Acknowledging you made a mistake is the first step toward making amends.

British singer-songwriter James Blunt recently took that step when he said he's sorry for unleashing the overplayed, cringe-inducing 'You're Beautiful' upon the world in 2004. Blunt said the song was "force-fed down people's throats" and admitted that even he grew tired of the once unavoidable tune.

That revelation got us to thinking: Who are some other artists who should apologize for their past musical crimes? While this list isn't necessarily a commentary on the quality of the songs, it does point out how each came to haunt us in its own unique way.

  • 1

    'Bad Day'

    Daniel Powter

    Even when you consider the nonthreatening radio landscape that Daniel Powter's 'Bad Day' emerged from in 2006 (the same one that produced Blunt's 'You're Beautiful' and the Fray's misleadingly titled 'How to Save a Life'), its awfulness still stands out. Overtly patronizing and just plain cheesy, Powter's biggest hit would've been annoying all on its own. But thanks to lyrics that could literally be applied to any TV show, movie or commercial that portrayed a bad day ('American Idol' made it the death rattle for every single booted contestant that year), the song took on a whole new level of obnoxious. Ironically, nothing ruins a day more than hearing it.

  • 2

    'How You Remind Me'

    Nickelback

    Obviously, the case could be made that Nickelback needs to apologize for their entire catalog. Their 2005 single 'Rockstar' alone is widely regarded as one of the most embarrassing songs ever written. But of all their songs, we think Nickelback should have to apologize the most for 'How You Remind Me' from their 2001 mainstream breakthrough, 'Silver Side Up' -- not on its own modern rock merits (it's actually not bad at all), but because that provided the world with a false decent first impression of Nickelback. (But just if you only heard it and didn't see the video. The sight of Chad Kroeger and his hair automatically ruin everything.)

  • 3

    'Your Body Is a Wonderland'

    John Mayer

    There's a pretty significant segment of the music-listening world that believes it isn't John Mayer who needs to apologize, but Mayer's parents for creating him in the first place. But 2002's 'Your Body Is a Wonderland' -- the first big hit for the smug singer-songwriter -- is just as gross as the title sounds. Although there was speculation the song was about Jennifer Love Hewitt (who Mayer dated that year), he later revealed that it's actually about his first girlfriend when he was 14. Which, when you get down to it, makes the song so much more disturbing than it even seemed before.

  • 4

    'Seven Nation Army'

    The White Stripes

    Let's be clear: 'Seven Nation Army' from 2003's 'Elephant' is not only arguably the White Stripes' biggest single, it's also an outright amazing song. If we were looking for the Stripes' worst song, we'd probably lean toward one of the songs Meg White sang. But the inclusion of 'Seven Nation Army' on this list is through no fault of the White Stripes -- it's because sports fans have inexplicably appropriated the song and turned its distinct guitar riff into a 'Tomahawk chop'-like stadium chant for the likes of the Baltimore Ravens, Ohio State Buckeyes and Michigan Wolverines. And maybe it happened at that Cubs game Jack White hated being at.

  • 5

    'Achy Breaky Heart'

    Billy Ray Cyrus

    In this case, the entire world is paying for the sins of the father. It goes without saying that Billy Ray Cyrus should absolutely apologize for the once ubiquitous country crossover phenomenon that was 1992's 'Achy Breaky Heart.' But humanity has had ample time to recover in the more than two decades since its release. The real crime behind this song, however, is that it afforded Cyrus just enough publicity to give his daughter a foot in the celebrity door -- and in some circles, that makes 'Achy Breaky Heart' one of the most reviled songs ever to exist.

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