The Top Ten Worst Hit Songs of 2021

as someone who actually was, and still is, a staind fan, probs the only queer zoomer staind fan to ever exist, and someone who still holds their songs close to their heart, and who fuckin loathed aaron's solo country turn and saw it as the most fake shit ever, i have to admit: in a weird way i do appreciate "am i the only one?" in the same way as green day's "whatsername": i definally do get the sense that he is going thru some tough shit and u feel bad for the dude at the end, but for none of the reasons he states, which is the worst part of it, he doesnt even know the real reason of why living in america rn sucks, he doesnt know his true enemies and oppressors are the people he's crying about younger unbrainwashed folks hating. that's why i cant fuckin put "am i the only one?" as the worst song of the year for me. one, because "heat waves" is just objectively horrible for all the reasons u said (and we should stop fuckin calling this kroq pop shit "indie" or "alternative" in anyway, do not legitimatize this corporate-approved controlled opposition) but also cuz i rlly do thing "am i the only one?" does say a lot about the psyche of a lot of america rn, the mental crisis of the Hot Couch Guy, and how his cultural war beliefs are preventing him from realizing his true destiny to embrace the new forms of life in this world and fight against who is truely letting them rot in a soulless world of pure capitalist numbness and anxiety. its a great paring with "fancy like", which also shows the other part of this authortarian consentual apperatus: throwing meaningless small indulgences at people to purchase and act like it gives their life false temporary meaning. eating burbon steaks and drinking natties and oreo shakes in the day, getting drunk, crying about ur kids not giving a shit, and screaming "what the fuck?" at the tv at night. forever and ever. he really is not the only one at all, and thats the most depressing part feliz navidad everyone! :3 <3

take5

I think it deserved it. I was never a Staind fan, but "Outside" has got a star out of the thousands on my Spotify playlist - and I'll still happily listen when it comes up. It was from a particular time, and I liked it. "Am I the only one?" - and maybe I am 'the only one' feels like a cynical exploitation. I know nothing about Aaron, but doesn't feel like a genuine question he's been asking himself - more "Can I make a song as popular as a Maga hat?"

I was kind of shocked by number 1, not because it doesn't deserve it on its worstness, but because it did not feel like its priority was to be a song. Aaron Lewis made the Let's Go Brandon bumper sticker of music. I can't even really be mad at it, because it's just transparent conservative virtue signalling. Am I The Only One succeeds at nothing, but it wasn't even trying so I can't even call it a failure. Its politics are bad but they're not even bad in a new and exciting way. Actually you know what I have convinced myself. Am I The Only One is sitting right on the Absence Of Good event horizon, sticking out only because it has a fetish for confederate statues.

Martin

There's still guitars in rock, they just never find the pop charts anymore.

Aaron Larson

not "Throat Baby"! :( it's the summer anthem we didn't know we needed. shameee. otherwise i can dig it

BlakeD

You had me at "massive chode anthem," Todd.

Rish Outfield

Glass Animals used up all their good ideas on their first album and spent the intervening years converging toward Imagine Dragons. Struggling, percussion-centered indie groups all tend to do this, in much the same way that sea-dwelling arthropods all tend to evolve into crabs.

maruhkati

Also, this line: "vibes, vibes, vibes, vibes. I'm sick of vibes! Give me a riff. Or a hook." Yes.

Jack Darnell

Excellent as always. Thankfully I hadn't heard of the vast majority of these before, and hopefully I'll never hear any of them outside the context of this video. Great job Todd! Merry Christmas!

Jack Darnell

It’s entire due to TikTok but Heat Waves really is the least likely alternative to Hot 100 top ten crossover song in years, and thanks to the weight of streaming it’s nearly impossible now (and if you removed the Christmas songs from this week’s Hot 100, it’d be #3.). It kinda grew on me as it crept up the chart, but I can’t knock anyone for hating it.

Tim Briody

Dan + Shay, like Evan + Jaron

Russet Burbank

OK, props for that Curiosity Stream placement lol

Jasper Phua

So that "eehhooaaa" song is sang by a couple country dudes? Huh. You learn something new every day.

Russet Burbank

The chief problem with Am I The Only One is not simply that its message is bordering on malevolent and that the lyrics are platitudinous and ham-handed. Nor is the chief problem that Lewis himself sounds like he's gotten a sink disposal stuck in his throat. It's the fact that not a single person involved said "maybe we shouldn't" to anyone else at any point in the process of recording, engineering, marketing, and distributing the song. They knew it would move copies because chuds lap up literally everything meant to pander to them, and they were all in for the money they knew they could make regardless of how damaging the song is to public discourse and how it will almost certainly be career suicide for Lewis who can now be seen as nothing other than a gadfly even if he repents and adopts more realistic and humane beliefs.

Henry Kiley

agreed, I can see Todd is regretting going as hard as he did on what he called "club shit" back in the early 10s as it can always get worse, and I saw admitting on Twitter that he was appreciating "Give Me Everything" a lot after 2020 happened.

RedBedroomRecords

oh god is their music all over that show?

RedBedroomRecords

I think Use My Voice is really damn good and not "Generic" at all.

RedBedroomRecords

I did! I've been watching Todd for the last 5-6 years and this is the first time i've ever correctly guessed his #1 pick.

RedBedroomRecords

i've felt that way for the last 5 years or so, especially with hip-hop.

RedBedroomRecords

The idea that Justin Bieber has a "wife" still sounds wrong to me. It just sounds too adult and mature for him.

James

it sounds like an attempt to ape Olivia Rodrigo's Drivers License to me.

RedBedroomRecords

At least you guys in the States don't need to hear ads about "Tim Biebs" all the damn time...

Peter Steckley

And while we're on the subject of Megan Pete - it's pronounced Megan *Thuh* Stallion, not *Thee*. Todd isn't the only critic to make this mistake, but it's a bit annoying, tbqh.

Grace

Why would someone want to listen to Grumpy Uncle Aaron Lewis? Brain worms, that's why. Raging brain worms.

Grace

I feel like the USA people have been easing into Eurovision for a while, but it's really started to take off over the past few years.

Grace

Interesting takes Mr. In the Shadows, I really thought Shivers would make your list but your #1 makes more sense

Gonna be honest, I love Peaches. It’s not a novelty song it’s a perfect expression of Justin Bieber’s life philosophy: instead of “Live, Laugh, Love” it’s “Weed, Wife, Worship”

Nick Ostrem

I never even heard of #9 before, but it sure sounds like a shitty third-rate rip-off of Drivers License

RedBedroomRecords

its crazy that i didnt even know like half of the songs on this list. and i listened to the radio ALOT this year. this was easily the most forgettable year in pop music. but hey a lot of the good songs i heard this year will be in my playlists for years to come

Maybe it's because I'm familiar with how Todd works, but as soon as it became clear that Beggin' wasn't going to be #2 (because no caption to that effect), I immediately called what this was going to be instead. Honestly, I was kind of surprised that the Dan + Shay intro was not leading up to, I don't know, that godawful Niko Moon song or something.

Timur Hahn

To be honest, when "Without You" came on I knew the song sounded familiar but couldn't place it. Then the "can't make a wife" line came on and I went "oh yeah, this is the song with Miley Cyrus." Also I need TiTS Bingo in my life.

At some point over the summer, I decided to listen to a 'top of the charts' playlist on Spotify. I think I got three songs in. At that point, I heard "Can't make a wife out of a ho" and turned it off. I had no further idea who or what that song was until now, I probably read the title, but only that horrible line stuck.

Meghan Weber

the only authentically country thing about him

Shiny Skunk

Lmao yep I only knew Fancy Like and Am I the Only One simply because Todd covered them already.

waywardlaser

"Aaron Lewis sings like a cow giving birth" :D Gold!

I haven't really been exposed to a lot of popular music since gradating from university. So basically since 2016 all of Todd's lists have been largely unknown songs to me. I'm sure this one will be no different.

waywardlaser

*Sigh* Bieber's been cross-promoting "Timbiebs" with Tim Horton's, Canada's Dunkin' Donuts masquerading as a patriotic branding exercise despite being absolute garbage since a Brazilian holding company bought them from Wendy's. I could safely ignore him before, now those ads pop up everywhere.

Joe G

Perhaps that's the reason it's only a dishonorable mention.

Both "Glass Animals" and "Neon Trees" sounds like they came from some sort of random word combo band name generator.

James

I'll be honest, I'm thrilled after seeing so many people praise it that you also didn't like Heat Waves. I've grown to tolerate it, but I just can't get its appeal. Just feels like another example of indie rock turning into...either nothing or I don't know. I also didn't realize I knew other songs of theirs until recently, but I heard Life Itself a few times a few years ago, and now I really like it just by contrast.

Gemini Man

SO GLAD to see “Heat Waves” on this list. That song is absolutely indicative of Tiktok finding songs with just 10 good seconds. But I am sad/surprised to see “abcdefu” on the honorable mentions. I love that song and thought you’d like its energy and the fact that she disincludes his dog from her “fuck you”s.

Kay

"At least songs used to be catchy when bad" and "I miss guitars" are both very much moods for me with modern music too. Maybe I'm just old idk. I still do occasionally enjoy tiktok songs though, even though I don't have an account. Amusingly before watching this the last video I watched was one of "panhandle scandal" by the chattahoochies, which is a catchy country song with guitars in it. Maybe that content will make the radio one day lmao.

Katastrophe

These yearly worst lists should just change their name to Rage Against the Levine. The Levine Machine really does have a knack for staying relevant by latching on to whatever's hot at the time, this time Megan AND Blackbear.

Meowlissa

If you want to be nicer to Imagine Dragons then don't watch Arcane. You should absolutely watch Arcane because it might be the best animated series I've ever seen, but I've never realized how much I hated Imagine Dragons more.

Adam Violet

"maroon 5 processed music loaf" almost made me spit out my coffee lol ✌ I wish these end of the year videos were more fun for you to make, bc it's a bummer that you feel obligated (financially or otherwise) to make them every year whether you actually want to or not. but they have stayed fun to watch every year

shai

Shit, I was expecting Fancy Like to be way higher.

gerald oxford

"The country audience is mostly women nowdays." It is?? I would like to know a lot more about this.

Sadie S

Also, that Follow You video makes Imagine Dragons the Creed of their generation.

I keep wanting to say I really like Heat Waves by Glass Animals. Then I usually realize I was actually thinking about Used To Like by Neon Trees.

Meluieth Box

I'm surprised Peaches got on the list over some of the other bullshit Bieber put out this year, but I certainly can't fault you for it. Everything he did in 2021 kind of blends into the same giant pool of slop at a certain point.

Shiny Skunk

Arcade is a beautiful song and I would explain why now but I’d rather do it in video form (stay tuned for my Best of 2021 list in a few weeks)

Kylie

If you bothered to do any research, the purpose of the nudity was to give off the feeling of being emotionally exposed through physical exposure, but you Americans don’t understand symbolism I guess

Kylie

"Peaches" isn't that bad, and "Fancy Like" should've been WAY higher. Other than that, good list!

And the video is hilarious. "Here's a BLM sign! I'm totally not racist!"

Kristopher Bluth

Same here. It’s like a sound allergy for me. I physically react to it.

Kristopher Bluth

As someone who actually likes a few Staind songs, I apologize greatly for Aaron Lewis

Cody Baird

I don't know if he had a specific country's "penny" in mind when writing that lyric, but in the US that lyric is extra funny because the penny has become basically worthless, and is kept in circulation because the no one in the government has been bothered to make the change (no pun intended).

James

"Hell, this is the second year in recent memory where the number one song only barely qualified for the list at all." I recall that Todd's merit for inclusion in the Best/Worst lists is if they make the year-end Top 100, so presumably that one did...

Jon Heiman

lol watched the fancy like interview you showed and it pissed me off because they're like "he doesn't live in a mansion but a sensible home in the country." like bitch, no, that "suburb outside of nashville" has property values higher than most of the state.

Creamer

I'm impressed he's able to find new things to say about songs he's already covered! I'm not sure if I could do that.

Jon Heiman

I've seen many examples of artists using real-life protest footage in their videos in order to add some sort of weight to a generic "power to the people" song (most recently, I saw Evanescence do this in concert when playing their generic-ass new song "Use My Voice"). That Aaron Lewis video appears to be playing protest footage in that exact same style, except in this case we're supposed to see it as *bad*. At least Fox News goes out of its way to make the protesters look as scary as possible by portraying them as anarchists who are only there to cause chaos/destruction. But the protesters in the Lewis video look like they have legitimate grievances!

James

I'm really proud of the growth you have demonstrated in your worst lists. In the beginning you would often resort to just shit talking the artist sometimes even if they didn't deserve it, and now I feel like every point you made in the video served a bigger purpose in your arguments and the shit talking if you can call it that was a lot more tasteful and had a purpose. Thank you for giving me one good thing to remember from this year.

I so rarely comment but I feel super validated by Arcade. It was meh song, at best, when it won Eurovision in 2019 and it has not gotten better! Thank you so much!

Jonathan

Curse you, Todd, for including a clip of squeaking styrofome in the video! That sound is like nails on the chalkboard for me.

James

Am I the only one *wink wink Who saw number one coming? Although I have to admit for the number of years that I’ve been watching the show and he does this lists I do get worried that my guess is wrong like I’m sure many do but not this time, This year I got it right on the money and I’m proud of myself

You know, it’s one thing when we have Diet Billie Eilish on the list. And then at #2, we have Diet Sam Smith now! And I’m sure even Sam Smith didn’t fill one of their ballads with corny gaming puns! Also, Duncan Laurence appearing nude in the music video for the song about his heartbreak. Where the heck is Gotye when you need him?

Tom Carter

I've heard people (and that one South Park episode) talk for years about the sudden moment where you turn on the radio and the music sounds like actual shit, and I always thought I was a person who could appreciate differences in taste and yada yada, but right after my 29th birthday I heard Without You on the radio for the first time and realized it had happened to me. It is incomprehensible to me.

Katherine Elmore

yes join the Dan+Shay hate club

MW

As a long-time Glass Animals fan, they’ve always barely been a guitar-driven or even percussion-driven band, and have always been about the ✨vibes✨. But their vibes (especially on their debut ZABA album) have always sounded immersive and dope. Heat Waves, in comparison, sucks ass. And it pains me that they were nominated for their first Grammy in the year they released their worst music.

Franco del Rosario

*Megan Thee Stallion, not Meghan.

I am also so sick of “vibes” as a concept, as an aesthetic. Thank you for speaking directly to me with the Glass Animals entry.

Matthew T.

"How many pennies in the slot?" made me laugh out loud. That's deep, man.

Sarah, the Creator

I think we could all see Number One coming from miles away. As an elitist West Coast lib, I find the self-pitying snowflakification of conservatism to be a real high point of 2021...

Kristopher Bluth

Forgot to add: thinking about it, I'd pick Applebee's over Am I for worst just for being a Jeff Foxworthy joke in 3-minute song form. At least real Jeff Foxworthy jokes are one-liners and he has (had? I haven't heard him in 20 years) better delivery than whoever this guy is.

Alina

Big thank you for including Heat Waves here. I fucking hate this song, I hate how little hate I see for this song and I hate how Glass Animals who actually were good at first dropped such atrocious album last year and it gave them their biggest hit

Dragame (Алексей Al)

After being a fan of their for years, I was wondering if Glass Animals would make either list this year and I did let out a delighted laugh when Heat Waves started playing on the background. I sort of like the song, though I pretty much agree with everything you said about it. IMO, the album had decent tracks but it was by far their weakest yet. Also "it sounds like the trailer music cover of itself" is the sort of line that will remain etched into my memory for that song forever.

Cam Nava

I've bought a couple of Eurovision songs before for relistening, but Maneskin is the first winner whose other music I actively sought out and liked (Coraline is their best song, but it's not in English so it's not a hit). And I listened to Song vs Song's bonus episode on ESC, so I wasn't sure it would be a fake out, but I'm glad it was. Tiktok, bringing you music, 10 seconds at a time... over and over and over again.

Alina

Yes, I KNEW that Kid Laroi song would make it on the worst list, as the song (a) is a WIGWAG song technically, and (b) could be replaced with gnash, Trevor Daniels, or any of those no-name emo rap douches that always get on the Worst list, and (c) is basically a really shitty “apology” / “waaah-you-hurt-me” break-up song. It really is a Todd BINGO entry.

Franco del Rosario

As always thanks Todd for continuing to torture yourself making these videos for our enjoyment every year. I really look forward to them!

Sarah, the Creator

A great job like always. Thanks for all the work on this, and all your other vids.

John in Ottawa

Glad to see the Lordi shoutout. I'm unironically a fan. They're fun and goofy. Do I want to listen to them all the time? Of course not, but will I enjoy Blood Red Sandman or The Devil is a loser? Hell Yes!

Stephen Combs

Excellent video as always, thrilled I woke up in time for it! Just a minor error, might just be to fit the font style, but for the Number 10 entry's title card you spelled Megan Thee Stallion's name "Meghan"

Jaime Paradise

What I found interesting was, besides Drake and Justin Bieber, there was a lack of "smash hits" that the majority of radio listeners would know. Most of this list spent the vast majority, if not all, of their chart run outside the top 20. Hell, this is the second year in recent memory where the number one song only barely qualified for the list at all. Maybe it's because the bigger hits were good, or at least too boring to hate?

Riley Greenstein

The sad part is that all of these songs sound like they were produced at the same pop-production AutoTuned assembly line — except Aaron Lewis. I think I’ll listen to a classic rock station for a while.

Beau Dure

Todd, I could not agree you with less on Heat Waves, Arcade and You Broke Me First (there is a Griffyn remix that is more upbeat that I quite like). Those three tracks were part of my most played songs on Spotify or this year and I still haven't gotten sick of them. I like they have complex emotions to them. and at least sound like they are trying rather than a lot of songs like that Maroon 5 one where it's like 'eh whatever, this'll do'. I do agree with your number 1 - god that singer sounds so insufferable. Why would anyone want to listen to it?

ginny

That Tate McRae song sounds less like Billie Eilish and more like a second-rate CHVRCHES track. Speaking of Billie Eilish ripoffs, any thoughts on Royal &amp; The Serpent? 'Cause I've got some but I think their "hit" was played on KROQ for like a month and that was it.

Specter Koen

Really enjoyed this one, great way to start the day!

Vanessa Picard

It's called Save your Tears. There is also another version with Arian Grande which I quite like. (It's one of the rare newer versions of songs that don't sound a complete and utter cash grab).

ginny

At 2:53, the audio for Nobody's Love snuck back in to the background. That didn't seem intentional to me. Anyways, I think this is my favourite of your Worst Hit Songs videos to date. The jokes were on point and you did a really good job explaining why you didn't like these songs whilst not being completely bitter or mean towards the artists themselves (except Aaron Lewis, but he actually deserves it).

Ridd

Glad to see abcdefu making the list, even as a honourable mention. Even with the stupid gimmick in the chorus, it should work in theory, but it's all just anger and spite, without the catharsis that you would find in an Olivia or Billie song. It reminds me a little of I Hope in that sense. While I personally dislike Beggin a whole lot more, I do acknowledge that Arcade is objectively the worse song (and I spit my drink in laughter at the skeeball part). There is a whole can of worms to be open with Eurovision, from the politics involved in the voting to the utopian mindset that is mostly ineffective in promoting the contest's values. There is more stuff that I'd like to ramble about, but I'll keep it for the Youtube comments. Thank you for another great year of videos, Todd! Many of them (especially the Trainwreckords) were some of your best ever. I hope you have a pleasant holiday break!

meffeww

That Måneskin--&gt;Duncan Lawrence fake out made me cackle - can't wait for the YouTube comments on this one

Georgie Rowe

They just need a good pub feed.

Might be the first year of these where I've not felt the hankering to stick up for at least one of the songs on the list prior or on the honorable mentions. What a weird feeling. I mean, I guess I'm mildly positive on abcdefu's memetic chorus but I've never bothered to actually check out the song in full. And Glass Animals have what I think is a really good song ("Your Love (Deja Vu)") on that same album that I would've liked to be a hit instead of this egregiously dull and beige thing that somehow took off. But yeah, otherwise, just a miserable line-up of songs. A couple there in honorable mentions that would be super-deserving #1s, I think, because like for Todd they also make me retch.

I'm not a big radio guy, so every year the worst list is a nice confirmation that I'm not missing anything, then the best list is a nice sum-up of what I should loop back around on. Gotta find that Weeknd transition song and check that out, I jammed to that every time the song changed. Thanks for what you do Todd, money well spent! Here's hoping Adobe doesn't fuck you again on the Best list

Daniel Bostic

Why do The Chats get basically ignored in America but the top executives hear “Without You” and say “yep that’s a hit!”

I’d like to pat myself on the back for not hearing any of these songs(except for the ones Todd already covered).

Kevin Wilkes.

I jammed to Space Ghost Coast to Coast a bunch this year, but I haven't heard Heat Waves until right this moment - it's a far inferior song

Becca, lobster no longer!

I think I said this last year too, but it's crazy how quickly your top 10 vids have become nice familiar bookends between years for me.

matt

Always look forwards to this end of year recap on all the shite songs I’ve missed out on hating, being a brit a lot of country songs don’t tend to crossover. Though always appreciate Eurovision getting a mention, didn’t realise that America were finally getting into it, guess that’s the power Will Ferrell has Audio for the songs themselves seems to cut out fo… ah wait no adobe just glitched, nice, all is good, move along.