Some of you have voted! Some of you have decided! Now all of you can torture yourself through this list of agony and pain put to music. It's the worst 65 songs ever!

And we're off!

65. Ne-Yo - So Sick (84.89 points)



Did it sell?
- It was number one in USA and United Kingdom, number two in Ireland, number four in Australia, and number five in Switzerland. So yes, it sold.


(And then to something completely different. Comments and individual points will not be included, because I've been very unstructured in my work with the lists, and they are now scattered everywhere on my computer. They've all been added, but now I'm quite tired of them, and I don't want to go back searching through them looking for who voted for who, and who said what. I'll rather post them all later. And the point system is one of Henrik's ideas. I couldn't come up with something smart myself. And just one more thing. As you can see, this first song got under 100 points, which means everybody's first place will be listed, even if noone else voted for it. Number two on your lists got 84.86 points, which is just below Mr Ne-Yo's score, so they won't be listed unless someone else voted for it. Therefore the somewhat strange number of songs represented. That's it. Enjoy or something!)

Kid Rock - Cowboy



Did it sell?
- Not so much. It reached no 82 on the Billboard Hot 100 and no 34 on The Top 40 in the US. Probably did a lot worse in the rest of the world.

That was of course 64. Kid Rock - Cowboy (86.08 points). I always said this would be the worst poll ever.

63. O Zone - Dragostea Din Tei (86.36 points)



Did it sell?
- Oh yeah. Europe went bananas monkey style for this one. Number one in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, France, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Romania, Spain, and Switzerland. It also made Gary Brolsma famous.

(I couldn't embed the original video, so here's something less sexy. Sorry, girls and homosexuals.)

Oh boy. I would have had that one on my list. I think. Pretty awful list so far Rune, brilliant.

62. Black Eyed Peas - Shut Up (88.14 points)



Did it sell?
- It wasn't released as a single in the US, but it went to number one in Australia, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Romania, Sweden and Switzerland.

61. Bob Carlisle - Butterfly Kisses (88.32 points)



Did it sell?
- It didn't sell that much, but it was released as a single by three different artists at the same time. Good God! This was the worst, and also the biggest hit, as it reached number one on Billboard's Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks. Europe never bothered with it. Yet again, you won't get to see the original video, as it is unembedable. So here's one for you daddy's girls.)

60. USA For Africa - We Are the World (88.57 points)



Did it sell?
- Absolutely. It was a number one worldwide hit, and the bestselling single in the US in 1985. But isn't it a bit cruel voting for a charity song in this poll? Isn't that a bit like voting for Mother Theresa in an ugly people poll?

How many ballots did you get?

59. Nine Days - Absolutely (Story of a Girl) (88.66 points)



Did it sell?
- It peaked at number 6 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, so it did pretty well "over there". For the rest of the world I don't know, but it wasn't a big hit here in Norway, thank heavens.

John, not many. I'm not sure, as I received some on mail and some on facebook. I saved some on my harddrive and some stayed in hotmail or facebook, so I haven't got the exact number, but it is around 10. Maybe 12.

58. Don McLean - American Pie (89.32 points)



Did it sell?
- Yes. It was number one in the US for four weeks.

57. Janis Joplin - Mercedes Benz (90.09 points)



Did it sell?
- I don't know. Wikipedia doesn't tell, and I won't bother to check it somewhere else.

I'm surprised to see Mercedes Benz there. Not that it's a good song, but voting for it is kind of like voting for White Stripes - Well It's True That We Love One Another or Beatles - Why Don't We Do It In The Road?

Oooh yay, I voted for that. I'm glad someone else hates it.

56. Color Me Badd - I Wanna Sex You Up (92.54 points)



Did it sell?
- Yes siree! It went to number one in USA, UK and New Zealand.

55. Colbie Caillat - Bubbly (92.65 points)



Did it sell?
- It still does. It went to number one in a couple of countries (that's Australia and Czech Republic), and number two in some other countries (that'll be Canada, Belgium and Norway)

54. Goo Goo Dolls - Iris (93.22 points)



Did it sell?
- It certainly got a lot of airplay at least. And the soundtrack for City of Angels sold a lot. Even my girlfriend owns it. It's also the 13th most selling single in Ireland ever.

53. Creed - Higher (95.24 points)



Did it sell?
- Quite a lot in the US, but thankfully Europe didn't get the plague this time.

52. Paul McCartney - Freedom (96.16 points)



Did it sell?
- Not really. It was in the lower regions of the Hot 100 chart, and that's it.

Glad to see I wasn't the only one who hates that Nine Days song. It's awful and I had a girl who lived next door to me in my dorm when it came out and she sang it non-stop for about a month. I should have forgotten it by now but those "special" incidents are what transcends a bad song to awful.

How many points did you give each of my songs Rune since I didn't rank them? Or did you just go with the top song on the list as #1 (which would be fine).

I can't call Dragostea Din Tei awful because I smile every time I hear it thinking about the YouTube kid!

51. Vanilla Ice - Ice Ice Baby (96.39 points)



Did it sell?
- Hell yeah! It went platinum in US and UK, and was a huge hit worldwide, and one of the first rap megahits. How sad is that?

54. Goo Goo Dolls - Iris (93.22 points)

That's one of my favorite songs of all time!

Other than that, awfully great list so far.

Sorry about so many comments in a row but I just so much to comment about. I totally forgot about that Paul McCartney song. That is top 5 worst ever. There were a whole lot of rally round the flag songs and this one is even worse the Alan Jackson one. I think we'll see at least one more flag waving song on this list.

John,

On unranked lists I added together the points for the number of unranked songs, and used an average, if you can understand my sorry use of English language.

50. Hoobastank - The Reason (96.67 points)



Did it sell?
- It did quite well. Went to number 1 in Italy, and number two at Billboard Hot 100. It was also a medium hit in other European countries. And it was included on Singstar. And I've been singing it while drunk.

49. Josh Groban - You Raise Me Up (96.70 points)



Did it sell?
- Combining all the artists who has recorded it, it has sold a lot. All the world's worst singers have sung it. And bad singers do sell a lot of albums.

That's it for tonight (or today or whatever). I'll be back tomorrow with 48 more tracks of earcandy.

Lionel Richie has a huge head. That's it.

This list is awesomely awful! John, I also chucked some points at Nine Days. Those first two notes- "This izzzzzzzzz"- are vomit-inducing!

I'm surprised "Ice Ice Baby" didn't rank higher. I was expecting it to make the "top" ten, and a strong contender for the top spot! How many people had it on their list?

so far i voted for iris, mercedes benz, and american pie...but i really should've voted for all the rest

Ice Ice Baby doesn't bother me. I would never let it get anywhere near to my music collection but it doesn't really stir me up when I hear it.

Same goes for American Pie. It's not an awful song just long and overplayed.

48. John Mayer - Waiting on the World to Change (96.81 points)



Did it sell?
- Well. It was a quite big hit in the US, peaked at number 14 on the Hot 100 chart, and it even won a Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. So who's wrong, then?

47. N Sync - Bye Bye Bye (98.57 points)



Did it sell?
- It did fairly well all around the world. But once again somebody has disabled embedding on the original video, so you'll have to get by with a couple of idiots.

46. Basshunter - Boten Anna (98.99 points)



Did it sell?
- This version did very well in Scandinavia. The song was later released with English lyrics, and became a huge hit in England and throughout the rest of Europe. And guess what! This weekend my girlfriend is in Oslo to participate in Basshunter's next music video.

45. Britney Spears - I'm a Slave 4 U (99.29 points)



Did it sell?
- Yes, but not in the US. It sold pretty good around the world, but topping the charts only in Brazil. In USA it got a lot of airplay but sold very little.

43. Ashlee Simpson - Pieces of Me (99.72 points)



Did it sell?
- It was a worldwide hit, but not a megahit. It went to number one on the Hot 100 chart and in China and Chile, and also charted within the top five in Denmark , Norway, Taiwan and UK. And for those wondering why there is no 44...

43. Afroman - Because I Got High (99.72 points)



Did it sell?
- It was number one in UK and Australia, and also did well in US.

I actually quite like "I'm a Slave 4 U"! The first song on the list that I actually enjoy. That piece of shit Ashlee Simpson deserves the hatred of 1000 burning suns, though!

What's bad about Because I Got High?

I think I'm A Slave 4 U is Britney's worst song and I never got the appeal of it.

Great show, Rune!

I'm surprised to see so many recent songs. I never listen to radio nowadays so I hadn't heard half of these songs before listening to the youtube clips. It seems like I'm a lucky guy, although to me many of these songs seem quite harmless. Ashlee Simpson, for example; she sounds just average to me - nothing more and nothing less. What's the fuss, Moonbeam?

Worst songs so far:
Basshunter - Boten Anna (oh, how I hate this song! Surprised but really happy to see it listed! Rune, I take it that you aren't the only Scandinavian who voted?)
Afroman - Because I Got High (I shouldn't have pressed play on this one)
Bob Carlisle - Butterfly Kisses (ouch...!)

Henrik,

That Basshunter song got two quite high votes, and that was enough to secure a 46th place.

I've just talked to my girlfriend, who right now is participating in the new Basshunter video. She's done some car scenes. Look for a blonde in a blue dress waving a flag. Now they're about to hit the dancefloor. And even if the music is pretty godawful, I'll post the youtube link once this music video is released.

38. Ricky Martin - Living La Vida Loca (100 points)



Did it sell?
- Does the Pope wear a funny hat? Women all over the world melted bye those loose hips.

38. Linni Meister - Survivor (100 points)



Did it sell?
- No. It didn't sell at all. Perez Hilton hated it as well.

38. John Cage - 4'33"



Did it sell?
- I'm not sure, but it's been recorded several times. It's not what one would consider a massive chart hit, I guess.

38. Grungerman - Girls in Love (100 points)



Did it sell?
- First of all.. is this the right song, whoever voted for it? Second, I guess it sold about zero copies, but it probably did give somebody a good time on a German dancefloor. And maybe caused some dizziness.

38. Green Day - Wake Me Up When September Ends (100 points)



Did it sell?
- Peaked at number 6 in the US, and 8 in the UK. Also did good in Canada and China, and scored some lower chart positions around the world.

37. Usher - Yeah! (100.15 points)



Did it sell?
- Massive hit! Gigantic in USA, and huge all around the world. Number one in Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Netherlands, France, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and USA. Also pretty close to the top of the charts in Belgium (number two), Finland (four), Italy (two), and Sweden (four).

36. Nickelback - Photograph (101.08 points)



Did it sell?
- It did in America. Huge hit in USA and Canada, and a minor hit in Europe. I've never heard it before, so it didn't do well in Norway, at least.

Great work, Rune, a pretty awful list as Stephan said previously. I’m surprised too but the large amount of recent songs, as Henrik pointed. I don’t listen to commercial radio and TV too so I only have listened to barely 5 or 6 songs so far. I think that some of the songs are in the list basically because are diluted versions of interesting bands (for instance “The Reason” could be a washed-down version of Radiohead via Coldplay and “Higher” trivializes Pearl Jam).
I’ve “enjoyed” listening “We Are the World” so many years after the last time. The song-writing was obviously awful, but I liked the “duel” between Stevie Wonder and Bruce Springsteen. How different ways to face up to the same melody line! In fact the most interesting is how every singer takes the melody to his own territory (a literal translation of a Spanish set-phrase), being particularly peculiar the performances of Bob Dylan and Cindy Lauper.
Sorry for not voting Rune. I tried it, but only Spanish songs came to my mind (there are so many awful ones!) so my list hadn’t been useful for a poll. Sorry again…

Rune : about Grungerman : yes it is the right song and it has ranked 9th on the French chart

35. Cyndi Lauper - Girls Just Want To Have Fun (102.63 points)



Did it sell?
- Worldwide superhit. Number one in one million countries. Gave girls everywhere a reason act like idiots.

but isn't Andreas Dorau's original version much cheesier than Grungerman's remix?



just asking..

34. Fergie - Big Girls Don't Cry (103.12 points)



Did it sell?
- Indeed. There's a claim at Wikipedia that this is the 10th most successful single of the last ten years. It topped charts in a lot of countries, and Fergie won't ever have to do a single day of work for the rest of her life. At least we hope so.

maybe nj, but it was Grungerman remix which was on air in French and which was the cause of the biggest trauma of my teen

Didn't realize that American Pie was so hated here lol.

Ironically, it's quite high on the AM list.

a lot of the songs on my list i don't really "hate"...i've just heard them too much and wouldn't mind never hearing them again...a lot of it's just circumstance...for example, i worked at a barnes & noble one summer when i was in college and they played nothing the whole summer except for rufus wainwright's "poses" and that pete yorn album, so there's a pete yorn song on my list...not really terrible music, but it just ended up driving me batshit...unfortunate since i generally like rufus wainwright and that album was completely ruined for me

That's sad for you, Greg. Poses is one of the best albums I've ever heard. It was number 9 at my all time fav albums, but looking at that list now, it should have been higher.

Henrik, if you have missed out on Ashlee Simpson's "career", consider yourself very fortunate! She is the younger sister of pop tart Jessica Simpson, who is known for her blonde bombshell looks and her affinity for saying stupid things. Along comes Ashlee with her own reality show, trying to launch herself as a sort of "alt-Simpson", with her newly dyed black hair and her T-shirts with "PUNK" written so proudly on the front. Her first album saw her desperately trying to distinguish herself from her sister, even including a song called "Shadow" about how hard it is to be Jessica's younger sister. Nevertheless, the whole thing reeked of phoniness. The only reason she had a career was because of her famous sister. It certainly wasn't for her talent. I thought the infamous Saturday Night Live incident would have doomed her, as she was caught lip synching when the wrong backing tape started playing and she confusedly did a sort of jig before leaving the stage, leaving her band to play alone. She THEN had the gall to blame her band for playing the wrong song and claimed to be lip synching because of acid reflux. Bitch, at least your band was actually playing music! Witness the horror here:

http://gprime.net/video.php/ashleesimpsonsnldisaster

America reacted with horror, booing her by the thousand at the Orange Bowl for her horrendous performance of "Lala".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GVHkkgK9F4

While this could have made her entertaining in a sort of train-wreck kind of way, she then decided to go against those "punk" roots she desperate clung to for credibility by getting a nose job, going back to her natural blonde and singing 80s-influenced pop tunes. Can you smell the manufacture?

I thought she had finally taken the hint, but she returned this past year with another desperate plea for acceptance- this time copying the new wave of Missing Persons. Listen to her bite Dale Bozzio's vocal delivery to the T:



So basically, she's a talentless hack riding on the coattails of her sister, desperately clinging to whatever trend will make her seem "cool" in spite of the fact that she has absolutely nothing to offer the world. As a fan of pop music, I cringe that this twatbag gets all of the radio and video play that other unheralded pop acts could only dream of. The fact that she has sold any albums is an indictment on the human race.

In fact, few artists can bring out the scathing, uninhibited hatred in me like Ashlee. Here's a thread I started over at prince.org when I first beheld the horror that was her leadoff single for her new album:

http://prince.org/msg/8/267457

hahahaha

that was an awesome rant, moonbeam

the word "twatbag" really should be used more often

Thanks, Greg! Few artists bring out the fangs quite like Ashlee.

Ha ha, I knew my question would be given a lengthy (and very upset) answer! Thanks Moonbeam!

Btw, have you seen any yet?

So far a lot of the ones I have to suffer through at work are already up. Yay.

I liked Higher when it first came out. But back then I also liked Linkin Park. (Of course even then I hated Limp Bizkit. Hoping to see lots of them on this list.)

So many modern pop songs have a pretty decent sounding chorus, and that's it. The lyrics are really poorly written, and the verses are just there to fill space until the next chorus. Also modern pop songs are worse than older pop songs because they don't even play real instruments on them anymore. And even when they do they record all the tracks separately, which completely saps the life and chemistry out of the single.

33. Smash Mouth - All Star (105.13 points)



Did it sell?
- It charted well in USA and Australia, and was a minor hit throughout Europe. This kind of music fits snuggly into American ears.

And I think I'll take the rest in another thread.

This is a shocking,shocking list - I mean,half these songs aren't even really bad - just pretty average but there's loads worse. Shocked by Goo Goo Dolls - Iris. That's a classic

I'll side with Midaso, I wouldn't call the following "bad":

Smash Mouth "All Star"
Cyndi Lauper "Girls Just Want to Have Fun"
Green Day "Wake Me Up When September Ends" (this actually would be among recent songs I've actually enjoyed...which is a somewhat smallish number post-1999)
N Sync "Bye Bye Bye" (A solid pop song..sorry)
I've yet to hear ANY John Mayer song that deserves the vitriol of most of the songs on here...especially not "Waiting on the World to Change"
Hoobastank "The Reason"
Colbie Caillat "Bubbly"
Goo Goo Dolls "Iris" (this actually is probably in my top 1000 of all time in spite of not being a GGD fan in general..good tune)
Don McLean "American Pie" HERESY!!!!