History Main / OneSongBard

* The bards in ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'' know precisely two songs, and they all perform them the same way. Conveniently, one song supports the Stormcloaks, and one supports the Empire. I guess if you're going to make money as a musician during a civil war in Skyrim, you need to be able to entertain both sides of the conflict.

* Despite much of ''Series/{{Atlanta}}'' following Alfred aka Paper Boi's career as a rapper, only one full song, "Paper Boi" (his first hit) is heard in full. Occasionally song titles are referenced of other songs, but they're never actually performed.

* Leliana in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' prides herself in her bardic past (although bards in this series are not just performers, but also assassins and saboteurs for hire), but only ever sings once in the course of the story, namely [[https://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Codex_entry:_In_Uthenera "In Uthenera"]], an ancient elven funeral song. Later games don't see her sing at all, although she does perform the same song at [[spoiler:Wynne's funeral]] in ''Literature/{{Asunder}}''.

* While Johnny Crawfish has many songs on ''Series/TheNoddyShop'' in which he sings, he's only had one solo song, "Special", which was made for a potential investor in the show.

Compare OneHitWonder.

* A variant occurs in the anime adaptation of ''Manga/{{Genshiken}}'', where Kosaka is very skilled at playing video games, but aside from a VS match of ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo'' (which mostly happens off-screen) the only game he's ever shown playing is ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear Isuka'', and only the ''exact same'' Sol vs. Jam match every time.

* ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'': In the episode where Jerry Reed guest-stars, he sings a song to help the gang find him. Instead of singing any other songs he might be known for, he sings "Pretty Mary Sunlight" over and over.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* A variant occurs in the anime adaptation of ''Manga/{{Genshiken}}'', where Kosaka is very skilled at playing video games, but aside from a VS match of ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo'' (which mostly happens off-screen) the only game he's ever shown playing is ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear Isuka'', and only the ''exact same'' Sol vs Jam match every time.

* ''Series/PrettyGuardianSailorMoon'' features Minako's idol singer career as a major plot point, but viewers are going to have to hear a ''lot'' of repeats of ''C'est La Vie''.

* Before the events of ''VisualNovel/ApolloJusticeAceAttorney'', Phoenix Wright became the pianist for the Borscht Bowl Club, even though he only knew how to play one song. This is [[JustifiedTrope justified]] since his title as a pianist was just a cover for his real job, which was to challenge customers to games of poker.

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick: With a few exceptions, all of Elan's songs follow the same basic tune of "x, x, x, x the y" with any extra lyric crammed in at the end. Since Elan is a SpoonyBard, it fits.

* Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick: With a few exceptions, all of Elan's songs follow the same basic tune of "x, x, x, x the y" with the lyrics sort of crammed in to fit. Since Elan is a SpoonyBard, it fits.

* A variant occurs in the anime adaptation of ''VideoGame/Genshiken'', where Kosaka is very skilled at playing video games, but aside from a VS match of ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo'' (which mostly happens off-screen) the only game he's ever shown playing is ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear Isuka'', and only the ''exact same'' Sol vs Jam match every time.