As it turns out, the most listened to Star Wars track on Spotify comes from Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. The music-streaming service has revealed their streaming numbers in the buildup to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker's release on Friday, as well as its own soundtrack being available now wherever music is sold.
Most of the songs featured in the series have been composed by iconic Hollywood musician John Williams, who’s created memorable scores to everything from E.T. to Jurassic Park. The only films in the franchise to not feature him are the three separate movies: 2008’s Star Wars: The Clone Wars (worked on by Kevin Kiner, who went on to score the followup TV series), 2016’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (which featured music from modern Disney composer Michael Giacchino) and 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story (scored by How To Train Your Dragon's John Powell). As per tradition, Williams has lent his talents to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, meaning that the Skywalker saga that began with his music will also end with it.
According to Spotify, the most streamed track in all of the series is the memorable “Duel of the Fates,” which played during the duel between Jedi Knights Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi and Sith Lord Darth Maul at the climax of Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace. The second place was the romantic “Across the Stars” from Star Wars: Episode II - Attack Of The Clones, with third place going to Darth Vader’s iconic “The Imperial March,” which made its first appearance in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. Other popular tracks include “Rey’s Theme” from Star Wars: The Force Awakens and “Battle of the Heroes” from Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith. The site has reported that listeners have streamed over 6.7 million hours of Star Wars music since 2015, with the popular May The Fourth holiday (celebrated as Star Wars Day) being the biggest day for listens.
In addition, podcasts discussing the franchise have received an over 83% increase in listeners in the months leading to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’s release, with the USA, Canada, UK, Australia, Germany, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, Argentina, and the Netherlands serving as the top countries for such programs. Fans have also taken to creating special playlists based on characters, with Jedi Master Yoda serving as the most likely theme, followed by Darth Vader, Jabba The Hutt, and Boba Fett.
While it's surprising that the most popular song came from Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, given the movie’s status as one of the more disliked among the franchise, Williams’s instantly memorable scores remain a high point to fans even among the most divisive installments. With Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker set to arrive in theaters soon, there seems to be no greater time than the present to log on to Spotify, kick back, and take in the iconic sounds of a Star Wars galaxy far, far away.
Source: Spotify
