AUSTRALIAN Idol stars Anthony Callea and Guy Sebastian are proving music to the ears of mourners after storming their way into the dearly departed charts.
Callea's remake of The Prayer is ranked seventh in the top 10 most played funeral songs in South Australia, with Sebastian in 10th place with his melodic single Angels Brought Me Here.
Teen favourites Youth Group and Westlife, James Blunt and Robbie Williams are among other artists proving popular picks in the survey by White Lady Funerals, which has about 550 funerals a year in SA.
It is a similar story in Britain, where Blunt's You're Beautiful and Williams' Angels are the biggest singles chosen by family and friends as musical tributes. "Music at funeral services is becoming more about personality rather than nostalgia, and often newer songs express personality better than songs we all grew up with," said Sharyn Schubert, regional manager for White Lady Funerals in SA.
"Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead has been requested at a service in SA as has I'm Too Sexy."These are quite unusual requests, but they do reflect certain individuality."
Other unusual requests include Time Warp from the The Rocky Horror Picture Show film, the Chicken Dance and Does Your Chewing Gum Lose its Flavour.Andrew Kleeman, vice-president of the Funeral Directors Association in SA and NT, said funeral songs reflected trends in the charts.
"At funerals for people in their 40s and 50s, people try to find little things that lift us up a bit," he said.
"They try to find a positive path from a funeral service to remember that person.
"(James Blunt's) Goodbye My Lover was written as a love song but it's a moving song, and the song connects for people who have lost someone they love."
Mr Kleeman said he once had a request for a Metallica song, but the church would not allow it because of the lyrics.
The old-fashioned tea and biscuits wake is also receiving a modern makeover, with many people now heading to pubs to reminisce and catch up with family and friends.
The Saturno Brothers, who own a string of Adelaide hotels, have now included wakes in their function package options.
"At such a difficult time in people's lives, this takes the pressure off someone either having to cater for guests at their home or worry about how to organise the event at a favourite venue when clearly they have other things to think about," co-owner Adrian Saturno said.
The wake packages aim to reflect the deceased's life and may include food and drink, provision for a memorabilia display, and audio visual equipment.
The popularity of the reality show chart-toppers reflects a shift to pop music and guitar riffs at funerals, away from the more traditional sound of hymns and organs.
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