The Worst Music Collaborations

Story posted February 16, 2023 in Arts & Entertainment by CommRadio Arts & Entertainment Department.

In recent years, it is very common for artists to collaborate on music. Sometimes it is an epic fail, other times it is an incredible success. Our CommRadio Arts & Entertainment department wrote about the worst collaborations in music history.

“River” by Eminem and Ed Sheeran

These two artists making a song together is a red flag from the start. Eminem and Ed Sheeran might possibly be the least complementary pairing to make a song together.

“River” cannot be more unappealing to the ears.

Eminem brings anger, aggression, and fast paced raps that many can’t even keep up with. He tried to mirror his classic rap sections in “River”, but it was not impressive.

On the other hand, Ed Sheeran is known for his radio style pop and making songs that are easy to sing, dance, and make a silly Tik-Tok about.

These two opposing styles of music did not blend well and looked poorly for Ed Sheeran and Eminem.

The chorus, which should be Ed Sheeran’s time to shine, was boring and annoying. His usual catchy beats do not include “River”. On top of that, Eminem’s raps did not seem to correlate with the chorus of the song.

“River”, by Ed Sheeran and Eminem, is nobody’s favorite. Eminem and Ed Sheeran, individually, have songs that are top tier, but, unfortunately, mixing two A-list artists together does not always make for stardom.

“The Worst Country Song Of All Time” by Brantley Gilbert, Toby Keith and HARDY

If the title gives anything away, this is actually the worst country song of all time.

The lyrics try to play off the fact that, at their roots, all country songs are basically the same.

It wouldn’t be so insufferable if it wasn’t so overdone. We get it: you like pickup trucks, dirt roads, sweet tea, girls in jeans, John Deeres and Johnny Cash. Doesn’t mean there has to be a whole song about it.

In a way, the song is pretentious, especially the digs about living in a city. For someone who released a two-time platinum hit called “Country Must Be Country Wide,” what right does Gilbert have to now suddenly tell people they can or can’t be country?

Fitting into the country stereotype doesn’t determine whether or not someone at their core has the right to listen to country music or not. Get over yourself. - Adrianna Gallucci

“West Coast” - G-Eazy, Blueface, ALLBLACK, YG

The track itself isn’t terrible, but it is maybe one of the most chaotic collaborations in the world of rap.

One of the biggest issues that landed this track a spot as one of the worst collabs was Blueface’s and ALLBLACK’s offbeat rapping.

First, there’s Blueface who is notorious for being offbeat, especially in his early career. Many listeners and critics have found this very comical, with many saying that no one can be more offbeat than him, but in this track that was not the case.

In “West Coast'', ALLBLACK gave Blueface a run for his money for his “most off-beat rapper” reputation. While the Thotiana rapper was off beat by a couple of syllables, ALLBLACK sounded like he rapped without ever hearing the beat, at all.

The Bay rapper sounded similar to a student trying to fit all of their points from a 5-minute speech they wrote to stay within the 3 minute maximum time limit. It’s almost impossible to understand the full idea of what he is saying without looking at the lyrics.

It’s one thing to completely be offbeat, but to be difficult to understand too? Now that’s hard to ignore.

Even though he is lesser known relative to the rest of the artists featured on this track, if he continues going at this rate, he just might steal Blueface’s title.

Other than that the song itself isn’t the worst thing you’ll ever hear, but with a little workshop on “How to Match the Tempo of a Background Track” would definitely do these two rappers and this track some good. - Abby Chachoute

“Peaches” - Justin Bieber, Daniel Caesar and Giveon

This song is bad enough to make the listener never want to even look at a peach again.

“Peaches” was a single off of Justin Bieber’s 2021 album “Justice,” and got its fair share of play time on every pop radio station in America. Part of the reason why it’s become so insufferable, but the lyrics are the real kicker.

It took a team of eight people to write up “I get my peaches out in Georgia / I get my weed from California / I took my chick up to the North / I get my light right from the source, yeah.” That chorus repeats seven times throughout the song. Seven.

Daniel Caesar and Giveon’s verses are slightly less painful, and more romantic. They sing about missing their partners and knowing there’s no one else in the world for them.

However, any seriousness is washed away when Bieber comes back in with “I get my peaches out in Georgia” for the fifth or sixth time. “Peaches” was somehow nominated for a Grammy, but thankfully went home empty handed. - Kaitlyn Murphy

Natalie Simone is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, email nvs5790@psu.edu.

Adrianna Gallucci is a first-year student majoring in journalism. To contact her, please email amg7989@psu.edu.

Abigail Chachoute is a second-year majoring in journalism. To contact her, email axc6070@psu.edu.

Kaitlyn Murphy is a first-year majoring in digital and print journalism. To contact her, email kvm6255@psu.edu.