There’s nothing like that sinking feeling when you’re caught out singing the wrong song lyric.
Not only is it one of the most humiliating cases of social suicide, but finding out that you’ve been belting out the wrong chorus the entire time can be pretty life-changing; your world starts spinning, and you plummet into an existential crisis.
Investigating this universally-experienced phenomenon is UK company Blinkbox Music, who have tested 2,000 adult subjects to find out which certain artists and songs that people tend to get wrong, as The Telegraph reports.
In terms of which particular tracks trip people up the most, it was found that ABBA’s karaoke favourite ‘Dancing Queen’ holds the title of the most misunderstood lyric, with 22% of people polled misinterpreting its innocent chorus, “See that girl, watch that scene, diggin’ the dancing queen” for the much more violent, “See that girl, watch her scream, kicking the dancing queen.”
Coming in at #2, and also proving that we all have slightly twisted minds, is Queen’s ‘We Will Rock You’, with results finding that its famous battle cry line “Kicking your can all over the place” is commonly misheard for “Kicking your cat all over the place.”
Bon Jovi’s ‘Living On A Prayer’ is another classic that people have been belting out incorrectly at open mic nights, with 12% of those polled exposed confusing “It doesn’t make a difference it we make it or not” confusing “make it” for “naked.” More hilarious results include Madonna’s ‘Like A Virgin’ (“Touched for the thirty-first time“), The Monkees’ ‘I’m a Believer’ (“Then I saw her face, now I’m gonna leave her”) and Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Purple Haze’ (“Excuse me while I kiss this guy”).
Interestingly, last year Spotify compiled the list of the most misheard lyrics in Australia, finding Elton John’s ‘Tiny Dancer’ to be the most misheard tune – even topping ‘Dancing Queen’, which came in at #2 – suggesting that maybe only Aussies struggle with Elton’s tone.
Meanwhile, Blinkbox’s poll also determined the singers that were the hardest to understand, determining that metal screamer Ozzy Osbourne was the vocalist people had the most trouble with; 28% of participants unable to decipher his snake-tongued shriek, followed by pop queen Lady Gaga and her dizzying choruses at 22%, and Jamaican-American ‘it-wasn’t-him’ reggae singer Shaggy also on 22%.
Rihanna’s Barbados-tinged accent also causes a lot of confusion for listeners, as do Sean Paul and Jay Z’s spit-fire raps, while, Miley Cyrus, Jimi Hendrix, Prince and Bob Dylan all rounded out the top 10 of the most misunderstood voices in music.
Check out the full results below.
10 music acts who are hardest to understand:
1. Ozzy Osbourne (28%)
2. Lady Gaga (22%)
3. Shaggy (22%)
4. Sean Paul (14%)
5. Jay Z (14%)
6. Rihanna (14%)
7. Miley Cyrus (13%)
8. Jimi Hendrix (10%)
9. Prince (9%)
10. Bob Dylan (8%)
10 most commonly misheard lyrics:
1. ABBA – Dancing Queen (22%)
Incorrect: See that girl, watch her scream, kicking the dancing queen
Correct: See that girl, watch that scene, diggin’ the dancing queen
2. Queen – We Will Rock You (18%)
Incorrect: Kicking your cat all over the place
Correct: Kicking your can all over the place
3. Bon Jovi – Living On A Prayer (12%)
Incorrect: It doesn’t make a difference if we’re naked or not
Correct: It doesn’t make a difference if we make it or not
4. Madonna – Like a Virgin (12%)
Incorrect: Like a virgin touched for the thirty-first time
Correct: Like a virgin touched for the very first time
5. The Monkees – I’m A Believer (12%)
Incorrect: Then I saw her face, now I’m gonna leave her
Correct: Then I saw her face, now I’m a believer
6. Johnny Nash – I Can See Clearly Now (11%)
Incorrect: I can see clearly now Lorraine has gone
Correct: I can see clearly now, the rain is gone
7. Rihanna – We Found Love (11%)
Incorrect: What it takes to form a line
Correct: What it takes to come alive
8. Jimi Hendrix – Purple Haze (9%)
Incorrect: Excuse me while I kiss this guy
Correct: Excuse me whilst I kiss the sky
9. Spice Girls – Wannabe (9%)
Incorrect: If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get rid of my friends
Correct: If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends
10. Starship – We Built This City (8%)
Incorrect: We built this city on logs and coal
Correct: We built this city on rock and roll
