One hit wonders–musicians or groups that have one hit song with no sequential songs that measure up to the prior’s success. Often we don’t even remember the name of that artist or group, instead, just that catchy song.
FanLabel is here to tell you that these artists don’t fall into the “one hit wonders” category for lack of trying to accomplish multiple hits. It’s just really, incredibly difficult to strike genius more than once and to break into the top leagues of music artists for the long term.
Here are some of those one hit wonders and their many efforts to move past their “one hit” status.
Vanessa Carlton – “A Thousand Miles” (2002)
“A Thousand Miles” was on Carlton’s first album, and she has released four others since then with the latest in 2015. She is currently planning another album and releasing covers in the meantime, most recently “Needle in the Hay” (originally by Elliot Smith) in July.
Fountains of Wayne – “Stacy’s Mom” (2003)
The band’s last album “Sky Full of Holes” was released in 2011. Lead singer Chris Collingwood released a solo project titled “Look Park” in 2016. In an interview in 2016 with Collingwood and Adam Schlesinger, they said that they did not expect to put out anymore music together as Fountains of Wayne as the last album was a “nightmare” to finish.
J-Kwon – “Tipsy” (2004)
J-Kwon’s real name is Jerrell C. Jones. Between 2004 and 2011, he released six albums–none of them with much success except for “Tipsy.” In 2010 he went missing for a little bit but was found about a month later by his record label. Today, he has about 6,300 followers on Twitter.
Estelle – “American Boy” (2008)
Although the album “American Boy” was on, titled “Shine,” featured big names like Kanye West, CeeLo Green (one-hit wonder candidate himself), and Kardinal Offishall, only “American Boy” achieved much success. She released another album “All of Me” in 2012, again with big name features (like Chris Brown and Trey Songz), and again with little recognition. Most recently she released a single, “Better” in July.
Asher Roth – “I Love College” (2009)
Since Roth’s hit “I Love College,” he’s stayed involved in music, dropping a few mixtapes and albums here and there. If you haven’t listened to his newer music (which you should), you may not recognize him. Much of his newer music has moved away from a pop-like sound and some jazz influences can be heard.
Cali Swag District – “Teach Me How to Dougie” (2010)
The “Dougie” dance that came from the double platinum single is perhaps one of the most popular dances of the decade. The group Cali Swag District was comprised of members Smoove da General, Yung, M-Bone, and JayAre. Sadly, the two former are now deceased–M-Bone was killed in a drive-by shooting, and JayAre from cardiac arrest possibly due to sickle cell anemia.
Carly Rae Jepsen – “Call Me Maybe” (2011)
“Call Me Maybe” maybe wasn’t of the highest quality, but no one can deny that it’s at least catchy. She dropped her third album in 2015 titled “Emotion,” followed by an EP titled “Emotion: Side B” in 2016. Neither received as much hype as “Call Me Maybe.” In 2018 she opened for Katy Perry’s Witness tour.
Rebecca Black – “Friday” (2011)
“Friday” may not have been a hit in the traditional sense, but it still gained Rebecca Black enormous amounts of attention. Her music video for “Friday,” which her mom paid Ark Music Factory $4,000 to produce, took the internet by storm. In 2013 she released a sequel, “Saturday” (how original). Since then she has remained active on YouTube, released a few unrecognized singles, and graduated from high school.
Finatticz – “Don’t Drop That Thun Thun” (2012)
One member of the Finatticz, Tyrone Revis went to prison for possession of ecstasy (looks like he dropped his “thun thun”). According to their Facebook page, which doesn’t look like it’s been updated in a few years, only two of the original four members are still part of the group: James Dunn and Anthony Brown. They only have three total songs released on Spotify and Apple Music.
Omi – “Cheerleader” Felix Jaehn Remix Radio Edit (2014)
“Cheerleader” was originally released in 2012 and the OG version was a hit in Jamaica before it was remixed by Felix Jaehn and re-released in 2014. Omi released an album “Me 4 U” in 2015 including the “Cheerleader” remix, but has not released anything since then.
We regularly run contests featuring one hit wonders in the app. Make sure to be on the lookout!
