The most-played song of the 21st century belongs to Snow Patrol

Snow Patrol power ballad ‘Chasing Cars’ is the UK’s most-played song of the 21st century.

UK-based collection agency PPL crunched the numbers and made the discovery, all in honour of its 85th birthday celebrations in London this week.

A popular wedding song and radio hit, ‘Chasing Cars’ initially failed to top the charts but went on to spend seven consecutive weeks at #1 on the TMN Hot 100.

On the ARIA Singles Chart ‘Chasing Cars’ debuted at #80 on November 5, 2007.

The song peaked at #53 in January 2008, but it went on to achieve 3x Platinum accreditation and has since spent 70 weeks on the Top 100.

Black Eyed Peas’ ‘I Gotta Feeling’ came in second and Pharrell’s equally upbeat ‘Happy’ was third.

In honour of our 85th birthday, we delved into our data to identify the Most Played Song of the 21st century & we are delighted to reveal it is Chasing Cars by @SnowPatrol. Tonight our CEO @PeterLeathem presented @garysnowpatrol with an award to recognise this amazing achievement pic.twitter.com/lrnbCXxtx0

— PPL (@PPLUK) July 16, 2019

Frontman Gary Lightbody visited PPL HQ to collect an award in recognition of the achievement.

“It’s unbelievable,” Snow Patrol’s Gary Lightbody told the BBC. “I’m not sure how that happened.

“The way it unifies an audience is the thing I most cherish about it. It’s a beautiful moment every time you play it.”

PPL chief executive Peter Leather added: “Chasing Cars is a song that has become a popular anthem, securing huge success across radio, in public and especially TV, where its huge appeal has led to its use in many programmes and especially Grey’s Anatomy.”

Initially an indie rock band from Northern Ireland, the band rose to prominence in the early-mid 2000s as part of the post-Britpop movement.

Their first two studio albums, Songs for Polarbears (1998) and When It’s All Over We Still Have to Clear Up (2001) through independent label Jeepster Records failed to break commercially.

The band then signed to the major record label Polydor Records in 2002.

Connolly joined Snow Patrol, and after their major-label debut album, Final Straw, the following year, the band rose to national fame.

The album was certified 5× Platinum in the UK and eventually sold over 3 million units worldwide.

Their next studio album Eyes Open (2006) – and its hit single ‘Chasing Cars’ – propelled the band to greater international fame.

In 2018 a seventh studio album was released, Wildness. It peaked at #12 on the ARIA Albums Chart but failed to deliver any bonafide radio or sales hits.

Watch ‘Chasing Cars’ by Snow Patrol: