ESPN’s FiveThiryEight.com—a website that uses statistical analysis to tell stories about politics, sports, science, music and pop culture—recently put together an interesting post: The Ultimate Playlist of Banned Wedding Songs. And wouldn’t ya know it, there are a few country songs on the list.
To create the list, FiveThirtyEight collected the testimonies of more than two dozen professional DJs on nearly 200 weddings to find out what the most commonly prohibited songs and artists are. The end result is a list of 48 songs that couples most frequently banned from their wedding receptions. FiveThirtyEight also listed the “most common artist” that performed the song and a percentage of the “share of weddings” that banned the song.
Songs with a country connection that made the list include:
- “Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)” by Big & Rich (#24)
- “Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd (#24)
- “Wagon Wheel” by Nathan Carter (#24)
In the grand scheme of things, tying at #24 with 2.2% of the vote means each aforementioned song was only on about four ballots, which ain’t much to gripe about.
I’d also argue that Darius Rucker’s version of “Wagon Wheel” is more popular than Nathan Carter’s rendition, nonetheless, check out the entire list below.
The Ultimate List of Banned Wedding Songs
1. “Chicken Dance” – [No Artist Listed] – 23.1%
2. “Cha-Cha Slide” – DJ Casper – 22.5%
3. “Macarena” – Los Del Rio – 17.6%
4. “Cupid Shuffle” – Cupid – 16.5%
5. “YMCA” – Village People – 15.4%
6. “Electric Boogie (Electric Slide)” – Marcia Griffiths – 12.6%
7. “Hokey Pokey” – [No Artist Listed] – 10.4%
8. “Wobble” – V.I.C. – 7.1%
9. “Happy” – Pharrell Williams – 5.5%
9. “Shout” – Isley Brothers – 5.5%
11. “Love Shack” – The B-52’s – 49.5%
12. “We Are Family” – Sister Sledge – 4.4%
13. “Blurred Lines” – Robin Thicke – 3.8%
13. “Celebration” – Kool & The Gang – 3.8%
13. “Cotton Eye Joe” – Rednex – 3.8%
13. “Dancing Queen” – ABBA – 3.8%
13. “Don’t Stop Believin’” – Journey – 3.8%
13. “Single Ladies” – Beyonce – 3.8%
13. “Sweet Caroline” – Neil Diamond – 3.8%
13. “Turn Down for What” – DJ Snake and Lil Jon – 3.8%
13. “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)” – Silento – 3.8%
22. “Hot In Here” – Nelly – 2.7%
22. “Mony Mony” – Billy Idol – 2.7%
24. “All About That Bass” – Meghan Trainor – 2.2%
24. “Baby Got Back” – Sir Mix-A-Lot – 2.2%
24. “Booti Call” – Blackstreet – 2.2%
24. “Gangnam Style” – Psy – 2.2%
24. “Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)” – Big & Rich – 2.2%
24. “Stayin’ Alive” – Bee Gees – 2.2%
24. “Sweet Home Alabama” – Lynyrd Skynyrd – 2.2%
24. “Uptown Funk” – Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars – 2.2%
24. “Wagon Wheel” – Nathan Carter – 2.2%
24. “What Do You Mean?” – Justin Bieber – 2.2%
34. “All of Me” – John Legend – 1.6%
34. “Bohemian Rhapsody” – Queen – 1.6%
34. “Brown Eyed Girl” – Van Morrison – 1.6%
34. “Call Me Maybe” – Carly Rae Jepsen – 1.6%
34. “Footloose” – Kenny Loggins – 1.6%
34. “Get Low” – Lil Jon – 1.6%
34. “Hey Ya!” – Outkast – 1.6%
34. “Hotline Bling” – Drake – 1.6%
34. “I Will Survive” – Gloria Gaynor – 1.6%
34. “My Heart Will Go On” – Celine Dion – 1.6%
34. “SexyBack” – Justin Timberlake – 1.6%
34. “Shake It Off” – Taylor Swift – 1.6%
34. “Sugar” – Maroon 5 – 1.6%
34. “Total Eclipse of the Heart” – Bonnie Tyler – 1.6%
34. “You Shook Me All Night Long” – AC/DC – 1.6%
