These are mandatory. These songs have a routine dance and fills the floor with guests who don't really dance but would like to.
Wobble VIC
Cupid Shuffle

yes I know what line dances are.... Those two are some popular ones out of the list of 20+ line dances, but they're by no means mandatory at all. They're mandatory if you're a DJ who needs a line dance to fill the dance floor for you ;) Any kid who 'wants to be a DJ' can play 10 back to back line dances and have a full dance floor.

I'm talking about normal dance songs. Songs like the ones I listed.

Chicken Dance.

Makes me both cringe and smile at the same time, just not a good wedding without it. :P

Oh brother !#$?* LOL

Mic Katy Perry's - This is How We Do with Montel Jopdan - This Is How We Do It

Also, I always play a great redrum of Shake Your Booty - KC Sunshine Band and You Dropped The Bomb On Me - Gap Band (also a great redrum)

why guess? just ask the couple what kind of music they are into. that way you can pull together a relevant pool of music to play from.

You're clearly not a wedding DJ. Or at least not a successful one. After over 200 receptions I've never played the chicken dance and I would actively talk a bride out of such a bad request in a meeting if it was brought up.

Why would you think the chicken dance is a dance floor filling staple of good weddings? lol

Why guess what? You must not have seen my question. I was asking DJ's for their top favorite songs that they are using this year that work for them.

I was NOT asking DJ's to tell me songs to put on the must play list of my next wedding....


The replies on this thread have shown me that there are no wedding DJ's here outside of the guy that recommended KC & The Sunshine.

Because i come from a predominantly Italian area in Brooklyn, and this is a staple here.

Gotta keep uncle Vito and aunt Flora happy.

Sounds like the OP has a serious superiority complex

Yep no wedding DJs here 😄. But if there were... they might not care if the couple wanted the chicken dance for whatever reason because they might play an insanely wide variety of music that showed they were clearly playing a request... but I’m gust guessing of course.

There is a wedding venue I work with a few times a year which specifically has in their contract with the couple that certain songs are not allowed to be played during events. The Chicken Dance, YMCA and a few other old school weddings standards are on that list.

you act like being a wedding dj is cool or something, nobody cares what you did at 200 wedding receptions.

if you ask a question you should expect answers.

Got it but that's exactly what you asked for "What are some songs that are on your own Must Play list that always get the reception floor full up?"

...if anything these line dance songs are more mandatory than Shut Up and Dance and Can't Hold Us. I've seen more Djs get by without playing anyone of those.

A lot of posts that offered the OP no useful information. I'm not primarily a wedding DJ but I've done a few and I don't understand why any skilled DJ would reject that payday. It probably gets old if weddings are your bread and butter, but so do poorly paying gigs where you can play cool music.

Back to topic, sorry.

A lot of posts offered the OP no useful information because fishing for other people’s playlists is kinda nonsensical, then he got on a high horse about not playing cheesy songs - at a wedding!

Why is it nonsensical to ask what works at other weddings? Because every couple is different as is every region. And none of the songs he listed were in anyway beyond every top wedding 100 list.

If he / she had asked what 2019 pop songs work at weddings or what 60s surf rock songs work, what klezmer songs work... something other than “what are the most obvious songs in the world” then folks might have been engaged and gotten into an in-depth conversation.

As for club dudes not wanting to DJ weddings, that’s actually smart. Most club dudes can’t transcend their ego.

Did he ask for a comprehensive list? I don't think so. It just sounded like any other thread with a list of tunes that work. Plenty of those on here. I don't understand the offense taken by the OP or anyone else. Usually people put "tune x,y,z in my market of city abc". We've all listened to other DJs play a set and picked up a tune from it or gained some insight by watching crowds react. Anything you learn is something you still have to try for yourself. A cheesy song that a crowd loves is a winner, because its not about us. Its about them.

Hey whoa, how did this discussion turn so nasty? And why are good folks overthinking the question?

It's a simple question. OP is asking what popular go-to tracks wedding DJs regularly drop.

Obviously the tastes of the bride and groom will.take priority. If it's two geriatrics tieing the knot at 80 then Bruno Mars probably won't get dropped. This is a given and I'm surprised someone mentioned it. For a large percentage of weddings however there is a friendly musical middle ground - cue Mark Ronson and Macklemore.

Let us not forget the bride and groom rarely dictate what DJs play. Instead they give parameters and expect the DJ to figure out the rest. If they dictated what DJs play then they may as well hire a jukebox.

OP, for what it's worth my secret go-to track is Beautiful by Mercy Me. It's from a Christian band but isn't so religious you couldn't drop it in a set, and it's simply an amazing Cold Play-esque track guaranteed most haven't heard before.

It got nasty cause he asked for "must play" music for weddings and then when we have him titles he came back at us as if we were stupid because it wasn't the right type of song he was looking for. Smh

*gave him titles

Cause it comes across as lazy. Do some research. Ask for your couple for must plays. Then get other similar tracks you like. Blindly asking will not develop your own DJ voice.

Props for at least offering some must plays, so you might not fit the stereotype in my head, but it’s weird when djs invest their time into every instead of Djing and the music becomes an afterthought question for forums.

I think a far better approach is actually linking w other DJs that fit your style. Honestly, I’m not trusting forum opinions unless i know you’re good.

Btw, the true answer really depends on the crowd, age, etc... unless you’re shootings for the cookie cutter approach.

Re-read the comments ... you're right, OP got a little nasty real quick. OP this is your post. Be nice.

Again, yes, the OP got a little nasty but responding to that is a choice. Every nasty comment doesn't warrant a response. Re: the request itself, its no different than any thread on "what's working for you in 'hip hop', '90s house tracks', etc. The "find your own voice" would apply to all of those as well. A suggestion is just a suggestion, not a road map. Many of us DO play numerous tracks that lots of other DJs play...because they work...so pretending that everybody on here is doing some artistic shit all night where we play unique tracks is probably not realistic. So, going in, we already know that weddings are multi-generational affairs and that there are certain songs that work across generations and genres. I think the OP and respondents felt too cool for school but in reality, there are no stupid questions and, lazy or not, we can all search on our own and do things the long way but that's not worth any badge of honor. What's the point of all this collective knowledge available in the forum if people are too embarrassed to ask an occasionally cringeworthy question?

"Now that We've Found Love" - Third World or Heavy D and the Boys....Okay, OP there's one. Cookie cutter or not...it works across many age groups, genres, races, regions.

It's the OP response to our response. Kinda biting the hand that feeds although it's on him to clarify what he wants when first asking the question. Be thankful he got answers. We could've just left him hanging.

Here's a goodie

Gypsy woman - crystal waters

I love to finish a dwindling party with "With Or Without You" by U2. Anyone left at the event is sure to belt out the chorus and bob to the bass line.

Dont forget the police. Evey breath u take.

Why? Cause it's about a stalker. Hella best tune to the last song.

Straight finish the set with that one. The very last track.