40. Owl City: Fireflies (2010)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psuRGfAaju4 Distorted beyond belief. You cant get a sense of the true vocal behind Owl City because its watered down by an overabundance of auto tune. The production also overpowers the voice (well, whats left of the voice), being unnecessarily loud and overcomplicated. Hes going for the futuristic tinge, we get it. But nothing about the song jumps out as genuinely musical, and it appears as if the raw materials that put together this song have been abused and tampered with. The song would work much better as a stripped back, acoustic number; one that doesnt need to rely on musical tricks in order to get recognised. 39. PSY: Gangnam Style (2012)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bZkp7q19f0 The only reason Gangnam Style experienced the high levels of success that it did was due to its video. Admittedly, its quite a fun song, easy to bop around to. It ticks all the boxes of a gimmick hit, with its catchy production and subpar vocal. Regardless though, it works. But then all of that was overshadowed by the ridiculous video. Weve seen PSY try to recreate that success in recent weeks with Gentleman, but in the process has only emphasised that his popularity is not due to his musical credentials, but rather his ability to choreograph a dance routine. PSYs place on this list is largely down to the fact that people wont remember PSY for his music, but rather his videos which overshadow the music itself. 38. Iyaz: Replay (2010)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoG5jJ3E8rg The production to this song is admittedly quite catchy, but then Iyazs vocal performance leaves much to be desired. He always sounds out of his comfort, and when his voice isnt ridiculously strained, its very monotone and bland. When the production is stripped away near the climax of the song, its painfully clear how out of his depth he sounds. I cant escape the feeling that this isnt even his genuine voice. It sounds tampered with, and not in a good way. It doesnt match up to the production and, as stated, sound rather bored and lacking of any energy whatsoever. 37. A1: Take On Me (2000)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbCsIKI6HEU Where to start? I honestly dont know. The vocals are poppy, awful and just a whole boy band mess. The production is also give then bubblegum pop treatment, with some random futuristic noises thrown in for no reason whatsoever. As a standalone song its bad enough, given the quality of the vocal performance, especially the final verse which is beyond terrible. But then once you know its a cover of a truly great song, its even more offensive. I cant help but think Glee wouldve done a better cover than this mess, as at least half of their cast can hold a note. 36. Bob The Builder: Can We Fix It? (2000)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ec39ioAx4N0 I find it quite bizarre that someone (Im not sure who) thought it was a good decision to try and turn a childrens theme song into an anthem of sorts, but it was evidently incredibly popular. Its fun and the video features all the characters having a whale of a time on the big stage. The main issue though is that theyve tried to rock up the rather playful theme song, chucking in a load of unnecessary verses, and something that sounds a lot like auto tune, that dont serve any purpose other than to clock up a longer runtime.