You know the one. It starts with a rhythmic, almost hypnotic chant that drills directly into your cerebral cortex and refuses to leave. Whether it’s the high-pitched chipmunk soul of Naughty Boy and Sam Smith or the Eurodance thump of ATC, the song la la la la la la la is a universal language. It’s the ultimate earworm. Why? Because you don't need a dictionary to sing along to a syllable that exists in basically every culture on Earth.
Music theorists call these "vocables." They are non-lexical utterances. Basically, sounds that don't mean anything but feel like they mean everything. When Sam Smith wailed "I'm covering my ears like a kid," they weren't just making a pop hit; they were tapping into a psychological phenomenon where the melody becomes the lyric.
The Naughty Boy Phenomenon: When "La La La" Conquered the Globe
In 2013, a UK producer named Shahid Khan, known professionally as Naughty Boy, released a track that would change the trajectory of soul-pop. He featured a then-emerging artist named Sam Smith. The song was "La La La." It wasn't just a hit; it was a juggernaut. It hit number one in over 26 countries.
The track’s foundation is a sample from an old Bollywood film, which gives it that eerie, slightly off-kilter vibe. It’s catchy but kind of dark. Honestly, the music video—inspired by an old Bolivian legend about a deaf boy who heals people with his voice—adds a layer of folk-horror that makes the repetitive "la la la" refrain feel more like a protective spell than a pop hook.
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Sam Smith’s vocal performance is what really sold it. Before they were "Stay With Me" Sam Smith, they were the voice of this frantic, energetic dance track. The irony of the lyrics is peak songwriting. The singer is literally saying they are blocking out someone’s words by singing "la la la." It’s a song about the refusal to listen, wrapped in a melody that forces you to listen.
From ATC to Shakira: A History of Nonsense Lyrics
Long before Naughty Boy, there was ATC (A Touch of Class). Their 2000 hit "Around the World (La La La La La)" is the gold standard for Eurodance. It’s actually a cover of a Russian song called "Pesenka" by Ruki Vverh! If you grew up in the early 2000s, this song was inescapable. It’s pure bubblegum.
The structure is dead simple. It’s a loop. A very effective, very profitable loop.
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Then you have Shakira. For the 2014 World Cup, she released "Dare (La La La)." While it had to compete with the official anthem, Shakira’s version often feels like the one people actually remember. It used the "la la la" structure to create a stadium chant. It’s communal. You can have 80,000 people in a soccer stadium who speak 40 different languages, but they can all scream "la la la" in perfect unison.
Why our brains crave repetitive syllables
Neurologists have studied this. Music with simple, repetitive vocables triggers the "phonological loop" in our working memory. It’s like a scratch on the brain that you can only itch by humming the tune.
- Simplicity: "La" is one of the first sounds human infants make.
- Frequency: It’s a liquid consonant ($l$) followed by an open vowel ($a$). It is physically easy to produce.
- Emotional Blank Slate: Because there is no literal meaning, the listener projects their own mood onto the song.
The Darker Side of the Earworm
Not every song la la la la la la la is a party. Sometimes, this trope is used to signify madness or childhood innocence gone wrong. Think about horror movie soundtracks. There is nothing scarier than a small child slowly singing "la... la... la..." in a dimly lit hallway.
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The contrast between the playfulness of the sound and the context of the scene creates cognitive dissonance.
In "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)" by Marvin Gaye, the "la la la" section at the end feels weary. It’s not a celebration. It’s a sigh. It’s the sound of someone who has run out of words to describe the struggle and has to resort to pure sound. This is where the "la la la" transcends pop art and becomes high art. It’s the point where language fails.
How to Get That One Song Out of Your Head
If you’ve read this far, there’s a 90% chance you currently have one of these songs playing on a loop in your skull. It’s annoying. I get it. Psychologists at Western Washington University actually found a few tricks to break the cycle.
- Solve a puzzle: Not an easy one, but not a super hard one. Anagrams work best. It uses the same "auditory-verbal" part of the brain that's holding the song hostage.
- Chew gum: This sounds ridiculous, but the mechanical motion of your jaw interferes with the "inner ear" that is "playing" the music.
- Listen to the whole song: Often, an earworm is a "Zeigarnik Effect" issue—your brain remembers the unfinished loop. Listening to the song from start to finish allows your brain to "close the file."
The song la la la la la la la isn't going anywhere. From the Delfonics in the 70s singing "La-La Means I Love You" to the next viral TikTok hit, we are hardwired to love these meaningless, beautiful noises. It’s the heartbeat of pop music. It’s the sound of a hook that doesn't need a translator.
If you are looking to curate a playlist of these tracks, start with the Naughty Boy version for some soul, move to ATC for nostalgia, and end with The Delfonics to see where the DNA of the trope really found its groove in R&B. Just make sure you have some gum handy for when the looping starts.