The Breeze 400: The highest ranked songs from each decade in the countdown

That’s a wrap for The Breeze 400 - our biggest countdown in history!

After two weeks of collecting your votes, we spent four days playing only your favourite songs from 1985 to today.

Taking you through the decades, we heard some absolute gems from the 80s, 90s, 2000s, 2010s and 2020s - but which songs came out on top?

THE HIGHEST RANKING SONG FROM EACH DECADE IN THE BREEZE 400 COUNTDOWN.

80s

#4 'Livin’ on a Prayer' - Bon Jovi

Coming in at number 4 in the countdown was Bon Jovi’s 1986 hit ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’ that featured on their third studio album, ‘Slippery When Wet’.

'Livin’ on a Prayer' was written by Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and Desmond Child.

It performed strongly on rock and pop radios and was their first song to reach number one on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. It was also their second consecutive number one song in the Billboard Hot 100.

In 2013, 'Livin’ on a Prayer' was certified triple platinum for over 3 million digital downloads and has since sold over 13 million worldwide.

90s

#1 '(Everything I Do) I Do It For You' - Bryan Adams

The #1 song in the entire The Breeze 400 as voted by you was the Bryan Adams 1991 hit ‘(Everything I Do) I Do It For You’.

Written by Bryan Adams, Michael Kamen and Robert 'Mutt' Lange, it was the lead single in Adam’s sixth studio album ‘Waking Up the Neighbours’. It was also the lead single in the soundtrack album for the 1991 film ‘Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves’.

‘(Everything I Do) I Do It For You’ reached the number one position on music charts in 19 countries, spending 16 consecutive weeks in the number one spot on the UK Singles Chart. This is still the longest uninterrupted run on the UK Singles Chart ever.

The song is Adams’ most successful, selling more than 15 million copies worldwide.

2000s

#19 'Murder On The Dancefloor' - Sophie Ellis-Bextor

With the 80s and 90s dominating the final places in the countdown, the highest ranking song from the 2000s sat at #19 with Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s 2001 hit ‘Murder On The Dancefloor’.

The song was written by Ellis-Bextor and Gregg Alexander for her debut album ‘Read My Lips’.

It charted within the top three in New Zealand and Australia, and peaked at number two in the UK Singles Chart.

It had a resurgence in January 2024 after it was used in the film ‘Saltburn’, starring Jacob Elordi and Barry Keoghan, and subsequently became huge on TikTok. ‘Murder On The Dancefloor’ hit number two again in The UK Singles Chart.

2010s

#7 'Thinking Out Loud' - Ed Sheeran

The highest ranking 2010s song was Ed Sheeran’s 2014 ‘Thinking Out Loud’, placing #7 in The Breeze 400 Countdown.

Written by Ed Sheeran and Amy Wadge, it appeared as the third single on his second studio album ‘Multiply’.

It peaked at number one in November 2015, then in June 2015, ‘Thinking Out Loud’ became the first single to spend a full year in the UK top 40.

In North America, it was Sheeran’s highest charting single until ‘Shape of You’ overtook it in 2017.

At the 58th Grammy Awards, ‘Thinking Out Loud’ won Song of the Year, Best Pop Solo Performance and received a nomination for Record of the Year.

2020s

#5 'Flowers' - Miley Cyrus

Coming in at #5 in the countdown was Miley Cyrus’ 2023 hit ‘Flowers', written by Cyrus with Gregory “Aldae” Hein and Michael Pollack.

‘Flowers’ earned 2.7 billion subscription stream equivalents globally, making it the best-selling global single of 2023 and Cyrus’ most successful single worldwide to date.

The song debuted at number one in the Billboard Hot 100 before spending eight non-consecutive weeks there. It also debuted at number one in the Billboard Global 200 chart and topped 60 different charts over 40 different countries.

‘Flowers’ won Record of the Year, Best Pop Solo Performance and was nominated for Song of The Year at the 66th Grammy Awards. In 2024, it also won Best International Song at the Brit Awards.