They’re notoriously cheesy, sometimes they’re cringeworthy, but they’re also our guilty pleasures. There’s no shortage of love songs in this world, and sometimes we become painfully aware of that, especially in February when this idea that cliché, movie-style, romance is the only way of showing affection is shoved down our throats. While there are plenty of delicate, beautiful love songs out there, there are definitely more than a few that are so bad you have to love them. Here are 10 love songs that we just love to hate. Be sure to listen along with the playlist!
https://open.spotify.com/embed/user/126162006/playlist/2SdOk0otoO6Tb8oCW13mZO
“I Really Like You” by Carly Rae Jepsen
This gem off of Jepsen’s 2015 album “Emotion” is one of the catchiest songs in existence, but it’s also one of the cheesiest. The lyrics are incredibly basic, and the chorus repeats the word “really” 6 times, which to many, is a writing faux pas. If you’ve heard the song, you understand that even if you don’t want to sing along you end up doing it anyways. And that’s why we love to hate the song!
“Smile” by Uncle Kracker
As a staple of Midwest pop radio stations, Uncle Kracker is an artist that we grew up listening to. Any Michigander has known the lyrics to “Smile” since they knew how to speak, and it’s honestly a cute song. The easygoing melody is pleasant, but the use of simile in the lyrics is overwhelming and sickly sweet. It doesn’t take too long for something so cute to become annoying, yet we can’t help but sing it when it comes on the radio.
“Boyfriend” by Justin Bieber
If you didn’t live under a rock during your adolescence, you’ve heard “Boyfriend” and you loved it at first. When it was released Bieber was still a sweet teen-heartthrob, and this was his first move towards the “bad boy” cliché. Now, as young adults, we fully understand just how cringeworthy the line “I don’t know about me but I know about you so say hello to falsetto in three, two, swag” is, and we claim that we never listened to Beiber to begin with.
“A Thousand Miles” by Vanessa Carlton
The 2004 film “White Chicks” is an accurate portrayal of the widespread obsession of Vanessa Carlton’s hit song, “A Thousand Miles”. Groups of girlfriends scream sing it together, and boys claim to hate it, but somehow know all the words. If the catchiness and the vulnerability of the heartfelt lyrics aren’t enough to get stuck in your head for days, the widespread popularity of the song is sure to create a situation in which you’re going to have to sing along and like it.
“Girlfriend” by Avril Lavigne
We all went through our angsty tween phase where we wore pink and black graphic tees and worshipped the queen of pop-punk, Avril Lavigne. I know we all loved to sing “Girlfriend” and scribble our crushes name in a notebook while drawing hearts around it, but those days are over. The repetitive nature of the lyrics are annoying, and nobody wants to actually be in a love triangle. Though if the song comes on at any moment, you’re still going to know every single word.
“We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” by Taylor Swift
If the story of an on-again-off-again relationship wasn’t annoying enough, immature lyrics and country-turned-pop star vibes make this Taylor Swift song eye-roll worthy. Everyone has at least some opinion on Taylor Swift, and whether you love her, or you hate her, you know the song and you’ve heard it one too many times.
“Perfect” by One Direction
Like Justin Bieber, every girl loved One Direction at some point, and whether they admit that or not is up to them. Now that the guys have all gone in different directions, it’s fun to reminisce and sing their old pop hits while getting ready for a night out with the girls. While we all know that nobody is perfect, it’s still fun to imagine Harry Styles telling us that he thinks we are.
“Somebody To You” by The Vamps featuring Demi Lovato
Whenever this song comes on, I imagine a group of fun, hipster-ish, teenagers sitting around a bonfire on the beach singing along. The beat is addictive, and the vocals featured by the boyband are so smooth and innocent. The lyrics are playful and bring a youthful energy that can seem cringeworthy now that we’re older. Still, you’re bound to be singing along with the chorus before the song ends.
“Black Magic” by Little Mix
Little Mix is a badass girl group that doesn’t take anything from anyone. That being said, their song Black Magic was definitely a pop favorite a few summers ago. This is another one of those songs that is just so catchy it’ll get stuck in your head for at least a week. Not only is the tune catchy, but the lyrics are just fun! As much as some people wouldn’t want to admit to singing along, it’s inevitable!
“Out Of My Limit” by 5 Seconds of Summer
It’s no surprise that another boy band made it onto this list. 5 Seconds of Summer has a special place in my heart, (I swear I was going to their shows before they even released their first full length album) but some of their jams are adorably immature. Their song “Out of My Limit” has lyrics that will remind you of having a secret crush in high school, but it’s so upbeat that you can’t help but dance along!
Maggie Morgan is a junior majoring in Professional Writing with a concentration in Creative Writing. Hobbies include: spending all of her money on concert tickets, trying to convince Green Day to let her be their friend, geeking out about music history, dreaming of writing for Rolling Stone. You can follow her on instagram at @swaggie_.maggie.