Pandemic Playlist: Our Top 5 cheesy and catchy '90s songs that will bring out your quirkiest dance moves
It's time to get a little nostalgic on today's Pandemic Playlist. Have you ever tried recalling some of the catchiest and funniest songs you heard in your younger years? The '90s was just the time for such numbers. Songs that probably weren't actively trying to be funny, but yet they put big cheesy grins on our faces as we attempted to switch them off from replaying in our brains, but just couldn't! We've put together five of the catchiest numbers from around that time (albeit the last one released in 2000) for you to pull your quirkiest dance moves to during the coronavirus quarantine.
Los Del Rio - 'Macarena (Bayside Boys Remix)'
It probably goes without saying that many will recognize this song just with the title alone. A global hit back when the Bayside Boys remix released in 1995, the original song released in 1993 in Spain and had several remixes and accompanying videos to follow. It was Los Del Rio's first hit song since 1962. The song even featured in the 2018 animated film 'Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation'. The feel-good, lively music video had everyone twirling their hips and folding their arms as they did the 'Macarena dance' even though it was unbeknownst to many that the lyrics pretty much speak of a girl cheating on her boyfriend with two of her friends while she is being drafted into the army. Nonetheless, how can we just not add 'Macarena' and forget the good times we had with this solid '90s number?
Rednex - 'Cotton Eye Joe'
Swedish Eurodance group Rednex released 'Cotton Eye Joe' in 1994 from their debut LP 'Sex & Violins'. The video shows a glorified bumpkin party in a barn with haystacks, mechanical bull rides, disco lights and more. Atop the Rednex musical style, the song adds banjos and fiddles in a wild mix of techno and folk. Even though the video and song pokes cheeky fun at stereotypical Southerners, the song garnered much critical reception and commercial success. In 2011, MTV Dance placed 'Cotton Eye Joe' at #51 in their list of The 100 Biggest 90's Dance Anthems Of All Time.
Las Ketchup - 'The Ketchup Song (Asereje) (Spanglish Version)'
For those of us who tried singing along to this catchy '90s number or wracking our brains to its meanings, it turns out (drum roll please), it is not about ketchup at all. Cheesy comments aside: in an interesting article shared by Heart Radio, 'The Ketchup Song' is actually a Spanish version of the Sugarhill Gang's 1979 classic 'Rapper's Delight'. Nevertheless, it somehow always manages to put a smile on our face every time we hear it. If you haven't, check out the Spanglish version below and you are sure to pounce on nearby tabletops and jiggle your hips in crazy quarantine shenanigans.
Aqua - 'Barbie Girl'
Back in the day with the release of 'Barbie Girl' in 1997, you either loved or hated this song at first listen. Though, for most of us, every time we heard 'Barbie Girl' on the radio or watched the video on TV, we were quickly charmed by this abundantly colorful song paired with a blindingly colorful music video. In a song about an American doll, sung by a Norwegian singer (Lene Nystrøm) in a Danish dance-pop group, we get the unforgettable, world-famous lyrics, "I'm a Barbie girl in a Barbie world. Life in plastic, it's fantastic. You can brush my hair, undress me everywhere. Imagination, life is your creation".
Baha Men - 'Who Let The Dogs Out'
Though most of the songs mentioned here released in the '90s, Baha Men's 'Who Let The Dogs Out' released in 2000. The burning question remains of who exactly let the dogs out or why they were even let out in the first place, but one thing is for sure, the catchy yelling of the chorus along with the "ting ting" of the percussion still gets us leaving embers on dancefloors still to this day. Baha Men, we need more epic music like 'Who Let The Dogs Out'!
Pandemic Playlist is a daily list of songs that will keep you entertained instead of feeling drained while you're isolated at home. Look out for a fresh selection of great tunes from MEAWW to refresh your mood every day!
