We recently asked Craig from Philadelphia’s Cutting Edge DJs to identify the most over-requested and overplayed wedding reception songs. He passed along some great info:

When Chris over at The Man Registry asked me for some ideas of what in my infinite DJ experience were some of the most ‘over played’ songs at weddings, my mind was suddenly filled with dozens of titles, some perceived and some actual.

Allow me to first clarify a common misconception.  Often times a bride or groom will enter a discussion with me regarding song selection by saying something like “I know DJs love these songs, but we would rather you not…”  For starters, more often than not we do not love the songs that are overplayed.  Some certainly are effective tools that get folks up and dancing, but others which fall into the “played way too much at weddings” variety are not because a DJ chose to play it wedding after wedding, but because it was requested.  I think I would be hard pressed to find any wedding DJ who – following a reception – makes the drive home with “The Electric Slide” or “Y.M.C.A.” on full blast on their car stereo… it just isn’t so.

A working DJ will more likely be quite happy to omit the ‘over played’ genre and play something else.  Trust me, if you think you’ve heard it too many times your DJ has heard it ten times as much.  Don’t misunderstand me, we are happy to play what you want played, but we are just as happy to not play the songs you don’t…It’s that simple.  That said, here are a few examples.

“Celebration” by Kool & The Gang – This is what I would call one of the most wrongly targeted overplayed songs.  I always am surprised when someone makes certain to put it on their ‘do not play’ list simply because I haven’t played it – without it being specifically requested – in over a decade.

“The Macarena” – Quite often this one makes it’s way to the no-no list, and very seldom does it get requested at a reception anyway, so no love lost.  Like anything else, who knows, it may make a comeback… But perhaps I’ll be lucky enough to be retired by then.  Again though, this one has the perception of being over played when in fact it’s not at all.

“I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor – Over requested, yes, but seldom does a bride not request it, and the ladies love it.  When you actually listen to the lyrics you might think it has no place at a wedding, but it remains as a top request none the less.

“Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey – We probably have The Soprano’s to thank for this one’s resurgence.  Perhaps the most requested song by brides and grooms for 2009, it definitely packs dance floors so being over requested hasn’t hurt it’s effectiveness… yet.

We thank Craig for his expert advice and recommend checking out his blog if you haven’t already. It’s full of great info for grooms & brides planning their wedding reception.

Tags: Cutting Edge DJs, Most Requested Wedding Songs, Overplayed Wedding Songs, Wedding DJ Tips, Wedding Reception Music

This entry was posted on Monday, December 21st, 2009 at 2:12 am and is filed under Groom Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.