History OneHitWonder / Pop

* '''Jalisse''' is an Italian duo and married couple who seemingly came out of nowhere and, thanks to some rules later removed, managed to win the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanremo_Music_Festival Sanremo Music Festival]] (Italy's equivalent to - and qualifier for - the Eurovision Song Contest) in 1997 with their ballad "Fiumi di parole", with a small independent label among well-established singers. They're still active but nothing they did afterwards had any kind of success. In Italy they're being brought up as ''the'' example of One Hit Wonder; ironically this makes them much more well-known than other actually forgotten artists.

** Lead singer '''Chris Wallace''' had a minor radio hit in 2013 with "Remember When", but it never hit the hot 100.

* '''Chantal Kreviazuk''' is a successful performer in her native Canada, yet in the United States, her only song to receive significant airplay was "Surrounded" in 1997, which did well on the adult alternative and AC charts. "In This Life" was a top 20 hit on AC radio in 2003, but overall, "Surrounded" was her only major hit on multiple American charts. Like many examples, she is a successful songwriter who has written songs for pop artists such as Avril Lavigne, Britney Spears, Kelly Clarkson, and Gwen Stefani, as well as a few rap songs, as she wrote "Over My Dead Body" for Drake.

* '''Julia Michaels''' had already written some of the biggest pop hits of TheNewTens when she released her own song "Issues" in 2017. It was a massive hit on pop, adult contemporary and even rhythmic radio, reaching #11 on the Hot 100 and being certified triple-platinum. However, her followups "Uh Huh" and "Worst in Me" and EP ''Nervous System'' were massive flops. She is also a one-hit wonder on the CountryMusic format, as Music/KeithUrban tapped her for duet vocals on "Coming Home", which got to #3 on Country Airplay and #50 on the Hot 100 in summer 2018.

* '''Lisa Marie Presley''' had a lot to live up to when she started her solo musical career, seeing as she was the only child of [[Music/ElvisPresley one of the most famous entertainers]] of the 20th century. To her credit, she had a very good start, with her debut single "Lights Out" reaching the Top 40 in the UK and Australia, as well as placements on a few ''Billboard'' radio charts in her native US. Her debut album ''To Whom It May Concern'' was also certified Gold by the RIAA. However, that's where her success stopped. The singles off her next two albums went nowhere, and she has since largely abandoned music for other pursuits.

* '''Music/FredStobaugh''', a retired truck driver from Peoria, IL, nearly missed the Top 40 in 2013 with the #42 hit "Oh Sweet Lorraine", a self-released elegy to his late wife which became a viral video. The song made the then-95-year-old Stobaugh the oldest artist ever to enter the Hot 100, but he wasn't particularly interested in following it up; he released just one more song before his death in 2016. The label behind the song, '''Green Shoe Studio''', also credited on the song, faded into obscurity as well.

* '''Jimmy Harnen''' released "Where Are You Now", under the band name '''Synch''', in 1986. The song only got to #77, but a Buffalo DJ started playing the song again in 1989, which ignited interest and cause it to get {{rerelease|the song}}d, leading to a new peak of #10. Harnen never hit the charts again, and later went on to be president of Republic Records' Nashville branch.

* {{Music/Bush}} are very much not considered One-Hit Wonders, however lead vocalist '''Gavin Rossdale''' had an unexpected soft rock-style top-40 hit in 2008, titled "Love Remains the Same", that went to #27 on the Hot 100. However, the song has largely been forgotten today, as it ''barely'' has over 10 million streams on Spotify as of 2024. Rossdale is possibly more recognized (solo-wise) for plenty of songs he features on. Most notably, he features on "End of Me" by {{Music/Apocalyptica}}, which went to #1 on the Mainstream Rock chart, as well as more recent collaborations with {{Music/Seether}} ("What Would You Do") and Gunship and {{Music/Carpenter Brut}} ("Doom Dance").

* '''Band Aid''' kicked off the 1980s charity single craze with 1984's "Do They Know It's Christmas?". It was one of the biggest hits of all time in the UK and reached #13 in the US. The Band Aid project has released three more versions of the song since then, with new artists each time, but none of them have reached the US Top 40. The original version of the song was only US Top 40 appearance for these British hitmakers:

** Rapper '''Mann''' has very little to show as well: his only other credits at all are on Music/BigTimeRush's "Music Sounds Better with U" and a remix of Music/FiftyCent's "Buzzin'".

** '''Velvet Revolver''', a rock supergroup, saw their only Top 40 entry with this cover version. Three of the band members (Music/{{Slash|Musician}}, Duff [=McKagan=] and Matt Sorum) already had several hits with Music/GunsNRoses, but lead singer Scott Weiland (formerly of Music/StoneTemplePilots, who never cracked the Top 40) and rhythm guitarist Dave Kushner have no other Top 40 entries.

* '''Jalisse''' is an Italian duo and married couple who seemingly came out of nowhere and, thanks to some rules later removed, managed to win the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanremo_Music_Festival Sanremo Music Festival]] (Italy's equivalent to - and qualifier for - the Eurovision Song Contest) in 1997 with their ballad ''Fiumi di parole'', with a small independent label among well-established singers. They're still active but nothing they did afterwards had any kind of success. In Italy they're being mocked to this day and brought up as ''the'' example of One Hit Wonder; ironically this makes them much more well-known than other actually forgotten artists.

* Try to name anything '''Buckner & Garcia''' did besides ''Music/PacManFever'' without resorting to Google. That being said, the duo was brought back to perform a song for the ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph'' soundtrack, owing to their legacy of making songs about old arcade games.

* Swedish singer '''Loreen''' won the 2012 Eurovision contest with "Euphoria", which became one of the most successful winning singles of all time. Her follow up "My Heart is Refusing Me" did little outside her native Sweden, only managing to go top 40 in the Netherlands and Switzerland and maxing out at ''#41'' in Spain and Germany. After that, she dropped completely off the map.

* {{Music/Bush}} are very much not considered One-Hit Wonders, however lead vocalist '''Gavin Rossdale''' had an unexpected soft rock-style top-40 hit in 2008, titled "Love Remains the Same", that went to #27 on the Hot 100. However, the song has largely been forgotten today, as it ''barely'' has over 10 million streams on Spotify as of 2024. Rossdale is possibly more recognized (solo-wise) for plenty of songs he features on. Most notably, he features on "End of Me" by {{Music/Apocalyptica}}, which went to #1 on the Mainstream Rock chart, as well as more recent collaborations with {{Music/Seether}} ("What Would You Do") and Gunship and {{Music/Carpenter Brut}} ("Doom Dance").

* {{Music/Bush}} are very much not considered One-Hit Wonders, however lead vocalist Gavin Rossdale had an unexpected soft rock-style top-40 hit in 2008, titled "Love Remains the Same", that went to #27 on the Hot 100. However, the song has largely been forgotten today, as it ''barely'' has over 10 million streams on Spotify as of 2024. Rossdale is possibly more recognized (solo-wise) for plenty of songs he features on. Most notably, he features on "End of Me" by {{Music/Apocalyptica}}, which went to #1 on the Mainstream Rock chart, as well as more recent collaborations with {{Music/Seether}} ("What Would You Do") and Gunship and {{Music/Carpenter Brut}} ("Doom Dance").

* {{Music/Bush}} are very much not considered One-Hit Wonders, however lead vocalist Gavin Rossdale had an unexpected soft rock-style top-40 hit in 2008, titled "Love Remains the Same", that went to #27 on the Hot 100. However, the song has largely been forgotten today, as it ''barely'' has over 10 million streams on {{Platform/Spotify}} as of 2024. Rossdale is possibly more recognized (solo-wise) for plenty of songs he features on. Most notably, he features on "End of Me" by {{Music/Apocalyptica}}, which went to #1 on the Mainstream Rock chart, as well as more recent collaborations with {{Music/Seether}} ("What Would You Do") and Gunship and {{Music/Carpenter Brut}} ("Doom Dance").

* '''''The Heights''''' was television drama on Creator/{{Fox}} focusing on a fledgling rock band of the same name and occasionally featuring performances of their tunes. The show hit number 1 in 1992 with their theme song "How Do You Talk to an Angel?" - a rare at-the-time example of a song from a TV show that was actually performed (vocally ''and'' some of the instruments!) by its cast instead of session musicians. One week after the song fell from the top spot, Fox cancelled the show after just 12 episodes had aired. Lead singer '''Jamie Walters''' (who played Alex O'Brien on the show) managed to be a one-hit wonder twice over, when his song "Hold On" peaked at #16 in 1994. Neither artist ever bothered the Billboard Hot 100 again, and nowadays, "How Do You Talk to an Angel?" is [[BreakawayPopHit much better remembered]] than ''The Heights''' show.

** '''The Hollywood Argyles''' ("Alley Oop", 1960) -- Actually a FakeBand invented because Gary Paxton, the song's lead vocalist, was under contract to another label and couldn't be credited under his real name.

** '''The Hollywood Argyles''' ("Alley Oop", 1960)

** '''The Elegants''' ("Little Star") -- The teenage doo-wop group quickly aged out of their hit-making window.
** '''The Hollywood Argyles''' ("Alley Oop")
** '''The Singing Nun''' ("Dominique") -- "All the Roads" also peaked at #115 on the Bubbling Under chart.
** '''Zager & Evans''' ("In the Year 2525") -- the only case of an artist having a #1 hit in both the US and the UK, then never charting again in either country. "Mr. Turnkey" also peaked at #106 on the Bubbling Under chart. Denny Zager would later find acclaim as a guitar ''maker''.
** '''M''' ("Pop Muzik")--Also the act with the shortest name to have a #1 hit.[[note]]M was actually a music project of SingerSongwriter Robin Scott.[[/note]]
** '''Music/{{Vangelis}}''' ("Film/ChariotsOfFire")
** '''USA for Africa''' ("Music/WeAreTheWorld"), a charity supergroup that [[OneBookAuthor never recorded another song]], although only two of the band members were one-hit wonders.
** '''Jan Hammer''' ("''Series/MiamiVice'' Theme") -- "Crockett's Theme", also from ''Miami Vice'', would later show up on the Adult Contemporary chart, but not the Hot 100.
** '''Music/BobbyMcFerrin''' ("Don't Worry, Be Happy")
** '''Sheriff''' ("When I'm With You") -- the song actually charted twice, peaking at #61 in 1983, then re-charting at #1 in 1989.
** '''The Heights''' ("How Do You Talk to an Angel?") -- the lead singer, Jamie Walters, would later have another Top 20 hit with "Hold On".
** '''Los del Río''' ("Macarena")[[note]]Counting the Bayside Boys remix, the original version and a Christmas remix as one entity[[/note]]
** '''Crazy Town''' ("Butterfly") -- "Drowning" would also hit both the Rock and Alternative Airplay charts, but not the Hot 100.
** '''{{Music/Daniel Powter}}''' ("Bad Day", which was also the top song of 2006) -- "Free Loop" also made the Adult Contemporary chart, but not the Hot 100.
** '''Baauer''' ("Harlem Shake")
** '''Magic!''' ("Rude")
** '''Omi''' ("Cheerleader") -- "Hula Hoop" also peaked at #116 on the Bubbling Under chart.
** If you count the ''Billboard'' Top 100 (the 1955-58 predecessor to the Hot 100) [[labelnote:explanation]]After publishing separate charts for sales, radio play and jukebox play for years, the magazine debuted the Top 100 starting on November 12, 1955, which combined all of those factors, while keeping the other charts and treating all the charts as equally important. ''Billboard'' killed the jukebox chart in 1957, then combined the Top 100 and radio charts into a new Hot 100 chart on August 4, 1958, with the goal of it being more timely and more focused on the popularity of individual recordings (which allowed a popular BSide to rise on the chart separately from the A-side). A few weeks later ''Billboard'' folded the sales chart into the Hot 100 and set the Hot 100 as its definitive singles chart. For continuity purposes ''Billboard'' retroactively recognizes the Top 100 (and the Best Sellers in Stores chart before November 1955) as predecessors of the Hot 100, but considers the Hot 100 distinct from them.[[/labelnote]] there's also '''Morris Stoloff''' ("Moonglow and Theme from ''Theatre/{{Picnic}}''"), '''The Silhouettes''' ("Get a Job") and '''Laurie London''' ("He's Got The Whole World in His Hands").

** If you count the ''Billboard'' Top 100 (the 1955-58 predecessor to the Hot 100) [[labelnote:explanation]]After publishing separate charts for sales, radio play and jukebox play for years, the magazine added the Top 100, which combined all of those factors, while keeping the other charts. ''Billboard'' killed the jukebox chart in 1957, then combined the Top 100 and radio charts into a new Hot 100 chart on August 4, 1958, with one particular innovation being that a BSide song could chart separately from the A-Side. A few weeks later ''Billboard'' retired the sales chart and set the Hot 100 as its primary singles chart. For continuity purposes ''Billboard'' retroactively counts the Hot 100 as an extension of the Top 100, but doesn't consider them to be the same chart.[[/labelnote]] there's also '''Morris Stoloff''' ("Moonglow and Theme from ''Theatre/{{Picnic}}''"), '''The Silhouettes''' ("Get a Job") and '''Laurie London''' ("He's Got The Whole World in His Hands").

** If you count the ''Billboard'' Top 100 (the 1955-58 predecessor to the Hot 100) there's also '''Morris Stoloff''' ("Moonglow and Theme from ''Theatre/{{Picnic}}''"), '''The Silhouettes''' ("Get a Job") and '''Laurie London''' ("He's Got The Whole World (in His Hands)").

** If you count the ''Billboard'' Top 100 (the 1955-58 predecessor to the Hot 100) there's also '''Morris Stoloff''' ("Moonglow and Theme from ''Theatre/{{Picnic}}''") and '''The Silhouettes''' ("Get a Job").

** '''M''' ("Pop Muzik")

** Blues musicians '''Robert Cray''' and '''Dr. John''' had no other Top 40 hits.

** Blues musicians '''Robert Cray''' and '''Music/DrJohn''' had no other Top 40 hits.
** '''Sir Thomas Allen''' is a respected opera baritone, but "Perfect Day" is his only entry in the UK single charts.
** This was also the only chart entry for reggae singer '''Burning Spear'''.

** '''Music/VelvetRevolver''', a rock supergroup, saw their only Top 40 entry with this cover version. Three of the band members (Music/{{Slash|Musician}}, Duff [=McKagan=] and Matt Sorum) already had several hits with Music/GunsNRoses, but lead singer Scott Weiland (formerly of Music/StoneTemplePilots, who never cracked the Top 40) and Dave Kushner have no other Top 40 entries.

* As Tommy James' popularity as an artist was starting to slip, he turned to production work. In 1970, James formed a group called '''Alive N Kickin''''. The group hit #7 in 1970 with "Tighter, Tighter". After follow-up singles went nowhere and complications with the Roulette record label arose, the group quietly split up afterwards.

* Shortly before [[Music/TheTemptations another group with the same name]] signed onto Creator/{{Motown}}, a New York-based doo-wop group called '''The Temptations''' scored a top 40 hit with "Barbara" in 1960. They only recorded a few other singles, none of which charted.

* Shortly before [[Music/TheTemptations another group with the same name]] signed onto Creator/{{Motown}}, a New York-based doo-wop group called ''The Temptations'' scored a top 40 hit with "Barbara" in 1960. They only recorded a few other singles, none of which charted.

* '''Randy & the Rainbows''' had a hit with "Denise" in 1963 which peaked at #10 on the Hot 100 and #18 on the US Black Singles chart. No follow-up single was as successful with "Why Do Kids Grow Up" reaching #97 and a cover of "Little Star" hitting #33 on the Bubbling Under chart.