Songs about winning can have two purposes.
You can listen to them to inspire or motivate you to achieve a goal.
Or you can listen to them to celebrate the achievement of a goal.
Whichever your purpose for seeking songs about victory, we have what you are looking for.
Keep reading for some of the best victory songs ever written. All of the songs below inspire and celebrate winning.
We tried to include songs from different genres to ensure there is something for everyone.
Songs About Winning
Every one of the following songs can get you pumped up and encourage you to go out there and make something happen for yourself, just like these songs about fighting back against all odds.
They can also help you bask in victory after you have already achieved what you set out to do. What if you suffered defeat instead? Try these songs about losing and defeat.
Unstoppable by Sia
Unstoppable was Written by Australian singer and songwriter Sia and Christopher Braide. It has been hailed as a song about women’s empowerment.
But the lyrics to Unstoppable are applicable to everyone, irrespective of gender or age. The song talks about being ‘unstoppable’ as a façade–displaying yourself as undefeatable when putting yourself out there in the world.
You might feel like crap and lack confidence, yet you portray yourself as a winner, so that no one can break you.
The song even includes a number of affirmations, such as “I am unstoppable”, “I’m a Porsche with no brakes”, and “I’m powerful and confident”, and many more. According to MTV’s Emilee Lindner, the lyrics are meant to encourage those who are feeling weak to put their armor on.
Unstoppable is a song of resistance. It is a song you should wake up to every day. It is the kind of song that tells you to seize the day and go on to win in all aspects of life.
Unstoppable debuted in 2016 and has been featured in Zendaya’s Lancôme commercial as well as in Samsung Galaxy ads. It is definitely one of the best songs about winning and will remain relevant for years to come.
Hall Of Fame by The Script Feat. Will.i.am
Standing in the hall of fame
And the world’s gonna know your name
Cause you burn with the brightest flame.
It is hard not to get goosebumps when you listen to Hall of Fame. Featuring the Irish band The Script and Black Eyed Pea’s will. i.am, Hall of Fame was recorded in just one and a half hours!
It debuted in 2012 and went on to feature at the No.1 spot on the Irish Singles List, Austria’s Top 40, UK Singles OCC, and Scotland OCC.
Hall of Fame is all about making an impact on the world and following your dreams. It is a song about dreaming about the impossible and a reminder that you cannot succeed if you don’t try. Songs about victory don’t get better than that!
Jai Ho by A.R. Rahman
Jai Ho translates as “let victory prevail” or “may there always be victory”. The Hindi song was composed by A. R Rahman for Dany Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire which went on to win 2009’s Best Picture Academy Award (in addition to numerous Golden Globes and BAFTAs!).
Jai Ho was originally composed for another Indian film whose director thought it was “too subtle and soft” for his story. One man’s trash became another’s treasure.
Jai Ho went on to win the 2009 Oscar for Best Original Song. Rehman even performed the piece live during the 81st Oscar Awards Ceremony.
Today, Jai Ho is hailed as the toast of the town in almost every part of the world. It was even appropriately chosen for the closing ceremony of the 16th Asian Games.
Started From The Bottom by Drake
Canadian hip-hop artist Drake released Started from the Bottom in 2013, as the first single from his third studio album Nothing Was the Same.
It was a big hit for Drake, climbing up to the sixth spot on the Billboard Hot 100. It was also nominated for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance at the Grammy awards, but did not win either. It occupies the 9th spot on Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 Best Songs of 2013.
The lyrics to Started from the Bottom talk about Drake’s life before he became famous and the early beginnings of his career. He had to work hard to achieve success and get where he was and the song celebrates that. And nowadays, he makes rap songs about making money.
On Top Of The World by Imagine Dragons
Imagine Dragons’ On Top of The World is all about bouncing back from setbacks. It is about being in a dark place, but breaking out of that darkness and bouncing back to light and victory.
On Top of The World is an encouraging anthem that urges you to do what you want to do, overcome obstacles, and not wait until it is too late to do something. Life is short (as Nike likes to remind us). Do it now.
The song debuted as a single in 2013 and the band performed it at Barack Obama’s second presidential inauguration. It was featured in several films and ESPN even used it during the 2013-14 NBA season. Many brands including Vodaphone, Samsung, and Coca Cola have featured this great victory piece in their commercials.
Sweet Sweet Victory by Bob Kulick and David Glen Eisley
No other song describes the euphoric feeling of being successful or victorious as much as Sweet Sweet Victory does.
If you’re from the generation that grew up watching SpongeBob SquarePants, this song will be dear to your heart, as it is to millions. It describes the emotions of winning perfectly.
The triumphant rock song was written by David Eisley and Grammy-award-winning guitarist and song-producer Bob Kulick for the SpongeBob SquarePants Episode Band Geeks. People loved the song so much that a petition to have it performed at the 2019 Super Bowl received one million signatures!
Sweet Sweet Victory soon crossed into the mainstream of American consciousness, becoming a ‘can do’ rock anthem.
There is an interesting story behind Sweet Sweet Victory. Eisley and Kulick first recorded it in 1996. When the producers of SpongeBob heard it, they loved it so much that they licensed it and wrote the Band Geeks episode around the song.
Bob and David were not aware of this turn of events. Says David: “My jaw fell to the floor when my daughter ran out shouting: ‘dad your voice is coming out of SpongeBob!'”
We Are The Champions by Queen
British Rock Band Queen released We Are The Champions as part of their 1977 album News of the World. It was written and performed by their lead singer Freddie Mercury and remains the band’s most recognizable and popular song.
It talks about overcoming adversity and emerging victorious. No wonder the piece has become the go-to song for winners in many sporting events.
Freddie wrote the song with the audience’s participation in mind, although some say that he had football on his mind when he wrote it.
Even today, We Are The Champions is still commonly used as an anthem for sporting events. The song focuses on achieving victory through consistent efforts. It also expresses Freddie’s hard-fought battle before he achieved recognition and success.
Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now by Starship
Diane Warren and Albert Hammond co-wrote Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now for the romantic comedy Mannequin. It received a nomination for Best Original Song at the 60th Academy Awards.
The song is about not letting anything get in your way of winning. This inspirational ballad really brings about that feel-good emotion, thanks to its strong synthesizer beat.
Even today, when this song comes on, it brings on a mixture of emotions, like enthusiasm and love. Hammond, the co-writer of Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now, poured his real-life situation and emotions into the song. His long-pending divorce had finally come through, which meant he could officially get together with his girlfriend.
Winning by Santana
Winning by Santana deserves to be in heavy rotation like all Santana hits. It is a masterpiece from the 80s to eternity and we wish people would write more songs like this one.
The pop-rock single was written by Russ Ballard in 1976, but only recorded by Santana in 1981. Winning is all about finding happiness in your life. It even has spiritual overtones and talks about not letting bad things or misfortunes get in your way. It encourages us to be grateful for life’s blessings.
Winning is a beautiful song about what life is really about. It compares life with a roller-coaster ride, meaning that things happen that make you all queasy, but in the end, you still want to do it all over again, because it was thrilling!
It is a great song to wake up to or even work out to. It starts slow but ramps up and that adds to its allure! I am sure the song connects with a lot of people, especially those overcoming difficulties, like financial or health issues.
One Little Victory by Rush
Rush’s One Little Victory is one of the most underrated songs ever. It is a song about how little accomplishments, like just getting through one day at a time, are a huge achievement for people in a dark place.
The song also talks about challenging yourself within, rather than measuring yourself against others. It is all about being yourself and being real. It describes the feeling of victory, even if it is a small one, especially for those who try.
One Little Victory also depicts Rush drummer Neil Peart’s personal loss. Peart lost his daughter and wife all within a span of 10 months.
He stopped drumming after this tragedy and was depressed for a long time, before he could get back. He eventually went on to remarry and returned to drumming, much to the delight of their fans. Unfortunately, he recently passed away. May he rest in peace.
One Little Victory was the first release for Rush after a long hiatus (it came out in 2002) and as Rush’s bassist-singer Geddy Lee put it, “a triumphant song for the band.”
We Will Rock You by Queen
Queen’s 1977 hit We Will Rock You became immensely popular, thanks mainly to its chorus. However, not many know the real meaning of the song.
We Will Rock You talks about the different stages of a man’s life, from boyhood to old age. It describes how the song’s protagonist does not do very well in life, remains poor, and goes through a lot of issues. However, despite the challenges, he remains confident, as depicted by the upbeat soundtrack throughout the anthem.
Brian May, who co-wrote the song with Freddie Mercury, once mentioned that the song was all about making an impact on the world.
However, most people interpret the song as giving it back to the haters who keep telling you that you cannot do something. And that is why we had to include this superhit in our list of songs about winning!
Eye Of The Tiger by Survivor
Survivor released Eye of the Tiger in 1982 on their third album, which carries the same name as the song. It actually came out the day after the debut of the movie Rocky III, which featured the song as its theme.
The star of the movie Sylvester Stallone had planned to use Another One Bites The Dust by Queen in his movie, but Queen did not give him permission. So he commissioned Survivor to write a song for him.
The song was a monster hit. It climbed to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed there for six weeks. It also won the band the Grammy for “Best Rock Performance by Duo or Group with Vocal”.
Few songs have a stronger association with victory than this one. I can’t count how many times I have seen a training montage similar to the on in Rocky set to Survivor’s tune. It has become a cliché.
But Eye of the Tiger is a great song and the lyrics talk about having the focus and determination to rise above all odds and achieve victory. That single-minded focus is the “eye of the tiger”. It is the reason we also included this hit in our list of songs about working hard.
Victory Songs: Final Thoughts
Hopefully, at least one of these songs spoke to you and helped you achieve your goal, or celebrate achieving a goal. As mentioned, we tried to include a large variety, so that there would be something for everyone.
Of course, there are many more great songs about winning out there. In particular, you may have noticed a lack of country songs. That’s because none of us know much about country music.
If you have suggestions for other great songs about victory (country music or any other genre), please feel free to let us know in the comments below. We will be happy to add any good suggestions to our list when we next update it.
Apart from these great songs, what else can help motivate you to achieve a goal? A friend! They are also great to have around when you celebrate a victory, so why not celebrate your best friend too, with these best friend songs.
Victory is uplifting, but nothing is more uplifting than actually soaring in the air. To that end, we have a list of songs about flying high like a bird. Related in spirit, we also have this article of songs about sailing, ships, sailors, and the sea.
And once your victory has sung in, you might feel like expressing your thanks. To help with that, we have an article with 18 songs about gratitude here.
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