( CNN ) -- If you really wan na get a song stuck in your head , you got ta get with my friends the Spice Girls . The group 's 1996 debut single `` Wannabe '' is the world 's catchiest song , researchers in Holland say . The University of Amsterdam has partnered with Manchester 's Museum of Science and Industry to study what makes music so memorable . They recently launched Hooked on Music , an online interactive game that asks people to identify songs as quickly as possible based on a short clip . Turns out people recognize `` Wannabe '' in an average of 2.29 seconds , according to the BBC . If you made the mistake of Googling the song just now , you know it 's easy to get part of it stuck in your head , even if you do n't particularly enjoy the music . Scientists call these self-repeating song loops `` ear worms . '' But they do n't know much yet about why they happen -- and how they 're affecting your brain . Music : It 's in your head , changing your brain . More than 20,000 people have played Hooked on Music , the Dutch researchers say . Results from the first batch of data collected will be released this weekend at the Manchester Science Festival . The scientists hope their research will lead to breakthroughs for dementia and Alzheimer 's patients . `` There has already been some research that shows that if you can find the right piece of music , something that had a very strong meaning , playing that piece of music can be very therapeutic , '' computational musicologist John Ashley Burgoyne told the BBC . `` The challenge is figuring out what is the best piece of music . '' The top 10 catchiest songs , according to the Hooked on Music experiment , are : . 1 . Spice Girls , `` Wannabe '' 2 . Lou Bega , `` Mambo No . 5 '' 3 . Survivor , `` Eye of the Tiger '' 4 . Lady Gaga , `` Just Dance '' 5 . ABBA , `` SOS '' 6 . Roy Orbison , `` Pretty Woman '' 7 . Michael Jackson , `` Beat It '' 8 . Whitney Houston , `` I Will Always Love You '' 9 . The Human League , `` Do n't You Want Me '' 10 . Aerosmith , `` I Do n't Want to Miss a Thing '' Warning : These ear worms may come with some zig-a-zig-ah .
Spice Girls ' `` Wannabe '' is catchiest song , according to Hooked on Music . The online interactive game is helping scientists study what makes music so memorable . Researchers hope to apply findings to dementia therapy .