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28 Songs You Know The Words To (But Are Too Ashamed To Admit It)

Ah, Wham! Any band name that is also an interjection usually bodes well for the prospect of bubblegum pop, but “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” packs double the bubble(gum).  If the lyrics and vocal aren’t enough to convince you of that fact, check out the video, and note the custom t-shirts and choreography.

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Most Memorable Lyric: “You take the grey skies out of my way.  You make the sun shine brighter than Doris Day.”

Watch a video of "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"

 

Way back before her Idol days Paula Abdul was known for her own pop songs, and “Straight Up” was one of her biggest.  The track boasts the kind of mingled desire and sass that make it relateable, and all to easy to sing along to.

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Most Memorable Lyric: “I've been fooled before wouldn't like to get my love caught in the slammin' door. How about some information, please?”

Watch a video of "Straight Up"

 

1990s

When Vanilla Ice stormed the charts with a sample of “Under Pressure” and his “brand new invention,” rocking mighty hair, and a mightier attitude, he delivered a song that is not only hard to resist, it demands hand gestures and high volume.

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Most Memorable Lyric: “Alright stop. Collaborate and listen. Ice is back with a brand new invention.”

Watch a video of "Ice Ice Baby"

 

Not only did “U Can’t Touch This” become Hammer’s signature song, it also added momentum to the “Hammer Pants” fashion trend, and was a showcase for some of Hammer’s wild dance moves. 

Photo Courtesy: scottsdalefashionista.com

Most Memorable Lyric: “Yo, sound the bell, school is in, sucka.”

Watch a video of "U Can't Touch This"

Right Said Fred took conceit to a new level with “I’m Too Sexy,” and at the same time came up with a perfect, potentially ego-boosting, dance-in-front-of-the-mirror type of song.

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Most Memorable Lyric: “I’m a model, you know what I mean, and I do my little turn on the catwalk.”

Watch a video of "I'm Too Sexy"

A song that has a sort of taboo surrounding it, given its extremely upfront nature, “I Touch Myself,” is successful for many of the same reasons it is frowned upon.  The song is honest and humanizing, not to mention catchy, it’s hard to ask for much more out of any guilty pleasure.

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Most Memorable Lyric: “I love myself.  I want you to love me. When I'm feelin' down, I want you above me.”

Watch a video of "I Touch Myself"

 

 

When the Spice Girls made it big, the world was overrun with girl power, or at least the Spice Girl’s target market was.  Still, the Girls starred in their own feature film, Spice World, and recorded a respectable amount of hits, so they can’t have just been blowing smoke about female empowerment.  “Waanabe" has plenty of Spice style, and was so ubiquitous for a while that you didn’t have to be a 10-year old girl in 1996 to remember every single word today.

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Most Memorable Lyric: “If you want my future, forget my past.  If you wanna get with me, better make it fast. “

Watch a video of "Waanabe"

 

The natural inclination when in contact with a Barbie is to give said Barbie words and a story.  Danish-Norwegian band Aqua went farther, they gave Barbie a song, it even features Ken, but chances are good that Mattel probably does not endorse their message.

Photo Courtesy: PhiladelphiaWeekly.com

Most Memorable Lyric: “Life in plastic, it’s fantastic.”

Watch a video of "Barbie Girl"

 

The love theme from Titanic, enough said.

Photo Courtesy: cityweekend.com

Most Memorable Lyric: “Love can touch us one time, and last for a lifetime.”

Watch a video of "My Heart Will Go On"

 

The 90s were kind to boy bands, and the boy bands in turn delivered a steady stream of sugar-coated pop love songs that are easy to remember, and hard to turn off.

Photo Courtesy: Sydney Morning Herald

Most Memorable Lyric: “You are my fire, the one desire. Believe when I say, I want it that way.”

Watch a video of "I Want It That Way"

2000s

“Around the World” is the kind of song that can get stuck in your head, and linger there for days and days.  The fun thing about it is that the lyrics are so simple that the song can even be pushed into the minds of friends who are unfamiliar with the song, it only takes one listen, and it is embedded as deeply in their minds as in yours.

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Most Memorable Lyric: “Don’t know what to say. Oh not another word, just la la la la la.”

Watch a video of "Around the World"

 

Although Justin Timberlake  is now making chart-topping dance songs all by his lonesome, his days with *NSync were not without merit.  “Bye Bye Bye” is not only fun, Darrin’s Dance Grooves are on Youtube now, which means after a bit of practice anyone can bust out the routine and earn retroactive cool points. 

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Most Memorable Lyric: “I live for you and me, and now I really come to see, that life would be much better once you’re gone.”

Watch a video of "Bye Bye Bye"

 

In what may have been the wisest decision of her career, Britney Spears acknowledged what worked about her breakout single, “…Baby One More Time,” and then took it to the next level with “Oops!...I Did It Again.”  Say what you will about Britney, and her skills, but the girl can work a hook.

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Most Memorable Lyric:  “Oops! You think I’m in love; that I’m sent from above. I’m not that innocent.”

Watch a video of "Oops!... I Did It Again"

 

The Darkness and their single, “I Believe In A Thing Called Love” were such a contrast in style to the Top 40 hits that dominated the United States in 2003, that it is easy to dismiss them as a novelty, but the track is self-aware and fun.

Photo Courtesy: last.fm

Most Memorable Lyric: “Can’t explain all the feelings that you’re making me feel.  My heart’s in overdrive and you’re behind the steering wheel.”

Watch a video of "I Believe In A Thing Called Love"

 

“Pocketful of Sunshine” is just one of those songs, it’s simple and sugary, and when you first hear it you don’t want to like it, and maybe you never do, but eventually you stop fighting it.  This scene from Easy A demonstates that fact perfectly.

Photo Courtesy: hgkfm.net

Most Memorable Lyric: “I’ve got a pocket, got a pocketful of sunshine.  I got a love, and I know that it’s all mine. Woah. Oh-oh.”

Watch a video of "Pocketful of Sunshine"

 

These days, there is no avoiding the Biebs.

Photo Courtesy: davetesh.com

Most Memorable Lyric: “My first love broke my heart for the first time.”

Watch a video of "Baby"

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