The Top Ten Worst Hit Songs of 2022
I've been wanting for a while to get back into making retrospectives on years that I haven't yet done lists for. I have so many thoughts on the pop music of the past 14 years that I want to get out of my head but just haven't had the time to. Well, that changes now. And we're coming in with a brand new list consisting of the worst hit songs of 2022.
2022 was a very important year in my life. I had ACL reconstruction surgery on my left knee in February of that year, got accepted to college in April, and finally left home in August. During that year, I started following the pop charts a lot closely. I guess I picked an absolutely abysmal time to start doing that because, to put it lightly, the hit music of 2022 was just awful. It felt like 2022 didn't have an identity of its own so it had to steal music from other years. This was an abysmal year for sampling, mostly because it felt like every single hit had some sort of interpolation of a classic song. I remember it getting very exhausting at points, and honestly, looking back, I completely understand that feeling. The worst trend of 2022 was the lazy, uninspired sampling. That doesn't mean that all of the music was bad, but it did make the bad music worse.
The biggest song of 2022 was "Heat Waves" by Glass Animals. That song was a 2021 hit and was on the charts for most of that year, even making its year-end Hot 100. In fact, a lot of the songs of 2022's year-end list were part of the 2021 one or were even from before that (specifically the Christmas music and another song I'll address later). This is one reason I wanted to adjust my criteria for the list, considering that there would not be nearly as many choices as there should be if I didn't. As I said in my Worst Hit Songs of 2023 list, any song that made the top 40 or stayed on the Billboard Hot 100 for an extended period of time is eligible for the list. Obviously that means there are a lot of songs to choose from, so I definitely want to make sure I do my due diligence and pick the absolute worst of the worst. And I think I've done that with the list I've curated.
So, without further adieu, here is my list of the top ten worst hit songs of 2022.
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#10
Writing this in 2024, it's pretty weird to talk about Drake. Once considered the biggest hip-hop artist alive, he's just considered a joke and a laughingstock now after getting utterly destroyed in the Kendrick Lamar feud. That feud showed the world that his skills as a writer and a performer are much more limited than previously thought. Honestly, though, I'm not surprised whatsoever. Drake's been pulling the same crap for a long time. Writing songs that have no heart or soul put into them, seemingly just searching for a paycheck. I once said that Drake's music sounds A.I.-generated, and I stand by that. That's not something I like to say about anybody's work, but there's really no other way to describe Drake. So it shouldn't come as a surprise at all that he had one of the worst songs of 2022, and that it rode on the same formulaic trends that described the year as a whole.
10. Staying Alive - DJ Khaled feat. Drake & Lil Baby
This song may list DJ Khaled as the main artist, but it's a Drake song first and foremost. Drake's performance on this song is atrocious. His vocals are auto-tuned so poorly they make him sound like a malfunctioning robot trying to sing the classic Bee Gees song this butchers. If you're gonna sample "Stayin' Alive", at least give it some life, some energy! This turns what was an upbeat disco song into a dour, boring sludge of moody rap. The lyrics are just bland, typical Drake nonsense about some girl he's probably gonna have a breakup with in like 4 days. The monotonous lyrics only make the fact that Drake sounds poorly programmed much more evident and obnoxious.
I know I've spent most of this section attacking Drake, but I also need to mention how terrible both DJ Khaled and Lil Baby are on this. I know Khaled doesn't really produce his tracks and is more of a marketing gimmick, but the production on this song is horrendous. The bass sounds swamped out to oblivion and the percussion sounds limp and disoriented. There's no energy to this beat and it becomes unpleasant to listen to quickly. Meanwhile, Lil Baby is here for some reason. His verse is somehow even worse than Drake's because at least I can understand what Drake is saying. Lil Baby is so mush-mouthed that he becomes incomprehensible most of the time. Then he sings the chorus and just brings the whole crap casserole together. Just an overall terrible listening experience from start to finish.
#9
Following the rise of Olivia Rodrigo in 2021, it was soon pretty clear that we were going to get some imitators. Not surprisingly, there were multiple hit songs in 2022 that tried to play off the style of Olivia's music. While I do think there were a couple that succeeded (Tate McRae's "She's All I Wanna Be", for example), there were others that just did not have the same level of authenticity. This next entry is one of those songs, and it overwhelmingly fails to capture its goal of replicating Rodrigo's appeal.
9. Fingers Crossed - Lauren Spencer-Smith
Lauren Spencer-Smith was one of the first Olivia Rodrigo imitators to come out of the woodwork. Following her 2020 elimination from American Idol, Spencer-Smith eventually went viral on TikTok in 2021 when she released a snippet of her eventual hit single, "Fingers Crossed". My main problem with this song comes from the premise. Spencer-Smith lists all of these things she did with this guy, seemingly building up towards some sort of climatic reveal or insult. Instead of a devastating blow, Spencer-Smith more just taps him on the shoulder. The line "when you said you love me well you must've had your fingers crossed" is one of the most childish lines I've ever heard in a pop song. And, I mean, she was 18 years old when this song came out, but that doesn't excuse it.
The thing I most notice is the lack of authenticity. Unlike Olivia Rodrigo in "driver's license", Lauren just doesn't sell the feeling of heartbreak she's going for. To me, it seems like she's trying way too hard. It seems her producers picked a key way out of her range, as she is struggling so much to hit the high notes in the chorus. Apart from that, the only other real issue I have with the song is the part where she mentions "daddy issues", which came off as obnoxious to me. I'm not entirely sure why, but that peeved me pretty badly. Watching my generation start to take over pop music is going to be awful, I can just already feel it. I will say, for the record, that her follow-up "Flowers" is much better and less cringey, so I do think she has potential. Hopefully whatever she makes in the future is better than this.
#8
So, one of the weirdest things I've noticed about the hip-hop of 2022 is that there is one name that feels out of place. He didn't have any other hits and hadn't had one since 2019 due to being incarcerated, and he hasn't had another hit since. I'm honestly not quite sure how this next entry even blew up considering its not even a song he made for his own album, but rather a song made for a Halloween-themed mixtape made by Sniper Gang. No matter how weird the circumstances though, it doesn't change the fact that Kodak Black is not just an awful person with a list of legal issues longer than a CVS receipt, but also an abysmal artist who hasn't released a song I've come even close to liking.
8. Super Gremlin - Kodak Black
Unlike the last two entries, I can understand why someone would like this song. The beat is well-produced and honestly is pretty catchy. So, why is it on this list? To be honest, it's mostly because I just can't stand the sound of this guy's voice. I know I called Lil Baby mush-mouthed in the #10 section, but Kodak Black makes Lil Baby sound like Alex Trebek. From the very little I could make out, though, it sounds like Kodak is addressing someone who turned their back on him and noting the missed opportunity they could've had by working together, and that this person is a coward for not working with him. Obviously, Kodak doesn't put it that nicely, instead saying, "you switched like a pussy, lil bitch". That line alone was honestly enough to put this song on the list just because it killed the momentum of the chorus and made it feel awkward and tainted.
Of course, the verses don't do much either. From Kodak using the r-slur to, once again, making a poop-related joke that sounds completely stupid and juvenile (I'm obviously referencing "Drowning", which would've been a great song if Kodak didn't flush it down an imaginary toilet), this song just has nothing going for it. It's always going to be hard for me to like Kodak's music considering he sounds like he's trying to eat seven pieces of shrimp while rapping, but he could at least try and make the lyrics good. This is just a misfire on all angles, and it baffles me that not only did it get popular, but people seem to think it's good. I can't agree with that.
#7
Much like the last entry, this next entry was made by someone with a, let's say, controversial past. Unlike Kodak Black's song, this person's past is the reason I dislike this song. It completely baffles me how the music industry has let this guy off the hook with what he did, mostly because the music he's made has been nothing but different shades of crap. Here's the thing, however. His hit that went viral in 2022 isn't complete crap, which is what makes it much more disappointing.
7. Under The Influence - Chris Brown
As I said earlier, many of the hit songs of 2022 were actually from previous years. That remains true for Chris Brown's "Under The Influence", which was originally on my Worst of 2023 list until I realized it was actually eligible for the 2022 list and swapped it out. This song was actually released in 2019 off the deluxe edition of Chris' album "Indigo", but went viral in 2022 due to TikToks that misheard the chorus as "body language". And, boy, there's actually a lot of good things about this song. The production is nice and the beat actually sounds immaculate, and I don't think Chris Brown does an awful job on this. So why is it on this list?
Remember how I said his past is the reason I dislike this song? Well, one of the lyrics in a verse is "make you cry like a baby, yeah", which immediately caused me to think of the whole Rihanna incident. How is it that you're making her cry, Chris? By punching her in the fricking face? Yeah, I know it's been years, but Chris actively chose to release a song with that line in it. And it's not like that's the only bad lyric. He also gives a shoutout to GoPro, which is such an obvious product placement move that feels phony and out of place. But most of all, this reeks of missed potential. This could've been a good song if it weren't for these small things, which makes it worse than the songs that never had a chance to begin with.
#6
The sampling crisis of 2022 will always be one of the weirdest things to me. I know I already discussed this in the "Staying Alive" section, but it was really just an epidemic of awful, lazy sampling. Even songs that already had songs definitively claim them as a sample were sampled. One notable example was Nicki Minaj's "Super Freaky Girl", which sampled Rick James' "Super Freak", even though MC Hammer's "U Can't Touch This" exists. That song at least had a purpose, though. It was made as a response to another song that blatantly stole an already popular sample. That song was this.
6. Big Energy - Latto
Mariah Carey's "Fantasy" is a very good song. Why am I mentioning that song? Well, it sampled "Genius of Love" by the Tom Tom Club and became an iconic hit. Almost 25 years later, here comes Latto and the infamous Dr. Luke to almost blatantly use the exact same instrumental and make it so much worse. Let's start with Latto herself. She has a fine flow, but I just don't buy any of it. Her accent feels overblown and gets grating throughout the song. What's worse is that this song is apparently about the "big d*ck energy" memes that went viral a few years before this. Unfortunately for Latto, that meme was outdated long before this song got popular. That somehow didn't stop it.
I also hate songs that get graphically sexual, mostly due to the awkwardness of it. This song is no exception. Latto describes herself as "juicy like Minute Maid" and other gross euphemisms that just make me cringe and feel completely awkward. I find myself confused on how a song like this gets used in Sonic commercials of all things. This song was made to be TikTok viral, which it was. People heard the catchy beat and didn't bother to understand how utterly abysmal the lyrics and performance are. I'd also appreciate if we stop letting Dr. Luke have hits considering there hasn't seemed to be any punishment for his actions. "Big Energy" is just a waste of space in pop music that doesn't deserve to even exist. Next!
#5
You probably notice that I haven't mentioned any country songs on this list so far. I mean, there were some rough country songs this year, but they didn't feel awful enough to make this list. Overall I felt Nashville was fine. Singers like Zach Bryan, Cole Swindell, Chris Stapleton, and Morgan Wallen all had good songs this year. So, which one of the big Nashville hits was bad enough to earn a spot on this list? Well...
5. She Likes It - Russell Dickerson feat. Jake Scott
I'm not entirely sure what I should say about this song. I've never liked Russell Dickerson, and his song "Love You Like I Used To" is another awful song. However, at least that one had something going on. This... this is just pathetic. This tries to be an intimate love jam but is too minimal to really be enticing. One melody plays throughout the back of this song that's kind of catchy but becomes annoying throughout the course of the song. The bass and percussion on this song sound awful. When the chorus starts, there's this weird beeping noise that makes my ears turn. The "ooh-ooh-ooh" that happens at the end of the verses and the "mmm-mmm-mmm" both flat-out disgust me. It's awkward and I just can't stand it.
I'm just not sure how this song even became a hit or hit the year-end list for that matter, as it only peaked at #63 on the Hot 100 while making the year-end at #91. A song with this little substance shouldn't be captivating people enough to hit the Hot 100 at all, but yet it managed to stick around long enough to be one of the biggest hits of the year. Rewarding this lack of effort was a mistake on America's part in 2022. It's one of the worst country songs I've heard in years and, hopefully, will be forgotten with time.
#4
I've heard rumors of the previous entry on this list being artificially boosted to the charts, but I don't take those too seriously because there's not much evidence to back it up. I know payola is a real thing and there's not really anything we can do about it at this point. However, when a song comes around that's so blatantly fraudulent that the story behind it was completely made up, I can't help but address it. It doesn't exactly help when the song has one of the worst choruses of all time.
4. Abcdefu - Gayle
Gayle is a pretty obvious industry plant. If you don't know, the story behind "Abcdefu" is that Gayle posted a TikTok asking people for song ideas, eventually responding to one asking her to write a breakup song using the alphabet with this song. The only problem with that? The comment was from a manager at her record label, which is pretty significant evidence that she faked the whole story in order to blow up on TikTok. Somehow, this ended up working. "Abcdefu" started getting popular in late 2021 and eventually hit the Billboard Year-End list of 2022.
Is that all I've got though? Is faking your song's story enough to be #4 on the worst list? Obviously not. Let me point out the obvious here. Making a breakup song about the alphabet is such a stupid idea I'm shocked that someone didn't step up and shut it down immediately. You sound like you're 12. Stop it. It's one of the cringiest things I've ever heard in pop music (up there with Jax sampling the Barney theme, which would've been a lock for #1 on this list if it didn't deservedly flop). The rock instrumental also got grating as the year went on and was more awful every time I listened to it. I do appreciate her sparing the dog, but that's the only bright spot on an utter turd of a track that shouldn't have ever hit the light of day.
#3
Welcome back to the sampling phenomenon! This entry features another sample that was used in a way that both butchers the original song and creates one of the most obnoxious listening experiences of the year. So what is this entry? Well, what if you combined the terrible sampling of Big Energy, the minimalism of She Likes It, and the terrible lyricsm of Abcdefu? You would get this.3. First Class - Jack Harlow
Jack Harlow as an artist confuses me. I've seen his live performances and they are just... awful. But then you listen to his music and it's... fine? Sometimes good? Well, apart from this. "First Class" is another part of the sampling trend that conquered the charts in 2022, and this one interpolates "Glamorous" by Fergie. The chorus starts off with a somewhat clever idea where he uses the letters to finish sentences, but he gives up halfway through and doesn't do anything else with it. Like... dude. Put in some effort, man.
The verses of this are almost abysmal. The line "pineapple juice, I give her sweet semen" is the worst lyric of the year, and it isn't even particularly close. But there's also the part of the second verse where he talks about "being the man" and then undressing? What does this verse even mean? It's nonsense that's meant to be filler for what's supposed to be a catchy chorus, but the instrumentals on this song don't have enough energy to distract from the awful lyrics. Just a mix of all of the worst qualities of bad music. At least "What's Poppin" was catchy.
#2
2. Unholy - Sam Smith & Kim Petras
The main reason I hate this song is for its sound alone. The instrumental has this dark, creepy vibe that just feels completely off to me. I also think it just sounds like complete garbage. Sam Smith has this tendency to oversing, and that's exactly what's going on in this track. Smith recruits Kim Petras on this too, which honestly just confuses a part of the narrative of the song. Sam is telling the story of this guy who's consistently doing immoral actions behind his wife's back, and I guess Kim is supposed to be the person he's doing them with? I mean, I kind of get it, but I didn't really understand Sam's role in the equation throughout the song.
I also feel like the song is trying wayyy too hard to be scandalous. This takes the Lil Nas X method of creating a song meant to offend Christian conservatives, and honestly I don't feel it worked as well as Montero did. The schtick is already played out. Conservatives aren't going to fall for this bait anymore. They already know that pop music isn't going to cater to what they like, so they're out listening to country music. Maybe if you make a country song they'll notice, but until then, just give it up.
And now, before I reveal my pick for the worst hit song of 2022, we have to talk about the songs that just missed out.
Dishonorable Mentions
DM. The Motto - Tiesto & Ava Max
DM. Boyfriend - Dove Cameron
I've got to say, this dark-pop style doesn't really work for me. Dove is clearly trying to go for something edgy and cool here, but ending the chorus on the line "plus all my clothes would fit" just kills any momentum it could've had. I just find it to be tedious and annoying more than anything.
DM. You Proof - Morgan Wallen
While I've liked a lot of Morgan's work over the past couple years, this guy is terrible at picking his singles. His most popular songs are consistently his worst (apart from "One Thing At A Time") and this one is no exception. This country-trap mix does not sound good here, and singing a song about getting drunk only a year after the whole N-word incident was not a good look for Morgan.
DM. Circo Loco - Drake & 21 Savage
DM. Super Freaky Girl - Nicki Minaj
This one's only not on the actual list because it's a response to "Big Energy", which is basically the same concept as this. It's a song about how good she is at sex that uses a sample of a song that had already been sampled definitively. Also, there are right and wrong ways to spell in music. The way Nicki spells "freak" in the chorus is the wrong way.
DM. Doja - Central Cee
I'm just gonna say this now. I do not, nor will I ever, like British rap music like this. The accent feels way too forced and takes me out of it. It completely makes songs unlistenable for me. Also, the line "how can I be homophobic? My b*tch is gay" is the dumbest thing I've ever heard in my entire life. And why is this song like a minute long? God, TikTok has completely ruined music forever, I guess.
DM. Get Into It (Yuh) - Doja Cat
Oh and speaking of Doja, here's another song I couldn't stand. I'm pretty sure this was in Taco Bell commercials, and it depressed me how a restaurant so good could put a song this awful in their ads. Like the song before, I feel like the accent Doja uses in this is too forced. The chorus is inane garbage and just doesn't hit at all.
DM. Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) - Kate Bush
And for my final dishonorable mention, this may be the single most controversial take I've ever had in my entire life, but I'm not afraid of backlash. I absolutely hate this song. I do not get it. I got sick of hearing it almost immediately after it started picking traction back up. I feel like Kate over-sings and I just don't think it sounds good. If this wasn't a song from the 80s it would've made the actual list.
And now, for the single worst song of 2022.
#1
1. I'm Good (Blue) - David Guetta & Bebe Rexha
Who in their right mind thought this was a good idea? Obviously, David Guetta and Bebe Rexha did, of course. But that's beside the point. This is the single most unoriginal song I have ever heard in my entire life. Sampling the beat of Blue (Da Ba Dee) could work, but what they did with it completely butchers it. Bebe Rexha sings generic garbage about how she's partying and having fun and being stress free. A premise like that could work if it wasn't the most prototype lyrics a song has ever had. "I'm good, yeah I'm feeling alright" is something a 7th-grader would write to parody the original song when they're bored in math class, not something two professional artists should be releasing as an official single!
What makes this song worse is that - it worked. This song was everywhere. I heard it at sports events, stores, and a lot of other places. And it just became more inane each time I heard it. This song is not on top of this list because it's the worst-sounding song, or has the worst lyrics, or is even the worst idea. It's on top of this list because, out of all the hit songs of 2022, it's the one that most represents why the music of that year felt like it didn't have an identity. I've talked about the sampling issue so many times in this list, and there's a reason for that. It never stopped. Corporations realized that the way to make money was to take songs that people loved, put them in a blender, and make a disgusting cash cow of mediocrity.
This is what American people allowed the music industry to become, and I hope that one day, we all realize that generic, nothing songs like this are exactly what they are.
Thank you for reading this far. If you enjoyed it, feel free to leave a comment below. I'll be coming out with more posts soon, including my list of the ten best hit songs of the year, so I hope you stick around to read those when they release. I'm Lando of the Landoman Experiment, and I'm signing off.
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