1. Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit
Some songs turn into massive hits, but not every artist is happy about it. In fact, a few musicians have admitted they can’t stand the very tracks that made them famous. When Nirvana released “Smells Like Teen Spirit” in 1991, it catapulted the band into global stardom and became an anthem for a generation. But frontman Kurt Cobain quickly grew frustrated with the song’s overwhelming popularity. He believed the lyrics were some of his weakest, even calling them “nonsense” at times, and disliked how the track overshadowed the rest of Nirvana’s catalog. Fans demanded it at every concert, which made Cobain feel boxed in by a single piece of work that didn’t fully represent the band’s artistry. Despite being their biggest hit, it became a source of irritation for the very man who wrote it.
2. The Beach Boys – Kokomo
“Kokomo” became a surprise success for The Beach Boys in 1988, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and bringing them back into the spotlight after decades. Yet Brian Wilson, the band’s creative genius, wanted nothing to do with it. He had no role in writing or recording the track, which was penned by Mike Love, Terry Melcher, John Phillips, and Scott McKenzie. Wilson later admitted he disliked it, feeling it lacked the depth and innovation that had defined The Beach Boys’ earlier work. Even some longtime fans criticized it as overly commercial and cheesy, far removed from the artistry of classics like “God Only Knows.”
3. Radiohead – Creep
“Creep” launched Radiohead into fame in 1992, but the band has spent decades distancing themselves from it. Thom Yorke openly expressed disdain for the song, often describing it as depressing and unrepresentative of their true sound. Guitarist Jonny Greenwood famously tried to sabotage the recording by adding loud, jarring strums, which ironically became one of the song’s most iconic features. Radiohead eventually stopped playing it live for years, frustrated that audiences seemed to focus on it instead of their more experimental and ambitious music. While fans consider it a grunge-era classic, for Radiohead, it’s the song that won’t go away.
4. Led Zeppelin – Stairway to Heaven
Few songs are as iconic as “Stairway to Heaven,” but Robert Plant has long expressed his dislike for it. He admitted feeling embarrassed by the mystical lyrics he wrote as a young man and has said he would “break out in hives” if he had to sing it again. While the song became a staple of rock radio and one of the most requested tracks of all time, Plant grew weary of its overexposure and the way it seemed to define the band’s career. He preferred performing other Zeppelin songs that felt fresher to him, leaving fans surprised at how little affection he held for their most beloved track.
5. Madonna – Like a Virgin
“Like a Virgin” cemented Madonna’s image as a provocative pop star in the 1980s, but she eventually came to resent it. The song’s runaway success shaped how the world saw her, defining her career in ways she felt were limiting. Over time, she admitted she was tired of the association and even claimed she wouldn’t perform it again for less than $30 million. While fans still cherish it as one of her signature hits, Madonna viewed it as a reminder of an early chapter she had long outgrown. For her, the song became less a celebration and more a burden of expectation.
6. Tina Turner – What’s Love Got to Do With It
When Tina Turner was first presented with “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” she didn’t want to record it. The track, which would later become her first and only No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100, felt uninspiring to her at the time. Her manager pushed her to give it a chance, and it ended up revitalizing her career in the 1980s. Despite its massive success and its association with her comeback, Turner admitted she never felt emotionally connected to the song. For her, it was simply a hit she happened to sing, not a piece of music she truly loved.
7. Frank Sinatra – Strangers in the Night
“Strangers in the Night” gave Frank Sinatra a Grammy and topped charts worldwide, yet he disliked it from the beginning. Sinatra reportedly considered the song corny and dull, dismissing it as one of his least favorite recordings. Even though it became one of his signature ballads in the eyes of fans, Sinatra himself would often perform it reluctantly and sometimes mock it during live shows. Offstage, he allegedly referred to it with colorful language that left no doubt about his distaste. For all its acclaim, “Strangers in the Night” remained a hit that Sinatra wished had never been tied to his name.
8. Guns N’ Roses – Sweet Child o’ Mine
“Sweet Child o’ Mine” is one of Guns N’ Roses’ most famous songs, but not everyone in the band was proud of it. Slash originally played the iconic opening riff as a practice joke, never expecting it to turn into a hit single. While the track helped make Appetite for Destruction a legendary rock album, Slash admitted he wasn’t fond of the song itself. He disliked the way the radio edit chopped up his guitar solo and often expressed that it didn’t capture the raw energy of the band. Despite his feelings, the song remains a classic fans insist on hearing at every show.
9. Cyndi Lauper – Girls Just Want to Have Fun
When “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” became a smash in 1983, Cyndi Lauper reimagined it as an anthem of empowerment, turning Robert Hazard’s original male-centric version into a feminist statement. While it established her as a pop icon, Lauper later revealed mixed feelings about the song. She worried it locked her into a cartoonish, “goofy girl” image that overshadowed her broader talent as a singer and songwriter. Over the years, Lauper has embraced its cultural impact but admitted that the song sometimes feels like a box she can’t quite escape, no matter how much diverse work she produces.
10. Oasis – Wonderwall
“Wonderwall” is Oasis’ most enduring hit, but the Gallagher brothers aren’t fans of it. Liam Gallagher often expressed annoyance at singing it live, calling it boring, while Noel Gallagher, who wrote it, admitted he didn’t understand why it became the band’s defining track. Though it’s sung at parties, football matches, and open-mic nights worldwide, both brothers have distanced themselves from the song, preferring deeper cuts from their catalog. Despite their complaints, “Wonderwall” remains a 1990s anthem that fans continue to demand, even as the Gallaghers roll their eyes at its lasting popularity.
11. Beastie Boys – Fight for Your Right
When the Beastie Boys released “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party!)” in 1986, it was meant as a parody of reckless party culture. Instead, it was embraced at face value and became an anthem for the very lifestyle they were mocking. The group grew to dislike how the song misrepresented them, often attracting fans who only wanted the rowdy image and not the rest of their music. In later interviews, they expressed regret about releasing it, with Mike D even admitting they wished the song had never been recorded. Despite their feelings, it remains one of their most recognizable hits.
12. R.E.M. – Shiny Happy People
“Shiny Happy People” was one of R.E.M.’s most upbeat tracks, released in 1991, but the band never intended it to be taken seriously. Michael Stipe described it as a joke song, and although it became a commercial hit, he later said he disliked performing it because it felt out of step with the band’s style. Fans may remember its cheerful sound and colorful video, but R.E.M. quickly distanced themselves from it. The track was left off their 2003 greatest hits album, with the band openly acknowledging it was never meant to define their career.
13. Neil Young – Heart of Gold
Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold” became his first and only No. 1 single in 1972, but the folk-rock success left him feeling boxed in. Young admitted the song pushed him into the mainstream spotlight, something he was never comfortable with. He described it as making him “middle of the road” musically, which wasn’t where he wanted to be. Soon after, he shifted to darker and more experimental music, intentionally moving away from the accessible style that had made the track so popular. While fans adore “Heart of Gold,” Young himself has always seen it as a song that didn’t truly reflect his artistic spirit.
14. James Blunt – You’re Beautiful
James Blunt’s 2005 hit “You’re Beautiful” turned him into a household name, but he later admitted he grew tired of it quickly. The song was massively overplayed on radio and TV, to the point that Blunt himself joked about how annoying it had become. He explained that while it was a heartfelt ballad, it eventually got reduced to a cliché, overshadowing the rest of his music. Blunt has leaned into humor when discussing it, once suggesting he’d rather people forget it altogether. For him, the track became a reminder of how fame can hinge on one song, even when the artist wants to move on.
15. Lorde – Royals
Lorde was only 16 when she wrote and recorded “Royals,” and it became an international sensation almost overnight. The song won her Grammy Awards and established her as a rising pop star, but as she grew older, she admitted to cringing at parts of it. Lorde has said she feels she has outgrown the song and no longer connects to the perspective of her teenage self who wrote it. While she respects what it did for her career, she prefers not to revisit it often, focusing instead on more mature work. Fans may still love it, but for Lorde, it’s a track that belongs firmly in her past.
16. Vanilla Ice – Ice Ice Baby
“Ice Ice Baby” made Vanilla Ice an overnight star in 1990, becoming the first hip-hop single to top the Billboard Hot 100. But the sudden fame also turned him into a cultural punchline, with critics dismissing him as a one-hit wonder. Over time, he admitted he resented the song, feeling trapped by its success and the ridicule that followed. In a dramatic moment years later, he even destroyed the master tape on live television to show how much he wanted to move on. While audiences still treat it as a nostalgic guilty pleasure, for Vanilla Ice, the song represents both the height of his success and the shadow he could never escape.
This story 16 Hit Songs Fans Loved But the Artists Didn’t was first published on Daily FETCH
