James Blunt Tops Stereoboard's Poll of Top 10 Most Loathed Artists
Thursday, 04 November 2010
Written by Rob Sleigh
Ever since August, when everyone was shouting about Axl Rose and his famous lack of punctuality – as displayed with the usual amount of arrogance at Reading and Leeds – we haven’t been feeling the love here at Stereoboard. In fact, it’s been quite the opposite. So last week, we asked you to come up with the person you dislike the most in music and we’ve been waiting with bated breath for the results to come in. Will it be Axl? Or maybe Liam? Or possibly even one of the countless “musical” delights that Simon Cowell and his X Factor have kindly unleashed on the world?
Well finally, the results are in and the people have spoken. But please be warned. If compassion and the milk of human kindness are your thing, you might want to look away now.
NUMBER 10: The Crazy Frog
Come on, people! It’s been five years. Can’t we all just let this one go? Forgive and forget? Apparently not. It was way back in 2005 that this digitally-animated amphibian reached Number One with its cover of ‘Axel F’ (aka The Song That Spawned a Million Ring Tones) and it is clear that the wound is still sore. People obviously haven’t forgotten why this creature was originally christened The Annoying Thing. Just thank your lucky stars that you don’t live in France or New Zealand, where Crazy Frog has hit the top spot on no less than three separate occasions.
NUMBER 9: Ja Rule
Despite not releasing an album since 2004’s imaginatively-titled ‘R.U.L.E.’, it seems that this New York rapper is still high up on many people’s hate list. Since the release of his debut album ‘Venni Vetti Vecci’ in 1999, Ja Rule has been building a career out of pissing people off. In 2007, he was accused of making homophobic comments in an interview with Complex magazine, which he later denied. However, as Jas 'Nisha' Takhi says, “he seems to have absconded somewhere.” Unfortunately, his new album ‘Rule York’ is due out anytime soon. I bet he’s never even been to York.
NUMBER 8: Mika
“Anyway you want to/anyway you've got to/love love me/love love me” sings the Lebanese-born pop singer on his 2007 hit ‘Love Today’. Unfortunately for him, it seems that few people love him in anyway at all. According to Fran Wilcock, “There are hundreds of Mika-related injuries each year as people rush to turn off the radio when he comes on and trip over something.” That may or may not be true, but with only one hit single from his last album and the rest seemingly disappearing into obscurity, people’s strange fascination with Mika finally seems to be fading. Phew!
NUMBER 7: Bob Geldof
Apart from a rather loud and sweary claim to be encouraging the relief of poverty in Africa, what has Sir Bob actually given to the world? Peaches Geldof and ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ Nuff said. Or, as Morrissey once put it in a 1985 interview with Time Out, “Bob Geldof is a nauseating character. One can have great concern for the people of Ethiopia, but it's another thing to inflict daily torture on the people of England.”
NUMBER 6: Axl Rose
The biggest surprise here, after all the to-do over Reading and Leeds, is that Mr Guns N’ Roses himself didn’t quite make it into the Top 5. Axl certainly isn’t new to the world of being hated either. He’s been doing it for over 20 years and, in that time, his performances have rarely gone by without incident. In 1991, he managed to piss off the entire city of St Louis after one of his famous tantrums, which led to a riot. Axl, along with the rest of Guns N’ Roses, was banned from St Louis for life.
NUMBER 5: Pete Doherty
Unlike the aforementioned Mr Rose, Pete Doherty actually managed to win over the hearts of this year’s Reading and Leeds festivals, following his performances with the reunited Libertines. However, it seems that this wasn’t enough for some people, who have failed to forgive some of his previous antics. Pete’s ongoing troubles have been widely documented in the media and have included a famous picture that seemed to show him apparently forcing a cat to inhale from a crack pipe. Many people haven’t taken too kindly to his music outside the Libertines either. Rob Burns even stated, “If I wanted to hear the mumblings of a junkie with delusions of talent, I'd work in a hostel.”
NUMBER 4: Peter Andre
The Katie Price fans have spoken and her ex has made it into the Top 5. Or maybe it’s the fact that he encouraged his former wife to sing on their duet album ‘A Whole New World’ that has caused so much anger. Either way, it’s fairly obvious that a lot of you seem to share the opinion that Peter Andre’s seven-year career break should have lasted longer. Personally, I blame Chris Moyles.
NUMBER 3: Dido
To quote a gentleman who has unwittingly included a holiday photo in a business presentation, “I don’t know how that got in there.” Please can someone explain what Dido did to deserve this? Is she really that much worse than Peter Andre? Axl Rose?! CRAZY FROG!!! Come on, people. Her music may be a bit on the dull side, but she’s not that bad. Apparently, she’s a keen Arsenal supporter, so maybe that’s it.
NUMBER 2: Jamie Cullum
This is another slightly confusing one, but after having a quick look around the internet, it is clear to see that Jamie Cullum is not well-liked by all. On lastfm.com, someone has even setup a group entitled the "I hate Jamie Cullum and U2 whilst we're at it" group. Also, his cover of Radiohead’s ‘High and Dry’ has made it onto BadCoverVersions.com. As this particular website goes on to explain, “It’s unfair to dislike someone simply because of their face, but Jamie Cullum has a fizzog of such a uniquely irritating munchkin nature that he manages to arouse such feelings with consummate ease.”
NUMBER 1: James Blunt
[[ Insert amusing but immature rhyme here ]] Yes, that right – the top prize goes to Mr Annoying Blunt himself. There isn’t much to say about James that hasn’t already been said, so go and listen to Weird Al Yankovic’s parody ‘You’re Pitiful’ for more info, and check out the brilliant spoof video below.
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NUMBER 10: The Crazy Frog
NUMBER 8: Mika
NUMBER 6: Axl Rose
NUMBER 4: Peter Andre
NUMBER 2: Jamie Cullum
