams and over 367 million YouTube views, totaling a massive listening time of 6,192,599 hours.

The Nights by AVICII comes in second, with 2,027,510,555 total streams. The song produced by the legendary Swedish DJ is filled with nostalgia and a beautiful message to enjoy every moment in life, has received 1,138,670,665 Spotify streams and 888,839,890 YouTube views, totaling 4,153,580 hours of listening time.

In third is Love Me Again by John Newman with 1,399,250,865 total streams. The song was featured on the soundtrack of FIFA 2014 which gave it a cult status among FIFA fans due to its popularity. The song has 484,817,419 Spotify streams and 914,433,446 YouTube views, which is 44% less than The Nights in second place.

In fourth is Way Down We Go by Kaleo from FIFA 16 with 633,590,971 Spotify streams and 480,227,644 YouTube views which came to a total of 1,113,818,615 streams. Due to its cinematic nature and perfect build up, the hit single from the Icelandic band is a great fit for the game, allowing FIFA players to get in focus for their next match.

Completing the top five is On Top of the World by Imagine Dragons which earned a total streaming count of 982,928,690 (671,300,276 Spotify streams and 311,628,414 YouTube views).  

FIFA 15 is the best soundtrack in the franchise

Overall the best soundtrack was revealed to be FIFA 15 with a whopping 4,106,320,526 total streams, equivalent to 230 million hours of listening. The game features tracks such as The Nights by Swedish superstar DJ AVICII and other high performing songs such as Are You What You Want To Be by Foster The People, and Busy Earnin’ by Jungle. 

In 2nd place was FIFA 21 with 3,269,447,608 total streams, or just over 190 million hours of listening. The 28th instalment in the franchise, the soundtrack featured the best ever song Heat Waves by Glass Animals and Me Gusta by Anitta.

FIFA 2016 took 3rd place with 3,201,274,149 total streams, followed by FIFA 2019 in 4th place, and FIFA 2014 rounding out the top 5. 

Methodology

1. Livefootballtickets.com sought to determine the best EA Sports FIFA song of all time.
2. To do so they compiled a list of songs used in FIFA soundtracks in 28 different FIFA games from the games first release in 1993 to the latest release in 2022 using EA.com and FIFplay.
3. They then analysed Spotify streams and Youtube views for each song. The YouTube video with the most views was chosen and recorded.
4. 865 songs were analysed in total.
5. The data was further weighted to establish a score out of 100 for each FIFA song.
6. After collecting all of the data, the songs were ranked from the highest number of streams and views to lowest, thus creating a list of the best FIFA songs of all time
7. Data was collected on 21/09/222, and is accurate as of then but is subject to change.

Read: FIFA 23: Exclusive first look as early access begins