27 Hit Songs That Their Singers Regret, Hate, Or Literally Refuse To Perform

I find it hard to believe anyone could hate "Telephone," but apparently Lady Gaga does.

1. Billy Joel, "We Didn't Start the Fire"

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After messing up on the lyrics during a show, Joel called it "One of the worst melodies I ever wrote.” He's also called it "not much of a song" and "terrible."

2. Pink, "Don't Let Me Get Me"

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"I wish I could burn that song and never sing it again,” Pink told the LA Times, calling it the song she hates performing the most.

3. Camila Cabello, "OMG"

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Camila once tweeted "I'm throwing up" when a fan quoted/mentioned the song to her. It was actually supposed to be released as a single instead of "Havana," though Camila convinced the label to let her release both and see which fared better — "Havana" obviously won.

4. Ariana Grande, "Put Your Hearts Up"...

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Grande told Rolling Stone that the song felt "inauthentic and fake," saying it was geared toward kids and that she hated the music video. "I still have nightmares about it, and I made them hide it on my Vevo page,” she said.

5. ...and "Touch It"

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After a fan said Ari thought "Touch It" was boring, Ariana replied on Twitter saying "im correct." 

6. Elton John, "Crocodile Rock"

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John told ABC, "There are certain songs that you think, "Ugh, I gotta f***in' sing that one again!" and when pressed, admitted "Crocodile Rock" was one of them. "But the audience love it, and y'know, it's a guilty pleasure, as they say," he conceded.

7. Bruno Mars, "The Lazy Song"

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Mars tweeted, "When someone tells me they actually like 'The Lazy Song,'" then added a video where he shook his head and stared deadpan at the camera. 

8. The Jonas Brothers, "Pizza Girl"

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The JoBros told Khalid that the one song they regretted in their discography was "Pizza Girl," a track that was part of their Jonas Disney Channel show. The brothers, and in particular Nick, also revealed they didn't love being on the show, especially in the second season.

9. Lady Gaga, "Telephone"...

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Speaking to PopJustice, Gaga said, "I hate ‘Telephone.’ Is that terrible to say? It’s the song I have the most difficult time listening to." However, she said this had less to do with the song itself, but more with "the mix and the process of getting the production finished," which she called "stressful." She also said she hated the music video and that it tried to cram too many ideas in.

10. ...and "Money Honey"

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After speaking about "Telephone," Gaga was asked what song she actually does dislike/would skip. She answered "Money Honey" from The Fame.

11. Miley Cyrus, "Party in the USA"

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In a video of ex-husband Liam Hemsworth singing "Party in the USA," Miley says she hates the song, even though, "for some reason, the people love it."

12. Willow Smith, "Whip My Hair"

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Smith struggled with her mental health after the runaway success of her hit "Whip My Hair," and said it even took her a few years to forgive her parents and regain trust after she felt her father was too harsh at times and she didn't feel listened to.

13. Taylor Hawkins of the Foo Fighters, "The One"

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The Foo Fighters drummer said he's always hated the song, which was recorded for the film Orange County: “I hate the way it sounds, the production of it; it was a total cop-out.” He also called it "straight-up pop" at a time when they were "trying to figure out how to be the Foo Fighters."

14. Halsey, "New Americana"

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When a fan tweeted Halsey asking what her least favorite song of hers is, Halsey answered "New Americana." However, after fans shared their love for the song, Halsey admitted that their feelings may be because it was their first single and they got "burnt out on it."

15. Justin Bieber, "Beauty and a Beat"

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Bieber admitted that he "never really liked" the song, even at the time of recording it, but that he understood what it was and it was successful.

16. Ed Sheeran, "Shape of You"

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Sheeran felt like the song wasn't him, and said it took a month or two for the other writers on the song to convince him to put it on the album Divide, and another month before they persuaded him to make it a single.

17. Madonna, "Like a Virgin"

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Madonna is apparently "sick" of her old songs, especially "Like a Virgin," saying it's always playing in stores she's in or that fans will sing it to her when it's actually the one she wishes she didn't have to hear. She also said she's not sure she could ever perform "Like a Virgin" or "Holiday" anymore, unless she was paid $30 million.

18. Charli XCX, "Break the Rules"

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Charli called the song "so bad," saying she hates it and that she wrote it at a writing camp for other artists. 'I was like, 'Whoever sings this song is an idiot,'" she said, adding that she "fucked herself" by making it the second single for her album Sucker.

19. Lorde, "Royals"

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Lorde said she understood why it was a hit, but groaned when talking about it, calling the melody "just not as good as something I could have written now" and the song "a bit of a relic." She also called herself "naive" when she wrote it, especially due to criticisms of racism in the song.

20. Kelly Clarkson, "Breakaway"...

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In a BuzzFeed video where Kelly ranked her songs, she called "Breakaway" one of her two least favorite songs. She's also said it wasn't challenging or exciting as a vocalist to sing.

21. ...and "A Moment Like This"

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"A Moment Like This" was the other song Clarkson called her "least favorite." In another interview with BuzzFeed, Kelly said she's not "against the song, but it's not really [her] vibe," as the song was technically written for the winner of American Idol and not her specifically. 

22. Avril Lavigne, "Complicated"

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Lavigne said she sometimes hates playing "Complicated," but that she does it for the fans, and doesn't understand when other artists refuse to perform old hits that they no longer enjoy.

23. Nicki Minaj, "Starships"...

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"I hate ‘Starships,’" Minaj said. "I mean ew, ‘Starships?’ I’m like, ‘Why did I do that?’ I really think that every time I hear it.”

24. ...and "Your Love"...

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Minaj apparently always hated the song, though she likes the video. She's said she wasn't planning on releasing it at all, but then the song leaked online, and the radio started playing it.

25. ...and "Anaconda"

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Minaj revealed she wishes she'd never recorded "Anaconda," though again, she likes the video.

26. Selena Gomez, "Come and Get It"

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Gomez has said that the song sounds like "a Rihanna reject" and that it's "very difficult for [her] to perform live." She also said she released it when she was young and wanted a hit, but she's grateful for what its done for her.

27. And finally, Zayn...and basically all of his "One Direction" songs

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Zayn has called the group's music "generic" and not his style, saying they recorded what they were told would sell. He later said of their music, "That’s not music I would listen to. Would you listen to One Direction at a party with your girl? I wouldn’t."