Repeat Offenders: 10 Tracks That Won’t Quit This Festival Season

September 5, 2013 - 5:15 pm by Jessica Wunsch

Have you ever gone to a festival and found yourself asking, 'wait, haven't I heard this track already before?' It's not an uncommon practice for DJs to use to same song that might have already been played in a preceding set list - to perform for an hour or more takes a lot of planning and strategy, as well as improvising, in order to keep the crowd levels up within the entire duration. And though some DJs are very mindful to switch up their sets if one of their songs has been played by a predecessor, some singles do manage to slip through the cracks. Here are 10 we noticed this festival season. ->

One Republic “If I Lose Myself” One Republic is just one of those bands that was made for remixes and festivals. Ryan Tedder heart grabbing vocals and lyrics become amplified by the swift uplift of electronic beats and melodies. The Culprits: Alesso, Bingo Players, Hardwell [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed]

Zedd “Clarity” Not only is it a chart rising hit, but Zedd’s birthday was only a day after he was scheduled to perform at Electric Zoo. Though he didn’t get to perform, luckily he had plenty of friends that made sure his breakout single was representative. The Culprits: Alesso, Kill The Noise, Dyro [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed]

Empire of the Sun “Alive” Considered one of the songs top songs of year, “Alive,” has been on constant rotation in radio playlists… and now DJ set lists. This comes as no surprise thanks to the single’s repetitive chorus that makes for an addictive sing-along chant. The Culprits: Sander van Doorn, Martin Solveig, Showtek, Mat Zo, Hardwell [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed]

Nirvana “Smells Like Teen Spirit” One of those wild cards that comes along every once in awhile, this 90’s grunge classic was actually a pleasant surprise. Hopefully more DJs take note and start throwing in some history-making music into their sets as well. The Culprits: Deniz Koyu , Bingo Players [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed]

Bruno Mars “Locked Out Of Heaven” The B Man will always be a favorite among the EDM crew thanks to his soaring swoons and already upbeat melodies. Just put a little EDM twist into the mixture and you have festival gold. The Culprits: David Guetta, The M Machine, Tritonal [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed]

Icona Pop feat. Charli XCX “I Love It” “I got this feeling on a summer day when you were gone…” That’s all you need to throw any crowd into pandemonium these days. Icona Pop has secured themselves a place in EDM history for developing one of the top rave rants of all time. The Culprits: Martin Solveig, David Guetta, Benny Benassi, Hardwell [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed]

Hardwell and W&W “Jumper” Two words: Pure adrenaline. This tracks fast rises and death-defying drops allow it to serve as a convenient go-to track for getting an audience really amped up. The Culprits: Benny Benassi, Martin Solveig, Hardwell [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed]

Zedd and Lucky Date w/ Ellie Goulding “Fall Into The Sky” Another track that comes courtesy of our recent birthday boy, it brings in two EDM heavyweights that have created pure EDM perfection. The well-placed house beats of Zedd and the stunningly unique vocals of Ellie Goulding is a combination that can never steer you wrong. The Culprits: Avicii, Bingo Players, Hardwell [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed]

Don Diablo and Matt Nash “Starlight” The well-pitched auto tune and fantasy-driven lyrics makes this track perfect to serve as a breather between to heavy stuff. Play this after the drop and allow the audience to sing along while the DJ gets his head straight for a bit. The Culprits: Otto Knows, Avicii, Alesso [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed]

Sebastian Ingrosso and Tommy Trash “Reload” You would expect nothing less from a former member of Swedish House Mafia, who were always bringing the beats to any festival venue they could be found in. Now Ingrosso has flown solo, and with the help of Aussie remixer Tommy Trash, has developed his own iconic festival jam. The Culprits: Otto Knows, Dada Life, Alesso, Hardwell, Dyro [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed]