The exact definition of the term “one-hit wonder” can be hard to pin down. Most commonly in the U.S., it refers to artists with only one top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. But even that criterion is nebulous. Fiona Apple, for example, only has one top 40 hit, 1996’s “Criminal,” but given the success of her albums and overall acclaim of her work, few would call her a one-hit wonder. Aqua, of “Barbie Girl” fame, meanwhile, had a second song hit the top 40, but without looking it up, can you name it? Probably not.
So instead, today we’re going to look at the truest possible one-hit wonders, those with one #1 hit, who never touched the Billboard Hot 100 again. Those whose legacies have entirely been defined by one song.
#1: Baauer- Harlem Shake
This Joji-popularized dance trend, created initially by American electronic music producer Baauer, spent 5 weeks at #1 in the early spring of 2013. Its success came thanks to a rule change that counted Youtube streams for the Hot 100 as much as those from sites such as Spotify or Rhapsody, implemented in the aftermath of the massive viral success of Gangnam Style (which, without this rule in place, never hit #1). While Baauer has never had another song hit the Hot 100 since, nor have either of his two albums charted on Billboard, he has been far from out of work, with songs of his showing up on soundtracks to blockbuster movies such as Hunger Games: Mockingjay and Logan.
#2: Magic!- Rude
These Canadian reggae musicians followed in the footsteps of Snow, a fellow traveller in country, genre and one-hit wonderdom (although the latter was able to notch a second Hot 100 hit of his own). Although the members Magic! have thus far avoided the legal troubles that hampered the “Informer” rapper’s career, unlike him, they have yet to notch a collaboration with Daddy Yankee (or anyone else) that samples their first hit and notches them a second.
#3: Omi- Cheerleader
This one had an interesting path to success. While its original version, recorded solely by Jamaican singer Omi, was released in 2012, it wasn’t until it was remixed by German DJ Felix Jaehn in 2014 that it would begin to gain popularity, finally hitting #1 in the summer of 2015. Truthfully, at the rate it took Omi to get his first hit, it might be too early to count him out for a second.
#4: Daniel Powter- Bad Day
Another Canadian, Daniel Powter hit even greater heights of success than Magic!, with “Bad Day” not only topping Billboard’s weekly Hot 100 for five weeks, but becoming the biggest hit of 2006 overall. While he’s had much better luck in his home country, notching three more top 40 hits there, getting to make the biggest song of any year is no small feat, and one Powter can feel proud of even with his lack of further success.
#5: Crazy Town- Butterfly
One of the better-remembered one-hit wonders of the early 2000s, it’s hard to argue that “Butterfly” doesn’t stand out. An acoustic rap-rock track by a nu-metal band that samples an instrumental deep cut from the Red Hot Chili Peppers is a description that only it can satisfy. Although it would only spend two weeks at #1 in 2001, “Butterfly” has lasted long in the cultural memory, appearing in places ranging from VH1 Awesomely Bad lists to 2016’s hit animated movie Sing.
#6: The Heights- How Do You Talk to An Angel
Our last entry is in all respects a unique one. Not only is The Heights the only artist from the 1990s to qualify for this list (Los del Rio, the pair behind “Macarena”, were able to secure a second Hot 100 hit with a remix of their first), but their status as an artist in and of itself is bizarre. The Heights were a fictional band, created as part of the short-lived Fox musical drama of the same name. This song was the show’s theme, and less than a week after it left the #1 spot, the show was cancelled, lasting one day shy of three months. Even among the songs on this list, this one is truly singular in how it defined its artist’s legacy, so much so that when its success dried up, its fictional creator was taken off the airwaves, never to record again.
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