The music played at the reception is a big part of wedding celebrations, so couples can be very particular about which songs they want to hear — and which ones they don’t. FiveThirtyEight recently set out to find out which songs are most banned at weddings, talking to more than two dozen professional DJs to see what newly-married couples don’t want to hear at their receptions.
Topping the list in first place was the “Chicken Dance,” followed the the “Cha-Cha Slide,” the “Macarena,” the “Cupid Shuffle” and “YMCA.” The top 10 was rounded out by “Electric Boogie” (the Electric Slide), the “Hokey Pokey,” “Wobble,” “Happy” by Pharrell Williams, and “Shout.”
Among the reasons for these being banned are that many couples want to avoid line dances, and because of inappropriate lyrics. Interestingly, some of the songs on the list were on FiveThirtyEight’s roundup last year of the most popular wedding reception songs. New Jersey wedding DJ Gregg Hollmann told them, “Wedding couples want to be unique,” and some songs are perceived as being “overplayed, cliche and perhaps cheesy.”
Sometimes couples will ban any songs by a particular artist, with Justin Bieber topping the list in this DJ survey, followed by Backstreet Boys, Bruno Mars, Rick James, Rihanna and Sir Mix-a-Lot.
Check out the full list at: FiveThirtyEight
