4 Hits From the 90s That Are Way Overplayed (But We Still Love Them Anyway)

Just because these songs get a little bit too much airtime doesn’t mean we’re still obsessed. It’s just that sometimes, distance really does make the heart grow fonder. Here are a few songs from the 90s that we wish got played a little less. Honestly, because they are fun to listen to.

“All Star” by Smash Mouth

This song is a ton of fun, but man, does it get played a lot.

According to Smash Mouth‘s guitarist, Greg Camp, “All Star” was written for the underdogs. Inspiration struck for the tune when the group was reading fan mail during their first tour.

“And about 85-90 percent of the mail was from these kids who were being bullied or their brothers or older siblings were giving them s–t for liking Smash Mouth or liking whatever they’re doing or the way they dressed and stuff,” Camp told Songfacts. “So we were, like, ‘We should write a song for fans.’”

“Wonderwall” by Oasis

You may have heard “Wonderwall” on the radio or via a guy who’s just picked up a guitar. Either way, “Wonderwall” is one of those tunes that definitely gets old pretty fast. However, we’ll still gladly sing every note.

Similar to “All Star”, this song was meant to be encouraging in a quirky kind of way. As Liam Gallagher told the BBC in 2002, “The meaning of [‘Wonderwall’] was taken away from me by the media who jumped on it, and how do you tell your missus it’s not about her once she’s read it is? It’s a song about an imaginary friend who’s gonna come and save you from yourself.”

“…Baby One More Time” by Britney Spears

Britney Spears had perhaps one of the best debuts in pop music history with “…Baby One More Time”. Even though the pop princess has continued to smash records since that day in 1999, there’s something addictive about this song that makes it a challenge to top.

“I Want It That Way” by The Backstreet Boys

Whether you know this song from its parody version in Brooklyn-9-9, or from singing it on one too many karaoke nights, there’s no question that “I Want It That Way” is one of the most iconic 90s ballads out there (even if we’ve heard it a million times).

“When Max came up with the original idea for the song, it already had the line ‘you are my fire, the one desire,’ Andreas Carlson, who co-wrote the song, explained of the lyrics. “We tried a million different variations on the second verse, and finally we had to go back to what was sounding so great, ‘You are my fire, the one desire.’ And then we changed it to ‘Am I your fire, your one desire,’ which made absolutely no sense in combination with the chorus. But everybody loved it!”

Photo By: Jim Smeal/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images