The one-hit wonder phenomenon is nothing new in pop music. Critics deride pop music as disposable and the one-hit wonder is often used to make that claim. However, some artists are unfairly lumped into the one-hit wonder category and have continued releasing great music regardless of their pop chart status.
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Apple released the iPod on October 23, 2001. The single, now digitized and portable, became even more disposable. With a Sony Walkman, a CD was handled with care. It was something you could possibly scratch or drop or lose altogether. The compact disc came in a case with a booklet of artwork, song lyrics, and credits. But the iPod was a music player and it stored data. A song becoming a piece of data would eventually become known as “content.”
Each song below was a gigantic hit and helped define the sound of the ’00s. Some of these songs launched short careers while others became household names regardless of whether or not they’d top the charts again.
1. “Bad Day” by Daniel Powter
Daniel Powter’s “Bad Day” was the biggest single of 2006. It spent five weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100. “Bad Day” was used as the elimination song on American Idol and, true-to-life, it was Powter’s own entry and elimination song on the charts. Powter has never returned to the Hot 100 again.
You stand in the line just to hit a new low
You’re faking a smile with the coffee to go
You tell me your life’s been way off line
You’re falling to pieces every time
And I don’t need no carrying on
Cause you had a bad day
You’re taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
2. “Butterfly” by Crazy Town
Rick Rubin’s rap-rock hybrid from the ’80s was alive and well in the ’00s. Crazy Town sampled the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Pretty Little Ditty” and reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100, and like a butterfly, the band flittered away from the charts to never be seen again. The Los Angeles-based group’s subsequent albums did not achieve similar success.
Come my lady
Come, come my lady
You’re my butterfly, sugar baby
…Butterflies in her eyes and the looks to kill
Time is passing, I’m asking could this be real
3. “Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley
“Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley was a massive song. Gnarls Barkley is a soul duo made up of CeeLo Green and Danger Mouse. “Crazy” peaked at No. 2 and was nominated for a Grammy for Record of the Year but Gnarls Barkley has never made it anywhere near the top of the charts again. Crazy.
I remember when
I remember, I remember when I lost my mind
There was something so pleasant about that place
Even your emotions have an echo in so much space
Does that make me crazy?
Does that make me crazy?
Does that make me crazy?
Possibly
CeeLo Green is now a cultural icon and Danger Mouse is one of the biggest producers in music, working with Adele, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Norah Jones, and ASAP Rocky. Danger Mouse has won six Grammy Awards and been nominated 22 times. Green, a former judge and coach on NBC’s The Voice, has five Grammys and 18 nominations.
4. “Mambo No. 5” by Lou Bega
Lou Bega, a German singer, fell in love with Cuban dance music as a teenager while vacationing in Miami. His music combines the sound of the ’40s and ’50s with modern beats and programming.
“Mambo No. 5” sampled the 1949 song of the same name, recorded by Pérez Prado. “Mambo No. 5 (a Little Bit of…)” was released in late 1999. It reached No. 3 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and stayed high on the chart for months. Lou Bega mambos with more women in this song than the number of hits he’s had in the charts; he hasn’t had a song near the top since and his career has trailed off just like the ellipsis in the song’s title…
A little bit of Monica in my life
A little bit of Erica by my side
A little bit of Rita’s all I need
A little bit of Tina’s what I see
A little bit of Sandra in the sun
A little bit of Mary all night long
A little bit of Jessica, here I am
A little bit of you makes me your man
Photo by Toni Anne Barson Archive/WireImage
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