Sweet 16 Songs
Thirty-four songs for a sweet sixteen, sorted by the part of the night. Start with a warning: most of the famous songs with “sixteen” in the title are grown men singing about a teenage girl, and they are not what you want at your daughter’s party.
Updated September 202634 songs
The songs with “sixteen” in the title, honestly
- Sixteen CandlesThe Crests · 1958
The gentlest of these, and sung by singers barely older than the girl in it. Fine for a slow dance if the family likes old records.
- Only SixteenSam Cooke · 1959
The narrator is also young and says so. It is a song about a first love ending, which is a strange thing to play at a birthday.
- You’re SixteenRingo Starr · 1973
Ringo was thirty-three. The line is “you’re sixteen, you’re beautiful and you’re mine.” Read that again before you put it on at your daughter’s party.
- Sweet SixteenBilly Idol · 1986
About a man who spent decades building a castle for a girl who left him. A good song and completely wrong for this occasion.
- UnwrittenNatasha Bedingfield · 2004
The one that actually belongs at a sixteenth. Corny, hopeful, and it has been carrying these slideshows for twenty years.
- RoarKaty Perry · 2013
For a girl who has had to stand up to something this year. Obvious, and obvious helps at sixteen.
- Fight SongRachel Platten · 2015
The same job as “Roar” with less shouting. Better for the quieter kind of sixteen-year-old.
- Girls Just Want to Have FunCyndi Lauper · 1983
Old enough that her mother will dance too, which is either the point or the problem.
- Good as HellLizzo · 2016
For the party rather than a moment. It will get her friends up and it will not embarrass her.
- Best Day of My LifeAmerican Authors · 2013
Bright, uncomplicated and short. Good over a video of the night itself.
How a sweet sixteen is actually structured
Most sweet sixteens run in four parts and each wants different music. There is the entrance, which is thirty to ninety seconds and needs to build. There is often a father-daughter dance, which is one slow song. There is the party, which is two to four hours of her friends. And there is the slideshow, which is one song and sixty photographs. Pick four songs, not forty.
The entrance is the moment people film. Choose something with a real build rather than something that starts at full volume, and cue it about fifteen seconds before she walks so the room turns. Anything that opens with a quiet bar and arrives at a chorus works; anything that starts loud wastes the moment.
The father-daughter dance is where parents overreach. “Butterfly Kisses” and “I Loved Her First” are both songs about a father struggling to let go, and at a sixteenth that can read as heavier than the occasion. If she would find it moving, use it. If she would find it a lot, “My Girl” does the same job in three minutes without anyone crying.
For the party itself, hand the playlist to her. Genuinely. A parent-built teen playlist is the most reliable way to empty a dance floor, and the only person in the room who knows what her friends will dance to is her.
By the part of the night
For the entrance and the father-daughter dance
One song that builds for the walk in, one slow one for the dance. Both should be short — ninety seconds and three minutes.
- Dog Days Are OverFlorence + The Machine · 2008
Starts small and arrives somewhere. Almost purpose-built for a room turning to look at a door.
- I LivedOneRepublic · 2014
Big, hopeful, and it builds on a count you can time a walk to.
- My GirlThe Temptations · 1964
The father-daughter dance that will not make anyone cry. Three minutes, everyone knows it, nobody is embarrassed.
- Isn’t She LovelyStevie Wonder · 1976
Joyful rather than tearful. Written about a newborn, which is either sweet or odd at sixteen — her call.
- My WishRascal Flatts · 2006
A parent listing what they want for their child. The safest sentimental choice on this page.
- I Loved Her FirstHeartland · 2006
Written for a wedding and used at sixteenths anyway. Heavy. Only if she asked for it.
- Then They DoTrace Adkins · 2003
About children growing up while you are busy. For the parents more than for her.
- UnforgettableNatalie Cole with Nat King Cole · 1991
The father-and-daughter duet, literally. Unbeatable if the family likes the idea of that.
For the party
Her friends, two to four hours. Let her build this part — a parent-built teen playlist empties a floor faster than nothing at all.
- Blinding LightsThe Weeknd · 2019
The most-streamed song of its era. Anyone born after 2005 has it in their body somewhere.
- LevitatingDua Lipa · 2020
Reliable dance-floor filler that parents can also tolerate. Rare combination.
- Uptown FunkMark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars · 2014
The one song at a mixed-age party that gets everybody up at once.
- Yeah!Usher · 2004
Older than the birthday girl and still works. Her parents will react before her friends do.
- Cupid ShuffleCupid · 2007
A line dance with instructions in the lyric. Solves the problem of teenagers who will not dance.
- Dancing QueenABBA · 1976
Literally about being seventeen. Close enough, and the aunts will be up before the chorus.
- SeptemberEarth, Wind & Fire · 1978
The reliable choice when three generations are in the room and agree on nothing else.
- Sweet CarolineNeil Diamond · 1969
The last song of the night, every time. Nobody has to be told the shouted part.
For the slideshow
One song, sixty photographs, three to four minutes. Choose the song first and cut the pictures to it.
- PhotographEd Sheeran · 2015
Literally about keeping someone in a picture, and it does not overplay it. The most on-theme choice here.
- 7 YearsLukas Graham · 2015
Ages a person through a whole life in four minutes. Made for exactly this kind of montage.
- Rivers and RoadsThe Head and the Heart · 2011
About people scattering. For a slideshow that ends on her friends rather than on her.
- LandslideFleetwood Mac · 1975
About a child growing and a parent getting older at once. Short, which is mercy.
- Here Comes the SunThe Beatles · 1969
Three minutes, hopeful, and every generation in the room accepts it.
- I LivedOneRepublic · 2014
Works for the entrance and for the slideshow. Use it once, not twice.
- ViennaBilly Joel · 1977
Advice to a young person in a hurry: slow down, you have time. Increasingly the one teenagers pick themselves.
- UnwrittenNatasha Bedingfield · 2004
The default for twenty years. It is a cliché because it works.
Three demonstration songs
What a song for her sixteenth sounds like
We wrote these from made-up answers to the same five questions you would fill in. They are not customer work. A song written for the entrance is the one thing at a sweet sixteen that nobody else’s party has had.
Make her song- Ruth’s Yellow KitchenCountry · a grandmother who fed everyone who came to the door3:39
- Marcus at FortyPop · written to be funny, at a friend’s request3:00
- Vera in AugustFolk · read out at a memorial, dahlias and all3:07
How it works
Three steps. The first one is the only hard part.
- 1Tell the storyFive questions. Who it’s for, the occasion, three details only you two know, the feeling you want, and the names that have to be in it.
- 2Pick the soundCountry, pop, acoustic, R&B, gospel or rock. A man’s voice or a woman’s.
- 3Listen, then unlockA 30-second preview in about two minutes. Pay only if you love it. You get the full song, the lyrics, and a page you can send.
Common questions
- What song should play when the birthday girl walks in?
- Something that builds rather than something that starts loud, and cue it about fifteen seconds early so the room turns. “Dog Days Are Over” and “I Lived” both arrive at a chorus you can time a walk to.
- What is a good father-daughter dance song for a sweet 16?
- “My Girl” if you want the room smiling, “My Wish” if you want it moved. “Butterfly Kisses” and “I Loved Her First” are heavier than a sixteenth usually needs — both are really about a father letting go at a wedding.
- Why are the old “sixteen” songs a problem?
- Because several are adult men addressing a teenage girl. Ringo Starr was thirty-three when he recorded “You’re Sixteen”, and the chorus claims her. It was normal in 1973 and it is not what you want playing at your daughter’s party.
- How many songs does a sweet 16 need?
- Four chosen ones — an entrance, a dance, a slideshow song and a closer — plus a party playlist she builds herself. The single most common mistake is a parent building the party playlist.
- Can I get a song written for her sixteenth?
- Yes. Answer five questions about her — her name, the party, three things only your family knows, the feeling you want and the music she likes — and you will hear a 30-second preview in about two minutes. The full song is $19.