{"id":426044,"date":"2026-05-05T06:31:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T06:31:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/426044\/"},"modified":"2026-05-05T06:31:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T06:31:18","slug":"careless-whisper-george-michael-song-named-uks-favourite-track-for-eighth-year-in-a-row","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/426044\/","title":{"rendered":"Careless Whisper: George Michael song named UK\u2019s favourite track for eighth year in a row"},"content":{"rendered":"

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George Michael<\/a> has cemented his status as the UK\u2019s most beloved music artist, with his iconic track “Careless Whisper”<\/a> topping Smooth Radio\u2019s annual poll for an unprecedented eighth consecutive year. <\/p>\n

The 1984 hit, co-written with Wham! bandmate Andrew Ridgeley<\/a> for their album Make It Big, secured the coveted number one spot in the station’s All Time Top 500 list.<\/p>\n

Michael has 20 entries across the chart, including six songs recorded with Wham!. <\/p>\n

He was also named the UK\u2019s most popular artist.<\/p>\n

This remarkable achievement comes almost a decade after the singer’s death from heart failure on Christmas Day 2016, aged 53.<\/p>\n

Beyond the top spot, Michael also claimed the second position with his 1986 single “A Different Corner”, pushing Queen\u2019s “Bohemian Rhapsody”<\/a> down to third place from its previous standing.<\/p>\n

\"GeorgeGeorge Michael pictured in 2005 (Getty)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s fantastic that George Michael\u2019s music and legacy shine as brightly as ever, with \u2018Careless Whisper\u2019 voted the number one song and George Michael named the most popular artist,\u201d Smooth Radio presenter Kate Garraway said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a fitting tribute to one of the greatest artists of all time.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd what makes these results even more exciting is seeing singers like Sir Elton John<\/a> and Whitney Houston<\/a>, and groups such as Queen and Abba, connecting with a whole new generation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following at joint second is Michael Jackson<\/a> and Sir Elton John who had 14 entries each, with Jackson\u2019s highest entry placing at number four with \u201cMan In The Mirror\u201d.<\/p>\n

It comes following the release of the new biopic musical, Michael<\/a>, which starred his nephew Jaafar Jackson as the late singer.<\/p>\n

\"JaafarJaafar Jackson portrays his uncle Michael Jackson in the biopic \u2018Michael\u2019 (Lionsgate)<\/p>\n

Meanwhile Sir Elton\u2019s most popular song, \u201cDon\u2019t Let The Sun Go Down On Me\u201d, is a duet with Michael and placed at number seven.<\/p>\n

Whitney Houston was named the most popular female artist, with 12 songs in the countdown, including her version of the Dolly Parton smash \u201cI Will Always Love You\u201d which placed at number 19.<\/p>\n

Rock band Queen made Top 500 countdown history this year and were voted the most popular group for the first time ever, with 11 entries in the chart, putting them in joint first place with Abba.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Kate Bush\u2019s \u201cRunning Up That Hill\u201d reached its highest ever position on the Smooth Radio Top 500 list and placed at number 10.<\/p>\n

It comes after the song went viral after featuring in the hit Netflix series Stranger Things \u2013 including its final season which was released in late 2025<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Smooth Radio annual countdown chart is based on nearly 20,000 votes cast by the public and was announced on Monday evening.<\/p>\n

\"KateKate Bush\u2019s \u2018Running Up That Hill\u2019 went viral after appearing in \u2018Stranger Things\u2019 (PA Archive)<\/p>\n

\u201cMusic has always meant so much to me, whether celebrating or getting through the tougher times in life,\u201d Garraway said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love that this chart is always a powerful reminder of how much music means to all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smooth\u2019s All Time Top 500 \u2013 Top 20:<\/p>\n

\u201cCareless Whisper\u201d \u2013 George Michael\u201cA Different Corner\u201d \u2013 George Michael\u201cBohemian Rhapsody\u201d \u2013 Queen\u201cMan In The Mirror\u201d \u2013 Michael Jackson\u201cBridge Over Troubled Water\u201d \u2013 Simon and Garfunkel\u201cBillie Jean\u201d \u2013 Michael Jackson\u201cDon\u2019t Let The Sun Go Down On Me\u201d \u2013 Elton John and George Michael\u201cHuman Nature\u201d \u2013 Michael Jackson\u201cDance With My Father\u201d \u2013 Luther Vandross\u201cRunning Up That Hill\u201d \u2013 Kate Bush\u201cWind Beneath My Wings\u201d \u2013 Bette Midler\u201cFather Figure\u201d \u2013 George Michael\u201cAlways On My Mind\u201d \u2013 Elvis Presley\u201cHotel California\u201d \u2013 Eagles\u201cJesus To A Child\u201d \u2013 George Michael\u201cDancing Queen\u201d \u2013 ABBA\u201c(Everything I Do) I Do It For You\u201d \u2013 Bryan Adams\u201cSuspicious Minds\u201d \u2013 Elvis Presley\u201cI Will Always Love You\u201d \u2013 Whitney Houston\u201cFastlove\u201d \u2013 George Michael<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":426045,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[146,85,46,409],"class_list":["post-426044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=426044"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426044\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/426045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=426044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=426044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=426044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}