These artists have some devastating news about your favourite songs (Pictures: Getty)
Who can say they haven’t rocked out to Smells Like Teen Spirit, or belted out Like A Virgin at karaoke?
Don’t Stop Me Now has tore up the dancefloor at many weddings, and it isn’t a house party without Fight for Your Right blasting out the speakers.
While these hit songs are firmly engrained in popular culture, they weren’t immediately the favourite hits of the people who sang them.
Even Jon Bon Jovi recently came out and admitted that he ‘wasn’t that impressed’ with Bon Jovi classic Livin’ On A Prayer.
It turns out that even for our favourite artists, there can be too much of a good thing when it comes to some of the biggest songs of their discography.
Here, we look at 7 of the biggest figures in the music industry and the smash hit records they’ve come to loathe.
Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit
Released in 1991, Smells Like Teen Spirit quickly became one of Nirvana’s most recognisable songs.
It became an anthem for Generation X and has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, but vocalist Kurt Cobain was less than enthused about the biggest hit of the band’s career.
Despite its success, Cobain would often refuse to perform the single live or deliberately play it badly.
In a historic interview, he explained: ‘Once it got into the mainstream, it was over. I’m just tired of being embarrassed by it. I’m beyond that.
‘Everyone has focused on that song so much. The reason it gets a big reaction is people have seen it on MTV a million times. It’s been pounded into their brains.’
Guns N’ Roses – Sweet Child O’ Mine
Guns N’ Roses released smash hit Sweet Child O’ Mine in 1988 from their debut album Appetite For Destruction.
It became the band’s only number one single, but guitarist Slash has since admitted he ‘cringes’ when he hears the song.
‘I hated it for years,’ Slash revealed. ‘But it would cause such a reaction, so I’ve finally gotten to appreciate it.’
He told radio host Kidd Chris in 2014: ‘You know, Guns N’ Roses was always a real hardcore, sort of, AC/DC kind of hard rock band with a lot of attitude.
‘If we did any kind of ballads, it was bluesy. This was an uptempo ballad. That’s one of the gayest things you can write.’
Radiohead – Creep
An anthem for all the misunderstood outcasts out there, Radiohead’s Creep became an instant classic upon its release in 1993.
Vocalist Thom Yorke has not held back on criticising the single, leading to a fiery confrontation with a crowd in Montreal when the singer told the audience to ‘f*** off’ when they cheered for Creep to be played.
‘I wasn’t very happy with the lyrics; I thought they were pretty crap,’ he told Rolling Stone in 1993.
Beastie Boys – Fight for Your Right (to Party)
Sure to get any crowd dancing and/or headbanging, this Beastie Boys classic is a firm favourite for many.
However, one group of people that won’t add the song to their party playlist is Beastie Boys, who released the track in 1986.
After releasing their hit album Licensed to Ill and touring it across the world, the band made a conscious effort to drop the track from their setlists after moving away from their parody style that mocked fraternity culture.
In an interview at the time, Michael Diamond said: ‘The only thing that upsets me (about the song) is that we might have reinforced certain values of some people in our audience when our own values were actually totally different.
‘There were tons of guys singing along who were oblivious to the fact it was a total goof on them. Irony is often missed.’
Oasis – Wonderwall
Oasis are certainly not strangers to bust-ups – both with other artists and the famously feuding brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher.
But the band also has beef with some of their own music, including certified classic Wonderwall.
Noel previously told MOJO Magazine that Liam hated the single when he first heard it, and that their disagreement over the track caused a heated argument while on tour.
‘The only time I laid down the law was Wonderwall and Don’t Look Back In Anger,’ he recalled.
‘I was so f****d off with him walking off stage and me having to take over and do the gig. I remember thinking, if I’m going to do this, I want a big f*****g song to sing.
‘I said, “You’re singing one or the other, but not both.” He hated Wonderwall. He said it was trip-hop. There speaks a man who’s never heard trip-hop.’
Liam went on to agree that he didn’t like the song, blasting the track during an interview, saying: ‘I can’t f*****g stand that f*****g song! Every time I have to sing it, I want to gag.’
Guitarist Bonehead added: ‘Wonderwall is one of my least favourite songs because it’s not finished. If I could somehow twist time and go back there, I’d probably pick a different song for our calling card. Probably Some Might Say.’
Queen – Don’t Stop Me Now
Queen have released plenty of huge songs since forming in 1970, including the popular top 10 track Don’t Stop Me Now.
However, legendary guitarist Brian May just doesn’t understand the hype behind the song as he through Freddie Mercury’s lyrics underplayed the seriousness of the HIV/AIDs epidemic.
He said in an interview with Guitar Player: ‘I didn’t really take to it in the beginning. I didn’t feel totally comfortable with what Freddie was singing at the time.
‘I found it a little bit too flippant in view of the dangers of AIDS and stuff. But as time went on, I began to realise that it gave people great joy.
‘I had to give in. It’s a great song – there’s no way around it. I think that’s what Freddie had an amazing knack of doing: He could put his button on things that make people feel a bit more alive.’
Kanye West – Gold Digger
In addition to causing multiple controversies, Kanye West has released multiple smash hit records and songs throughout his career.
Among them is the 2005 song Gold Digger, featuring Jamie Foxx, which topped the US Billboard Hot 100, ARIA Singles Chart, and the NZ Singles Chart.
So it might come as a surprise that the rapper claims he never liked the song in the first place.
‘I never really liked that song, but I knew I would get paid for doing Gold Digger,’ he told Zane Lowe in 2013 on his BBC Radio One show.
Madonna – Like A Virgin
Everyone remembers when they were touched for the very first time by Madonna’s classic single Like A Virgin.
The song’s inaugural performance at the MTV Video Music Awards was a turning point in popular culture, with the single going on to become the singer’s first number one and feature in hit films and TV shows such as Reservoir Dogs, Moulin Rouge!, and Glee.
However, the Queen of Pop doesn’t have quite the same love for the megahit.
‘If I’m in a car or I go into a restaurant, I’m out somewhere, and one of my songs starts playing, I just go, “Ugh,”‘ she told The New York Times in a 2019 interview.
‘Probably because I’ve had to hear it five billion times already, and I want to escape that.’
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