"I Must Have Been A Real Schmuck To Write That": 14 Famous Musicians Who Admitted Their "Most Regrettable" Song

Not all hit songs are well-loved by the musicians who created them — especially when they're a couple years (or even decades!) removed from the original release. Some artists have serious reasons for resenting their past work, while others are simple or even silly.

Here are 14 musicians who admitted which songs they regret recording:

1. In 2022, Charli XCX told Vulture that the song she most regrets is "Break the Rules," which was "so easy to answer."

2. Ariana Grande called her 2011 debut single "Put Your Hearts Up" the "worst moment of [her] life."

3. In 2019, Reba McEntire told Billboard , "There was a time that I [covered Beyoncé's] 'If I Were a Boy.' We had done that for [ Unplugged on CMT in 2010], and the record label really wanted me to record it and put it out as a single. I didn't feel real good about it."

4. In 2021, Bette Midler told Parade , "Everybody's bound to do some stinkers, like 'Married Men.' Please, God, shoot me now! 'My Knight in Black Leather'— save me!"

5. Pink named her SpongeBob SquarePants song "We've Got Scurvy" as her "worst single."

6. In 2023, Ed Sheeran told GQ that he "probably needed to write" his 2014 song "The Man," but he "didn’t need to release it."

7. AC/DC lead guitarist Angus Young called "Love Song" from the band's first album their "most regretable" song.

8. Blink-182 co-lead singer and lead guitarist Tom DeLonge wishes he "wrote better lyrics" for the band's first song together, "Carousel."

9. Drake began regretting "Weston Road Flows" after someone he mentioned in the song told him, "You know, it's not necessarily what you're saying about me. It's the fact that you said it."

10. Bob Dylan regretted his 1964 track "Ballad in Plain D," an eight-minute song about the dissolution of his relationship with Suze Rotolo. In 1985, he reportedly told Bill Flanagan, "I look back and say, 'I must have been a real schmuck to write that.' I look back at that particular one and say, of all the songs I've written, maybe I could have left that alone."

11. Pharrell Williams didn't understand the criticism for "Blurred Lines," his 2013 collaboration with Robin Thicke and T.I., until he "realized that there are men who use that same language [as the lyrics] when taking advantage of a woman, and it doesn't matter that that's not [his] behavior."

12. In 2010, Jay Z told the Wall Street Journal , "Some [lyrics] become really profound when you see them in writing. Not 'Big Pimpin.' That's the exception. It was like, 'I can't believe I said that. And kept saying it. What kind of animal would say this sort of thing?'"

13. Appearing on the Zach Sang Show in 2023, Tinashe said, "I literally block out that R. Kelly song ["Let's Be Real Now"] from my mind. I forget that it even exists. That is so embarrassing. That is so unreal that I even have a song with R. Kelly. That's so embarrassing."

14. And finally, similarly, following the release of the docuseries Surviving R Kelly in 2019, Lady Gaga expressed remorse over "Do What U Want," her 2013 duet with R Kelly. In a statement , she apologized and vowed to remove the song from iTunes and streaming platforms.