What makes a good wedding unforgettable? Nine times out of ten, a person will tell you it boils down to a fully stocked bar and some pretty fantastic music. Thankfully, most couples make sure to invest in hiring a team of professionals, be it a big live band or experienced DJ, to handle the hard work of dance floor shenanigans for them.
Of course, newlyweds do have some say in the music played on their big day. And while you might think that mostly means choosing their first dance song, a lot of thought goes into figuring out those tunes they don’t want to hear played during their wedding at all.
FiveThirtyEight interviewed over two dozen professional DJs, who have played at nearly 200 weddings, to learn which are the most frequently banned wedding songs. Some tracks, like “Macarena” or the “Hokey Pokey,” might not be terribly surprising, but we would’ve never guessed people would be so against Drake’s “Hotline Bling” or Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies.” Below, the 40 most-commonly banned wedding songs in the U.S.
1. “Chicken Dance”
2. “Cha-Cha Slide” by DJ Casper
3. “Macarena” by Los Del Rio
4. “Cupid Shuffle” by Cupid
5. “YMCA” by Village People
6. “Electric Boogie (Electric Slide)” by Marcia Griffiths
7. “Hokey Pokey”
8. “Wobble” by V.I.C.
9. “Happy” by Pharrell Williams
10. “Shout” by Isley Brothers
11. “Love Shack” by The B-52’s
12. “We Are Family” by Sister Sledge
13. “Blurred Lines” by Robin Thicke
14. “Celebration” by Kool & The Gang
15. by “Cotton Eye Joe” by Rednex
16. “Dancing Queen” by ABBA
17. “Don’t Stop Believin’ ” by Journey
18. “Single Ladies” by Beyoncé
19. “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond
20. “Turn Down for What” by DJ Snake, Lil Jon
21. “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)” by Silentó
22. “Hot in Herre” by Nelly
23. “Mony Mony” by Billy Idol
24. “All About That Bass” by Meghan Trainor
25. “Baby Got Back” by Sir Mix-A-Lot
26. “Booti Call” by Blackstreet
27. “Gangnam Style” by Psy
28. “Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)” by Big & Rich
29. “Stayin’ Alive” by Bee Gees
30. “Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd
31. “Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson, Bruno Mars
32. “Wagon Wheel” by Nathan Carter
33. “What Do You Mean?” by Justin Bieber
34. “All of Me” by John Legend
35. “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen
36. “Brown Eyed Girl” by Van Morrison
37. “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen
38. “Footloose” by Kenny Loggins
39. “Get Low” by Lil Jon
40. “Hey Ya!” by Outkast
41. “Hotline Bling” by Drake
42. “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor
43. “My Heart Will Go On” by Celine Dion
44. “SexyBack” by Justin Timberlake
45. “Shake It Off” by Taylor Swift
