The year 2012 has been a great one for those us who immersed ourselves in the EDM scene. We got a lot of great music, both locally and internationally -- but that doesn't mean there wasn't a plethora of crap released alongside the worthwhile. To honor those lackluster moments, Backbeat culled the bottom of the YouTube ocean to put together the ten worst EDM songs of 2012. Let us know what you hated most in the comments section below -- and, more important, what you loved.
See also: - The ten best hip-hop Christmas songs - The ten worst hip-hop Christmas songs - Ten sad, strange and sexy Christmas songs
10. Swedish House Mafia's "Don't You Worry Child" It seems that in order for an EDM song to be popular, the track must comfort and aid the listeners. Perhaps this is also the captor keeping the captive in containment: EDM fans get a bad rap because of the widespread recreational drug use that is so obvious at shows. By merely telling the fans that everything will be fine (once the drugs wear off, life is a different story), acts are essentially becoming their idols and mentors. This is dangerous ground, especially when you are a trio of Swedes who just broke up to make more money working on your solo projects.
9. Krewella's "Alive" Krewella is an anomaly simply because its live show is three people on stage, yet none of them are singing, and only one of them is mixing. What's the big deal? The vocals are obviously overworked and overproduced, and you never hear them sing live. How do we know it's even their voices and not some ghost-vocalist who just gets a royalty check for singing on the track? We just trust them? And have you seen this video? It's like a bad Ke$ha blackout, except there's no glitter or unicorns, and it's impossible to distinguish between who is singing or when. 8. Avicii's "Two Million" Do you know how many songs Avicii has released this year? Like, three. This is one of them, and it celebrated reaching two million likes on Facebook. If this is what two million views sounds like, I'd hate to see what happens when this "prodigy" reaches three million: Record your vacuum cleaner while running a bag full of change in your dryer, then kick the side of the dryer, and BAM!, you'll have the next Avicii hit.
7. Knife Party's "Internet Friends" This is perhaps the most confusing song ever played at a rave in that it had everyone and their friends checking their pockets for a phone call, then thinking the DJs had a phone plugged in, then realizing that it was all a big joke. The noises are painful to listen to, and the female British voice is obnoxious. However, it's understandable that legions of Facebook-addicted tweens love this song simply because it makes a reference to blocking someone on Facebook, which is what drama queens seem to live for in this day in age. 6. David Guetta's "I Can Only Imagine" (feat. Chris Brown, Lil Wayne) I once saw a three-key piano on the Internet with a message that read "custom David Guetta piano." At the time I laughed because it seemed funny. Had he simply stayed a producer in the EDM world, we might still like him, but he had to go and put the teet of the record executive's cash cow deep in his hockey-mullet-gullet and suckle away at the fame machine. Maybe if he punched Chris Brown instead of punching the keys we could all appreciate this song a bit more.
5. Borgore feat. Miley Cyrus's "Decisions" Miley Cyrus has no place in the world of EDM, and I'm pretty sure Billy Ray would agree with me on this. This woman only loves cake when it comes in the form of paychecks, and she probably got a fat one for this song. 4. Steve Aoki's "Livin' My Love" (feat. LMFAO and NERVO) There were many tragedies this year, but nothing almost balanced all those natural disasters out quite like LMFAO finally breaking up and not making music anymore. As the opposite of King Midas, everything these two touch turns into a complete pile of crap, hence the reason they are listed on our worst songs list. Aoki, in all his strange phenom-fame, must have somehow been drugged and coaxed into making this aural garbage for a high price, because the song sucks, and is not like most Aoki tracks that actually perpetuate dancing.
3. Skrillex and Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley's "Make It Bun Dem" Skrillex is undoubtedly the ambassador of mainstream dubstep to the masses. He brought a new sound that somehow resonated with kids, thus spawning a massive draw to EDM for everyone and their fat-walleted business partners. However, "Make it Bun Dem" is a weak attempt at merging reggae with his love of teeth-clenching noise, and it's more or less a clear indicator that his reign as Dr. Dubstep might be over. He'll still sell out shows thanks to his other songs, but this one? This one hurts to listen to. 2. Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know" (Tiesto Remix) Kimbra's voice is lost in the pitched notes, while Gotye's heartfelt sadness is lost in the hype. Tiesto, you are a remarkable jerk for remixing this song, and I look forward to your demise. This is a prime example of taking a popular song and remixing it simply because you know everyone knows the lyrics and will overlook the terrible quality of the new version.
1. Psy's "Gangnam Style" If ever people were looking for a reason to hate EDM, Psy gave one to the masses. "Gangnam Style" went viral like Avian flu and infected all mixes and remixing DJs around the world. It's funny for a minute, but after you realize that the song is a terrible concoction of K-pop and American lyrics that just happen to work with the song structure, the luster is lost.
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