Hey everyone — every January I keep a little tally in the back of my gig diary. Every time someone asks for a song during a set, I scratch a mark next to the title. It's completely unscientific — just me, around 220 shows a year, and whichever songs come up the most times. But after years of doing it I can tell you the list moves in proper patterns, and those patterns are worth watching if you're a gigging player yourself.
Here are the five most requested songs at my gigs so far in 2026.
1. Perfect — Ed Sheeran
No change from 2025, no change from 2024, no change from the first time I played a wedding where the bride was still getting her hair done. Perfect is the most-requested song at weddings by a distance that genuinely surprises me — even the couples who claim they are "not into Ed Sheeran" tend to request it when the first dance gets close. I do not think it is going anywhere.
Why it gets requested: It is almost unusable for anything other than a slow dance with someone you love, and weddings are the only place that kind of song gets played on demand.
2. Can't Help Falling In Love — Elvis Presley
Also no change — second most requested every year I have tracked, and the one that spans every age range. I have had eighteen-year-olds on a TikTok trend request it and I have had eighty-year-olds at a golden anniversary request it. The melody is genuinely 240 years old (it is based on a French piece called Plaisir d'Amour from 1784) which I think is part of why it feels so timeless — it basically is.
Why it gets requested: It is the only pop standard that works for literally any generation.
3. Fast Car — Tracy Chapman
Biggest mover of 2026. Fast Car was nowhere in my top ten until late 2023, when Luke Combs released his cover. That cover went to number one 35 years after the original also went to number one, and the song has been on my most-requested list ever since. At pub gigs more than weddings. At gigs with mixed-age crowds especially.
Why it moved up: Genuine, measurable crossover. A song can sit in a lower tier for decades and then find its second life, and when it does, it moves fast.
4. Wonderwall — Oasis
Yes. Still. Noel Gallagher has publicly said he hates playing it. Every gigging guitarist in Britain has made peace with the fact that it will be on their setlist forever. My theory is that Wonderwall is not a song at this point, it is a communal ritual — nobody is requesting the song itself, they are requesting the room-wide sing-along that happens when the song starts. That is a different thing.
Why it gets requested: It is the most reliable way to make a pub room feel like one unit.
5. Stand By Me — Ben E King
Rises up the list every year, never falls. Ben E King wrote Stand By Me in about ten minutes and his label almost did not release it. It has been covered more than 400 times since and still gets asked for every gig I do. Four chords, slow tempo, universally recognisable. If I am warming up a brand-new venue I will often lead with this one because I know the room will respond.
Why it gets requested: It is the most forgiving singalong in the book — everyone knows the chorus, nobody is intimidated by the verse.
What fell out of the top five
- Thinking Out Loud — Ed Sheeran (dropped to 7th, overtaken by Fast Car)
- Hallelujah — Jeff Buckley / Leonard Cohen (dropped to 9th, increasingly requested only at funerals and reflective moments, which I find interesting)
What this tells gigging players
Three things I take from this:
- Watch the crossover charts. When a classic song gets a big contemporary cover (Fast Car / Luke Combs), add the original to your set immediately. People will request it for twelve to eighteen months after the cover charts.
- Weddings favour consistency, pubs favour recency. Weddings ask for the same five songs every year. Pubs move with the charts.
- Your top five is your insurance policy. If you can play these five songs without thinking, you can walk into any room and survive the first thirty minutes while you read the crowd.
If you liked this and you'd like to see what I play each week, the gig schedule is on the homepage and The Soundcheck goes out every Sunday with a gig diary and whatever song I'm currently obsessed with.
See you out there ❤️