Song lyrics you just Can't Get out of your Head...

To quote a famous song, Kylie Minogue's Can't Get You Out of My Head to be precise, there are just some song lyrics that you just can't get out of your head. They just play and replay over and over. Scientists call this phenomena an 'ear worm' (sometimes called involuntary musical imagery)- it can last for minutes or sometimes hours. They say these can be triggered through a whole number of ways, from stress to simply recalling a memory where perhaps the song was last played. Polls across the internet name Kylie, Adele, Abba and Queen as some of the worst offenders. A scientist called James Kellaris conducted research which found that up to 98% of individuals experience earworms  although they tend to last longer in women and are more irritating! Although we might see these as intrusions, songwriters love them because after all, it's what makes us buy the record!

Kylie Minogue one of the worst ear worm offenders performing on her Aphrodite Tour
in 2010