So you took the dare! Welcome to Cringe Corner! In this section you will find music videos that are downright cringeworthy. Other adjectives which may apply include: corny, schmaltzy, awkward, unfunny, clichéd, cheesy, creepy, dated and hokey. Each video is accompanied by a fill-in-the blanks lyrics exercise so that you can follow along and improve your English (and avert your eyes).
Hello by Lionel Richie
Hello? WTH? Who knows what Lionel Richie was thinking when he made this video about a teacher falling in love with and then stalking his blind pottery student. A true compost heap of cheese, corn and cringe. No wonder it once won the designation of being the worst video of all time!
Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley
Does this video need any introduction? At over a billion views (yep – you read right), chances are you have already had the displeasure of seeing this cringefest. Perhaps you have also had the misfortune of being Rickrolled? Ha!
Turbo Lover by Judas Priest
Dudes in leather playing guitars and racing Harley Davidsons, a topless skeleton, special effects that have not aged well – this video offers a delightful array of cringe. Not the finest moment for these pioneers of heavy metal!
You Spin Me Round by Dead or Alive
Beware! You may need to take a long hot shower after seeing this steaming pile of you-know-what. Men in makeup, disco balls and a Boy George/Blackbeard the pirate hybrid doing an eerie dance evocative of the six-armed deity Vishnu (with creepy Edward Scissorhands fingernails). Definitely a contender for top spot on the cringe list!