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10 songs that feel like Sinnerman

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

Sinnerman
The song you love
Sinnerman
Nina Simone
intense 84/100 intensity 120 BPM
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Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine — James Brown intense 115 BPM

A 96% feel-match — carries the same cathartic pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (80/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (115 BPM).

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Defying Gravity — Stephen Schwartz intense 127 BPM

96% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (81/100). Same layered texture.

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Walk This Way — Aerosmith intense 100 BPM

Keeps the same cathartic pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (79/100). Measured 94% alike.

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Waking the Witch — Kate Bush intense 120 BPM

Measures 96% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (80/100). Same layered texture.

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Formation — Beyoncé intense 123 BPM

A 92% feel-match — carries the same cathartic pull and sits a little calmer at 77/100. Nearly the same tempo, too (123 BPM).

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Smells Like Teen Spirit — Nirvana intense 117 BPM

92% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it sits a little calmer at 76/100. Same layered texture.

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Break Free — Zedd featuring Ariana Grande intense 130 BPM

Keeps the same cathartic pull — sits a little calmer at 78/100. Measured 92% alike.

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All of the Lights — Kanye West intense 88 BPM

Measures 94% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (81/100). Same layered texture.

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Get Up Offa That Thing — James Brown intense 120 BPM

A 96% feel-match — carries the same energetic pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (80/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (120 BPM).

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Dancing's Not a Crime — Panic! At The Disco intense 120 BPM

96% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (80/100). Same layered texture.

…and if you want it calmer

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

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What We All Come to Need — Pelican moderate 120 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but its dynamic range stays a gentler 7 where the original climbs to 10. Intensity 43/100, down from 84. Nearly the same tempo, too.

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Angel Tears — Pelican moderate 120 BPM

Its dynamic range stays a gentler 7 where the original climbs to 10, so it lands at 43/100 — the pull without the edge. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Slide Tackle by Japanese Breakfast
Slide Tackle — Japanese Breakfast moderate 128 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while its dynamic range stays a gentler 7 where the original climbs to 10. Reads 54/100. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho by Mahalia Jackson
Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho — Mahalia Jackson moderate 120 BPM

Holds the same feel while its dynamic range stays a gentler 8 where the original climbs to 10. 64/100, versus the original's 84. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Mean Woman Blues by Roy Orbison
Mean Woman Blues — Roy Orbison moderate 120 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but its dynamic range stays a gentler 7 where the original climbs to 10. Intensity 60/100, down from 84. Nearly the same tempo, too.

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Bring Your Love Down (Didn't I) — Yazoo moderate 115 BPM

Its dynamic range stays a gentler 6 where the original climbs to 10, so it lands at 49/100 — the pull without the edge. Nearly the same tempo, too.

I'm Coming Out by Diana Ross
I'm Coming Out — Diana Ross moderate 115 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while its dynamic range stays a gentler 7 where the original climbs to 10. Reads 52/100. Nearly the same tempo, too.

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Armistice — Phoenix moderate 120 BPM

Holds the same feel while its dynamic range stays a gentler 7 where the original climbs to 10. 60/100, versus the original's 84. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Frequently asked

What songs sound like “Sinnerman” by Nina Simone?

The closest feel-matches we measure are “Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine” by James Brown, “Defying Gravity” by Stephen Schwartz, “Walk This Way” by Aerosmith — the top match scores 96% 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 “Sinnerman” but calmer?

“What We All Come to Need” by Pelican, “Angel Tears” by Pelican, “Slide Tackle” by Japanese Breakfast keep a similar feel while measuring gentler — lower dynamic swing, fewer sudden shifts, or a calmer overall level.

How intense is “Sinnerman”?

It measures 84/100 on our intensity scale, computed from a dynamic range of 10/10, layered texture, frequent sudden shifts, and dynamic vocals. Tempo is 120 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 is one of the more intense things in our library — more energetic than 97% of the 19,209 songs we've measured. Its intensity reading of 84/100 comes from a dynamic range of 10/10, layered texture, frequent shifts, and dynamic vocals. Relatively few songs occupy this exact corner of the spectrum.

What makes it unusual

What stands out most about this song is a huge quiet-to-loud swing: more extreme on that axis than 100% of everything we've measured. At the far opposite end of the library sit the songs built on near-total stillness — steady volume, no surprises, a slow and unhurried pulse — 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

Sleep0/10
Focus1/10
Workout9/10
Dinner4/10
Party / hype9/10

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

1965 in context

The 133 songs we’ve measured from 1965 average a dynamic range of 5.9/10. At 10/10, this track is louder and more dynamic than its year.

Mixes smoothly with

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

The fingerprint

Intensity84
Dynamics100
Tempo44
Surprise75
Density33
Predictability100
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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