List of songs in English labeled the worst ever
Encyclopedia
The following is a list of some songs topping polls for worst songs. These songs have appeared at the top of notable media polls for the worst songs. Examples of such sources include VH1
's "50 Most Awesomely Bad Songs Ever" and Blender Magazine's "Run for Your Life! It’s the 50 Worst Songs Ever!".
(1965) : In 1977, British DJ Kenny Everett
named it #1 in the Bottom 30 after a public vote.
"MacArthur Park
", Richard Harris
(1968
) : Dubbed "the worst song in modern history" by Dave Barry
after having received the most votes in Barry's "Bad Song Survey", this song also claims the #1 spot on popculturemadness.com's "List of the Worst Songs of All Time".
"Philosophy of the World", The Shaggs
(1969) : Chris Connelly wrote for Rolling Stone, "Without exaggeration, [Philosophy of the World, the album on which the song appeared] may stand as the worst album ever recorded." Although the song has earned a certain amount of acclaim, it has mainly been for its unintentionally comedic and outsider
qualities, and not for being musically pleasing to the ears; Debra Rae Cohen wrote for Rolling Stone "Philosophy of the World is the sickest, most stunningly awful wonderful record I've heard in ages(.)"
", Paul Anka
(1974) : No. 1 worst song as voted on by CNN.com users.
(1980) : A disco song recorded by a British newscaster, voted #1 in the Bottom 30 by listeners of British DJ Kenny Everett
in a 1980 follow-up to his World's Worst Wireless Show.
"We Built This City
", Starship (1985
) : Ranked #1 in "Run for Your Life! It's the 50 Worst Songs Ever!" list in Blender Magazine.
"Heartbeat", Don Johnson
(1986) : Boston.com
s Arts & Entertainment staff ranked this as No. 1 on their "Top Ten Worst Songs of All Time", calling it a "truly awful song."
See also The Rhino Brothers Present the World's Worst Records
, which was released in 1983.
", Cliff Richard
(1999) : VH1
labeled this the worst number one record of all time after a poll.
", Baha Men
(2000) : Number one on Spinner's "Top 20 Worst Songs Ever".
"The Cheeky Song (Touch My Bum)
", The Cheeky Girls
(2002) : Voted the #1 "worst pop record" which had entered the official British singles chart higher than 75 by Channel Four viewers in a poll broadcast in January 2004.
"Ooh Aah
", Tamara Jaber
(2005) : Voted worst Australian song of all time in a Herald Sun
poll, with insipid lyrics like "Boys are rotten made outta cotton, girls are sexy made outta Pepsi"
(2010) : Ranked number one by Matthew Wilkening on AOL Radio's "100 Worst Songs Ever".
"Baby
", Justin Bieber
(2010) : Ranked as the most disliked song on YouTube
for a brief amount of time until "Friday
" by Rebecca Black
came out. After "Friday" was pulled from YouTube for three months, it returned as the most disliked video.
"Friday
", Rebecca Black
(2011): Released on February 10, 2011 via YouTube
and social media, the song received almost universally negative criticism for its basic lyrics and the constant use of Auto-Tune
on Black's vocals.
"Surrounded by Silence", Design the Skyline
(2011): Released on March 13, 2011 onto YouTube by the band and critically panned after the group was signed to Victory Records
. Many social sources and magazines credited the band as "the worst band ever" and the song as "the worst song ever", putting emphasis on the band's musical structure and physical appearances. It was also voted the second worst song of 2011 behind Rebecca Black's "Friday" on AbsolutePunk's "Worst Song of 2011 (so far)" poll.
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
's "50 Most Awesomely Bad Songs Ever" and Blender Magazine's "Run for Your Life! It’s the 50 Worst Songs Ever!".
1960s
"I Want My Baby Back", Jimmy CrossJimmy Cross
Jimmy Cross was an American radio producer and singer who attained a minor Billboard Hot 100 hit with the novelty song "I Want My Baby Back" in 1965....
(1965) : In 1977, British DJ Kenny Everett
Kenny Everett
Kenny Everett was an English comedian, radio DJ and television entertainer. Born Maurice James Christopher Cole, Everett is best known for his career as a radio DJ and for the Kenny Everett television shows.-Early life:...
named it #1 in the Bottom 30 after a public vote.
"MacArthur Park
MacArthur Park (song)
"MacArthur Park" is a song by Jimmy Webb, originally composed as part of an intended cantata. The song was initially rejected by The Association. Richard Harris was the first to record it, in 1968; the song was subsequently covered by numerous artists. Among the best-known covers are Donna Summer's...
", Richard Harris
Richard Harris
Richard St John Harris was an Irish actor, singer-songwriter, theatrical producer, film director and writer....
(1968
1968 in music
-Events:*January 4 – Guitarist Jimi Hendrix is jailed by Stockholm police, after trashing a hotel room during a drunken fist fight with bassist Noel Redding.*January 6 – Gibson Guitar Corporation patents its Gibson Flying V electric guitar design....
) : Dubbed "the worst song in modern history" by Dave Barry
Dave Barry
David "Dave" Barry is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American author and columnist, who wrote a nationally syndicated humor column for The Miami Herald from 1983 to 2005. He has also written numerous books of humor and parody, as well as comedic novels.-Biography:Barry was born in Armonk, New York,...
after having received the most votes in Barry's "Bad Song Survey", this song also claims the #1 spot on popculturemadness.com's "List of the Worst Songs of All Time".
"Philosophy of the World", The Shaggs
The Shaggs
The Shaggs were an American all-female rock group formed in Fremont, New Hampshire in 1968. The band was composed of sisters Dorothy "Dot" Wiggin , Betty Wiggin , Helen Wiggin , and later Rachel Wiggin ....
(1969) : Chris Connelly wrote for Rolling Stone, "Without exaggeration, [Philosophy of the World, the album on which the song appeared] may stand as the worst album ever recorded." Although the song has earned a certain amount of acclaim, it has mainly been for its unintentionally comedic and outsider
Outsider music
Outsider music, a term coined by Irwin Chusid in the mid-1990s, are songs and compositions by musicians who are not part of the commercial music industry who write songs that ignore standard musical or lyrical conventions, either because they have no formal training or because they disagree with...
qualities, and not for being musically pleasing to the ears; Debra Rae Cohen wrote for Rolling Stone "Philosophy of the World is the sickest, most stunningly awful wonderful record I've heard in ages(.)"
1970s
"(You're) Having My Baby(You're) Having My Baby
" Having My Baby" is a song written and recorded by Canadian popular music singer Paul Anka. Recorded as a duet with female vocalist Odia Coates, the song became Anka's first No...
", Paul Anka
Paul Anka
Paul Albert Anka, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and actor.Anka first became famous as a teen idol in the late 1950s and 1960s with hit songs like "Diana'", "Lonely Boy", and "Put Your Head on My Shoulder"...
(1974) : No. 1 worst song as voted on by CNN.com users.
1980s
"Dance with Me", Reginald BosanquetReginald Bosanquet
Reginald Bosanquet was a British journalist, best known for presenting ITN news in the 1970s.-Early life:He was the son of the cricketer Bernard Bosanquet, inventor of the "googly" and a cousin of the public relations executive Christopher Bosanquet...
(1980) : A disco song recorded by a British newscaster, voted #1 in the Bottom 30 by listeners of British DJ Kenny Everett
Kenny Everett
Kenny Everett was an English comedian, radio DJ and television entertainer. Born Maurice James Christopher Cole, Everett is best known for his career as a radio DJ and for the Kenny Everett television shows.-Early life:...
in a 1980 follow-up to his World's Worst Wireless Show.
"We Built This City
We Built This City
"We Built This City" is the title of a song written by Bernie Taupin, Martin Page, Dennis Lambert, and Peter Wolf, and originally recorded by the American pop rock group Starship and released as its debut single on August 1, 1985....
", Starship (1985
1985 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1985.-January–March:*January 1 - The newest music video channel, VH-1, debuts on American cable. It is aimed at an older demographic than its sister station, MTV...
) : Ranked #1 in "Run for Your Life! It's the 50 Worst Songs Ever!" list in Blender Magazine.
"Heartbeat", Don Johnson
Don Johnson
Donnie Wayne "Don" Johnson is an American actor known for his work in television and film. He played the lead role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s TV cop series, Miami Vice, which led him to huge success. He also played the lead role in the 1990s cop series, Nash Bridges...
(1986) : Boston.com
Boston.com
Boston.com is a regional website that offers news and information about Boston, Massachusetts and its surroundings. It claims to be one of the most visited regional websites in the United States....
s Arts & Entertainment staff ranked this as No. 1 on their "Top Ten Worst Songs of All Time", calling it a "truly awful song."
See also The Rhino Brothers Present the World's Worst Records
The Rhino Brothers Present the World's Worst Records
The Rhino Brothers Present the World's Worst Records is a compilation album released by Rhino Records in 1983. It features mostly novelty songs, parodies and cover versions of popular songs, performed very poorly...
, which was released in 1983.
1990s
"The Millennium PrayerThe Millennium Prayer
"The Millennium Prayer" is a 1999 charity single by Cliff Richard. The song features Richard singing the words of the Lord's Prayer to the tune of "Auld Lang Syne". It was not written to be entered into the charts, instead being written to form part of the Share Jesus International production,...
", Cliff Richard
Cliff Richard
Sir Cliff Richard, OBE is a British pop singer, musician, performer, actor, and philanthropist who has sold over an estimated 250 million records worldwide....
(1999) : VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
labeled this the worst number one record of all time after a poll.
2000s
"Who Let the Dogs Out?Who Let the Dogs Out?
"Who Let the Dogs Out?" is a song written and originally recorded by Anslem Douglas for Trinidad and Tobago's Carnival season of 1998. It was heard and taped on a float by hairdresser Keith from the London salon Smile, who played it to Jonathan King, who recorded it and released it under the name...
", Baha Men
Baha Men
The Baha Men are Bahamian singers in a Bahamian band. They play a modernised style of Bahamian music called Junkanoo.-Early career as High Voltage :...
(2000) : Number one on Spinner's "Top 20 Worst Songs Ever".
"The Cheeky Song (Touch My Bum)
The Cheeky Song (Touch My Bum)
"Cheeky Song " is a 2002 single by Popstars The Rivals contestants The Cheeky Girls. The song was released while the show was still running, on 9 December 2002, and was later included on their debut album PartyTime. It spent four non-consecutive weeks at number two in the UK Singles Chart in...
", The Cheeky Girls
The Cheeky Girls
The Cheeky Girls are a pop duo consisting of twin sisters Gabriela and Monica Irimia, from Cluj-Napoca in Transylvania, Romania, but based in Britain. After appearing as auditionees in Popstars: The Rivals, they achieved success in the charts with four top ten hits between 2002 and 2004...
(2002) : Voted the #1 "worst pop record" which had entered the official British singles chart higher than 75 by Channel Four viewers in a poll broadcast in January 2004.
"Ooh Aah
Ooh Aah
"Ooh Aah" is the debut single by Australian singer Tamara Jaber. The song, based on a childhood rhyme , frequently appears at the top of "Worst Australian Songs" of all time lists with lyrics like "Boys are rotten made outta cotton, girls are sexy made outta Pepsi" heavily criticized...
", Tamara Jaber
Tamara Jaber
Tamara Jaber , is an Australian pop singer-songwriter who rose to fame as a member of pop group, Scandal'us. She is also a former member of pop duo Scarlett Belle.- Early life :...
(2005) : Voted worst Australian song of all time in a Herald Sun
Herald Sun
The Herald Sun is a morning tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia. It is published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Limited, itself a subsidiary of News Corporation. It is available for purchase throughout Melbourne, Regional Victoria, Tasmania, the Australian Capital...
poll, with insipid lyrics like "Boys are rotten made outta cotton, girls are sexy made outta Pepsi"
2010s
"(It's Time to) Beat Dat Beat", DJ Pauly DPaul DelVecchio
Paul DelVecchio , publicly known as DJ Pauly D or simply Pauly D, is an Italian American television personality and professional disc jockey. He is best known for being a housemate on MTV's reality show Jersey Shore...
(2010) : Ranked number one by Matthew Wilkening on AOL Radio's "100 Worst Songs Ever".
"Baby
Baby (Justin Bieber song)
"Baby" is a song by Canadian recording artist Justin Bieber. It was released as the lead single from the latter half of Bieber's debut album, My World 2.0. The track was written by Bieber with Christopher "Tricky" Stewart and Terius "The-Dream" Nash, both of whom worked with Bieber on "One Time",...
", Justin Bieber
Justin Bieber
Justin Drew Bieber is a Canadian pop/R&B singer, songwriter and actor. Bieber was discovered in 2008 by Scooter Braun, who came across Bieber's videos on YouTube and later became his manager...
(2010) : Ranked as the most disliked song on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
for a brief amount of time until "Friday
Friday (Rebecca Black song)
"Friday" is a song by American recording artist Rebecca Black, written and produced by Clarence Jey and Patrice Wilson. It was released as a single on March 14, 2011, by Ark Music Factory as Black's debut single. The music video for the song became a viral hit due to criticism of the song's lyrics,...
" by Rebecca Black
Rebecca Black
Rebecca Renee Black is an American pop singer who gained extensive media attention with the 2011 single "Friday". Her mother paid $4,000 to have the single and an accompanying music video put out as a vanity release through the record label ARK Music Factory. The song was co-written and produced...
came out. After "Friday" was pulled from YouTube for three months, it returned as the most disliked video.
"Friday
Friday (Rebecca Black song)
"Friday" is a song by American recording artist Rebecca Black, written and produced by Clarence Jey and Patrice Wilson. It was released as a single on March 14, 2011, by Ark Music Factory as Black's debut single. The music video for the song became a viral hit due to criticism of the song's lyrics,...
", Rebecca Black
Rebecca Black
Rebecca Renee Black is an American pop singer who gained extensive media attention with the 2011 single "Friday". Her mother paid $4,000 to have the single and an accompanying music video put out as a vanity release through the record label ARK Music Factory. The song was co-written and produced...
(2011): Released on February 10, 2011 via YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
and social media, the song received almost universally negative criticism for its basic lyrics and the constant use of Auto-Tune
Auto-Tune
Auto-Tune is a proprietary audio processor created by Antares Audio Technologies. Auto-Tune uses a phase vocoder to correct pitch in vocal and instrumental performances. It is used to disguise off-key inaccuracies and mistakes, and has allowed singers to perform apparently perfectly tuned vocal...
on Black's vocals.
"Surrounded by Silence", Design the Skyline
Design the Skyline
Design the Skyline is an American experimental metal band from Corpus Christi, Texas. Formed in 2007, the group was originally known as Extra Large Kids during high school and recorded demo songs while playing in their local area under this name...
(2011): Released on March 13, 2011 onto YouTube by the band and critically panned after the group was signed to Victory Records
Victory Records
Victory Records is a Chicago-based record label founded by Tony Brummel. It is a privately held corporation. It also operates a music publishing company called "Another Victory, Inc." and is the distributor of several smaller independent record labels....
. Many social sources and magazines credited the band as "the worst band ever" and the song as "the worst song ever", putting emphasis on the band's musical structure and physical appearances. It was also voted the second worst song of 2011 behind Rebecca Black's "Friday" on AbsolutePunk's "Worst Song of 2011 (so far)" poll.