2020s Party Playlist: Songs And Running Order

Disco-pop, big choruses and whatever has come back round on TikTok this month.

This is the decade for an 18th or 21st. Below is the playlist in four parts - what to open with, what fills the floor, what everyone sings and what to save for the people who know the decade properly.

One rule before you start: never play your three biggest songs in the first hour. Everything else is detail.

Years covered in the 2020s

• 2020 - Lockdown, clapping on doorsteps and a year nobody needs reminding of. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2020
• 2021 - Another lockdown, then a summer of football and reopening. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2021
• 2022 - The Platinum Jubilee, the death of the Queen and three Prime Ministers. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2022
• 2023 - The coronation, Barbenheimer and 'Last Christmas' finally getting to number one. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2023
• 2024 - A July general election, the Olympics in Paris and Gavin & Stacey signing off. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2024
• 2025 - The Lionesses retained the Euros and the Oasis reunion filled the stadiums. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2025
• That is every 2020s year we have written up so far: 2020 to 2025.

The running order

• First hour, arrivals and talking: openers only, loud enough to fill the room and quiet enough to hear each other.
• Second hour, the room fills: start dropping floor-fillers, alternating one known song with one lesser-played track.
• Third hour, the peak: the biggest songs, back to back, no ballads.
• Last twenty minutes: the singalongs, finishing on one everybody knows every word to.
• Three hours of music is about 45 songs. Build 60 so you have room to skip.

2020s openers

• Harry Styles - Watermelon Sugar
• Fred again.. - Delilah (pull me out of this)
• Olivia Rodrigo - good 4 u
• Wet Leg - Chaise Longue
• Sam Fender - Seventeen Going Under
• SZA - Kill Bill

2020s floor-fillers

• Dua Lipa - Don't Start Now
• Lizzo - About Damn Time
• Beyonce - Break My Soul
• Chappell Roan - Hot To Go!
• Kylie Minogue - Padam Padam
• Doja Cat - Say So

2020s singalongs to finish on

• Miley Cyrus - Flowers
• Lewis Capaldi - Someone You Loved
• Harry Styles - As It Was
• Whitney, Journey and Oasis, because every 2020s party ends in another decade anyway

2020s deep cuts

• Jungle - Back On 74
• Central Cee and Dave - Sprinter
• PinkPantheress - Boy's A Liar
• The Last Dinner Party - Nothing Matters
• Raye - Escapism

What to be careful with

• Check the clean versions before a family party. This decade is the one most likely to catch you out.
• TikTok revivals date fastest of anything on the list. Rebuild the top ten songs the week of the party.
• Anyone over forty will only know a third of it, which is exactly why the last hour should jump back a decade.

Practical bits people forget

• Download it. Venue wifi failing mid-party is the most common way a playlist goes wrong.
• Turn off shuffle and turn off the auto-playlist that kicks in at the end.
• Check clean versions if children or grandparents are in the room.
• Put one person in charge of the music and let them ignore requests after eleven.
• Print the track list and pin it up - people read it all night and it doubles as a quiz round.

Shop prints and posters

Music prints and lyric posters

A5, A4 and A3, ready to frame.

Decorations for a decade party

Banners, balloons, cake toppers and confetti, plain enough to take any era theme.

Milestone birthday cards

Blank inside, kraft envelope, printed in the UK.

How to write it so it lands

• Build the playlist around the years they were 15 to 25, not the year they were born.
• Hold your three biggest songs until the room is full.
• Download it rather than streaming it, and turn shuffle off.

Where to shop next

• Look back to 2020
• Look back to 2021
• Look back to 2022
• Look back to 2023
• Look back to 2024
• Look back to 2025
• 1950s party playlist
• 1960s party playlist
• 1970s party playlist
• 1980s party playlist
• 1990s party playlist
• 2000s party playlist
• 2010s party playlist
• Viral and TikTok party games
• Phone party games
• Look back to the 2020s
• Guess the year quiz
• Decade recipes: dishes and food trends by era
• Music by decade: albums, artists and songs
• Retro party playlist by decade
• Nostalgia birthday party by decade
• Nostalgia gift shop
• Retro party supplies
• Milestone birthday cards
• Party supplies
• Posters and prints
• Shop birthday cards
• Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
• How to make a balloon arch
• Photo booth prop ideas
• Birthday cards for kids
• Pin badges
• All guides

Frequently asked questions

What should a 2020s playlist have on it?

Disco-leaning pop that fills a floor - Don't Start Now, About Damn Time, Padam Padam - plus whatever has resurfaced on TikTok that month, and an older decade for the last hour.

How many songs do you need for a 2020s party?

About 15 songs an hour, so roughly 45 for a three hour party. Build 60 so you can skip anything that isn't landing without a gap.

Should the playlist be all one decade?

No. Keep the middle of the night in the decade and let the last hour drift either side of it. A single decade for four hours starts to feel like a theme night rather than a party.

Do you sell music?

No. We make greeting cards, art prints, pin badges and stickers, and we stock party decorations - all printed in the UK. The playlist is free to copy.