Line #127 Main/CharactersMostHatedSong


1	[[quoteright:400:[[Webcomic/{{Prideland}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ymca_prideland.png]]]]
2	[[caption-width-right:400:At least the [[Music/VillagePeople people of the village]] liked it.]]
3
4	->''Don't play that song''\
5	''That "Achy Breaky" song''\
6	''The most annoying song I know''\
7	''And if you play that song''\
8	''That "Achy Breaky" song''\
9	''I might blow up my radio''
10	-->--"[[Music/{{Alapalooza}} Achy Breaky Song]]", Music/WeirdAlYankovic
11
12	Maybe they just heard the song one too many times. Maybe it [[TraumaButton brings back bad memories]]. Perhaps it's in a key that hurts one's particular eardrums. Perhaps it's all of the above. Anyway, just hearing it will result in the characters doing things like shuddering, complaining, and covering their ears. The Character's Most Hated Song is a song that an individual in a group of characters absolutely cannot stand to hear.
13
14	Other characters may end up intentionally singing the song just to harass them. Often overlaps with EarWorm, because the character will be tormented by the fact that the song is not only detestable, but won't leave their head.
15
16	AcceptableTargets often go hand in hand with this trope. Could cause IncessantMusicMadness, and/or be sung by an AnnoyinglyRepetitiveChild. Compare MusicalNumberAnnoyance. This can occasionally be a SubTrope of TheMisophonic.
17
18	This is an in-universe only trope, not an AudienceReaction to your least favorite songs. Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease due to Administrivia/ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontLike policy.
19	----
20	!!Examples:
21	[[foldercontrol]]
22
23	[[folder:Comic Books]]
24	* ''ComicBook/SuicideSquad'': In King Shark's 2021 series, the titular character goes into a feral rage whenever he hears the children's song "Little Shark". His friend Defacer assumes it's because the song is "racist" to sharks, but a flashback later on reveals it's actually because [[spoiler:it was the song that was playing on the radio when Amanda Waller took him away from his family]].
25	[[/folder]]
26
27	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
28	* ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide'': One comic depicts "Music/CharlieParker's personal Hell", where Satan forces the legendary jazz saxophonist to listen to nothing but New Age music.
29	* ''ComicStrip/FoxTrot'': Paige once made the mistake of telling Jason that she hates the song "Macho Man" by The Music/VillagePeople. Naturally, he and Marcus wasted no time dressing up in a construction hat and headdress and singing it to her.
30	[[/folder]]
31
32	[[folder:Fan Fiction]]
33	* ''Fanfic/Ben10Unlimited'': Ben [[spoiler:upon returning to his old universe and defeating Vilgax once and for all with the help of his Kryptonian girlfriend and FoundFamily]], learns that he's become fairly famous in the years since he disappeared and that someone wrote a song about him. Said song embarrasses him and makes everyone else (even Kara) laugh, but Flash admits to liking it. This serves as a TakeThat because it was DiegeticSoundtrackUsage of the original theme song of [[WesternAnimation/Ben10 original cartoon]].
34	* ''Fanfic/CafeOfTheRound'': Artoria absolutely ''loathes'' the song of the Knights of the Round Table from the movie ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail''. Which is a shame because her knights LOVE it and grab every chance they can get to troll her with it.
35	* ''Fanfic/HardEnough'': Numerous older characters find PokéRAP to be disgraceful. Agatha hates it so much that she [[spoiler:wakes up from her coma to yell at Karen for playing that music to her]].
36	* ''Fanfic/PeekingThroughTheFourthWall'': In Episode 17, Epsilon hates the song "Barbie Girl" so much that he [[FauxHorrific screams and runs]] when [=MrTyeDye=] starts singing [[SongParody a parody of it]].
37	* ''Fanfic/ThisTimeRound'': The character Number One goes into an UnstoppableRage any time he hears "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down".
38	[[/folder]]
39
40	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
41	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}'': [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]]. Héctor makes it clear he is not fond of Ernesto De La Cruz's most popular song "Remember Me" that he tells Miguel not to sing it when the boy takes part in a music competition (though he states it would be too obvious of a song, his tone makes it clear it is more than that). [[spoiler: Then it is revealed that Héctor was the one who wrote the song and that Ernesto stole it from him, altering the tone and using it in a way Héctor never intended.]]
42	* ''WesternAnimation/InsideOut'': Among the many other things that annoy Anger, the [=TripleDent=] Gum song tends to set him off the most. To his frustration, Paula and Bobby often send it up to Headquarters for a laugh.
43	-->'''Anger:''' '''''DID I ASK FOR THE GUM COMMERCIAL?!'''''
44	* ''WesternAnimation/TheLEGOMovie'': Wyldstyle is annoyed by "Everything is Awesome" as President Business uses the song to limit creativity by making it everyone's favorite song in Bricksburg, Emmet included. [[spoiler:{{Subverted\|Trope}} as she's able to sing the song perfectly when forced to, hinting that she may secretly like it, and ''WesternAnimation/TheLEGOMovie2TheSecondPart'' reveals that she was part of the band that originally created it before she rebelled against President Business.]]
45	* In ''WesternAnimation/RobinHood'', Prince John becomes very angry when he hears "The Phony King of England", which the residents of Nottingham have started singing -- even his own CoDragons, Sir Hiss and the Sheriff, admit they find it catchy and entertaining. It's a justified example since the song is ''about'' Prince John, but his reaction is what puts it in this trope; his response is to ''triple'' the already-punishing taxes, which soon results in the entire town being locked in prison because they can't pay them.
46	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994'', when Scar is in command, he commands Zazu to sing something more upbeat than "Nobody Knows". He begins singing "[[EarWorm It's a Small World After All]]", and Scar yells, "NO! No. ''[[AnythingButThat Anything]]'' [[AnythingButThat but that!]]" It's a TakeThat to the Disney World ride. Some recent performances of the Broadway version have updated the joke to have Zazu sing "[[WesternAnimation/Frozen2013 Let it Go]]" instead as a similar TakeThat about the song's popularity overdose.
47	[[/folder]]
48
49	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
50	* In ''Film/{{Casablanca}}'', Rick Blaine can't stand to hear the song "As Time Goes By" as it reminds him of his old flame Ilsa who, in the film's backstory, abruptly left him without explanation.
51	* In the "AffectionateParody" of Casablanca and The Maltese Falcon ''Film/TheCheapDetective'', Lou Peckingpau can't stand the song Jeepers Creepers''
52	* ''Film/EuroTrip'': Shortly after Scotty discovered that his girlfriend Fiona was cheating on him, the boy she was cheating with wrote a song about it titled "Scotty Doesn't Know", which discussed the affair in graphic detail. This upset Scotty greatly, especially as the song went on to become an international hit.
53	* ''Film/GroundhogDay'': "I Got You Babe" by Music/SonnyAndCher temporarily becomes this for Phil Conners after waking up to it ''every single day'' during his GroundhogDayLoop. Overlaps with RingRingCrunch, as this is his alarm clock song. Eventually, he comes to accept it.
54	* ''Film/MajorLeague'': Rachel Phelps, the corrupt owner of the Cleveland Indians, cannot ''stand'' "Wild Thing", Rick Vaughn's entrance theme.
55	* ''Film/MarsAttacks'': The Martians hate the song "Indian Love Call" by Slim Whitman so much [[spoiler: it literally makes their [[YourHeadAsplode heads explode]].]]
56	* ''Film/ResortToLove'': Erica snaps at a woman on the street singing "No One" by Music/AliciaKeys because that was going to be her wedding song before her ex Jason dumped her. It gets worse when she's stuck as wedding singer for Jason and his new fiancee Beverly and they want "No One" as ''their'' wedding song. [[spoiler:She shows her CharacterDevelopment at the end by singing "No One" at Jason and Beverly's wedding.]]
57	* ''Film/SilverLiningsPlaybook'': Pat can't stand to hear his wedding song -- "My Cherie Amour" by Music/StevieWonder -- as it reminds him of his ex-wife Nikki and it was playing when he found her cheating on him.
58	* ''Film/VForVendetta'': Chancellor Adam Sutler orders Music/PyotrIlyichTchaikovsky's ''1812 Overture'' added to a government blacklist after V uses it as the soundtrack to his bombing of the Old Bailey. "I never want to hear that music again."
59	[[/folder]]
60
61	[[folder:Literature]]
62	* In ''Literature/AboutABoy'' (and the film adaptation of the same name) the protagonist Will [[IdleRich does not need to work]], instead living off the royalties of a successful Christmas song that his father wrote. Naturally, hearing the song in question is a BerserkButton for him (and was for his father as well, a composer who hated being pegged as a OneHitWonder).
63	* "Literature/AllYouZombies": The bartender the Unwed Mother is telling his story to despises "I'm My Own Grandpa". This turns out to be foreshadowing.
64	* Creator/DaveBarry writes that the brain gives special position to the songs you really, really hate. His own most hated song is "Pineapple Princess" by Creator/AnnetteFunicello and it tunes up when he's trying to remember relatives' names.
65	* ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'': Kerowyn absolutely ''hates'' the song "Kerowyn's Ride", about her rescue of her brother's fiancee. Though in this case, part of her problem is that she has perfect pitch, and many of the people who sing it to flatter her ...[[DreadfulMusician don't]].
66	* ''Literature/TalesFromVerania'': Zal the Magnificent is a bard who periodically shows up to sing songs [[CourtMage Sam]] ''hates'', specifically "Cheesy Dicks and Candlesticks," which Zal wrote about Sam and his adventuring party at the behest of [[VitriolicBestBuds Gary]].
67	* ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'': The atmosphere of the Old Forest and the feeling of enmity coming from the trees is so oppressive that Frodo tries singing a song to cheer everyone up, the gist of which is that all woods have to end eventually. It backfires as the trees start crowding them even harder and when he gets to the line, "For east or west all woods must fail" one of the trees drops a branch on their path. Merry observes that, "They do not like all that about ending and failing" and advises Frodo to save it for when they actually do get out of there.
68	* ''Literature/TheMysteriousDisappearanceOfLeonIMeanNoel'': the title character, prior to his disappearance, despises the {{jingle}} for Mrs. Carillon's Pomato Soup (ToTheTuneOf "On Wisconsin"), saying that it'll be the death of him. [[spoiler:Many pages later, it literally is.]]
69	* ''Literature/ReadyPlayerOne'': Wade Watts hates "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" by ''{{Music/WHAM}}'' so much that he uses it as a sure-fire alarm clock.
70	[[/folder]]
71
72	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
73	* ''Series/BlackMirror'': In [[Recap/BlackMirrorWhiteChristmas "White Christmas"]], Joe absolutely hates "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day." It's revealed to be because [[TraumaButton it was playing]] when he killed Beth's father.
74	* ''Series/{{Haven}}:'' In the [[Recap/HavenS1E1WelcomeToHaven pilot]], Audrey risks her life while TeeteringOnTheEdge of a cliff after a SurpriseCarCrash to change the radio station because she is unwilling to die to Music/CaptainAndTennille's "Love Will Keep Us Together." It had popped up a couple times prior to this, much to her disgust. The song returns as a CallBack in the series finale, now re-contextualized for the [[spoiler: ReincarnationRomance between Nathan and Paige.]]
75	* ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'': Zigzagged with "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)". Because the tape is stuck in Marshall's car and is thus the only song that will play, Ted goes through stretches of both hating and loving the song on a long car trip.
76	-->'''Ted:''' I am so. Sick. Of this song.\
77	'''Marshall:''' Don't worry, it comes around again.\
78	'''Ted:''' What do you mean?\
79	''[CutawayGag to Ted and Marshall singing along again]''
80	* ''Series/MarriedWithChildren'': Peg sings "I Am Woman Hear Me Roar" because she knows how much Al hates that song.
81	* ''Series/{{Monk}}'': In the SickEpisode "[[Recap/MonkS4E3MrMonkStaysInBed Mr. Monk Stays in Bed]]", Monk is constantly annoyed by Julie's get-well card, which plays "Polly Wolly Doodle" nonstop. After Julie leaves, he stuffs it in a drawer, then under his mattress, and when neither option mutes the sound, he just throws it away. [[spoiler:The annoying song [[ChekhovsGag comes in handy during the climax]], when they need to dig through Monk's recycling bag in a dump, and since the song is ''still playing'', they can follow the music to find Monk's trash.]]
82	* ''Series/Sense8'': Nomi and Wolfgang first telepathically connect when Nomi is in a hospital, and Wolfgang goes to sing "What's Going On" by 4 Non Blondes at Karaoke, and first thinking it's a hallucination, Nomi comments she hates that song.
83	* In ''{{Series/Spaced}}'', Tim cannot stand "The Time Warp" from ''Film/RockyHorrorPictureShow''.
84	* ''Series/{{Superstore}}'': In "[[Recap/SuperstoreS4E04CostumeCompetition Costume Competition]]", Garrett goes insane having to listen to the annoying novelty song "Halloween Surfboard" over and over again. He speaks at length over the PA just so he can stop the store radio.
85	* ''{{Series/The Walking Dead\|2010}}'':
86	** Daryl Dixon hates the InUniverse song "Easy Street" with a ''very'' justifiable reason -- he is held prisoner by the Saviors for weeks with the song played extremely loudly in his cell for hours on end, especially when he tries to sleep. Ironically, later in the season, Eugene hears the song and likes it, though he doesn't have to hear it as part of torture.
87	** Eugene later meets a woman named Stephanie over the radio and they sing Iron Maiden together. Months later, after they've been in a relationship for some time, he learns to his dismay that [[spoiler:"Stephanie" is a spy named Shira, posing as the actual woman he spoke on the radio with. And to rub it in further, Shira's boss Lance tells him that she actually hates Iron Maiden.]]
88	[[/folder]]
89
90	[[folder:Music]]
91	* Music/WeirdAlYankovic: "[[Music/{{Alapalooza}} Achy Breaky Song]]" is about the singer's hatred for "Achy Breaky Heart" by Music/BillyRayCyrus (as well as a parody of the song). The singer lists lesser-regarded musical artists he'd still rather listen to, as well as fates he WouldRatherSuffer, including getting tied to a chair and then kicked down the stairs, as well as having a pitchfork shoved through his brain.
92	* After "Elmo & Patsy" broke up, Elmo released a follow-up song to their novelty hit "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" called "Don't Make Me Play That 'Grandma' Song Again." In it, he takes on the persona of a radio deejay who hates the original because of Grandma's suffering and the fact that "that Elmo guy" can't sing. He begs his station manager:
93	-->''Oh no, don't make me play that "Grandma" song again''\
94	''Though that request line glows and glows''\
95	''Just as bright as Rudolph's nose''\
96	''I'll do anything you say''\
97	''I'll play them barking dogs all day''\
98	''But please don't make me play that "Grandma" song again.''
99	* In "Sangen du hater" ("The Song You Hate") by Norwegian artist Music/{{Katastrofe}}, the narrator doesn't want his ex back, so he keeps singing the (unspecified) song she hates to keep her away.
100	* Music/TaylorSwift: "Hits Different" from ''Music/{{Midnights}}'' is a BreakUpSong where the narrator cannot bear to hear a song that was used to be her and her love interest's favorite song:
101	-->''Each bar plays our song''\
102	''Nothing has ever felt so wrong''
103	[[/folder]]
104
105	[[folder:Pro Wrestling]]
106	* Wrestling/BobbyHeenan, in his role as a pro-heel commentator, once made a joke about this on an episode of Prime Time Wrestling (the precursor to ''Monday Night Raw'') when ''Real American'' (the theme song for Wrestling/HulkHogan) was playing during Hogan's entrance.
107	-->'''Bobby Heenan:''' This is my second-favorite song, Monsoon.\
108	'''Gorilla Monsoon:''' I'm almost afraid to ask. What's number one?\
109	'''Bobby Heenan:''' All the rest are tied.
110	[[/folder]]
111
112	[[folder:Puppet Shows]]
113	* At the close of every ''Series/LambChopsPlayAlong'' episode, Lamb Chop, Charlie Horse, Hush Puppy, and the kids start breaking out into "The Song That Doesn't End", which causes great distress to the host, Shari Lewis.
114	[[/folder]]
115
116	[[folder:Video Games]]
117	* ''VideoGame/AmericanArcadia'': The in-universe song "Don't Be A Fool" ends up becoming Trevor's BerserkButton. While he liked the song at first, Angela's repeated use of it in the days leading up to him going on the run have slowly caused him to hate the song and he grows increasingly furious whenever he hears the song throughout the game. [[spoiler:When Vivian advises him to play along with the script and admit he was never in danger, she says "Don't be a fool" to him, causing him to drop an AtomicFBomb and refuse the deal.]]
118	* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'': Played straight for the archer Sera and the song "Sera Was Never..", as she finds the song creepy and assumes it's Maryden attempt to woo her. It doesn't help that Sera, for the duration of her stay with the Inquisition, is living in the room on the third floor of the tavern, so after hearing the song one too many times, she gets fed up with it and smashes Maryden's lute.
119	* ''VideoGame/Persona1'': Nanjo can't stand the song playing at the Satomi Tadashi drug stores because it's an EarWorm. He has a point, as in the sequel one of the owners reveals that it's specifically written to brainwash people. And yes, it works, there's a guy literally incapable of leaving the store because of that song.
120	[[/folder]]
121
122	[[folder:Web Animation]]
123	* In the ''WebAnimation/{{Eddsworld}}'' episode "[[Recap/EddsworldHelloHellhole Hello Hellhole]]", the characters each get to see their own personal hell. Tord's personal hell is a jukebox that plays "Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows" on repeat.
124	* ''WebAnimation/StrongBadEmail'': Strong Bad receives an email from a sender named "sibbie" asking him to write a song about them, since he did the same for "fhqwhgads". Having had enough of senders assuming he will capitulate to their every whim, he angrily states "I will never, ever, ever, ever, ever write a song about sibbie!" The Cheat starts laying down a beat, and within a few minutes, the "song" has become a hit, much to the chagrin of Strong Bad. "Song About sibbie" makes it to #4 on a radio countdown, prompting Strong Bad to shout "I freaking hate sibbie!" The radio then announces #3, "I Freaking Hate sibbie!"
125	[[/folder]]
126
127	[[folder:Web Videos]]
128	* ''WebVideo/SMPLive'': Schlatt has a vehement hatred of the in-game music disc Stal that becomes a full-out case of EnmityWithAnObject as just seeing the disc makes him angry. However, ''playing'' the disc almost always ends in Schlatt reacting with violence or by getting as loud as he possibly can... [[SensoryAbuse which is extremely, given his low-quality and distorted "funny mic"]].
129	* ''WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic'': Critic really hates the ''WesternAnimation/{{Doug}}'' theme song[[note]]specifically the one from the series' Nickelodeon run. The theme of the Disney "Spanking New" run he does not really care about[[/note]] because it reminds him of his childhood mockery for sharing a name with the main character. Whenever he hears it, he goes into a screaming murderous tantrum.
130	[[/folder]]
131
132	[[folder:Western Animation]]
133	* ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'': In "[[Recap/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehogS01E011SonicsSong Sonic's Song]]", Catty Carlisle writes a song about Sonic, and all of Mobius starts singing it, which infuriates Dr. Robotnik since Sonic is his most hated enemy. It certainly doesn't help that even his own henchmen, Scratch and Grounder sing it even though they know it's a song about their archenemy. As retribution, Robotnik invents the Music Destroyer robot to destroy all music on Mobius and capture Catty so she can write a song about him.
134	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'': In "[[Recap/AnimaniacsEpisode30 Hot, Bothered and Bedeviled]]", Satan decides to subject the Warners to "whiny [[ProtestSong protest songs]] from The [[TheSixties '60s]]". It actually ''terrifies'' them.
135	* ''{{WesternAnimation/Arthur}}'': The titular character can't stand the "Crazy Bus" song, mostly because his AnnoyingYoungerSibling plays it incessantly. Other kids his age are OK with it.
136	* ''WesternAnimation/BestEd'': Buddy can't stand the music Ed listens to when he wears the "Happy Sandals".
137	* ''WesternAnimation/CourageTheCowardlyDog'': {{Parodied\|Trope}} and PlayedForLaughs. In "[[Recap/CourageTheCowardlyDogS1E7KingRamsesCurseTheClutchingFoot King Ramses' Curse]]", the eponymous character's second curse is very bad disco music. Even though the song is not that bad (even being well-received by fans), the Bagge family is quick to cover their ears and scream in utter agony as soon as it begins playing, complete with Muriel begging Courage to make it stop.
138	* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': In "[[Recap/GravityFallsS2E7SocietyOfTheBlindEye Society of the Blind Eye]]", Wendy loathes the summer hit song "Straight Blanchin'", to the point where she almost wipes her memory just to get the song out of her head.
139	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Jellystone}}'': "[[Recap/JellystoneS1E1YogisTummyTroubleGorillaInOurMidst Yogi's Tummy Trouble]]" sees [[ItMakesSenseInContext Yogi being given a nuclear-powered stomach]] and go crazy from his constant hunger, eventually eating the whole town... except for Augie Doggie, whose singing causes him to have indigestion. The town singing it from within the PocketDimension in Yogi's stomach forces him to vomit up the population of Jellystone.
140	* ''WesternAnimation/MarthaSpeaks'': Everyone (except Ralph and Bob) hates the ShowWithinAShow ''Mushy Duck'', but Mariella hates it the worst, ChewingTheScenery in her expression of hate, since she thinks the theme tune is annoying.
141	* ''WesternAnimation/OnceUponAStudio'': As all the Disney characters enter into a rendition of "When You Wish Upon a Star", Hades starts groaning and utters "I knew this was gonna happen". {{Subverted}} as he's seen joining in with everyone else at the end.
142	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS15E8MargeVsSSCCATAG Marge Vs. Singles, Seniors, Childless Couples, Teens, and Gays]]", Maggie becomes addicted to a Roofi song called "One, Two, Tie Your Shoe", and Marge plays it for her non-stop, much to the annoyance of Homer, Bart, and Lisa. Bart actually begs for Mrs. Krabappel to [[WritingLines make him write something on the chalkboard a thousand times]] just so he doesn't have to go home and listen to "One, Two, Tie Your Shoe", but she refuses, claiming everyone got tired of the chalkboard years ago. Meanwhile, Lisa tries to turn off the CD player by unplugging it and ripping out its batteries, only to find out from Marge that it's backed up by solar power as well, and Homer tries to smash the CD player in the middle of the night with a hammer (he hits himself on the head when Maggie begins to suspect his true motive).
143	* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'': When Cartman hears the first couple of words to "Come Sail Away", he's forced to sing the rest of the song due to some sort of Single Issue Super OCD. Kyle takes advantage of this on a long car trip, which makes Cartman hate the song (if he didn't already).
144	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Stanley}}'': Dennis the goldfish ''hates'' the GreatBigBookOfEverything's ThemeSong... so naturally Harry and Elsie sing it OncePerEpisode, no matter how much he tries to stop them or tries to get Stanley to open the book when he thinks they’re not around.
145	* ''WesternAnimation/VeggieTales'': At the end of [[OncePerEpisode every episode]], the cast will announce "It's time to talk about what we've learned today", and then a short ditty, the "What Have We Learned" Song, will play before [[LessonOfTheDaySpeech they can talk about the episode's lesson in earnest]]. Bob the Tomato, usually the StraightMan of the cast, absolutely can't stand that song. In some episodes, he tries to avoid triggering the song by whispering the phrase or just not saying it, but this always backfires. In another episode, Bob gets so annoyed, he silently goes off-screen and smashes the stereo playing the song to pieces--but the song inexplicably continues playing anyway.
146	[[/folder]]

Context Main / CharactersMostHatedSong