Happy New Year: The Top 10 Most Listened To Songs In 2014 [VIDEOS]

There’s just a few hours left in the year 2014 and we thought we’d help ring in the New Year with you by creating this list of the 10 Most Listened To Songs In 2014. Using various tools at our disposal such as Billboard’s charts, Rolling Stone, iTunes downloads, and Spotify metrics (most shared, most listened to, etc.) we congregated this list of what we believe to be the most listened to songs in the world in 2014:

10. Hozier – Take Me To Church
Bursting on to the scene in the second half of 2014, Hozier’s “Take Me To Church,” quickly rose the ranks as the most listened to songs in the world. The Irish born singer originally recorded the track in 2013, and released the record in Ireland at the end of that year where it was number two on the Irish charts. It wasn’t until May of 2014, however when Hozier performed the song on The Late Show With David Letterman that the song reached the mainstream. It reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 this month and the song is nominated for a Grammy for “Song of the Year”. We first heard the song in this amazing commercial for Beats By Dre.

9. Pitbull Ft. Kesha - Timber Pitbull’s
anthem of 2014 featuring pop-singer Kesha was one of the most popular songs of 2014. The song was released at the end of 2013, and interpolates Lee Oskar’s single, “San Francisco Bay” over lyrics by Kesha and rap interludes by Pitbull. The song was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks and also reached the top spot in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark. The NBA helped the song reach new heights when it became the official song of the 2014 NBA playoffs. The music video for the song below is quickly approaching nearly 500 million views.

8. Meghan Trainor – All About That Bass
Meghan Trainor burst onto the scene in 2014 with her smash hit, “All About That Bass.” Despite releasing the song midway through 2014, the song quickly rose to the top of the charts and if you haven’t heard it yet, we recommend you do as it is unlike any other song out there. It’s a combination of bubblegum pop and doo-wop ballads that sends a positive message regarding body image. Essentially, it’s okay to embrace your appearance regardless of what your size is. Trainor wrote the song with Kevin Kadish and was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks. It is nominated for “Song Of The Year” and “Record Of The Year” for the 2015 Grammy awards.

7. Sam Smith – Stay With Me
The British invasion of vocalists who pour their heart out continued with Sam Smith’s debut album, In The Lonely Hour. His song, “Stay With Me,” was released in May of this year and tugged on our heart strings as the pop ballad mixed with gospel intonations talks about the difficulties of a one-night stand. The song quickly hit number one on the U.K. charts and peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. It has made the top 10 on charts in over 12 different countries and it nominated for the 2015 Grammys for “Record of the Year,” “Song of the Year,” and “Best Pop Solo Performance.” Needless to say, we hope this song “stays” with us for a long time.

6. Mr. Probz - Waves
Dutch singer-songwriter, Mr. Probz, was introduced to the world with his remarkable single, “Waves,” that became a house anthem for DJ’s across the globe. The song was originally released in November 2013 in the Netherlands, but broke out after being remixed by German electronic music producer, Robin Schulz. Schulz’s remix quickly climbed the charts and the song became one of the most downloaded songs of the year.

5. Ed Sheeran – Thinking Out Loud Ed Sheeran had a big 2014 as his second album X, became one of the top albums of the year. His song, “Thinking Out Loud,” was the most successful of that album and reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100. It was number one throughout the European charts for most of the year and is one of the few songs that received critical acclaim as well as mainstream success. The ballad was the most played song at weddings in 2014 and the video which features Sheeran ballroom dancing as reached nearly 200 million views in just over two months of release.

4. Clean Bandit Ft. Jess Glynne – Rather Be
British electronic group, Clean Bandit, surprised the world with their chart topper, “Rather Be,” featuring vocals by Jess Glynne. The track was a 2014 baby when it debuted in England in January. After its release, the song quickly became number one on the UK charts and peaked at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. YouRube ranked it as one of its most viral songs of the year as it was shared over 197 million times. “Rather Be” is nominated for a Grammy for “Best Dance Recording.”

3. Taylor Swift – Shake It Off
Taylor Swift’s song that gave a middle finger to her critics, became her most successful song off her fifth album, 1989. The song is a far cry from her early country music style and has become the unofficial dance anthem of 2014. Swift debuted the song live on Yahoo! In August of this year and it quickly became the most downloaded song of the year. Critics have praised the song for its musical style, and it was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 charts within three weeks of its release. It is nominated for “Record of the Year,” “Song of the Year,” and “Best Pop Solo Performance” at the 2015 Grammys.

2. John Legend – All Of Me
American recording artist, John Legend, recorded his most successful song of his career with his piano ballad “All Of Me,” which he wrote and dedicated to his new wife, Chrissy Teigen. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in May of 2014, the first time Legend had reached the top of the charts in his career. It also reached number on in the U.K. New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Ireland, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and the Netherlands. It was remixed by Tiesto and became an electronic dance hit for the summer of 2014. All of us, love this song.

1. Pharrell Williams - Happy
This song is number one because we’re happy. Just kidding, there was no other choice frankly. Pharrell Williams, “Happy” which originally was recorded as part of the Despicable Me 2 soundtrack became the biggest song of 2014. “Happy,” was named the most downloaded track of all-time, eclipsing another Pharrell song, “Blurred Lines.” The upbeat soul song is the most successful song of all time and reached number on the charts in over 19 countries worldwide. It was even nominated for an Academy Award (losing to “Let It Go.”