From the cheesy charmers to the hideously awful...
GIGWISE

15:11 24th June 2008

From the hilariously naff to the gut-wrenchingly turgid, Gigwise unveils the top 40 movie songs that we love to hate. Some of them are so cheesy that you will probably have a lot of affection for, while others are so bad we'd prefer to bury them in the darkest recesses of our brains. Click through and enjoy!

  • 40. Wheatus: 'Teenage Dirtbag' from Loser – When it was released back in 2000, Wheatus' track lifted from the poorly received teen movie Loser (starring Jason Biggs of American Pie fame) had 'novelty one-hit wonder' written all over it. Unsurprisingly then, the New York band have categorically failed to emulate it since.

  • 39. Chad Kroeger & Josey Scott: 'Hero' from Spider-Man – After achieving global success with his middling band Nickelback, Kroeger (along with Saliva frontman Josey Scott) was drafted in to write and perform the main track accompany Sam Raimi's blockbuster. The result? A cheesy-as-hell rock dirge that's only redeeming feature is the movie it accompanies.

  • 38. The Bee Gees: 'Staying Alive' from Saturday Night Fever - If there’s ever been three guys who can wear tight trousers better the brothers Gibb then we’ve not seen them. The high pitched trio’s most recognisable song has provided the dance floors of the cheesiest clubs with surely their most requested song. An ironic track for a funeral or a song to make you jump into an early grave? You decide.



  • 37. Billy Ocean: 'When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Gets Going' from Jewel of the Nile - Ocean's saxophone track hit number one in the UK and two in the US thanks to its appearance on the 1985 movie. Danny DeVito and Kathleen Turner even guested on the music promo video.

  • 36. Any song from Spice World - One of the worst attempts of a group trying to act. Spiceworld was a laugh out loud attempt at performing on the silver screen from the girl power pioneers. The soundtrack was equally annoying, with chants of spice up your life from every which way. Apparently Frank Bruno was cast for Meatloaf’s bus driver role, Bruno avoided a knockout punch with that decision.

  • 35. Cheryl Crow – 'Tomorrow Never Dies' from Tomorrow Never Dies - It’s always a risky move when you try to do a bond theme, especially when you’re a country rock singer. Sheryl’s attempts at hitting some outlandish notes on an otherwise smooth track provide wincing faces for whoever is unfortunate to take a listen. She sings the pitiable lines: “Darling you won/It's no fun/ Martinis, girls, and guns.” Must be a lot more fun then 4 more minutes of this song though darling.

  • 34. Hot Chocolate: 'You Sexy Thing' from The Full Monty – Okay, it's an old track that got a new lease of life (it also briefly relaunched the career of Hot Chocolate) thanks to The Full Monty, but back in 1997 when the hit movie was released, it was almost omnipotent. In fact, thanks to Full Monty fever you couldn't escape it, making it the classic case of a decent song being criminally overplayed.

  • 33. Queen: 'Flash Gordon Theme' from Flash Gordon – When you look back at the jaw-droppingly brilliant tracks Queen produced over the decades, 'Flash Gordon Theme' truly pales in comparison. Written for a slightly naff 1980 science fiction movie, it was never going be classic was it?

  • 32. Dokken: 'Dream Warriors' from Nightmare on Elm Street Part 3. - Sounding like a ménage à trois between Def Leppard, Iron Maiden and Foreigner. Dream Warriors is the far from menacing attempt from Dokken to provide a soundtrack for the third instalment of fearsome Freddy Kruger’s rampage. If you like your heavy metal a feather light tin then this no doubt will be on your favourite playlists.

  • 31. Sixpence None The Richer: 'Kiss Me' from She's All That – A song that's drippy and soulless to the point of nausea, SPNTR scored their only notable chart hit thanks to the forgettable 1999 teen movie 'She's All That' which was loosely based on the plot of My Fair Lady. Definitely a turgid song.



  • 30. Patrick Swayze: 'She's Like The Wind' from Dirty Dancing - Poor old Swayze is going through a rough time at the minute but nothing has been rougher on our ears then the horrendously cheesy song he made for every girls favourite film Dirty Dancing. The dancing may well be dirty but the words coming from our mouths might be just as filthy.

  • 29. Elton John: 'Circle of Life' from The Lion King – Apparently when writing this song for the popular 1994 Disney animation, Sir Elton was dared by a close friend to include as many clichéd lines as possible. Elt gladly obliged. The result was a syrupy song that's nowhere near as good as other songs the music veteran has in his arsenal. Still, it was perfect for the movie.

  • 28. Survivor: 'Burning Heart' from Rocky IV – Not quite as gloriously naff as 'Eye Of The Tiger', this is still an Eighties power rock monolith of this highest order. James Brown's 'Living In America' (along with Dolph Ludgren's 'If he dies, he dies” line) may be one of the most memorable parts of the movie, but Survivor's track is definitely the cheesiest.



  • 27. Paul Delph: 'The Fight To Survive' from Blood Sport - In 1996 Delph passed away from complications of Aids. Before he left us though he provided the soundtrack for the Muscles from Brussels' box office flop Bloodsport. The soundtrack is considered somewhat of a collector's item as it was only briefly released to the public. I'm sure we were all devastated.

  • 26. Irene Cara: 'What A Feeling' from Flashdance – Incredibly 'What A Feeling' scooped an Academy Award for best song in 1983 thanks to its appearance in Flashdance, perhaps proving that some on the panel had limited musical taste that year. While it fits in perfectly with the movie, the eighties power-ballad has just been hammered too many times by dodgy DJs and on TV commercials, that it just heralds bad memories.

  • 25. Kenny Loggins: 'Footloose' from Footloose – Two years before Top Gun's 'Danger Zone' and the cringe worthy 'Meet Me Halfway' from Over The Top, perennial cheesy eighties soundtrack maker Kenny Loggins made the infamous 'Footloose' for the film of the same name. From the opening guitar twangs to Loggins' nerdy chorus, it's a tour-de-force of cheesiness.

  • 24. Maria McKee: 'Show Me Heaven' from Days of Thunder – If you look down the track-listing to the Days of Thunder soundtrack, there are actually some pretty decent efforts in there; Guns N Roses' 'Knockin on Heaven's Door' and Joan Jett's 'Love Live The Night' for example. Yet, all these songs are completely overshadowed by the extremely mushy / slightly dirty 'Show Me Heaven.' Sweet perfection? We doubt it.

  • 23. Will Smith: 'Wild Wild West' from Wild Wild West – An abysmally awful movie naturally featured an abysmally awful song. From the moment Smith raps “wickety-wickety-wild-wild”, it's a lesson in turgid song-writing. The only surprise is that Will Smith's career didn't suffer at all after its release.

  • 22. Kiss: 'God Gave Rock And Roll To You' from Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey – Not content with their highly clichéd makeup, Gene Simmons and his band created the ultimate clichéd rock anthem back in 1991 to accompany Bill & Ted's second outing. Listening to it during the final scene of the movie though, it works perfectly.



  • 21. Aerosmith: 'I Don't Want To Miss A Thing' from Armageddon - When we asked our Gigwise writers to nominate songs for this countdown, a couple harked back saying 'this is easily the worst song of all time.' A bit OTT maybe, but you can't hide from the fact 'I Don't Want To Miss A Thing' is a gradiose rock ballad with no soul. We can hear the backlash already.

  • 20. Ronan Keating: 'When You Say Nothing At All' from Notting Hill – Richard Curtis and Roger Michell's romantic comedy set in a London suburb (that incidentally bore no resemblance whatsoever to the real thing) was sickly sweet enough, but ex-Boyzone star Keating made the stomach churn further with this wimpy ballad.



  • 19. Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart & Sting: 'All For Love' from The Three Musketeers - They may be music legends in their own right (well, maybe apart from Bryan Adams), but stick them together and you have a melting pot of blandness. We dare you to argue otherwise.

  • 18. Survivor: 'Eye of the Tiger' from Rocky III – “BAM.... BAM, BAM, BAM...” you know how it goes. Undoubtedly Survivor's greatest/cheesiest moment, Eye of The Tiger is unforgettable in every sense – overblown, slightly cheap,but highly lovable, it's exactly like the film it was written for.

  • 17. Phil Collins: 'Groovy Kind of Love' from Buster – We still haven't forgiven Phil Collins for ruining Genesis after Peter Gabriel jumped ship, but the soundtrack to Buster – and more specifically the laughable 'Groovy Kind of Love' – truly deepened those wounds. Okay, maybe we're over reacting a bit, but you can't hide from the fact that it's crap.

  • 16. Limahl: 'The Neverending Story' from The Neverending Story - One of the most uplifting and jovial songs on our countdown. Lead singer of Kajagoogoo, Limahl, provides the creepy feminine vocals on a track which is much like its name – neverending. The monotony soon kicks in and even a dashing key change can’t eradicate the sickly feelings, endearing as they may be.

  • 15. Michael Jackson: 'Will You Be There' from Free Willy – Nope Jacko we won't be there. The movie itself might be the heart-rending story of a young boy and his relationship with a captive killer whale, but the main song just leaves us cold as the Arctic sea.

  • 14. Bette Midler: 'Wind Beneath My Wings' from Beaches – You can't really fault Bette Midler's signature tune from Beaches in 1990; in a purely musical sense at least. However, when you consider the countless times that American Idol and X Factor wannabes have covered it, it kind of removes any shine from it.

  • 13. Roxette: 'It Must Have Been Love' from Pretty Woman – The Roy Orbison classic of the same name was the signature tune to the 1990 romantic comedy, yet it also spawned another monster in the form of Roxette's Billboard number one smash. A monster in every sense of the word, women across the globe have haplessly been trying to sing this shamefully on karaoke for the best part of two decades.



  • 12. Joe Esposito: 'You're The Best' from Karate Kid - Amazingly, British boxer Amir Khan used 'You're The Best' as his entrance music to a recent bout (a fight he convincingly won, of course), perhaps indicative of the affection that adults who grew up in the eighties have for this song. Sure it's a cheesy song - but in the best possible sense.

  • 11. Jennifer Warnes / Bille Medle: 'The Time Of My Life' from Dirty Dancing – Hearing the song that soundtracked the finale to the ultimate chick-flick is enough to make many women weep with sheer with ecstasy. Men on the other hand snarl at what their girlfriend has made them sit through – well, most of them anyway.

  • 10. R Kelly: 'I Believe I Can Fly' from Space Jam – The aural equivalence of someone scraping their nails down a blackboard, it's a wonder why anyone ever bought this let alone make it number one for so long. The movie wasn't great either. Harsh but fair.



  • 9. Starship: 'Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now' from Mannequin - Compiling this list, it's clear we've got a shit-ton of entries from the Eighties, yet when you consider that it was the decade of cheesy haircuts, songs and videos, then it's no surprise really. Starship's track is the perfect embodiment of all these things.



  • 8. Kenny Loggins: 'Danger Zone' from Top Gun - Drafted in to write a song for the 1986 movie starring Tom Cruise as a US navy fighter pilot, Loggins came up trumps with this gloriously tacky power-rock tune. You can almost see Cruise clutching Goose's dog-tags when you listen to it.



  • 7. Vanilla Ice: 'Ninja Rap' from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Taken at face value, 'Ninja Rap' is quite possibly one of the worst songs ever recorded. However, for some unbeknown reason we can't help but smile fondly whenever we hear it. So bad, it makes 'Ice Ice Baby' seem like a masterpiece in comparison.



  • 6. Whitney Houston: 'I Will Always Love You' from The Bodyguard - One thing's for sure, before her coke addled days Whitney Houston had a damn fine set of lungs on her; as 'I Will Always Love You Prove.' Yet, like a number of songs on this list, the track lingered at the top of the charts for far too long. We're not great fans of her mouth quiver in the video too.

  • 5. Berlin: 'Take My Breath Away' from Top Gun – Arguably one of the most memorable pop songs of the eighties, the love song, complete with exaggerated synths and sexed-up vocals became a global number one smash. You may be able to fault its musical merit, but you can't fault its enduring appeal. We won't mention the 2004 Jessica Simpson cover...

  • 4. Wet Wet Wet: 'Love Is All Around' from Four Weddings and a Funeral – A cover of the 1967 song by The Troggs, the Scottish outfit's soppy epic was number one in the UK for a phenomenal 15 weeks back in 1994. For us unfortunate Brits, it felt like 15 years. Still, it did little to take the shine off Richard Curtis' defining romantic comedy.

  • 3. Bryan Adams: '(Everything I Do), I Do It For You' from Robin Hood and the Prince of Thieves – Soundtracking the 1991 hit movie (in which Robin Hood curiously has an American accent thanks to some dubious acting from Kevin Costner), Canadian songsmith Bryan Adams laid the soppy sentiments on heavy with this titanic global smash. The song lingered at number one for seven weeks in America and 16 weeks in England.



  • 2. Julie Andrews: 'The Sound of Music' from The Sound of Music - While many reflect on the 1965 movie nostalgically and enjoy a good ole' sing-along, there are those of us who would rather forget it. Penned for the stage musical six years earlier, the very shrill words "The hills are alive..." are enough to make me for one, run for cover.



  • 1. Celine Dion: 'My Heart Will Go On' from Titanic - A big budget movie needed a big song and Ms Dion provided it with this unforgettable track. Unfortunately for those of us with a discerning music taste, it's unforgettable for all the wrong reasons. For others, it's the perfect song to listen to while a frosty Leonardo DeCaprio disappears beneath the cold Atlantic sea.

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