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10 songs that feel like About a Girl

Matched to About a Girl by Nirvana on how the music actually moves — intensity, dynamic swing, texture, tempo — not by genre tag. Here's what makes each one a match.

About a Girl
The song you love
About a Girl
Nirvana
moderate 21/100 intensity 97 BPM
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Put It All on Me — Ed Sheeran feat. Ella Mai safe 97 BPM

A 99% feel-match — carries the same warm pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (21/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (97 BPM).

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You've Got a Friend in Me — Randy Newman safe 96 BPM

99% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (21/100). Same smooth texture.

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Time After Time — Cyndi Lauper safe 98 BPM

Keeps the same warm pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (21/100). Measured 99% alike. Nearly the same tempo, too (98 BPM).

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Cheek to Cheek — Ella Fitzgerald safe 95 BPM

Measures 99% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (21/100). Same smooth texture.

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Underneath Your Clothes — Shakira safe 95 BPM

A 99% feel-match — carries the same warm pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (21/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (95 BPM).

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Butterflies — Kacey Musgraves safe 95 BPM

99% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (21/100). Same smooth texture.

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Open Up Your Heart — Buck Owens safe 100 BPM

Keeps the same warm pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (22/100). Measured 99% alike. Nearly the same tempo, too (100 BPM).

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Simply Beautiful — Al Green safe 92 BPM

Measures 99% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (21/100). Same smooth texture.

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Your Body Is a Wonderland — John Mayer safe 92 BPM

A 99% feel-match — carries the same warm pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (21/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (92 BPM).

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The Way You Look Tonight — Frank Sinatra safe 90 BPM

99% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (21/100). Same smooth texture.

…and if you want it calmer

Same feeling, measured gentler — for when About a Girl is more than you want right now.

Time After Time by Cyndi Lauper
Time After Time — Cyndi Lauper safe 98 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but it stays in our safe band start to finish. Intensity 21/100, down from 21. Nearly the same tempo, too.

You've Got a Friend in Me by Randy Newman
You've Got a Friend in Me — Randy Newman safe 96 BPM

It stays in our safe band start to finish, so it lands at 21/100 — the pull without the edge. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Location by Khalid
Location — Khalid safe 85 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while it stays in our safe band start to finish. Reads 20/100.

When I Fall in Love by Celine Dion
When I Fall in Love — Celine Dion safe 100 BPM

Holds the same feel while it stays in our safe band start to finish. 25/100, versus the original's 21. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Yellow by Coldplay
Yellow — Coldplay safe 88 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but it stays in our safe band start to finish. Intensity 29/100, down from 21. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Islands in the Stream by Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers
Islands in the Stream — Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers safe 92 BPM

It stays in our safe band start to finish, so it lands at 39/100 — the pull without the edge. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Cheek to Cheek by Ella Fitzgerald
Cheek to Cheek — Ella Fitzgerald safe 95 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while it stays in our safe band start to finish. Reads 21/100. Nearly the same tempo, too.

The Way You Look Tonight by Frank Sinatra
The Way You Look Tonight — Frank Sinatra safe 90 BPM

Holds the same feel while it stays in our safe band start to finish. 21/100, versus the original's 21. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Frequently asked

What songs sound like “About a Girl” by Nirvana?

The closest feel-matches we measure are “Put It All on Me” by Ed Sheeran feat. Ella Mai, “You've Got a Friend in Me” by Randy Newman, “Time After Time” by Cyndi Lauper — the top match scores 99% alike. Matching is by how the songs actually move (intensity, dynamic range, texture, tempo, predictability, vocal force), not by genre tag or popularity.

What songs are like “About a Girl” but calmer?

“Time After Time” by Cyndi Lauper, “You've Got a Friend in Me” by Randy Newman, “Location” by Khalid keep a similar feel while measuring gentler — lower dynamic swing, fewer sudden shifts, or a calmer overall level.

How intense is “About a Girl”?

It measures 21/100 on our intensity scale, computed from a dynamic range of 5/10, smooth texture, no sudden shifts, and soft vocals. Tempo is 97 BPM.

How do you decide which songs are similar?

Every song in our catalog is measured on 8 dimensions — intensity, dynamic range, tempo, sudden changes, texture, predictability, vocal force and fine sound detail. Similarity is the distance between two songs across those measurements, so matches cross genres and eras. Shared mood tags break ties.

By the numbers: how this song compares

Computed from this song’s place among the 19,209 songs we’ve measured.

Where it sits in 19,000 songs

This sits near the calm end of everything we've measured — gentler than 87% of the 19,209 songs in the library. Its intensity reading of 21/100 comes from a dynamic range of 5/10, smooth texture, no sudden shifts, and soft vocals. Relatively few songs occupy this exact corner of the spectrum.

What makes it unusual

What stands out most about this song is an unusually steady, even volume: more extreme on that axis than 88% of everything we've measured. At the far opposite end of the library sit the songs built on full chaos — sudden changes, huge quiet-to-loud swings, and relentless energy — the kind of track this one is the counterpoint to.

Feels almost identical to

Closest matches by feel across all 19,209 measured songs — not by genre or artist, by how they actually move.

What it’s good for

Sleep9/10
Focus10/10
Workout1/10
Dinner7/10
Party / hype1/10

Scored from this song’s tempo, intensity, dynamics and texture — not crowd votes.

1989 in context

The 219 songs we’ve measured from 1989 average a dynamic range of 6.5/10. At 5/10, this track is gentler and steadier than its year.

Mixes smoothly with

Within a few BPM and close in feel — they flow without a jarring transition.

The fingerprint

Intensity21
Dynamics44
Tempo32
Surprise0
Density0
Predictability0
Vocal force25
Trigger load0

The 8-dimension measurement behind every rating on this page.

Want the single closest match, with every dimension compared?

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