When a musician's song reaches high in the charts they should be ecstatic, right? Most of the time you'd be correct to assume so. But it seems from time to time there are artists who question what they've brought into the world.
Whether it be from the get-go or because they've had to perform or listen to them for years, these artists have some musical regrets. We bet they aren't complaining about any of the acclaim they got because of these songs though.
"Brass in Pocket" (The Pretenders)
The Pretenders wrote "Brass in Pocket" in the 1980s and the song became a hit. One band member wasn't happy about it though. Chrissie Hynde didn't like the idea of the song becoming a single, but their producer insisted.
The words that Hynde used were "over my dead body" but despite his protests the song went on to become a fan favorite. Years after the release of the song Hynde still doesn't have anything good to say about it.
"Like a Virgin" (Madonna)
Madonna doesn't look back on her songs from the '80s fondly. But there's one song in particular that she really can't stand - "Like a Virgin". She said that someone would have to pay her $30 million for her to perform it again.
She said "For some reason, people think that when you go to a restaurant or you are going shopping that you want to hear one of your own songs. It's usually "Like a Virgin"--and that is the one I don’t want to hear."
"Don't You (Forget About Me)" (Simple Minds)
If you've seen "The Breakfast Club" then you should be pretty familiar with "Don't you (forget about me)" by Simple Minds. But even while they were in the recording studio none of the band members were enjoying themselves.
They've admitted that the song is great, but their issue with it was the fact that it was recorded for a movie. They felt that their band was too cool for things like that. Thankfully, they pushed through it and gave the 80s a song that people today remember.
"I Ran" (A Flock of Seagulls)
Looking back at a Flock of Seagulls you'd think that their biggest regret would be their fashion choices. This isn't the case, instead, they regret their song, "I Ran."
It wasn't actually the song itself that was the problem. It was just the fact that it was their most requested song at the time. Having to play it at every gig they performed left a bad taste in their mouth.
"Unbreak My Heart" (Toni Braxton)
Some musicians considered passing along their songs that would turn into hits. One of these artists was Toni Braxton with her hit, "Unbreak My Heart."
Braxton didn't like the song at first but eventually warmed up to it after it gained traction. She almost didn't record it at all! Thankfully she decided to add this to the record and we're all better off for it.
“Material Girl” (Madonna)
Madonna's fame is on a level that few others have ever gotten to. She works hard to get where she is but funnily enough, she has a few songs in her repertoire that she's not too proud of.
Her least favorite track is "Material Girl" and she dislikes it even more than "Like A Virgin." She told reporters from Us Weekly in an interview that she, "never, ever want[s] to hear it again!"
"Strangers in the Night" (Frank Sinatra)
A lot of people remember listening to "Strangers in the Night" and smile when they become nostalgic. Everyone except Frank Sinatra that is. He wasn't worried about telling everyone just how he felt about his own song.
It was partially due to fans requesting it every chance they could. It got so bad that he would tell audiences before he performed, "Here's a song that I can't stand." When you're successful, you don't have to pretend.
"Stairway to Heaven" (Led Zeppelin)
Ever heard of "Stairway To Heaven?" Yeah, we have to, we're not saying the songs not great, but we can understand Robert Plant getting sick of it after presumably having to play it for so long.
When Plant first wrote the lyrics to the song she that he felt that it was a song with depth and importance. But after more than a decade of none-stop requests. Even today fans of all ages love the song.
“Hello Goodbye” (The Beatles)
We knew that there would be a The Beatles song on here somewhere. There were two songs in particular that John Lennon couldn't stand, they were "Let It Be" and "Hello Goodbye." Paul McCartney wrote both of them and Lennon especially despised the latter.
Lennon said that it wasn't because they were McCartney's songs but rather because he just thought that they weren't great pieces. He added that it felt that McCartney was just trying to write singles. It seems that Lennon didn't have anything good to say about his bandmate's songs.
"(You Gotta) Fight for your Right (to Party!)" (Beastie Boys)
The hit song "Fight for Your Right" was a song written by the Beastie Boys. It wasn't the song that was the problem as much as it was the way that the fans reacted to it.
The meaning behind their song was a satire on "party culture". But it seems that a lot of fans didn't see the subtlety behind the anthem and used it to spur on their party habits. We can't blame the fans for not getting the message though.
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" (Nirvana)
Apparently there is such a thing as "too famous," and Kurt Cobain sure felt that way about the Nirvana classic "Smells Like Teen Spirit."
Apparently, Cobain felt like MTV had shown the music video so much that the song felt inescapable. In an interview he said, "I can barely, especially on a bad night, get through ‘Teen Spirit.’ I literally want to throw my guitar down and walk away."
"Pinball Wizard" (The Who)
"Pinball Wizard" was featured on the Who's mind-bending rock opera album, Tommy, and would go on to be one of the bands most loved singles. However, Pete Townshend wasn't feeling the love.
He described "Pinball Wizard" as one of the worst pieces he's ever written, despite it being one of the biggest successes for the Who.
"My Heart Will Go On" (Celine Dion)
"My Heart Will Go On" topped the charts in over 20 different countries, but it was a hit that almost wasn't, if Celine Dion had gotten her way.
Apparently, the Canadian singer was initially reluctant to record the hit, but she eventually changed her tune. "Thank God they didn't listen to me," she remarked in one interview.
"Rainbow in the Dark" (Dio)
Ronnie James Dio was the singer and name inspiration for the band Dio, but he didn't always agree with the direction the band went in.
Despite it being one of their biggest hits, Dio was never a fan of "Rainbow in the Dark." He described it as being "too poppy," which, with respect to Mr. Dio, is probably the craziest way you could describe this heavy metal classic.
“Creep” (TLC)
TLC was one of the biggest girl groups of the ‘90s, and people absolutely loved them. The band's 1994 hit "Creep" was arguably one of their biggest successes in the music industry, and a lot of people still love it today. But, one member of TLC just couldn't get with this song.
"Creep" was a great success, but Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes could not get behind it. Left Eye was completely against the message of the song, which was about a woman cheating on her significant other in retaliation after he cheated on her. In fact, Left Eye was so against the idea that she threatened to wear black tape over her mouth when they filmed the music video.
"Creep" (Radiohead)
Even though "Creep" would go on to be one of their most defining songs, not everyone in Radiohead was a fan when they were recording it.
According to an interview with Rolling Stone, guitarist Jonny Greenwood didn't like the song when they were recording it. He tried to sabotage their takes, but his strange guitar noises actually made it into the final cut.
"Let It Be" (The Beatles)
Paul McCartney made music history when he wrote "Let It Be", but bandmate John Lennon didn't seem to agree.
Lennon later complained that the song didn't sound like the Beatles--he even went as far as to say it may as well have been performed by Wings, McCartney's other band.
"Shiny Happy People" (R.E.M.)
"Shiny Happy People" was a top-10 hit in the 90s for the band R.E.M., but frontman Michael Stipe didn't have many nice things to say about it when asked.
He described the R.E.M. hit as a "fruity pop song written for children," and despaired at the thought of it being a part of the band's legacy. I guess if anyone is allowed to say that, it's the songwriter.
“Bad Boys” (Wham!)
Created by the English pop duo Wham!, "Bad Boys" debuted in 1983 and eventually became the bestselling single of the year. While it may have helped them get their name out there more, it still wasn't exactly a favorite of George and Andrew.
In fact, George very quickly denounced the song and named it one he absolutely hated. He would later describe the song as "an albatross round my neck." The two infamously left the song off their 1997 Greatest Hits compilation in lieu of including tracks that hadn't been released as singles.
"Wonderwall" (Oasis)
Brothers and Oasis frontmen Noel and Liam Gallagher are not afraid to complain about anything and everything. And that's especially true when it comes to their hit song, "Wonderwall."
In one interview, Liam had this to say about "Wonderwall" and its legacy--"Every time I have to sing it I want to gag. Problem is, it was a big, big tune for us. You go to America and they’re like: ‘Are you Mr. Wonderwall?’ You want to chin someone.”
"You're Beautiful" (James Blunt)
"You're Beautiful" was a hit off of James Blunt's debut album, and it was everywhere. That was apparently a problem for James.
While he doesn't hate the song itself, he does admit that it was "force-fed" down everyone's throats in the early 2000s. We and he were bound to get sick of it at some point.
"Heart of Gold" (Neil Young)
"Heart of Gold" was Neil Young's only number one hit, and it felt like a thorn in his side for the rest of his career.
Young expressed regret that "Heart of Gold" skyrocketed him to popularity, as he felt that the mainstream world of music was too boring for him.
“Ice Ice Baby” (Vanilla Ice)
There's been a lot of controversy around this song as it's known for ripping off Queen and David Bowie's hit song "Under Pressure," and that's probably a good reason for why he hates it. In fact, it's said that Vanilla Ice hates this song so much that he went to the MTV headquarters in an attempt to destroy their master copy.
It's kind of wild that Vanilla Ice hates the only song that made him famous, and the first rap song to ever hit #1 on the pop singles chart. After all, since that song made him famous, the only thing he's really done is star in a string of weird reality TV shows and make cameos in movies.
"Cherry Pie" (Warrant)
Even by hair metal standards, "Cherry Pie" isn't a great song, and Warrant singer (and songwriter) Jani Lane was inclined to agree.
The immense popularity of the song turned Lane into the "Cherry Pie guy", which was something he did not enjoy at all.
"Do They Know It's Christmas" (Bob Geldof)
Bob Geldof co-wrote "Do They Know It's Christmas" as a way to raise money for the Ethiopian famine of the 80s. But he pulled a real Scrooge when he revealed that he wasn't actually a fan of the song.
Describing it as one of the worst songs in history, Geldof laments the fact that he hears it all over the place every Christmas season.
"Candy" (Mandy Moore)
Most of us have forgotten about Mandy Moore's musical debut in the early 2000s, but she hasn't, and she still regrets her sickeningly sweet hit, "Candy."
In her defense, there was no highly manufactured pop music that was good at the time, but Moore really felt bad about unleashing "Candy" on the world. She even went as far as to say, "If I had the money, I would give a refund to everyone who bought my first two albums."
"Sometimes" (Britney Spears)
Her persona may have been all smiles, but Britney Spears allegedly couldn't stand her 1999 hit, "Sometimes."
During a tour in the 2000s, a hot mic picked up Spears' voice backstage telling someone, "I never liked that song anyway," in reference to "Sometimes." But that obviously didn't stop her from giving the people what they wanted.
"Party in the USA" (Miley Cyrus)
Even Miley gets tired of Miley sometimes--especially her hit, "Party in the USA."
Cyrus said that she doesn't completely hate the pop anthem, but rather, that it's just not who she is anymore. She might have moved on, but the party continues, it seems.
"Royals" (Lorde)
"Royals" brought New Zealand artist Lorde to mainstream notoriety, but she really beats herself up for what she perceives as a hot mess.
In one interview, she had this to say about her hit: "I listen to people covering the song and putting their own spin on it—and I listen to it in every single form except the original one I put out—and I realize that actually, it sounds horrible." Apparently, her fans were not hearing the same thing as she was!