You know how you get mad when you go to a concert and the artist doesn’t play the one hit song you really wanted them to play? Some of them just don’t care.
Here are 11 hits that artists eventually refused to play (in some cases, they ended up putting the songs back in their sets).
1. “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, Nirvana. The song was so successful, it kind of went against the group’s “counter-culture” reputation.
2. “(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (to Party!)”, the Beastie Boys. It was meant to satirize frat boy (slash) jock culture. But those people made it a party anthem.
3. “Big Me”, the Foo Fighters. he video for the song was a parody of a Mentos commercial, and after it came out, fans started pelting the band with Mentos when they played it. And they HURT.
4. “Stairway to Heaven”, Robert Plant. He was always kind of stubborn about prioritizing his solo material after LED ZEPPELIN broke up.
5. “Nothing Compares 2 U”, Sinéad O’Connor. She dropped it from her set because she felt she could no longer personally identify with it . . . so if she did perform it, she’d by “lying”.
6. “Mr. Roboto”, Styx. The song and the album it was on created a huge rift in the band that caused a split with singer DENNIS DEYOUNG. Since it was basically his concept, the remaining members ditched it.
7. “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”, Bobby McFerrin. Ironically, it no longer made him happy. He said, “I got tired of singing it.”
8. “Creep”, Radiohead. It became such a big hit they got tired of it. Also, it bothered them that some fans would wait for them to play it, then LEAVE.
9. “Shiny Happy People”, R.E.M. Michael Stipe thought it had “limited appeal.” The band didn’t even put it on their 2003 greatest hits album.
10. “My Same”, Adele. The song was about one of Adele’s friends, but they had a falling out, so she dropped it from her setlist. She put it back in after they reconciled.
11. “1999”, Prince. After New Year’s Day of 2000, Prince decided it was out of date. But he did bring it back for his Super Bowl Halftime Show in 2007.
— Jenn
