Top 10 Music Artists Hated for the Most Absurd Reasons

The Top Ten
1 Nickelback Nickelback is a Canadian post-grunge band formed in 1995 in Hanna, Alberta, Canada. The band is composed of guitarist and lead vocalist Chad Kroeger, guitarist, keyboardist and backing vocalist Ryan Peake, bassist Mike Kroeger, and drummer Daniel Adair.

I'm surprised this isn't number one, there is no reasonable reason to hate this band, the singer can be understood with what he is singing, they don't sing about stuff like have sex with multiple women, partying every day, or how cool murdering people is. They don't use controversy to sell albums and they can even make jokes about their haters which is pretty darn cool

About being ''generic'': A7X have a ripped off element in almost every song but I never noticed an obvious rip off in Nickelback songs. From my viewpoint, A7X are 100x more generic than Nickelback but A7X are in the top 10 of many good metal lists. And A7X aren't even metal. What I said about A7X is true for the band Ghost as well.

2 AC/DC AC/DC are a Australian hard rock band, formed in November 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young, who continued as members until Malcolm's illness and departure in 2014 . They were fronted by Bon Scott until his untimely death due to alcohol poisoning in 1979, after which they hired Brian Johnson... read more

What I do love about this list is for at least the top 12 artists every single one is artists most people loved at some point in time or at least thought of were descent at one point, with the exception of Cannibal Corpse for obvious reasons

3 Queen Queen are an English rock band formed in London in 1970. The original lineup was Freddie Mercury (lead vocals, piano), Brian May (guitar, vocals), Roger Taylor (drums, vocals), and John Deacon (bass guitar, vocals). Before forming into Queen, Brian May and Roger Taylor had played together in a band... read more

Queen are hated mainly by the fans of Led Zeppelin and the Beatles because Queen is the only band that can compete with them for the honor to be the best rock band. Plain and simple. So Queen get hated for being too good. Which is the most absurd reason on this list. But Queen haters use the argument of Queen being "overplayed" just to say something and justify their hate. As if Led Zeppelin and the Beatles aren't "overplayed" and "overpraised"...

I honestly think that there is some big confusion on this site about the word hate and dislike. They seem to be interchangeable on this site.
You can dislike a band or not listen to a band without having to hate a band

4 Blaze Bayley Blaze Bayley is an English singer, musician, songwriter, and lyricist. He was the lead singer of Wolfsbane from 1984 to 1994, and currently from 2010 following reunions in 2007 and 2009. Bayley was also the lead singer for Iron Maiden from 1994 to 1999. Since then, he has embarked on a solo career.

While I agree Blaze's voice didn't fit their classics like Hallowed Be Thy Name, he did a good job singing Paul's songs and his voice really fits the music on the two albums with him. I highly prefer the studio version of Sign of the Cross and The Clansman to the live versions with Bruce. I would be interested how he would sing The Nomad.

Someone on the net wisely pointed out that it was a good decision that they didn't hire a singer similar to Bruce. Otherwise they would have brought people into the belief that the new singer is trying to be Bruce but can't. I am really getting tired of Virtual XI and The X Factor opening reverse-order rankings of Iron Maiden albums, I like both of them better than some of their 1980s albums. I feel the same about post-Waters Pink Floyd, Exodus with Steve Zetro Souza, Judas Priest with Ripper Owens

5 Metallica Metallica is an American Heavy/Thrash Metal band formed in 1981. The original lineup was James Hetfield (Vocalist and Rhythm guitarist), Dave Mustaine (Lead Guitar), Lars Ulrich (Drums), Ron McGovney (Bassist). The group came into mainstream from their Self-Titled album and the hit single "Enter Sandman"... read more

Their post-1980s output is ridiculously overhated. It is OK that you think it's not as good as the first four albums, and it really isn't thrash for the most part, but they don't realise how many people did these "sellout" songs like Enter Sandman help to get into metal.

I actually find it harder to find a Metallica fan than a hater. Then there are those people who only like their first 2 (2, not 4) albums because "they weren't popular then".

There is a reasonable hate for Metallica, how the band treated Dave Mustaine was pretty horrible, but because of how they treated him we now have two of the greatest Thrash metal bands.
But those that hate them because of their change to a more rock sound before going back to their roots aren't a good reason

6 Cannibal Corpse Cannibal Corpse is a American death metal band from Buffalo, New York, formed in 1988. The band is known for their graphic album covers, explicitly violent lyrics and song titles like "I C** Blood" The group got into mainstream after performing the song "Hammer Smashed Face" in the 1994 film Ace Ventura:... read more

People who hate Cannibal Corpse are mostly people who hate metal in general, or who hate extreme metal (harsh vocals, death growls). I was never a fan of theirs but the reasons haters use are laughable - for example, "vocals / growls are disgusting and scary". Look, they are meant to be scary and disgusting. And George CF growls are great from this viewpoint. Most haters just don't like extreme metal which is OK. But don't try to criticize things from a pop viewpoint and don't criticize things you don't understand and know nothing about.

7 Slipknot Slipknot is an American metal band formed in Des Moines, Iowa in 1996. The band is best known as one of the pioneers of the New Wave of American Alternative Metal during the late 1990s - 2000s and are distinguishable by the band's clothing choices, consisting of black/red jumpsuits and horror inspired... read more

I don't hate them. I only hate seeing them in the top 10 of almost all metal lists with their non-metal songs/albums, etc. Same for Disturbed, System of a Down, Linkin Park, Korn, and the like. If you are a grunge fan, you would hate seeing Metallica at #1 on every grunge list, right? At the same time you may like Metallica.

I would say that they are very much a metal band, most hate because they are an innovative metal bands that use a lot of non metal sounds with their music but that is what makes the band respectable they are doing what every other metal band is doing.
You can love or hate their music but you have to respect them for their inventiveness and unique style

8 Linkin Park Linkin Park is an American alternative rock band formed in Agoura Hills, California, in 1996. The current members include Mike Shinoda (vocals, keyboards, rhythm guitar), Brad Delson (guitar), Dave "Phoenix" Farrell (bass), Joe Hahn (DJ), and Rob Bourdon (drums). Linkin Park is associated with a mixture... read more

I think it is because of other bands with more 'legendary' pieces of music that are superior to a lot of songs by this band. They may not be as known. My reason would be because they do not make more songs to entertain me.

Ah yes, one of the most memorable rock bands of the 2000's is hated just for changing their sound a bit, makes sense

9 Red Hot Chili Peppers The Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American funk-rock and alternative rock band, that was founded in 1983.

The band's members are Anthony Kiedis (Vocals), Michael "Flea" Balzary (Bass), Chad Smith (Drums) and numerous guitarists, most well-known being John Frusciante.

The band is among the... read more

What are they hated for? Oh wait because John Frusciante left and Faith No More fans seem to hate them.

10 Chad Kroeger Chad Robert Kroeger is a Canadian musician and producer, best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist for the Canadian rock band, Nickelback.

Yes, I agree the reason he gets hated is because he's the frontman of Nickelback. The BS logic of bandwagoning: if Nickelback are the worst band ever (which they aren't though) then their singer is the worst singer, too. Why is this wrong? His vocal skills are pretty good - he's never off-pitch even live, his range is bigger than that of some praised singers, his voice is very powerful and aggressive, and overall great for singing metal and hard rock.

The Newcomers

? Skye Sweetnam
? Phil Collins Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins is an English singer-songwriter and musician, who has also worked as a record producer and actor.
The Contenders
11 John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE (9 October 1940 - 8 December 1980) was an English singer and songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as a co-founder of the Beatles, the most commercially successful band in the history of popular music. He was assassinated by Mark David Chapman on December 8, 1980 at age... read more

Hated by some for making an observation at the time that The Beatles were more popular in the mainstream than Jesus due to ridiculous fanatical celebrity worship.

Hated because he beat his wife and being hypocritical for making Imagine.

This man is a wife abuser! And that is not an absurd reason.

12 Avril Lavigne Avril Ramona Lavigne is a Canadian–French singer-songwriter and actress. By the age of 15, she had appeared on stage with Shania Twain; by 16, she had signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records worth more than $2 million.

She is only hated for being in association with Chad Kroeger.

13 Motley Crue Mötley Crüe is an American metal band formed in Los Angeles, California on January 17, 1981. The group was founded by bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, lead vocalist Vince Neil and lead guitarist Mick Mars.
14 The Beatles The Beatles were an English pop rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The members consisted of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They were soon known as the foremost and most influential act of rock era. Rooted in skiffle, beat, and 1950s rock and roll, the Beatles later... read more

These guys are only semi hated for having the most album sales ever, aside from that they are worshipped by many

15 Tim Ripper Owens Timothy S. "Ripper" Owens is an American heavy metal singer who currently performs with Beyond Fear, Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force and Charred Walls of the Damned.

He is the Blaze Bayley of Judas Priest - the only difference is that Tim Ripper Owens is a much better singer than Blaze and even though Tim isn't Rob Halford, Tim vocal skills are pretty close to Rob's (which can't be said about Blaze and Bruce). Another reason is that most of the Judas Priest fans are actually fans of their hard rock songs and not of their metal songs. Give a listen to the song Cathedral Spires - Tim is a great singer in his own right and the song is one of my favorite metal songs by Judas Priest (note that the song is longer than their usual songs). All this makes Tim even more absurdly hated than Blaze.

16 KISS Kiss, often styled as KISS, was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1973. The original members were Paul Stanley (vocals, rhythm guitar), Gene Simmons (vocals, bass guitar), Ace Frehley (lead guitar, vocals), and Peter Criss (drums, vocals)... read more

They may be.. but KISS actually has a very passionate, loyal fanbase. It may not be our kind of band, but if there are many others out there who enjoy them, great!

Most people find them painfully generic.

17 Limp Bizkit Limp Bizkit is an American nu-metal/rap metal/rock band from Jacksonville, Florida, formed in 1994. Their lineup consists of Fred Durst, Sam Rivers, John Otto, and Wes Borland. They're mostly known for their singles like Break Stuff, My Way, My Generation, Nookie, Eat You Alive, Rollin', and Take a... read more

I'll be honest. Their music is good, but Fred Durst isn't just good. They would be better if they had a better singer.

Fred Durst has mellowed out over the years. I think he's pretty alright right now

18 Rebecca Black Rebecca Black is a YouTube personality and singer who's infamous for her 2011 single "Friday," which was the most disliked video on YouTube until "Baby" by Justin Bieber became the most disliked video in 2012. She has also released other songs, including "My Moment" and "Saturday".

In the top ten of the worst music artists of all time for only one song. I have even heard she received death threats for it. Really this is ridiculous and also she has better songs anyway.

Most definitely she is a pretty talented singer, but she will forever be remembered for her terrible singing in that one song or rather mostly auto-tuned song, she made a mistake that pretty much any teen could make wanting to become popular

19 Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber (born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and record producer. He currently resides in Ontario, Canada and is Christian. He is the son of author Pattie Mallette... read more

The only reason he was really hated was because he started young in the most generic genre and since he was young every time he did something stupid people started to jump on it as a reason to actually hate him.
He is no different than any other average artist out there, I also think it was fun for people to make fun of his fans because of how stupid the fan name sounded

I don't like him either but some haters say he's terrible because he sounds like a girl. That's not a proper reason, Jamiroquai's singer also sounds a bit like a girl.

20 Kanye West Ye (born Kanye Omari West; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer and fashion designer. He is regarded as one of the most influential, as well as controversial, artists of the 21st century... read more

I personally don't have to agree with an artist politically or love them as a person to be able to appreciate and enjoy their music. Kanye is famously one of the most consistent Hip-Hop artists and deserves the praise he receives for that.

Hated more by his controversies than his music, if you don't like his music, the probably you weren't made for rap

21 Carly Rae Jepsen Carly Rae Jepsen is a Canadian singer and songwriter from Mission, British Columbia, and later based in Vancouver. She is best known for her hit song "Call Me Maybe" which topped many charts in 2012.

I'm not sure she is a one hit wonder, she is a Canadian Idol contestant placed 3rd, she just had one really catchy song that blew up, but her other album didn't do badly just wasn't big in the U.S., and if you listen to her other songs you'll find she is an ok singer as well, if you don't think so go on YT and listen to No Drug Like Me.
But then again not many one hit wonders are literal one hit wonders, they usually have a huge following outside of the U.S. you know like Hanson

There are not only one hit wonders, there are also one hit scapegoats (or whatever negative word you think of instead of wonder).

22 Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band from Los Angeles, California. Megadeth was formed in 1983 by guitarist Dave Mustaine and bassist David Ellefson, shortly after Mustaine was fired from Metallica. They have released 15 studio albums to date, and have gone through many lineup changes, with Dave... read more

I love Megadeth. His vocals could be better but still, you can't ignore the controbution to music

23 Anal C*** Anal C*** was an American grindcore band founded by vocalist Seth Putnam in 1988 in Newton, Massachusetts. The band is known for their highly offensive lyrics which included themes of misogyny, homophobia, racism, Nazism, antisemitism, and schadenfreude (ridicule of the unfortunate). Their music has... read more

I'm not familiar with this band but it's very clear why they're hated, if they're hated and it's legit.

They want to be hated, so you guys are just helping them accomplish their mission.

24 Luis Fonsi Luis Alfonso Rodríguez López-Cepero, known by his stage name Luis Fonsi, is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter and actor, best known for his 2017 worldwide hit song "Despacito", featuring Puerto Rican rapper Daddy Yankee, which won a total of four Latin Grammy Awards.

I used to hate him because it beat out, "See you again" to 3,000,000,000 views, but I think I should stop hating him. He seems cool :D

25 Ariana Grande Ariana Grande-Butera (born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her four-octave vocal range has received critical acclaim, and her personal life has been the subject of widespread media attention. She has received numerous accolades throughout her career, including two Grammy... read more

I can understand why she gets so much hate. She's overplayed and that 7 Rings song that I just heard for the first time today, 3/31/2019 is absolutely terrible! But still, she's not really a bad singer. Her music for the most part is ok. I ncan't find any real reasons to hate her.

The one thing I love about pop artist is just how much people think that their terrible singers, when your singing extremely generic songs the artist singing ability is not showcased remember generic songs aren't about vocals, just a catchy tune and beat

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