You might call them the worst wedding songs ever. You might think of them as cheesy wedding songs to avoid. You might think of them as great songs that get people to dance with you.
Whatever, the case, thinking about your “Do Not Play” list is very important when you pick your wedding reception dance songs. Figuring out what you DON’T want to hear is as important as what you DO want to hear.
For me, I think some DJ’s can go overboard promoting that they’ll only play “Non-Cheesy wedding songs.” If you want the Chicken Dance, I’m going to play the Chicken Dance. (And just this one little gem of a DJ memory for you today – I have seen plenty of situations where a couple asks for a song like the Chicken Dance, and their guests RUN to the dance floor because it’s part of their tradition.
There’s a group of songs (Chicken Dance, Cotton Eye Joe, Macarena, Y.M.C.A. Cha Cha Slide, Cupid Shuffle, Electric Boogie, Gangnam Style, Wobble and Back Got Back), that I’ll literally ask you about each on on your wedding planning form. (And you can designate “Bring it On,” “Play it if someone requests it” or “No Thanks.”) And I’ll respect your wishes 100%
Now, there are a group of other songs (Celebration, We Are Family, Love Shack, Happy, I Gotta Feeling among them) that have served couples and guests quite well over time. But now, for some people, they are just overplayed wedding songs. Personally, I’ll always want to hear what you think are too played out.
So here’s a list of 50 songs that are frequently cited as Do Not Plays.
SONG | ARTIST | |
1 | Chicken Dance | Sorta Crackers Band |
2 | Cotton Eye Joe | Rednex |
3 | Macarena | Los Del Rio |
4 | Y.M.C.A. | Village People |
5 | Cha Cha Slide | DJ Casper |
6 | Cupid Shuffle | Cupid |
7 | Electric Boogie (Electric Slide) | Griffiths, Marcia |
8 | Gangnam Style | Psy |
9 | Happy | Pharell Williams |
10 | Wobble | V.I.C. |
11 | Love Shack | B-52’s |
12 | We Are Family | Sister Sledge |
13 | Celebration | Kool & The Gang |
14 | I Gotta Feeling | Black Eyed Peas |
15 | Don’t Stop Believin’ | Journey |
16 | Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) | Beyonce |
17 | Baby Got Back | Sir Mix-A-Lot |
18 | Sweet Caroline (Good Times Never Seemed So Good) | Neil Diamond |
19 | Uptown Funk | Bruno Mars |
20 | Electric Slide (Shall We Dance) ’92 | Grandmaster Slice |
21 | Shake It Off | Taylor Swift |
22 | All About that Bass | Meghan Trainor |
23 | Save A Horse (Ride A Cowboy) | Big & Rich |
24 | Teach Me How To Dougie | California Swag District |
25 | Shout | Isley Brothers |
26 | Call Me Maybe | Carly Rae Jepsen |
27 | Blurred Lines | Robin Thicke feat Pharell & TI |
28 | Party In The U.S.A. | Miley Cyrus |
29 | Watch Me | Silento |
30 | Dancing Queen | ABBA |
31 | Turn Down for What | DJ Snake fea Lil Jon |
32 | Hot In Herre | Nelly |
33 | Friends In Low Places | Brooks, Garth |
34 | Sexy And I Know It | Lmfao |
35 | Ice Ice Baby | Vanilla Ice |
36 | Shots | Lmfao Feat. Lil Jon |
37 | Livin’ On A Prayer | Bon Jovi |
38 | Sweet Home Alabama | Lynyrd Skynyrd |
39 | Pour Some Sugar On Me | Def Leppard |
40 | Stayin’ Alive | Bee Gees |
41 | Shut Up and Dance | Walk the Moon |
42 | Hotline Bling | Drake |
43 | Gold Digger | Kanye West feat. Jamie Foxx |
44 | Hey Ya! | Outkast |
45 | Country Girl (Shake it for me) | Luke Bryan |
46 | Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit Of…) | Bega, Lou |
47 | Hokey Pokey | Anthony, Ray |
48 | Marry You | Bruno Mars |
49 | Twist And Shout | Beatles |
50 | Play That Funky Music | Wild Cherry |