The 10 Worst Songs of the 2010s (So Far) (original) (raw)
The end of 2014 also meant the end of the first half of the 2010s, and although the half-decade has included some soaring highs for popular music, the past five years has also included some howlers…
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The end of 2014 also meant the end of the first half of the 2010s, and although the half-decade has included some soaring highs for popular music, the past five years has also included some howlers that still haunt our darkest nightmares. From awful re-imaginings to ill-conceived supergroup singles, these 10 tracks represent the worst of the 2010s so far, and should be left far behind in the past.
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Check out what the Billboard.com staff selected as the 10 worst singles of the 2010s so far. Be sure to balance these out with our 20 Best Singles of the 2010s List!
10. Karmin, “Acapella”
The pop-rapping couple composing Karmin successfully jumped from the YouTube covers world to Top 40 with “Brokenhearted,” an overly earnest but likable track. “Acapella,” on the other hand, sounds like the result of a focus group aimed at beguiling millennials (“They like Nicki Minaj, ‘The Sing-Off’ and the word ‘totes,’ we guess!”) and completely falls apart when Amy Heidemann actually goes a cappella in the final minute.
9. Insane Clown Posse, “Miracles”
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“Water, fire, air, and dirt/Fucking magnets, how do they work?” Insane Clown Posse want listeners to appreciate the little things in life, but their song sounds like it could’ve been made in the 15th century.
8. Black Eyed Peas, “The Time (Dirty Bit)”
Want to obliterate those fond memories of watching Dirty Dancing on VHS? Just keep this undercooked Black Eyed Peas cash-in single on repeat: Will.i.am, Fergie and co. might have wanted to inject “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” with some farting production and Auto-tune, but their “dirty bit” is mostly just gross.
7. Fat Joe feat. Rick Ross & Juicy J, “Instagram That Hoe”
The latest social media developments have provided inspiration for plenty of music, but for some reason, the resulting tunes often end up being completely unimaginative. Fat Joe’s “Instagram That Hoe” is a perfect example: Instagram this, Instagram that, Instagram the other thing, and…. skip the song.
6. SuperHeavy, “Miracle Worker”
If you don’t remember SuperHeavy — the “supergroup” made up of actual great musicians Mick Jagger, Joss Stone, Dave Stewart, Damian Marley and A.R. Rahman — then that lapse in memory is probably for the best. A well-intentioned but altogether horrendous collaborative LP is low-lighted by the single “Miracle Worker,” in which Jagger barks the words, “In an emergency, I’m very well-prepared/My scalpel, mask and gloves — don’t ever get too scared!” over a half-hearted reggae beat. Sorry, Mick — we’re pretty scared.
5. Buck 22 feat. Billy Ray Cyrus, “Achy Breaky 2”
Sometimes it’s best to leave the past alone, but Billy Ray Cyrus didn’t get the memo. He circled back to his best-known hit, originally released in 1992, and updated it with a slew of scantily clad women dressed like aliens and rapping from Buck 22. The result gives plenty of ammunition to those who dislike the increasingly common practice of mixing country and hip-hop.
4. Future & Wiz Khalifa, “Pussy Overrated”
The Internet is great because it allows artists to create songs and then instantly unleash them on the world. The Internet is also terrible because it allows artists to create songs and then instantly unleash them on the world. Someone should’ve told these two heartbroken rappers to leave this snarling piece of misogyny in the studio.
3. Brad Paisley & LL Cool J, “Accidental Racist”
Brad Paisley and LL Cool J’s intentions on “Accidental Racist” were good, but the song is far from it. There are so many insane lyrics in this black-meets-white-for-a-beer monstrosity — “If you don’t judge my do-rag/I won’t judge your red flag,” “Feel like a newfangled Django, dodgin’ invisible white hoods” — that we created a full Top 10 list of the craziest lines.
2. Alison Gold, “Chinese Food”
How could such excellent cuisine inspire such bland, insipid, outright racist music?
1. Play-N-Skillz feat. Redfoo, Lil Jon & Enertia McFly, “Literally I Can’t”
Although we all toasted Lil Jon for coming back in 2014 with his DJ Snake collaboration “Turn Down For What,” he relinquished a lot of that newfound good will from those who were paying attention by being featured on the abysmal party track “Literally I Can’t.” A crack team of numbskulls, also featuring LMFAO’s Redfoo, decided to turn an enjoyable popular Vine into a woman-bashing anthem, with the concept of female chatter destroying the good time of dude-bros everywhere (Sample lyric: “You got a big ol’ butt/I can tell by the way you’re walking/But you annoying me… cause you’re talking (SHUT THE FUCK UP!!)”). You’d think that a song this reactionary and lame-brained wouldn’t even be produced in 2014, and thankfully, Play-N-Skillz’s opus to garbage viewpoints was not a hit. Congrats to the guys for topping one list, though!
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