Elizabeth Berrett
The best songs to listen to when crying have been revealed, and it turns out Britain’s emotional headquarters is not the therapist’s couch, the pub snug, or the back row of a cinema. It is, quite magnificently, the shower.
There, behind a curtain of steam and plausible deniability, 74% of people say they save their sobbing for the bathroom. Practical, really. You get privacy, acoustics, and the water does half the cleanup. If emotional efficiency were an Olympic sport, this would be a medal-winning performance.
A new analysis of nearly 10,000 songs from Spotify playlists has lifted the lid on the tearful tunes people turn to when life gives them a full emotional bunker shot. From Labrinth to Adele, Sam Smith to Lewis Capaldi, the results read like a roll call of heartbreak’s finest caddies.
The Shower Is Britain’s Favourite Place To Cry
There is something oddly sensible about crying in the shower. No one asks questions. No one can hear whether that was shampoo in your eye or the third chorus of a Sam Smith ballad finishing you off like a three-putt from six feet.
According to the findings, the shower is the most popular crying spot, with 74% of people admitting it is where they go when the emotional weather turns biblical.
Bed comes in second at 68%, which feels about right. Beds have seen everything: heartbreak, existential dread, Sunday-night panic, and the odd biscuit crumb from a decision that went sideways.
The car, meanwhile, takes third place at 54%. Anyone who has ever sat in a supermarket car park pretending to check their phone while silently disintegrating will understand that one.
Work toilets at 36% deserves special mention. That is not crying; that is emotional project management under fluorescent lighting.
Labrinth Takes Top Spot For Tearjerker Royalty
When it comes to the top songs to listen to when crying, Labrinth’s Jealous sits at number one.
The track appeared 26 times across the playlists analysed, making it the most featured song for anyone requiring a proper emotional wobble. It is not so much a song as a trapdoor beneath the ribcage.
There are ballads that nudge you gently toward reflection. Then there is Jealous, which arrives with a velvet glove and a crowbar.
Lewis Capaldi And Christina Aguilera Share The Silver Medal
In joint second place are Say Something by A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera, and Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi.
Both appeared 25 times across the playlists, which feels entirely unsurprising. Capaldi has built a career on making heartbreak sound like it has just stepped barefoot on Lego. Christina Aguilera, meanwhile, brings the kind of vocal ache that could crack a pint glass at ten paces.
For anyone building a crying playlist, these are not casual inclusions. These are emergency services.
Sam Smith, James Arthur And Calum Scott Complete The Top Three
Third place is shared by three tracks with 23 playlist placements each: Stay With Me by Sam Smith, Say You Won’t Let Go by James Arthur, and Dancing On My Own by Calum Scott.
That trio covers most of the emotional food groups: loneliness, longing, regret, and the horrible little moment when your brain decides to replay every mistake you have made since 2008.
Sam Smith earns extra credit by appearing in both the top songs and top artists lists, proving that when Britain needs a soundtrack for quiet devastation, they remain one of the safest pairs of hands in the business.
Harry Styles Sneaks Into The Top 20
At number 20 sits Harry Styles with Falling, appearing 17 times across the analysed playlists.
It may be last on this particular list, but that is hardly a disgrace. In a field this drenched with heartbreak, finishing inside the top 20 is still a respectable showing. It is the emotional equivalent of making the cut at a major when everyone else has brought thunderclouds and a string section.
XXXTENTACION Is The Most Popular Artist To Cry To
While Labrinth tops the individual song ranking, XXXTENTACION leads the artist list.
The rapper, singer and songwriter was referenced 130 times across the playlists analysed, making him the most popular artist for listeners in need of a cry.
That result says something about modern sadness. It is not all grand piano ballads and swelling choruses. Sometimes it is raw, fractured, lo-fi emotion that feels less like performance and more like someone left the microphone on during a bad night.
Ed Sheeran, Billie Eilish, Sam Smith And Adele Follow
Ed Sheeran comes in second with 117 mentions. Given his catalogue includes Thinking Out Loud, Perfect, and I See Fire, this feels like finding rain at St Andrews: predictable, but still atmospheric.
Billie Eilish ranks third with 115 references, bringing her hushed, shadowy style to the upper reaches of the crying charts. Few artists can make a whisper feel like a weather warning quite as effectively.
Sam Smith follows in fourth with 105 placements, while Adele sits fifth with 100 citations. Adele, of course, could probably make a shopping list sound like the final scene of a doomed romance. Someone Like You, Make You Feel My Love, and Hello remain industrial-strength tear extractors.
Justin Bieber appears at number 20 in the artist rankings. Not a podium finish, admittedly, but still proof that when the mood dips, Bieber fans are prepared to bring him into the emotional changing room.
Why Sad Songs Hit So Hard
The enduring pull of songs to listen to when crying is not difficult to understand. Sad music gives structure to a feeling that otherwise sprawls everywhere like a dropped bag of laundry.
A good crying song does not fix anything. That is not its job. It simply sits beside you in the mess and says, yes, this is fairly grim, but at least the chorus is excellent.
That may explain why so many of the top tracks are built around restraint before release. A quiet verse. A vocal crack. A lyric that arrives a fraction too close to home. Then the big emotional lift, and suddenly you are in the shower conducting an invisible orchestra with a bottle of conditioner.
The Verdict: Britain Loves A Private Sob
The data paints a very human picture. We cry in practical places, private places, and occasionally deeply inconvenient places. The shower wins because it is the one room in the house where falling apart can be disguised as basic hygiene.
As for the music, the favourites are exactly what you would expect: songs with bruised vocals, simple hooks, and enough emotional weight to bend the floorboards.
So next time life clips you round the ear and sends you looking for the right songs to listen to when crying, you have options. Labrinth if you want the full cinematic collapse. Adele if you prefer your heartbreak served with world-class lung capacity. Sam Smith if you would like to stare at the tiles and question every decision you have ever made.
Just remember to keep the water warm. Emotional recovery is hard enough without goosebumps.
