The Hit '90s Song 28% Of People Consider To Be The Absolute Worst
The year was 1990, and with gangsta rap still a few years away from becoming mainstream, inoffensive pop-rap was the best option for any young rapper hoping to make it big in the music scene. Enter one Robert Van Winkle, who topped the Billboard charts with his very first single, "Ice Ice Baby." You probably know him much better as Vanilla Ice.
In our survey, "Ice Ice Baby" was tied for fourth with 14.89% of the vote, and much of the scorn may be related to how similar it sounds to a far more beloved tune — Queen and David Bowie's 1981 hit "Under Pressure." Per Rolling Stone, Ice defended his, um, masterpiece by claiming he added a beat to the main bass line to make it more unique. Naturally, that didn't hold up when he was sued for copyright infringement, and Ice ended up with a much lighter wallet after an out-of-court settlement.
As for the other song that shared fourth place with the Iceman, Aqua's "Barbie Girl" has been panned, especially in recent years, for lyrics that are largely seen as anti-feminist. In 2017, Bustle called attention to how the titular Barbie presents herself as a "blond, bimbo girl" to the libidinous Ken inviting her to "go party" with him. "[T]he fact that this is sung by a woman who is practically chirping with cheer makes the message feel even more crass and un-feminist," the outlet opined.
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