So, you need songs to hype up your volleyball team? As long as you’re not blasting Barry Manilow (no disrespect to one of the greatest songwriters of the 20th century, but not exactly a producer of get-hyped music), you’ve got a lot of choices.
You need a thumping beat that makes people’s hindquarters want to move, and if you can also have a chorus that encourages a team to shout it out loud together, that’s a plus. These tunes, some of the best volleyball warm up songs ever, fit the bill.
1. “Jump Around” by House of Pain
Song year: 1992
“Jump Around” is a high-energy hip-hop song that gets a lot of mileage out of a sample from Bob & Earl’s “Harlem Shuffle.” The lyrics are about partying and dancing, and the song’s catchy beat makes it a great choice for a volleyball warm-up song. The song reached number three on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.
2. “8 Mile” by Eminem
Song year: 2002
Eminem snagged himself an Oscar for “8 Mile,” the title track from the film’s soundtrack. The lyrics are about Eminem’s life growing up in Detroit. As such, they can serve as inspiration, and a David-and-Goliath matchup would be the perfect setting for the David team to use during warmup. The song itself is pretty intense, too, so the beat will help drive emotions as the team preps for battle.
3. “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor
Song year: 1982
One-hit wonder? Who cares. Survivor released possibly the ultimate sporting event prep song in “Eye of the Tiger.” The lyrics are about fighting to overcome obstacles, a great mindset for athletes must have to excel.
Survivor won a Grammy for the song, as it was part of the soundtrack for Rocky III. It was also a global hit, reaching the top spot on charts in multiple countries. Even people who never saw any Rocky movies know this song.
4. “All I Do Is Win” by DJ Khaled
Song year: 2010
What better idea to put into a volleyball team’s collective head than that they win consistently? Chalk it up to visualization or putting good thoughts into the universe, but even if you don’t buy into that stuff, can it hurt to pump up your team with “All I Do Is Win”?
The upbeat tempo will get hearts pumping, and the sing-along nature of the chorus can unite a team in belting it out to the heavens.
Release date: 2010
“All i Do It Win” was a top 40 hit and featured a murderer’s row of artists: Snoop Dogg, T-Pain, and Ludacris, among others, make appearances.
5. “Moves Like Jagger” by Maroon 5 ft. Christina Aguilera
Song year: 2011
It’s super catchy, which is an important aspect of a good warm-up song. “Moves Like Jagger” also has the requisite quick tempo. Who wants to warm up to a ballad, right? And talking about Mick Jagger and his ubiquitous dance moves may be a recipe for getting athletes to dance around, which can hype up just about anyone.
6. “Super Bass” by Nikki Minaj
Song year: 2011
Nikki Minaj lacks nothing in the confidence department, and that self-assured air she carries with her everywhere is on full display in “Super Bass.” Play this during a warm-up session, and the chances are good that some of Minaj’s swag will rub off on the athletes.
7. “Get Low” by Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz ft. Ying Yang Twins
Song year: 2003
Lil Jon, the Ying Yang Twins, and some heavy low-end sounds make “Get Low” a great song to get players hyped up. Its high energy is enough to do the job, but coupled with the actual beat and Lil Jon’s delivery make it a real crowd-pleaser that’s sure to amp up any team. Any player whose seen The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift or The Hangover will instantly recognize this track.
8. “Top Back” by T.I.
Song year: 2006
T.I.’s “Top Back” is another great choice for a volleyball warm-up song. Players can easily get into the zone with the hypnotic nature of the driving beat. T.I.’s rock-solid confidence is on display in the lyrics, too. “Top Back” reached the top 40 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.
9. “Don’t Stop the Music” by Rihanna
Song year: 2007
Rihanna is pretty good at coming up with hooks that stick in your ear for a long time. “Don’t Stop the Music” carries on that tradition. The lyrics call on the listeners to keep dancing and not let anything interfere with the music. This single-mindedness can translate to athletes and help them focus on the task at hand.
The song sampled Michael Jackson’s “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’,” which on its own provides a pretty hype vibe for a pre-game ritual. Adding Rihanna to the mix makes it even better.
10. “Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny)” by A. R. Rahman and the Pussycat Dolls
Song year: 2008
Allusions to the film Slumdog Millionaire might be of great use to a team facing a volleyball match in which they are the underdogs. Since “Jai Ho!” comes from that film (and won an Oscar for Best Original Song), even if the listeners don’t understand Urdu or Hindi— the two languages that make up the song’s lyrics— the feeling is undeniable.
The hook is catchy, and the beat is pulsing, and you can tell that it’s a song about victory even if you only speak English.
11. “Enter Sandman” by Metallica
Song year: 1991
File this one under “I” for “intimidation.” “Enter Sandman” has serious foreboding vibes, and blasting this one during a warm-up session, provided the other team is within earshot, sends a message: mess with this team, and that will be all she wrote.
It’s got a heavy beat and a killer guitar riff, and the chorus will get an entire team shouting “Exit light” in unison. Talk about drawing a team together. Who knew Metallica could make sporting events more fun? In 1991, not many people. But these days, lots of athletic events use the song.
12. “Naatu Naatu” by Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava
Song year: 2023
Another foreign-language song that honestly doesn’t need translation to be effective, “Naatu Naatu” made history as the first song in the language of Telugu to win an Oscar. No one will care about that when it’s blasting on the court, though.
Its pounding and relentless drums will make it a song the team can bounce up and down to as one.
13. “Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars
Song year: 2014
Bruno Mars provided the vocals for Mark Ronson’s super fun “Uptown Funk,” and he packs all the charisma and swagger he has into the song’s four-plus minutes.
True to its title, “Uptown Funk” is funky, and when you blast a funk groove to a group of athletes, they’re going to go a little nuts over it. Plus, everyone knows this song. It was a global number-one hit and is one of the longest-running number-ones in Billboard chart history. So yeah, everyone knows this Grammy-winning song.
14. “Move” by Ludacris
Song year: 2001
Ludacris snagged a Grammy for “Move,” a song that combines two of the must-haves for great volleyball warm-up songs:
Then there are Ludacris’s insistent and intense vocals. The top-ten hit will amp up all but the most reserved players on any squad.
15. “Boom” by Snoop Dogg & T-Pain
Song year: 2011
You’ll be hard-pressed to find any Snoop Dogg song that doesn’t at least make people happy, if not get them riled up and ready for battle on the court. Adding T-Pain to the mix makes this top-20 hit that much more fun.
This is a song about having fun and enjoying life. Since volleyball is a game, fun and enjoyment are supposed to be the point, right? Let Snoop and T-Pain raise your team’s spirits while they prepare for battle.
16. “Here Comes the Boom” by Nelly
Song year: 2002
Nelly is usually synonymous with “energetic,” and that’s the case here. His lyrics center on rising to a challenge and refusing to give up in the face of adversity. Aren’t those the very ideas that team sports are supposed to instill in the athletes?
Blast this one during warm-ups for a beat that won’t quit and a team that gives in to the adrenaline and hones its killer instinct before a match. And if there’s a team member with a killer spike, maybe “Here Comes the Boom” ends up as her theme song.
17. “Du Hast” by Rammstein
Song year: 1997
Another song on the list of ominous and intimidating choices, “Du Hast,” blasted by the home team, can rattle the visitors before they ever step onto the court. That heavy guitar and thundering drums have the potential to scare off anyone unfamiliar with Rammstein’s brand of dark heavy metal.
The lyrics— in German— are about betrayal and revenge, so if the opposing team has beaten you once, this will be a rallying cry for vengeance, payback, and sending them home with a loss.
Top Volleyball Warm Up Songs, Final Thoughts
Going into battle requires preparation and not just drawing up plays. Volleyball players need to get amped up, get their hearts pounding, and tap into those adrenal glands. These songs can do that for your athletes.