How this crazy and annoying song became a hit at all (much less a hit at wedding receptions) is beyond us. The dance moves accompanying "The Chicken Dance" are just painfully corny, and it looks even more ridiculous when a group of nicely dressed people get together and do it.
However, wedding receptions are normally a place where the booze flows freely, so that might have something to do with the enduring popularity of this weird number. That being said, there are plenty of less annoying but equally ridiculous songs that you could drunkenly dance the night away to.
We see why "Shout" by the Isley Brothers became a standard at wedding receptions—it's a high-energy, happy-sounding song. However, if you've been to enough weddings, you've probably heard this hit enough for two lifetimes. We promise no one will miss it at the reception.
The most annoying thing about this song is the extended section where the Isley Brothers give you instructions for how loudly or quietly you should shout. No one really wants to be told what to do on the dance floor! You should definitely spare your guests the pain and cut this one from your playlist.
I guess it can be nice to throw the single ladies at your wedding a bone with this classic Beyoncé anthem, but, honestly, after a few drinks, you probably don't want to encourage them too much. Maybe save it for a time other than when you literally just put a ring on it.
Plus, this is one song that turns the dance floor into a nightmare. Everyone is going to get out there and do the worst rendition of the "Single Ladies" dance you've ever seen in your life. Save your eyes the suffering and all the "dancers" some embarrassment.
The late '90s and early 2000s were the golden age of gimmicky dance songs. While it may not have become a global phenomenon like the Macarena, "Cha-Cha Slide" is just as obnoxious and overrated. Just let people dance without spelling out every step for them! It's a wedding reception, not boot camp.
Probably the most ridiculous thing about this song is how immediately dated it sounded when it originally came out. Although it was released in the year 2000, it absolutely sounds like it could be the product of the late '80s. If I have to hear this song at a wedding again, I'm going to cha-cha slide right off the roof.
You should only play "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-A-Lot at your wedding reception if you're totally fine with each and every one of your guests screaming, "I like big butts!" in unison. We're sure your grumpy and prudish great aunt Lois will really appreciate hearing all of that.
It's a ridiculous and a fun song, but it's absolutely overplayed—at weddings and elsewhere! Plus, it's not the most auspicious beginning to your life together to dance the night away to a song where a man opines about other women's butts. We get why it's a wedding hit, but we don't agree with it!
"Macarena" by Los Del Rio was one of the most annoying things to come out of the 1990s. But don't try to lie—you know you've done that dance more than a few times in your life! Despite our best efforts to forget, this ridiculous Latin dance song just won't go away.
However, it's not just the goofy dance that makes it a bad idea for a wedding reception playlist—the lyrics are not particularly heartwarming or romantic either! Although you might have missed it if you don't speak Spanish, the song is about a woman who leaves her boyfriend at home to hook up with other men at the club.
"YMCA" has been a disco hit ever since it was released by The Village People all the way back in 1978. We're not saying it didn't deserve to become a staple of wedding reception DJs everywhere, but we absolutely are saying it's been overplayed to death and needs to be laid to rest.
Off all the gimmicky dance songs, "YMCA" is probably the most beloved, but that still doesn't mean you need to let your tipsy wedding guest embarrass themselves by doing it out on the dance floor. Plus, you know that the chorus is going to be stuck in your head for days afterward!
The B-52s are a great band, but, like every great band before them, their biggest hit is massively overplayed and overrated. I guess that "Love Shack" is vaguely on theme for a wedding, but there's still no good reason that it should show up on every wedding reception playlist ever.
Plus, people always forget how long the song actually is. At five minutes and twelve seconds, it's taking up way too much time on your playlist. "Love Shack" may be an oldie and goodie, but that doesn't mean people want to hear it at your wedding.
This is another wedding playlist staple that isn't bad per se, just severely overplayed—the Dancing Queen is dead and she doesn't need an invite to your wedding reception! ABBA has tons of singles that will get your guests up and dancing, so give this one a rest.
If you absolutely need some ABBA in your playlist, go with something tongue in cheek for the occasion, like "Waterloo." It will get your guests just as pumped on the dance floor, plus you won't be humming the chorus to "Dancing Queen" for weeks to come!
There's honestly not a better 1990s love ballad than Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On". However, putting it on your reception playlist, or God forbid, walking down the aisle to it is a completely bizarre (and overdone) choice. It's just not a wedding song in any sense of the word!
First made famous when it appeared in the hit movie Titanic, "My Heart Will Go On" is a song about keeping going even in the absence of your lover. That's a strange theme for a wedding, and most people associate the song with Leonardo DiCaprio freezing to death in the icy waters of the Atlantic as the Titanic sinks. Not exactly a heartwarming image for your wedding day!
Disco music is a perennial favorite at wedding receptions everywhere, but "Stayin' Alive" by the Bee Gees is one '70s hit that gets too much love at weddings. You hear it everywhere, and it's another one of those songs that will annoyingly get stuck in your head forever.
Plus, while the music might be peppy and uptempo, the lyrics are just plain depressing for a wedding. Lines like "Life's going nowhere/somebody help me" and "I've been kicked around since I was born" are not exactly romantic or a great way to start a new life together!
Let's just make a hard and fast rule about the playlist at your wedding reception—any song that's gone viral has no business being on there. "Turn Down for What" is the super-popular 2013 hit from rapper Lil Jon that has been annoying listeners since it was first released, and yet it still crops up at weddings everywhere.
Honestly, the song is just an excuse for people to act a fool on the dance floor under the guise of being "epic". This is one 2010s hit we hope fades from popular memory as quickly as possible. Until then though, this song will continue to annoy wedding guests everywhere.
"We Are Family" by Sister Sledge is an unforgettable single that's been popular since it was first released in 1979. Unfortunately, it's become too popular to the point of being completely overplayed and overrated. Sister Sledge wasn't a one-hit wonder, but you'd never know it considering that this is the only single we hear from them anymore.
Plus, the song is just too on-the-nose for a wedding. If you play this at your wedding, it's likely to make your parents feel all buddy-buddy with your in-laws, and we all know that's a recipe for disaster! This is one single you can safely shelve without missing out on anything.
"Gangnam Style" isn't just an overrated song for your wedding playlist—it's just an overrated (and overplayed) song period! It was fun and funny when this global mega-hit was first released in July of 2012, but it's been a decade at this point and this song still won't die!
Folks might still storm the dance floor when it comes on, but let's be honest, that's mostly because they're drunk—assuming you didn't skimp on the open bar at your reception! No one will shed a tear if they don't hear "Gangnam Style," but plenty of people will be annoyed if they do!
The writers behind "Uptown Funk" struck musical gold when they crafted this excellent hit in 2014. This modern take on old-school music genres, like disco and funk, will definitely get everyone up and on the dance floor. But that doesn't mean it's a great song for a wedding playlist.
The song's lyrics have numerous references to getting drunk and doing cocaine, which is probably not what you want to hear when you've assembled your friends and family to celebrate your new married life. At least save this one for a point in the night after grandma and grandpa have gone home!
Since 2010 “Marry You” has been the most spammed wedding song to date. To be fair, it’s totally perfect for the occasion…but there’s a point when a good thing gets ruined by being run into the ground like a runaway semi-truck driving off a mountain.
“Hey baby, I think I want to marry you.” First of all…you think you want to marry me? You better know before you come barking up this tree, Bruno Mars! There’s nothing worse than a shaky wedding no one is sure they want to happen. We’re just a little tired of this song…sorry, not sorry.
When Maroon 5, which is widely regarded as the next boy band to get the Nickleback treatment, released “Sugar” in 2015. Weddings haven’t been safe since! When the music video for this song was released, people were convinced that Maroon 5 crashed real people’s weddings for the video.
While that would be pretty cool, the truth is that was just a rumor. Come on, you know Maroon 5 isn’t that cool. Everything was totally staged, but you bet your biscuits they let you wonder for a minute if it was real for the publicity. All in all, we’re just tired of this song. Be a little more creative with your wedding playlist.
It takes a special type of singer to come out with a bridal hit. With the likes of Bruno Mars, John Legend, and Maroon 5…it’s not a surprise that Train had to throw his hat into the ring. “Marry Me” by Train came out in 2009.
The premise of the song is some creepy guy begging and hoping someone will say yes to his pleas to marry him. With lyrics like “Say you will, Mm-hmm, Oh, say you will, Mm-hmm.” Come on, that’s just a little creepy. Like most Train songs, it just comes off as whiney and way too emotional.
For being totally “Speechless” this song isn’t afraid to really go there. With lyrics like: “Starin' at you, standin' there, in that dress. What it's doin' to me, ain't a secret. 'Cause watchin' you is all that I can do. And I'm speechless”
Moments like this definitely happen in relationships, but come on…get a room! No one needs to hear about what that dress is “doing to you!” This song gets played over and over again at weddings. It’s the first dance, the aisle song, and the video recap.
Don’t even get us started on “A Thousand Years.” Made super popular by the Twilight saga, this wedding song was at every millennial’s wedding in the entire country. Here’s the thing, every girl starts planning their wedding when they’re like 13…the bad part? That song you loved when you were 13 might get played at your wedding.
That’s exactly our problem with this song. Listen, it’s a good song. Probably one of the best romance songs of the decade. However, we all probably know the lyrics without even listening to the song all the way through because we’ve heard it that much. If you’re going to play this song, don’t let it be the featured one. Just sneak it in at the end or something.
Do you know what’s worse than hearing this Beyonce song on repeat at every wedding? It’s being forced to be a captive audience to those absolutely cringy choreographed dance breaks the bride performs for the groom. This song is perpetrator number one on the list of songs we don’t want to see you dance to.
We get it, it fits the moment. You just got married and you’re “Crazy in Love” with your husband. You and all your friends have your hair and makeup done…and probably look the best you’ll look for the rest of your life. However, we really don’t need a full 8-count at your wedding reception. Sincerely, your guests.
No marriage should start out by “Livin’ on a Prayer.” Do you know what that means? It means everything in your life is falling apart and you’re desperately pleading with some universal force to put it back together? If you’re living on a prayer, you might need to get your eyes checked…because you’re totally missing some red flags.
This song has been out for awhile...no, like literally forty years. It’s time to give it a rest! You have a whole generation of Gen-z’s out there who have no idea who Bon Jovi even is. It’s time to leave your prayers at the alter and move on from this cringy wedding song.
If you’ve made it all the way down the aisle and you’re still looking for someone to dance with…someone who loves you…then we hate to break it to you, but you picked the wrong spouse! This song just doesn’t fit the vibe.
This song is sung by every drunk girl at the karaoke bar. It’s honestly just an excuse for someone to grab a mic and scream their heart out at those lyrics for two and a half minutes before Brittney needs her hair held in the bathroom and Haley is trying to go home with the bartender.
There’s just something not right about the concept of marriage revolving around the idea of personal possession. “Signed, sealed, delivered I’m yours” sounds a little like we’re viewing people as property in a relationship.
That’s never a good thing, and it’s definitely not a good way to start a marriage! This song has been around for awhile. While its a total hit with the older crowd, like them…it might be time for this song to retire.
Again with the weirdo possessive themes in wedding music. While “My Girl” is a classic, like most things vintage, those old-school themes just don’t hold up these days! Also, can you say overplayed? This song has had it’s moment in time and it’s past due for a hanging-up.
There’s no one alive that doesn’t skip this song when it comes up on a playlist. While it is “sunshine on a cloudy day”, marriage is about sickness and health. Through the good times and the bad. It’s not always rainbows and butterflies. Sometimes your girl is going to be a couch goblin and you have to be okay with that.
Would you walk into a room full of your friends and family and brag about maybe getting laid later that night? Absolutely not! So why would you play this song at your wedding? “We’re up all night to get lucky,” think of your poor grandma singing that at your reception…no thanks.
If you don’t want grandma and grandpa bumping nasties on the dance floor, leave this song off of your wedding playlist. It’s been so overdone (we’re looking at you Millennials!), so pick another Daft Punk song for your reception.
Listen, it’s not often that we come after a John Legend song. However, “All of Me” has, unfortunately, become a cliche. That tends to happen when your throw yourself at people over and over again. You need to give them time to miss you and need you every now and then.
There are plenty of other John Legend songs to bring the romance, so go for something more unique like “You Deserve it All.” You want people to leave your wedding asking about that one song that sparked the feeling, not just dredging through the same old songs we all know.
Here’s the thing…over 50% of marriages end in divorce, so this one probably isn’t your “At Last” one! This songs been played, and played, and then played some more. Honestly, this isn’t 1992, let’s get some fresh tunes on the wedding playlist…please!
We’re not saying this isn’t a good song. It definitely is. However, when it comes to putting together a giant reception for everyone you know, people judge you on the smallest details, so make sure they’re all thought through. Be unique, not overdone and run-of-the-mill.
Does anyone care for a little Elvis at their wedding? No? Didn’t think so. Listen, unless you’re like one of those weird vintage-obsessed couples, it’s probably best to leave the oldies off the playlist. Or else, every person over seventy may throw out their back trying to get down on the dance floor.
Let’s not put Nana in an early grave. Keep “Can’t Help Falling in Love” on your private playlist to play in your spare time. It’s a great song, but Elvis just didn’t have good luck with love. This song could be a bad omen for your entire marriage! It’s hard enough out there to make a marriage last, so better not make it harder.
Gathering all basic white girls! Your song is on! “Raise Your Glass” by Pink is the anthem of every drunk sorority sister since 2010. It’s better to be safe than sorry, so put this song on your bachelorette party playlist…or else your entire bridal party might go feral.
When we think of Pink…we don’t usually think about relationships working out in her music. Now if you’re looking for a nasty breakup song, she’s your girl! Hey, every artist has their corner of the market. John Legend gets love and marriage, Pink gets breakups and divorce!
