# The most cringeworthy moment in pop music **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 11, 2016, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-cringeworthy-moment-in-pop-music/768258 "2016-10-11T17:48:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2016, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-cringeworthy-moment-in-pop-music/768258/1 "2016-10-11T17:48:46Z")
I am a child of the 80s and no stranger to bombastic love songs and movie ballads. And I don’t fault Phil Collins for turning to this genre to rake in some bucks. But I have had cause to hear Separate Lives a few times lately and I find the “ooo” at about 2:20 to be one of the more cringeworthy syllables uttered in a song. Yours? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2016, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-cringeworthy-moment-in-pop-music/768258/2 "2016-10-11T18:10:31Z")
I would give my example, but the point would be rather moot. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2016, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-cringeworthy-moment-in-pop-music/768258/3 "2016-10-11T18:17:17Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > I am a child of the 80s and no stranger to bombastic love songs and movie ballads. And I don’t fault Phil Collins for turning to this genre to rake in some bucks. But I have had cause to hear Separate Lives a few times lately and I find the “ooo” at about 2:20 to be one of the more cringeworthy syllables uttered in a song. > > Yours? I actually liked that song when it came out. I hadn’t heard it in a few years though. And yes… it reminds me of someone. There is this [one](http://bit.ly/20Ms6AK) if you need one to hear. Thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2016, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-cringeworthy-moment-in-pop-music/768258/4 "2016-10-11T18:22:52Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I would give my example, but the point would be rather moot. Well, probably. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2016, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-cringeworthy-moment-in-pop-music/768258/5 "2016-10-11T18:35:01Z")
PS- …I guess there’s [this one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqdWTeXWvOg) too. I once dreamed I was in a castle with white marble stairs… and I looked across a room full of people with cameras to see her in a crowd. Oh. it wasn’t all _that_ magnificent of a castle. Just something from Newport…) ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2016, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-cringeworthy-moment-in-pop-music/768258/6 "2016-10-11T18:36:13Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > I am a child of the 80s and no stranger to bombastic love songs and movie ballads. And I don’t fault Phil Collins for turning to this genre to rake in some bucks. But I have had cause to hear Separate Lives a few times lately and I find the “ooo” at about 2:20 to be one of the more cringeworthy syllables uttered in a song. > > Yours? The infamous Video that Killed a Career, **Billy Squier’s Rock Me Tonight** : [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fR0j7sModCI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fR0j7sModCI) ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2016, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-cringeworthy-moment-in-pop-music/768258/7 "2016-10-11T18:47:03Z")
All things considered, I don’t think anything generates more cringes than [Jagger & Bowie Dancing in the Street](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9G4jnaznUoQ). If you have 2:57 to spare, please watch the entire video now. mmm ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2016, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-cringeworthy-moment-in-pop-music/768258/8 "2016-10-11T18:47:55Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > I actually liked that song when it came out. I hadn’t heard it in a few years though. And yes… it reminds me of someone. I don’t mind the song at all – it’s right up my alley. It’s just that “oooo”. > [@WordMan](#): > > The infamous Video that Killed a Career, **Billy Squier’s Rock Me Tonight** : [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fR0j7sModCI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fR0j7sModCI) Heh. Thank goodness David Bowie and Mick Jagger were already legends – they can be forgiven for **Dancing in the Street**. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2016, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-cringeworthy-moment-in-pop-music/768258/9 "2016-10-11T18:51:38Z")
There was that time Paul McCartney collaborated with a [Frog Chorus](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpevZ0-wUYQ). I know Macca is a massive pot head but surely someone should have had a word. ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2016, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-cringeworthy-moment-in-pop-music/768258/10 "2016-10-11T20:31:24Z")
In the video for Steve Miller’s “Abracadabra” the woman dancing spins around and crashes into the camera. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2016, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-cringeworthy-moment-in-pop-music/768258/11 "2016-10-11T20:33:41Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > The infamous Video that Killed a Career, **Billy Squier’s Rock Me Tonight** : [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fR0j7sModCI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fR0j7sModCI) That was the first thing that came to mind for me. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2016, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-cringeworthy-moment-in-pop-music/768258/12 "2016-10-11T20:39:32Z")
All of Minnie Riperton’s high-pitched screeches on “Loving You” were painful. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2016, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-cringeworthy-moment-in-pop-music/768258/13 "2016-10-11T20:48:08Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > All things considered, I don’t think anything generates more cringes than [Jagger & Bowie Dancing in the Street](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9G4jnaznUoQ). Oh god, I love that video. I can just hear the producers: “We did it! We scored Jagger \*and \*Bowie! This is gonna be great!” “Fantastic! So what’s left in the budget for the video itself?” “Thirty-seven dollars!” Also love the dirty look Bowie shoots Jagger at 2:18. My contribution: “Song she brang to me.” ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2016, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-cringeworthy-moment-in-pop-music/768258/14 "2016-10-11T21:10:41Z")
Sorry Steve Miller, but the detectives down in Texas know what the facts ARE! ---
**Author:** ![TCMF-2L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tcmf-2l/32/16553_2.png) [@TCMF-2L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TCMF-2L)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2016, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-cringeworthy-moment-in-pop-music/768258/15 "2016-10-11T21:12:34Z")
No hate for the totally natural and unforced giggle in **Big Yellow Taxi**? TCMF-2L ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2016, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-cringeworthy-moment-in-pop-music/768258/16 "2016-10-11T21:20:03Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > Oh god, I love that video. I can just hear the producers: > > “We did it! We scored Jagger \*and \*Bowie! This is gonna be great!” > “Fantastic! So what’s left in the budget for the video itself?” > “Thirty-seven dollars!” Aw c’mon, the thing was done for Live Aid, and the recording and shooting of the video was done in less than a day. ---
**Author:** ![LC\_Strawhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@LC\_Strawhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LC_Strawhouse)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2016, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-cringeworthy-moment-in-pop-music/768258/17 "2016-10-11T21:28:42Z")
My personal favorites - Canadian edition! Alan Thicke sings a horrible song at the NHL awards while someone screws up the display cards in the background. [Link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24svxMlLJMc) Celine Dion does Stevie Wonder in a glossy, minstrel show-esque performance [Link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JL4cfJLY2N0) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2016, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-cringeworthy-moment-in-pop-music/768258/18 "2016-10-11T22:16:50Z")
> [@TCMF-2L](#): > > No hate for the totally natural and unforced giggle in **Big Yellow Taxi**? > > TCMF-2L That’s what really sells the song. I hated the song until I heard Joni’s original. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2016, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-cringeworthy-moment-in-pop-music/768258/19 "2016-10-11T22:49:44Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > All things considered, I don’t think anything generates more cringes than [Jagger & Bowie Dancing in the Street](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9G4jnaznUoQ). > > If you have 2:57 to spare, please watch the entire video now. > mmm [It’s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_li_d_YviZ4) better without the music. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2016, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-cringeworthy-moment-in-pop-music/768258/20 "2016-10-11T22:55:44Z")
The worst part is I had shirts like the one Mick is wearing. :o [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-cringeworthy-moment-in-pop-music/768258.md?page=2)