We've all had the experience of an old, long-forgotten song pop up in our head, filling us with nostalgia. Whether it's an old favorite or a song that's tied to a childhood memory, music has the power to make us reminisce in vivid ways.
On the contrary, there is the experience of running into a song that just didn't do it for you. Whether the tune was overplayed, strange, or just a lousy song, some tracks have negative associations within our minds.
While music tastes and preferences vary widely from person to person, some songs are more polarizing than others. Similarly, while all tracks will get at least a little bit of criticism, some appear to garner more hate than others. With this in mind, we've compiled a list of 6 songs Gen Z-ers most likely blocked out of their memory.
"Friday" by Rebecca Black
Kicking off our list is a track that, upon its 2011 release, went viral and was widely slammed. Rebecca Black was only thirteen when "Friday" debuted. She found both herself and her feel-good song at the center of many people's criticism mainly due to the song's simplistic lyrics.
While many people hated Black's song, "Friday" still received a fair amount of traction online. There was a point in 2011 where at the end of every week someone at school would have to belt out some of the song's lyrics randomly, and this added to people's collective dislike of "Friday."
"I Love It" by Icona Pop
From excessive radio play to a promo for Snookie & JWoww, this Icona Pop song was simply inescapable. "I Love It" was released in mid-2012, and its hook, while catchy, would slowly chip away after hearing it four times an hour on MTV.
The track was heard around almost every corner from 2012 to 2013, making it a strong candidate for this list of songs blocked out of people's memory. Even if you love the song, it's all about moderation.
"The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?)" by Ylvis
The world was introduced to this Norwegian techno song back in 2013, and the humorously simplistic lyrics, catchy hook, and strange music video resulted in it going viral. Shortly after its release, the song was incorporated into various memes and music mixes.
While the tune did pretty decently in this respect, it consistently garnered a fair amount of hate due to its random nature and arguably cringe-worthy video. While it eventually died out, this song very well may have been blocked out by the masses rather than merely left in the past.
"CoCo" by O.T. Genasis
People couldn't get enough of this track when it debuted back in 2014, and it instantly became a popularly quoted song. Whether people were belting out "I'm in love with the CoCo" or "Baking soda, I got baking soda," this anthem was inescapable in both online and real-world circles.
While this song didn't receive much hate at the time, its overall message and quotability nonetheless resulted in some unfavorable reactions. It seems like people dropped this song — and O.T. Genasis, for that matter — from their radars just as quickly as "CoCo" blew up.
"Stupid Hoe" by Nicki Minaj
Even die-hard Barbz must admit that this 2012 Nicki Minaj tune can be a challenging song to listen to. It was recorded as a response to Lil' Kim's 2011 diss track, "Black Friday," and lives on Minaj's Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded album.
While the song did its job as a diss track, it has nonetheless still been a subject of widespread disdain for many rap fans due to its lyrics. However, don't get it twisted: the song can still be fun to quote to your enemies.
"I'm on a Boat" by The Lonely Island
Ah, The Lonely Island. While most of this comedy trio's catalog qualify for this list, Gen Z-ers may have a particular disdain for "I'm on a Boat." This 2009 track is all about the thrill of getting to be on a boat. Because this tune is a meme song, it isn't on this list for its simplicity. Instead, it's listed solely because its lyrics were quoted ad nauseam for quite sometime after the song's release.
After hearing some kid named Kyle yell out "I'M ON A BOAT" in math class, the song can quickly gain a negative reputation.
What are your picks for songs Gen Z-ers likely blocked out, and do you agree with our list?
