15 pump-up songs to help you power through finals

If the thought of the semester’s last two weeks has you in despair, fear not! 

I, your musical messiah, have arrived to guide your lost soul through this trying time. 

As we all cry, moan and eat our way through end-of-the-year stress, here are fifteen songs to help you stay strong and fight your way through your final exams.

15. "Survivor" — Destiny’s Child

“I’m a survivor / I'm not gon' give up/ I'm not gon' stop / I’m gon’ work harder” are basically the only lyrics that anybody born after 1995 still knows, but really, what more do you need than this? Let these words be your mantra as you study. If Beyonce’s solo career could make it through Destiny’s 2006 breakup, you can make it through finals week. A survivor, indeed.

14. "Dog Days Are Over" — Florence + the Machine

This is a great song to pump up to, especially when it’s three a.m., you’ve got two tests in the morning, and the dog days of sleep are truly over.

13. "Take Me Out" — Franz Ferdinand

If you need to get the blood in your brain circulating again after a long, tiring evening of stressing and crying, bang your head around to this song for a few minutes. Rocking out will make you feel cool and ready to take on the world, even if you’ve been hiding underneath your blanket for the past three hours in an attempt to escape your responsibilities.

12. "Ring the Alarm" — Beyonce

Sometimes when one is stressed, the most important thing one can do is to remind oneself that they are as bad as the Queen B. Place yourself into the shoes of a pissed-off Beyonce for instant stress relief and fabulousity.

11. "Get Ur Freak On" — Missy Elliot

Remember when Get Ur Freak On helped steal the show at the Super Bowl earlier this year? Well, listening to this song will make you feel like you can destroy your exams the same way that Missy’s performance destroyed Katy Perry’s. Or, even better, like Left Shark's performance destroyed both.

10. "I Feel Good" — James Brown

People always say “fake it ‘til you make it”, and what better way to do that than by singing this song? Even if you actually feel like studying so intensely is killing you slowly, by at least saying you feel nice like sugar and spice, you’re likely to feel a little bit better.

9. "Feeling Myself" — Nicki Minaj feat. Beyonce

Is it possible to feel any better about oneself than when listening to this song? It’s so easy to let school work get you down, especially if you can’t quite understand something. If you’re really looking for a kick of inspo, watch the music video, too — just seeing Nicki and Bey together in the same place personally makes me feel instantly enlightened.

8. "Lose Yourself" — Eminem

One of three hip hop songs to be included on Rolling Stones’ 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, Lose Yourself is a song that is well-known for telling Eminem’s story of struggle and success. Just the words “you only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow / This opportunity comes once in a lifetime” should give you reason and motivation enough not to give up just yet.

7. "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" — Daft Punk

This brilliant song musically embodies all of the hard-working spirit that we should all aspire to. With every beat, I imagine myself knocking out another assignment and another minute of studying. Whether you need to keep pushing forward or take a quick dance break, Daft Punk is an excellent spiritual guide.

6. "I’ll Make a Man out of You" — Disney’s Mulan

Am I lame for putting a Disney reference on the list? Probably. But come on: “With all the strength of a raging fire / mysterious as the dark side of the moon”? That is absolute motivational gold. Plus, we all remember how ridiculously cool and inspirational Mulan was when she managed to be the first to climb up the pole and retrieve Shang’s arrow. The combined movie imagery and music will push you to work harder and be the best you possible.

5. "Stronger" — Kanye West

A classic. This song has all the motivational goodness of the earlier Daft Punk mention, but with Yeezy thrown into the mix, giving it the egotistical flare you might need if you feel like you’re about ready to drop out of school and go to clown college.

4. "Eye of the Tiger" — Survivor

I’m pretty sure I once read somewhere that listening to Eye of the Tiger makes any impossible task instantly possible. I feel like anytime TV show characters are training for an important event, this is the song that plays in the background during the montage scene.

3. "Tongue Tied" — Grouplove

This song is so dynamic, it’s bound to make you energetic regardless of how many hours straight you’ve gone without sleep at this point. If nothing else, it’ll remind you of all the post-exam parties coming your way and keep you pushing forward.

2. "Don’t Stop Believin’" — Journey

We all saw this one coming. Just the title of the song makes its motivational qualities pretty obvious, but I also feel like people will blast ‘Don’t Stop Believin’’ in your ear regardless of what mood they’re in. In fact, I have a friend who has said multiple times in the past that this is the song he’d like to be played at his funeral. So really this one is good for all occasions, I guess.

1. "I Will Survive" — Gloria Gaynor

This is the most motivational song of all time. This is a fact that is probably scientifically proven. Being able to shout, “I will survive, hey HEY!” at the top of your lungs can be just what you need to finish strong even when you’ve been going hard at studying for twelve hours straight. (When I hear this song, though, I do tend to think of that pig from Chicken Little singing it, which I feel is a pretty accurate representation of me.)