# What is the world record for number of people singing the same song at the same time? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 20, 2017, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-world-record-for-number-of-people-singing-the-same-song-at-the-same-time/784874 "2017-04-20T20:23:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-world-record-for-number-of-people-singing-the-same-song-at-the-same-time/784874/1 "2017-04-20T20:23:40Z")
Just as the title says, and it doesn’t even have to be in the same location if you want to include a simulcast event. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-world-record-for-number-of-people-singing-the-same-song-at-the-same-time/784874/2 "2017-04-20T20:53:10Z")
Well, the first number to beat is 25,272, [the largest group of carol singers](http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/largest-group-of-carol-singers) according to the Guinness Book of World Records. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-world-record-for-number-of-people-singing-the-same-song-at-the-same-time/784874/3 "2017-04-20T20:56:02Z")
I can’t speak to simultaneous singing but “We Are the World” was played simultaneously on [more than 8,000 radio stations worldwide](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Are_the_World) in 1985. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-world-record-for-number-of-people-singing-the-same-song-at-the-same-time/784874/4 "2017-04-20T20:58:48Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > I can’t speak to simultaneous singing but “We Are the World” was played simultaneously on [more than 8,000 radio stations worldwide](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Are_the_World) in 1985. Looking for greatest number of singers, not listeners-sorry. ---
**Author:** ![polar\_bear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ec9cab/32.png) [@polar\_bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/polar_bear)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-world-record-for-number-of-people-singing-the-same-song-at-the-same-time/784874/5 "2017-04-20T21:04:17Z")
Given that there are about 200 million people in Brazil. That’s probably close to the ammount of people that sang along with the national anthem before the 2014 semi final of the world cup. Honestly, I’m in the Netherlands and when the national team plays in a world cup quarter final/ semi final at least 10 million of us 17 million will watch the game. Estimating that 1 in 10 will sing along with the anthem is a low estimate. So that would be around 1 million. For the fricking Netherlands! ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-world-record-for-number-of-people-singing-the-same-song-at-the-same-time/784874/6 "2017-04-20T22:09:01Z")
Almost everyone in the world is singing a masterful arrangement of John Cage’s [4’33"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4%E2%80%B233%E2%80%B3) right now. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2017, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-world-record-for-number-of-people-singing-the-same-song-at-the-same-time/784874/7 "2017-04-21T00:38:39Z")
> [@leahcim](#): > > Almost everyone in the world is singing a masterful arrangement of John Cage’s [4’33"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4%E2%80%B233%E2%80%B3) right now. Except many of them are singing it in the wrong key. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2017, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-world-record-for-number-of-people-singing-the-same-song-at-the-same-time/784874/8 "2017-04-21T01:20:36Z")
> [@leahcim](#): > > Almost everyone in the world is singing a masterful arrangement of John Cage’s [4’33"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4%E2%80%B233%E2%80%B3) right now. Everyone has moved on I guess, but I still think a “song” is something that is sung, and instrumentals (or experimental silence) are “pieces” or maybe “tracks” or even “instrumentals”. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2017, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-world-record-for-number-of-people-singing-the-same-song-at-the-same-time/784874/9 "2017-04-21T01:33:55Z")
[Hands Across America:](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hands_Across_America) A charity event staged on Sunday, May 25, 1986 in which approximately 6.5 million people held hands in a human chain for fifteen minutes along a path across the contiguous United States. At 3 p.m Eastern Time, the theme song “Hands Across America” was played simultaneously on hundreds of radio stations across the country. Even if only 50% of the people in line sang along, that’s a helluva lot of people. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2017, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-world-record-for-number-of-people-singing-the-same-song-at-the-same-time/784874/10 "2017-04-21T14:28:57Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > Everyone has moved on I guess, but I still think a “song” is something that is sung, and instrumentals (or experimental silence) are “pieces” or maybe “tracks” or even “instrumentals”. I’m just waiting for someone to send me the lyrics. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2017, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-world-record-for-number-of-people-singing-the-same-song-at-the-same-time/784874/11 "2017-04-21T17:24:58Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > Everyone has moved on I guess, but I still think a “song” is something that is sung, and instrumentals (or experimental silence) are “pieces” or maybe “tracks” or even “instrumentals”. I’ll grant that 4’33" is traditionally not played, rather than not sung. But if people can “sing” Imperial March for Star Wars as “Bum, bum, bum, bum-ba-dum, bum-ba-dum” even though it is an instrumental, then they can sing 4’33" as “…”. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2017, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-world-record-for-number-of-people-singing-the-same-song-at-the-same-time/784874/12 "2017-04-21T17:35:10Z")
> [@leahcim](#): > > I’ll grant that 4’33" is traditionally not played, rather than not sung. But if people can “sing” Imperial March for Star Wars as “Bum, bum, bum, bum-ba-dum, bum-ba-dum” even though it is an instrumental, then they can sing 4’33" as “…”. In what key-Silent “E”?