# Worst Vocal Performance On A Recorded Song? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 16, 2017, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-vocal-performance-on-a-recorded-song/801812 "2017-11-16T22:55:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2017, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-vocal-performance-on-a-recorded-song/801812/41 "2017-11-17T18:44:44Z")
> [@Asimovian](#): > > The sad thing is, when I’m not paying much attention to it, I actually like this song. But holy God. She can’t sing, and she fills space in what is already a short song by literally doubling every single lyric in the song. “Awful” doesn’t really cover it. > > Also, this thread caused me to watch the video for the first time. Didn’t help. > > [M.I.A. - Paper Planes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewRjZoRtu0Y) Weird! I don’t hear it at all. Maybe I feel as if she’s not singing but rapping? But she is singing, there are different notes. But I don’t hear it as bad singing, it’s just…MIA. I also don’t know about “Louie, Louie.” I feel like that was proto-punk. I don’t expect any punk to sound in tune or intelligible. Actually if you go backwards from it into blues, I don’t expect guitar-driven blues to be intelligible either. Maybe “Louie, Louie” just throws us off because it comes during an era of crisp pop-rock. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2017, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-vocal-performance-on-a-recorded-song/801812/42 "2017-11-17T22:01:20Z")
> [@golffan1963](#): > > My vote goes to a song I happened to hear last night: Taylor Swift’s version of “Last Christmas”. Just gave this a listen. It’s a terrible song, yes, and Swift is pretty much phoning it in. But the worst performance ever recorded? Hardly. There are _so_ many worthier candidates. Here’s one off the top of my head: The Shaggs, _[It’s Halloween](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11_nsW151tg)_. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2017, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-vocal-performance-on-a-recorded-song/801812/43 "2017-11-17T22:59:34Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > Just gave this a listen. It’s a terrible song, yes, and Swift is pretty much phoning it in. But the worst performance ever recorded? Hardly. > > There are _so_ many worthier candidates. Here’s one off the top of my head: The Shaggs, _[It’s Halloween](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11_nsW151tg)_. It’s almost unfair referencing the Shaggs. 🙂 I kind of like them, but, to this day, I still have no idea what to make of them. They’re certainly a cult favorite. Even [Allmusic.com](http://Allmusic.com) gives their one album 4 1/2 out of 5 stars. ---
**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:** [November 17, 2017, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-vocal-performance-on-a-recorded-song/801812/44 "2017-11-17T23:13:28Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > There are _so_ many worthier candidates. Here’s one off the top of my head: The Shaggs, _[It’s Halloween](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11_nsW151tg)_. It’s actually really difficult for three people to play five completely different songs simultaneously. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2017, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-vocal-performance-on-a-recorded-song/801812/45 "2017-11-17T23:19:13Z")
How 'bout anything sung by James Young of Styx? Styx gets a lot of hate but Dennis DeYoung and Tommy Shaw are perfectly fine singers. James Young… not so much. Here he is singing “Miss America.” This version was released on their _Return to Paradise_ album. The studio version isn’t much better. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/gCMkl25iBEs/hqdefault.jpg "Styx - Miss America Live 1997") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCMkl25iBEs) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2017, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-vocal-performance-on-a-recorded-song/801812/46 "2017-11-17T23:26:02Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > It’s actually really difficult for three people to play five completely different songs simultaneously. 🙂 Yep, that’s pretty much an accurate description of every Shaggs song ever recorded. With out-of-tune instruments and vocals to boot. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2017, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-vocal-performance-on-a-recorded-song/801812/47 "2017-11-17T23:31:03Z")
Leaving out the obvious novelty picks, and anything by The Shaggs or Yoko Ono. . . Speedy Keen’s vocals on [Something in the Air.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8zmkzshUvE) Tab Hunter straining his range on [Young Love](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5LRe4xecZQ). Richard Harris, [Didn’t We](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_j1sR4mkn3o) Victoria Principal’s [processed whispering](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpHZuOQODrY) being carried by Andy Gibb. [Kris Kristofferson](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=men-059FGL0) (although maybe I should cut him some slack because it was live) And bless their hearts, but Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan should stick to writing. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2017, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-vocal-performance-on-a-recorded-song/801812/48 "2017-11-18T00:10:38Z")
Y’all have mere runners-up at best. Behold the glory of [The Sound Factory](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXNmrsBOWGA). Now granted they were Brazilian, but I don’t think switching to their native language would have improved things much. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2017, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-vocal-performance-on-a-recorded-song/801812/49 "2017-11-18T00:24:36Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Do you think she was riding Bonnie Tyler’s coattails? Is that even possible? Honestly, the only Bonnie Tyler song I can think of at the moment is “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” which distracts me so much with its freakin’ jingle bells that can’t really say for sure. Seriously, jingle bells? ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2017, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-vocal-performance-on-a-recorded-song/801812/50 "2017-11-18T00:41:37Z")
> [@golffan1963](#): > > My vote goes to a song I happened to hear last night: Taylor Swift’s version of “Last Christmas”. > > It is the WORST performance of any recorded song I have ever heard. Complete with her signature nasal tones, it’s shrill and from a non-professional standpoint, it sounds to me as if she is completely off key. It’s as if she went into the studio, cut the tune, told them to do with it what they want, and then got out of dodge. The performance is so bad, I’m shocked it was allowed to be distributed to the public. > > Agree, disagree, or provide your own examples…let me know what you come up with. It’s so weird that you brought this up today. Taylor’s performance in this song came up on another message board I use, too. A contributor there called it “bored.” ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Girlfriend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.girlfriend/32/193_2.png) [@Dr.Girlfriend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Girlfriend)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2017, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-vocal-performance-on-a-recorded-song/801812/51 "2017-11-18T00:50:53Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > I just heard Yoko Ono singing on “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)”. Not good. This is what I came in to post. For years I thought she was just a terribly off-key little kid singing. I was with my Mom somewhere one time and that song came on and I said something about why didn’t they edit out that awful sounding kid. Mom looks at me and says, “You know that’s Yoko Ono, right?” I said that made it even worse! ---
**Author:** ![Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/59ef9b/32.png) [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorkshire_Pudding)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2017, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-vocal-performance-on-a-recorded-song/801812/52 "2017-11-18T01:09:26Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > Gotta go with a classic. “Louie Louie” had a certain class, and it had a beat. But I think it’s a vocal FAIL when you can’t understand at least one fourth of the words in the song (and you can’t, even when you know what they are). …and when the singer came in too early after the solo, realised after a couple of words and stopped, and they kept it in! The drummer may have tried to cover it with a quick-thinking fill, but it still stands right out. Good song though. ---
**Author:** ![Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/59ef9b/32.png) [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorkshire_Pudding)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2017, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-vocal-performance-on-a-recorded-song/801812/53 "2017-11-18T01:14:08Z")
> [@WolfpackJeep](#): > > “Bette Davis Eyes”…is Kim Carnes supposed to sound that bad? She reminds me of the time I had laryngitis for almost a month. ☹ When I was a kid I genuinely thought this was a Rod Stewart track. Well, I say “when I was a kid”. I realised when I was 29. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2017, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-vocal-performance-on-a-recorded-song/801812/54 "2017-11-18T01:21:16Z")
You haven’t heard bad until you’ve heard Wing. [Here she is](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chcEkWbUS90) singing Michael Jackson’s _Beat It_. Everything she does is this awful. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2017, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-vocal-performance-on-a-recorded-song/801812/55 "2017-11-18T01:42:09Z")
> [@WolfpackJeep](#): > > Honestly, the only Bonnie Tyler song I can think of at the moment is “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” which distracts me so much with its freakin’ jingle bells that can’t really say for sure. > > Seriously, jingle bells? I’m terribly sorry to subject you to this–other BT pop songs: “[It’s A Heartache](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPOy7TPjfkE),” “[Holding Out For A Hero](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWcASV2sey0).” Enjoy. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2017, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-vocal-performance-on-a-recorded-song/801812/56 "2017-11-18T02:11:56Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > You haven’t heard bad until you’ve heard Wing. [Here she is](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chcEkWbUS90) singing Michael Jackson’s _Beat It_. Everything she does is this awful. Yeah, she’s definitely … different. Never heard of her until your mention, but I kind of like Wikipedia’s [very understated summary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wing_(singer)): > [@](#): > > Wing Han Tsang (Chinese: 曾咏韓; pinyin: Zēng Yǒnghán; b. 1960), popularly known simply as Wing, is a New Zealand singer of Chinese origin. She is known for her unique singing style, which has drawn comparisons to Florence Foster Jenkins.[1] She is an example of outsider music. (Florence Foster Jenkins is one of the standard answers for “name the worst singer ever” much in the way William McGonagall is infamous for being the worst poet ever.) ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2017, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-vocal-performance-on-a-recorded-song/801812/57 "2017-11-18T03:42:25Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > The dulcet tones of [Mrs. Miller](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fw07CDid0JM). > [@bobot](#): > > Hey, did she also do a version of You Must Take The ‘A’ Train, or am I thinking of soeone else? She also made the charts with her rendition of Petuola Clark’s “Downtown.” ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2017, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-vocal-performance-on-a-recorded-song/801812/58 "2017-11-18T05:53:25Z")
Also in the Florence Foster Jenkins class is the wonderfully named [Sari Bunchuk Wontner](http://m.youtube.com/channel/UC7czCfBkDA85MgEzaMgmbLw). ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2017, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-vocal-performance-on-a-recorded-song/801812/59 "2017-11-18T05:59:13Z")
Damn, can’t seem to edit link: [http://youtu.be/bg1EnmIdugY](http://youtu.be/bg1EnmIdugY) ---
**Author:** ![caligulathegod](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caligulathegod/32/9685_2.png) [@caligulathegod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligulathegod)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2017, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-vocal-performance-on-a-recorded-song/801812/60 "2017-11-18T07:34:19Z")
I LOVE this band, but I have to vote for Big Audio Dynamite singing Rush. Especially this bit here. (“I wish I could sing like that.”) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/-h8zs898lr4/maxresdefault.jpg "Big Audio Dynamite - Rush") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-h8zs898lr4) My all-time favorite is a joke, but it’s still great. Mark Wahlberg in Boogie Nights. You Got the Touch and Feel My Heat. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/eYAAbbuEpnw/hqdefault.jpg "Boogie Nights - Dirk Diggler - You Got the Touch") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYAAbbuEpnw) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-vocal-performance-on-a-recorded-song/801812.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-vocal-performance-on-a-recorded-song/801812.md?page=4)