10 Songs That Got More Popular Through Movies
From speaker to screen.
A song's melody is usually all you need to capture an audience's attention. Thousands of bands try to play up the visual aspect of the music (here's looking at you, KISS), but it normally just comes down to how catchy the song is, at the end of the day.
Then again, maybe people using the visual medium do have a point. Instead of turning to the music video for exposure, these songs have garnered tons of attention because of their use in a popular film.
The song could have been fine on its own, but matching it with the trials and tribulations of our protagonist gives an extra layer of depth to the song that you never knew was there. Oftentimes the presence of the song is so powerful that it's hard to separate the music from the scene that it's being played in.
Whereas most of these songs have come from big name acts, the best examples are relics from the past that are dusted off and given a whole new life by the director.
Even if these songs were DOA on the charts, they will forever be in our hearts thanks to their time on the big screen.
10. Bohemian Rhapsody - Wayne's World
It's already been decided that "Bohemian Rhapsody" is one of the greatest songs of the past century. Ever since its release back in the '70s, Freddie Mercury's brainchild has been blowing minds around the world and inspiring every karaoke singer to humiliate themselves trying to sing the operatic section. The song's presence was already known, but Mike Myers and his buddies ended up giving the entire track a second wind.
Say what you want to about the Wayne's World movie, but the scene where everyone is jamming to "Bohemian Rhapsody" has become a modern staple of cinema. The power that comes with the scene is because it reinforces what we already know about the track. It's not necessarily a new idea for someone to jam out to the song's hard rock sections, but this scene represents everything that's great about rock and roll.
No matter what age you are, every time the song hits the final rock riff, you are right there in the back seat jamming along with Wayne and Garth. "Bohemian Rhapsody" will surely outlast Wayne's World, but when the scene is so good that it's referenced in the Queen biopic of the same name, you know you've done something right.