Some songs become popular because everyone loves them. Others seem to survive because society collectively decided there are certain situations where we simply aren’t allowed to escape them. Weddings have their repeat offenders, sporting events have theirs, and retail workers know exactly which songs return every December like clockwork. None of this necessarily means they are bad songs. In fact, several were enormous hits for a reason. The problem is hearing the same chorus at every party, supermarket, karaoke night and family gathering until knowing every word becomes completely involuntary. Here are 15 annoying songs people keep playing without our permission.

“Happy” — Pharrell Williams

For a song about happiness, “Happy” has inspired a surprising amount of irritation. After becoming a worldwide smash in 2013, that relentlessly cheerful chorus seemed to follow everyone into stores, offices and public events.

“Dance Monkey” — Tones and I

There was a period when avoiding “Dance Monkey” required considerably more effort than hearing it. Its unusual vocal delivery and endlessly repeated hook made the massive hit particularly difficult to ignore.

“All I Want for Christmas Is You” — Mariah Carey

The opening notes might as well officially announce the beginning of December. Mariah Carey’s Christmas staple returns to shops, radio stations and holiday parties every year whether anyone requested it or not.

“Shape of You” — Ed Sheeran

“Shape of You” was absolutely enormous, which eventually became part of the problem. Restaurants, stores, radio stations and playlists spent 2017 making sure practically nobody escaped that marimba-like opening.

“Baby Shark” — Pinkfong

A children’s song built around repetition was never going to be easy to remove from your brain. Once “Baby Shark” became a global phenomenon, however, parents weren’t the only people forced to hear it.

“Sweet Caroline” — Neil Diamond

There are songs people listen to, and then there are songs that cause an entire room to yell “BA BA BA” on instinct. Sporting events, weddings and bars have kept “Sweet Caroline” inescapable for generations.

“Let It Go” — Idina Menzel

Millions of children discovering the same song simultaneously can be a dangerous thing for their parents. After Frozen arrived, “Let It Go” escaped the movie and seemingly entered every home, school and children’s event on Earth.

“Who Let the Dogs Out” — Baha Men

Few songs have managed to stretch one question quite this far. More than two decades after becoming a hit, “Who Let the Dogs Out” remains ready to appear whenever a DJ thinks an event needs instant early-2000s chaos.

“Despacito” — Luis Fonsi feat. Daddy Yankee

Becoming one of the biggest songs on the planet comes with one unfortunate side effect: everyone plays you everywhere. By the end of 2017, even people who loved “Despacito” had received plenty of opportunities to reconsider.

“Can’t Stop the Feeling!” — Justin Timberlake

This was seemingly engineered in a laboratory to play over shopping mall speakers. Its relentlessly upbeat chorus made it enormously successful and almost impossible to avoid throughout 2016.

“Macarena” — Los del Río

The dance is part of the problem because nobody even needs to choose this song voluntarily anymore. Put enough people together at a wedding or party and “Macarena” will eventually materialize.

“Call Me Maybe” — Carly Rae Jepsen

That chorus was dangerously good at lodging itself inside people’s heads. In 2012, “Call Me Maybe” went from catchy pop hit to something you could seemingly hear simply by leaving your house.

“Thunder” — Imagine Dragons

Few words have been repeated as efficiently as “thunder”. The song became a huge hit in 2017, then found an impressively long second life in stores, sporting events and playlists.

“Don’t Stop Believin’” — Journey

It only takes the opening piano notes before somebody nearby prepares to sing along. Decades of bars, weddings, karaoke nights and TV appearances have ensured that Journey’s anthem never really gets a night off.

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