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10 songs that feel like Hold Up

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

Hold Up
The song you love
Hold Up
Beyoncé
moderate 39/100 intensity 84 BPM
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The One That Got Away — Katy Perry moderate 95 BPM

A 98% feel-match — carries the same emotional pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (40/100).

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Dive — Ed Sheeran moderate 83 BPM

96% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (43/100). Same layered texture.

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Ex-Factor — Lauryn Hill moderate 83 BPM

Keeps the same emotional pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (43/100). Measured 96% alike. Nearly the same tempo, too (83 BPM).

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Stop Draggin' My Heart Around — Stevie Nicks (with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers) moderate 107 BPM

Measures 94% the same. It runs a little hotter at 45/100. Same layered texture.

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I Can Be That Woman — ABBA moderate 80 BPM

A 96% feel-match — carries the same emotional pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (43/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (80 BPM).

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Roses — Kanye West moderate 90 BPM

96% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (43/100). Same layered texture.

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U (Man Like) — Bon Iver moderate 75 BPM

Keeps the same emotional pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (42/100). Measured 96% alike.

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enough for you — Olivia Rodrigo moderate 75 BPM

Measures 96% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (42/100). Same layered texture.

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Do Right Woman, Do Right Man — Aretha Franklin moderate 75 BPM

A 96% feel-match — carries the same emotional pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (42/100).

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Henry Lee — Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds featuring PJ Harvey moderate 85 BPM

99% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (39/100). Same layered texture.

…and if you want it calmer

Same feeling, measured gentler — for when Hold Up is more than you want right now.

If I Were a Boy by Beyoncé
If I Were a Boy — Beyoncé safe 92 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but nothing in it lurches or startles. Intensity 28/100, down from 39. Nearly the same tempo, too.

I Was Here by Beyoncé
I Was Here — Beyoncé safe 85 BPM

Nothing in it lurches or startles, so it lands at 28/100 — the pull without the edge. Nearly the same tempo, too.

But Daddy I Love Him by Taylor Swift
But Daddy I Love Him — Taylor Swift safe 80 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while it stays in our safe band start to finish. Reads 29/100. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Ave Maria by Beyoncé
Ave Maria — Beyoncé safe 70 BPM

Holds the same feel while nothing in it lurches or startles. 15/100, versus the original's 39.

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Die Hard — Kendrick Lamar safe 90 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but its dynamic range stays a gentler 3 where the original climbs to 5. Intensity 13/100, down from 39. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Happy For You by Dua Lipa
Happy For You — Dua Lipa safe 95 BPM

Nothing in it lurches or startles, so it lands at 29/100 — the pull without the edge.

Buffalo Soldier by Bob Marley and the Wailers
Buffalo Soldier — Bob Marley and the Wailers safe 81 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while nothing in it lurches or startles. Reads 28/100. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Guiltiness by Bob Marley
Guiltiness — Bob Marley safe 75 BPM

Holds the same feel while nothing in it lurches or startles. 24/100, versus the original's 39. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Frequently asked

What songs sound like “Hold Up” by Beyoncé?

The closest feel-matches we measure are “The One That Got Away” by Katy Perry, “Dive” by Ed Sheeran, “Ex-Factor” by Lauryn Hill — the top match scores 98% 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 “Hold Up” but calmer?

“If I Were a Boy” by Beyoncé, “I Was Here” by Beyoncé, “But Daddy I Love Him” by Taylor Swift keep a similar feel while measuring gentler — lower dynamic swing, fewer sudden shifts, or a calmer overall level.

How intense is “Hold Up”?

It measures 39/100 on our intensity scale, computed from a dynamic range of 5/10, layered texture, mild sudden shifts, and dynamic vocals. Tempo is 84 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

On our 19k-song scale this lands in the middle band — more energetic than 32% of songs, calmer than the other 68%. Its intensity reading of 39/100 comes from a dynamic range of 5/10, layered texture, mild shifts, and dynamic vocals. It shares this stretch of the spectrum with thousands of other tracks, so the finer fingerprint below is what really separates it.

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

Sleep5/10
Focus9/10
Workout2/10
Dinner8/10
Party / hype3/10

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

2016 in context

The 368 songs we’ve measured from 2016 average a dynamic range of 6.3/10. 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

Intensity39
Dynamics44
Tempo24
Surprise25
Density33
Predictability0
Vocal force75
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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