One of the best things about Star Wars is the epic music that accompanies each movie and TV show. John Williams is the man behind the soundtrack, and I’ve had the privilege of seeing him conduct some of the biggest symphonies from across the galaxy. When I was at the 40th anniversary opening panel at Star Wars Celebration in 2017, his presence (along with the Orlando Philharmonic) was one of the biggest surprises. It began with Leia’s Theme as a video tribute to Carrie Fisher was presented. They then followed that up with the Main Title and The Imperial March. It was quite a surreal moment for me. I was standing there listening with Darth Vader (Hayden Christensen) himself standing only a few feet away. I’ll never forget it.
I’ve found the music of Star Wars to be one of the best things to listen to as background music or when I happen to be in the mood to visit the galaxy far, far away. And apparently, I’m not alone. According to Spotify statistics, listeners have streamed more than 6.7 million hours of Star Wars music on Spotify since 2015. The most-streamed track is Duel of the Fates. It is the epic melody from the final lightsaber battle at the end of The Phantom Menace. (It’s one of my personal favorites as well!)
The busiest day of the year for streaming Star Wars music is May 4th, our “Star Wars holiday”. It’s deemed that because of the iconic phrase “may the force be with you” and is celebrated by Star Wars fans the world over. What might surprise you, however, is that The Imperial March actually shows up in a lot of wedding-themed playlists on Spotify. Hmm, I wonder what that’s about!
Spotify users have also created playlists based on their favorite characters. Some of these are Darth Vader, Jabba the Hutt, Boba Fett, and Han Solo. But which character has the most playlists based on them. Well, it’s Yoda of course! (I expect to see “Baby Yoda” playlists coming any day, if they aren’t there already.)
And hey, of course we have plenty of Star Wars podcasts on Spotify as well. (One more since yesterday!) Star Wars-themed podcast listening actually increased by more than 83% from October to November of 2019. People must have been really gearing up for The Rise of Skywalker release on December 20.
If you’re craving some of those epic sounds from Star Wars, Spotify has the soundtracks for all of the movies, including The Rise of Skywalker. And if you can’t decide, Spotify has even made it easy on you by creating a Best of Star Wars playlist. Enjoy, and may the force be with you!