Hit Songs They Hate: 10 Artists Who Loathe Their Own Music

How would you feel if you recorded a hit song? Most of us would be pretty happy about it and brag to everyone we know. We’d probably also work hard to avoid becoming a one-hit wonder. The popularity and money from the hit song wouldn’t be so bad, either. But that’s just us!

In reality, many singers have recorded and released hit songs that they ended up absolutely detesting. Let’s take a look at ten of those surprising cases. These performers may have reached the world with a massive hit and reaped the benefits, but deep down, they hate these songs for one reason or another. Call them ungrateful, bitter, or whiny, but it doesn’t change the fact that these ten singers really don’t care for some of their biggest hits!

Katy Perry, “I Kissed a Girl”

If Katy Perry had to do it all over again, she would have re-written (or maybe scrapped altogether) her 2008 hit “I Kissed a Girl.” The song is about a woman kissing another woman for the very first time. While the beat is fun and energetic, and the lyrics are catchy, the content of the song has given Katy some serious pause in the years after it was recorded and released.

“We’ve really changed, conversationally, in the past 10 years,” the Santa Barbara-born singer told Glamour years after her 2008 single saw the light of day. “We’ve come a long way. Bisexuality wasn’t as talked about back then or any type of fluidity. If I had to write that song again, I probably would make an edit on it. Lyrically, it has a couple of stereotypes in it. Your mind changes so much in 10 years, and you grow so much. What’s true for you can evolve.”

Paramore, “Misery Business”

The Paramore song “Misery Business” came out nearly two decades ago, so it makes sense that the singer who wrote the lyrics might think differently now than she did when it was first released. For Paramore lead singer Hayley Williams, that’s exactly the case. The song may have hundreds of millions of streams on Spotify and countless YouTube plays, but its lyrics make Williams cringe. Take this notable verse, for example: “Once you’re a wh*re, you’re nothing more, I’m sorry that’ll never change.” Not exactly a girl power anthem there, is it?!

In 2017, nearly a full decade after “Misery Business” was first released, Paramore spoke to the media outlet Track 7 about it. Williams admitted that it wasn’t one of her finer moments and that she had come to dislike it. “I’m a 26-year-old person,” she told the outlet. “And yes, a proud feminist. Just maybe not a perfect one. The thing that annoyed me was that I had already done so much soul-searching about it years before anyone else had decided there was an issue… I was a 17-year-old kid when I wrote the lyrics in question, and if I can somehow exemplify what it means to grow up, get information, and become any shade of ‘woke,’ then that’s a-okay with me.”

Lady Gaga, “Do What U Want (With My Body)”

Back in 2013, Lady Gaga collaborated with R. Kelly on the single “Do What U Want (With My Body).” The single was a hit, and the duo performed it at shows, festivals, and award events.

However, R. Kelly’s sexual assault and sex trafficking case changed everything. Lady Gaga’s connection to R. Kelly chilled after he was sentenced to prison. Lady Gaga took to Twitter and delivered a lengthy apology regarding the song and the two singers’ connection.

“I stand by anyone who has ever been the victim of sexual assault,” the superstar singer wrote as part of her public apology. “I stand behind these women 1000%, believe them, know they are suffering and in pain, and feel strongly that their voices should be heard and taken seriously. I’m sorry, both for my poor judgment when I was young and for not speaking out sooner.”

She even went so far as to confirm that the song would be removed from iTunes and other streaming platforms—and that she would never work with R. Kelly again!

Pharrell Williams, “Blurred Lines”

Pharrell Williams was at first extremely proud of the single “Blurred Lines” performed with Robin Thicke. But as the years ticked by, Pharrell started thinking more deeply about the song’s suggestive and aggressive sexual lyrics. In time, he realized that the song played directly into the chauvinistic culture that too often victimizes women.

Speaking to GQ, Pharrell said, “I think ‘Blurred Lines’ opened me up. I didn’t get it at first… When there started to be an issue with it, lyrically, I was, like, ‘What are you talking about?’ There are women who really like the song and connect to the energy that just gets you up. And ‘I know you want it’—women sing those kinds of lyrics all the time. So it’s like, ‘What’s rapey about that?’”

Then, he had his epiphany. “Then I realized that there are men who use that same language when taking advantage of a woman, and it doesn’t matter that that’s not my behavior. Or the way I think about things. It just matters how it affects women… I realized that we live in a chauvinist culture in our country. I hadn’t realized that. Didn’t realize that some of my songs catered to that. So that blew my mind.”

Billie Eilish, “Bad Guy”

Billie Eilish may have launched herself into the stratosphere when she released her hit single “Bad Guy” back in 2019, but that doesn’t mean that she loves the song now. In fact, she thinks it’s as dumb as can be! The Los Angeles-based singer went on Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show in 2023 and told the host that “Bad Guy” is “the stupidest song in the world.”

Admitting that it’s a “dumb” song, she said, “Objectively, ‘Bad Guy’ is, like, the stupidest song in the world. But it’s really good.” Describing her entire first record as “goofy,” she tried to play down its artistic merits to Kimmel. “Like, that song is… I’m trolling. That song is supposed to be goofy, but it’s just funny because it’s dumb. It’s literally, like, ‘duh.’ Like, what does that mean?”

Jay-Z, “Big Pimpin’”

Jay-Z’s single “Big Pimpin’” is perhaps the one song of his that people know more than any other. Despite having a massive career, the rapper is well-known worldwide for the track. Take this verse within the song: “You know I thug ’em, f**k ’em, love ’em, leave ’em, ’cause I don’t f**kin’ need ’em.”

In recent years, Jay-Z has thought better of the song. Perhaps it’s the fact that he is married to Beyoncé, and the couple has two daughters. Thus, now that he’s got little girls growing up in his house, Jay-Z might be more in tune with what women go through.

He spoke about it to the Wall Street Journal. Looking back on things years later, he said of the single: “Some [lyrics] become really profound when you see them in writing. Not ‘Big Pimpin’.’ That’s the exception. It was like, I can’t believe I said that. And kept saying it. What kind of animal would say this sort of thing? Reading it is really harsh.”

Iggy Azalea, “D.R.U.G.S.”

Iggy Azalea released the song “D.R.U.G.S.” in 2011. The Australian-born rapper has a very specific regret about one line that she rapped. Not long before her song was released, the rapper Kendrick Lamar dropped a track called “Look Out for Detox.” In that track, Kendrick rapped that he was a “runaway slave.” In response, Iggy rapped on “D.R.U.G.S.” that she was a “runaway slave master.”

Not long after the track dropped, Iggy popped up in the media to apologize for it. “This is a metaphoric take on an originally literal lyric, and I was never trying to say I am a slave owner,” she said, according to MTV. “In all fairness, it was a tacky and careless thing to say, and if you are offended, I am sorry. Sometimes, we get so caught up in our art and creating or trying to push boundaries we don’t stop to think about how others may be hurt by it. In this situation, I am guilty of doing that, and I regret not thinking things through more.”

Led Zeppelin, “Stairway to Heaven”

Led Zeppelin’s song “Stairway to Heaven” may be one of the most iconic rock songs ever. But there’s one person who doesn’t love it: Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant. While Plant has had an incredible career and enjoys the musical construction of the band’s most well-known hit, he regrets how the lyrics turned out!

“Of course, it was a good song,” Plant said during a radio interview in 2019. “The construction of the song, the actual musical construction is very, very good. It’s one of those moments that really can stand without a vocal—and, in fact, it will stand again without a vocal, I’m sure, because it’s a fine, fine piece of music.”

But there was a problem! He continued: “Lyrically, now, I can’t relate to it because it was so long ago… I would have no intention ever to write along those abstract lines anymore. I look at it and I tip my hat to it, and I think there are parts of it that are incredible. The way that Jimmy [Page] took the music through and the way that the drums reached almost climaxed and then continued… It’s a very beautiful piece. But lyrically, now, and even vocally, I go, ‘I’m not sure about that.’”

Drake, “Jodeci (Freestyle)”

Way back in 2013, Canadian rapper Drake featured J. Cole on a song called “Jodeci (Freestyle).” On the track, Drake referred to himself as “artistic” while comparing his talents to others who he said were “autistic” and “retarded.”

Sensing quickly that backlash was going to come, Drake offered a public apology. “I share responsibility and offer my sincerest apologies for the pain this has caused,” he wrote in a note to his fans. “Individuals with autism have brilliant and creative minds, and their gifts should not be disparaged or discounted. This was a learning lesson for both of us, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to try to right this wrong. J. Cole and I believe that it is the right, responsible, and respectful decision to remove the lyric from the song.” By 2019, Drake had even edited the song around a bit to remove the offending verse entirely.

Oasis, “Wonderwall”

Oasis was supposed to be the Beatles of the 1990s. But their biggest hit, “Wonderwall,” wasn’t exactly something that singer Liam Gallagher took too much pride in. In fact, he has said multiple times that he strongly dislikes the song and hates performing it. His brother Noel Gallagher doubled down on that statement!

Liam and Noel’s contentious feud makes it noteworthy that they agree on anything. Speaking on a SiriusXM interview in 2021, Noel said this about the hit single: “Liam hated it. I’m not sure the rest of the band were too keen on it. You know, why that song took hold on the planet the way that it did is crazy; there’s no rhyme or reason for it. It just is.”

It’s interesting to see that even the artists behind some of the most popular songs in history aren’t always their biggest fans. Whether it’s due to evolving perspectives, lyrical regrets, or changing social contexts, these singers have found themselves at odds with their own success.

What do you think about these artists disliking their own hits? Leave your comment below!