One Hit Wonders: Where Are They Now?

If you finally hit your ‘dirty thirties’ or are about to any year now, you have to take a few moments to dance down memory lane! You will love reminiscing over these one hit wonders. Check out your old favorites and learn about what some of your favorite musicians have been up to in the 21st century.

If you haven’t heard the Vanessa Carlton tickle the ivories and serenade us with her sweet voice you haven’t lived! Well, at least you haven’t ever watched White Girls that is for sure. Anyway, Vanessa Carlton’s one-hit wonder “A Thousand Miles” was sixth most played song in the year 2002. Because of that one single, Vanessa Carlton basically went down in history as a recognizable singer-songwriter, even if it was just once. Either way, we are making our way downtown…

Enough though Vanessa Carlton recorded other songs, none of them came anywhere near the success of “A Thousand Miles.” It’s all good though because as any true songstress knows, she stayed close to her passion and continues to record. In fact, she has released four albums including one in 2015 titled Liberman. Her fans love her almost as much as her husband and baby daughter. It is hard to believe that you were singing along to this girly hit 15 years ago!

Amanda Lee Williford was feeling pretty grown up when she recorded “I Wanna Be Bad” in 2001 under the stage name Willa Ford. Her song did make it to the Billboard charts, which is awesome for her. If you remember those good ol’ days, you probably were wearing blue eye shadow and Wet ’n’ Wild lip gloss. You loved drinking Surge and eating Altoids as you got ready to watch TRL with Carson Daly and rejoiced you made it through that crazy Y2K.

We must say that Willa Ford is one of the few musicians who have gotten prettier with age. Even thought she made a handful of appearances hosting hit MTV shows like TRL and Say What Karaoke she failed to remain in the spotlight. She dated Nick Carter from the boy band Backstreet Boys, but that romance fizzled out. Some of you may recognize Willa Ford from season three of Dancing with the Stars whereas others may know her from Playboy. Despite her attempts to keep attention, Willa Ford never produced another hit as big as “I Wanna Be Bad.”

There is nothing quite like listening to a falsetto. But who knows, maybe I’m craaazzzy. Did you know the musical pair of was made up of Cee-lo Green and Brian Burton? We did. Did you know Brian Burton’s stage name is Danger Mouse? We didn’t, either. Any-who, the mega-hit “Crazy” went all the way to number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2006. Do you know if this dynamic duo had any other songs or albums? We certainly don’t.

Although Cee-lo Green found small success as a solo artist and was a judge for the still popular reality show The Voice, he more recently found himself among legal troubles. Brian Burton on the other hand has produced hits for some of the biggest artists in the musical industry including The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beck, and U2. He also joined another duo as the other half of Broken Bells. Even though Brian Burton has won five Grammy Awards, he is still known for his one-hit wonder with Cee-lo Green.

All emo kids gather ‘round to take a trip down memory lane with this hit. It was a long, drawn-out, sad sound, but you felt it and it moved you! Hoobastank was responsible for the one hit wonder known as “The Reason.” After all, who can really forget a name like Hoobastank in the dead heat of 2004? This single made it all the way to number two on the Billboard Hot 100. Now go ahead and belt that chorus out way off key.

Who remembers that other Hoobastank hit? Nobody! Although the band found success among their fan base, they obviously fell out of mainstream music pretty quickly. Like others to don this list, that did not stop the band from following their dreams and creating four more albums. The guys are actually still together, make music, and perform shows. Only their diehard fans really care, though. Sorry for being so brutally honest Hoobastank. You still have a cool band name.

We’ve all been there before because we’ve had a bad day. Go ahead and let it out because after you are done singing this one-hit wonder, you will probably feel better. In 2006, “Bad Day” put Daniel Powter’s name in every car and household. In fact, the song was used for season five of American Idol exclusively. We also loved it when the notorious Chipmunks sang it. There is just something about those squeaky voices that is so darn cute.

You will probably never guess what happened to Daniel Powter! Unlike any of his fellow musicians, Daniel Powter simply kept making music and releasing singles. Oh wait that is exactly what everyone does. Sadly, like the others, Daniel Powter never gained much success beyond his one-hit wonder. He still goes on tours and does session work with other musicians, but we aren’t quite sure what that means considering he hasn’t had any notable work attached to his name. Maybe he is having a bad day.

This was everyone’s favorite redhead at the turn of the century. Her stage name clearly fit her hairdo, too. Vitamin C released the whimsical hit “Graduation Day (Friends Forever).” Although it was the graduating anthem for students in 2000, it is a timeless classic that appeals to all generations who are prepping for graduation. Go ahead and Youtube it and you will get a smile on your face so big it looks like sunshine. You will seriously thank us later.

Little to anyone’s knowledge, Vitamin C came out with a second album and even released two singles from it after finding success with “Graduation Day (Friends Forever).” Obviously, her album and singles alike failed to gain any fame. Since then, Vitamin C has shifted her focus to songwriting, which has proved to be a good idea. She has created hits for top musicians like Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, and Demi Lovato. Of course, that was when they were all with the Disney Channel still. That explains why she now works as the VP of Music for Nickelodeon.

From the 1990s to the 2000s, Diddy was a busy man. He changed his name three times! He was clearly trying to find his trademark in the music business, beyond the obvious, so he decided to form numerous not-so-good groups. In 2000, going by P. Diddy, he created the girl group known as Dream. It’s okay if you don’t remember their name or faces because they literally had only one hit. It must not be so bad, though, because here we are still talking about it 17 years later.

Even though the group broke up, these ladies have been super busy. Ashley Poole is still a musician, making and recording albums. In fact, she released a few new singles in 2014. Diana Ortiz is a food and beverage manager according to her Twitter and Holly Blake-Arnstein is a married occupational therapist. Melissa Schuman has tried to go from singing to acting and in 2015 she made a viral video doing an a capella version of “He Loves U Not.”

It seems as though twins who possess any type of talent are a shoe-in for Hollywood. Brothers Evan and Jaron Lowenstein definitely enjoyed their 15 minutes of fame with the one-hit wonder “Crazy For This Girl.” The year was 2000 and the song peaked at number fifteen on the Billboard charts. Okay, so maybe it was not the biggest hit of the year, but it is still stuck in our heads. If you don’t believe us then go and check out the song for yourself.

Fast forward 17 years and these twins are still handsome as ever. They actually stayed in the music business for a decade, not that we noticed, before taking on other projects. As twins in Hollywood do, the brothers dabbled in acting, producing, and screenwriting. These country boys travel back and forth from Nashville to Los Angeles. Despite being in the industry for years, these two did not leave a lasting impression. Nevertheless, we will let them try again because they are just so darn cute!

Hinder does not always sing about relationship troubles, but when they do, they make a one-hit wonder. You could skip the Facebook update about your relationship being complicated and just play “Lips Of An Angel” on repeat. Do you love your ex? Maybe. Do you love your current boo? Well, yeah! What to do, what to do? Matters of the heart can be so confusing, which is probably why Hinder sold over 3.6 million copies of this love ballad in the United States in 2005.

Hinder actually continued to record music and tour. The band even released another four albums, though none of their hits were as big as “Lips Of An Angel.” In 2013, Austin Winkler separated the band to go to rehab. After trying to replace him with a handful of singers, Marshal Dutton officially took his spot in 2015. We are not entirely sure what they have been up to, but we certainly hope they figured out their girl problems by now!

If you wanted to turn up in 2003, there was plenty of ways to do it. You could down a bottle of Boones Farm or even pick up a pack of cigarillos. You way to be naturally high was to put in Cassidy’s single “Hotel” and crank it all the way up. After all, who doesn’t want to party in a hotel with a swagalicious rapper? The amazing yet somewhat dramatic R. Kelly can also be heard on the track. We are pretty sure his smooth vocals helped take this one-hit wonder to the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100.

As most rappers do, they live what they sing. Unfortunately for Cassidy, this meant he did time for an involuntary manslaughter charge. He spent eight months in prison in 2006 stemming from a murder the year before. After being released, he did have a couple other songs, but nothing as good as “Hotel.” He even stayed relevant in the music world until 2009. At the turn of the decade, a beef with Meek Mill sent him into the dark ages despite being a ghostwriting for other rappers and publicly participating in rap battles.

Youuu! Yes, you. You remember “Crank That (Soulja Boy)” from 2007. It was the number one hit of the year and peaked at the top spot on the Billboard charts. Soulja Boy, who was born DeAndre Cortez Way, made us all bounce around doing those silly dance moves all year long! Not only did you boogie down to the catchy one-hit wonder, but you looked up all the other videos associated with this act from epic kid choreographers to SpongeBob edited clicks.

Four must be the lucky number because like his fellow musicians, Soulja Boy has released four albums. His latest was Blessed from 2015. As you already know, none of his raps climbed to the Billboard charts the way “Crank That (Soulja Boy)” did. You should not feel bad for him, though, because he has stayed in the Hollywood limelight for picking fights with Chris Brown. The two rappers have beef over a girl, of course, and keep posting videos talking trash to each other.

We really feel sorry for you if your name was Stacy when the Fountains of Wayne came out with this one-hit wonder. You got tired pretty quick about how your mom has got it going on. Seriously, if you never heard that song again, it would be too soon. Well for the rest of us non-Stacy’s out there, we sang along to this 2003 song. It was so popular that it was nominated for a Grammy Award. Although they did not win, Fountains of Wayne could have easily taken the Best Vocal Pop Performance thanks to their certified gold single.

Believe it or not, Fountains of Wayne successfully navigated through the music industry for 12 years. Here we go sounding like a broken record, but this group created four albums. And, you guessed it, all of their other songs failed to gain mainstream success like “Stacy’s Mom.” As of 2015, the group has dedicated their time to solo projects and do not plan on recording new music as Fountains of Wayne. Even though that probably makes their fans sad, we did not even notice the left the music scene because they were barely here to begin with.

Please do not ask us why the band is called Chumbawamba because we do not know. Further, we do not why the song is called “Tubthumping” and that because it is from the album Tubthumper. Please do not ask us why the album is titled that because, once again, who knows?! One thing is for certain though, this British pop band released this smash hit in 1997 and it quickly climbed the charts both in the United Kingdom and the United States.

Tubthumper was the band’s eighth album (well at least they broke the mold with that number!). After the one-hit wonder got so much attention, it was hard to create another equally popular song. Despite not having much more musical success, the record will always be featured as the opening theme song for EA’s World Cup ’98 video game, so don’t cry for me Danny boy. If you get knocked down, just get up again and bring on the girly chorus and weird dance moves.

All you needed to do was read the title of the song and that was enough to start singing. Come on and join us… save tonight! Fight the break of dawn. Come tomorrow, tomorrow I will be gone. This Swedish musician created the ultimate going away song in 1997. Whether you were excited about a vacation or you were a little sad because of a departure, this song pulled at your heart strings. It is the bittersweet ballad that became a one-hit wonder in 1997.

Despite assuming Eagle-Eye Cherry was a band this whole time, you can actually see that it is just one guy. He released “Save Tonight” on his debut album titled Desireless. Even though he never found any other mainstream commercial success since, we certainly do not agree with the title of the album! He was good looking back then and Eagle-Eye Cherry as we will refer to him looks like the years have been good to him. Maybe fighting the break of dawn is the way to looking youthful!

Despite their reference to British currency, Sixpence None the Richer is an American pop / rock band. For all those young girls who swooned over Freddy Prince Jr. in ‘90s flick She’s All That, this was the ultimate these song for love. Just picture it, the dorky girl gets the super hot jock! They dance and kiss and live happily ever after. Go ahead and join in the childish fantasy and cue that pixie voice. Ever since 1997, we wanted to be kissed beneath the milky moonlight.

The one-hit wonder “Kiss Me” climbed the charts in both the United States and the United Kingdom. Clearly, the song was an undeniable success throughout the globe. But, in true fashion of this list, go ahead and try to think of another Sixpence None the Richer chart-topper. Go ahead, we will wait… Of course the band released a handful of albums, but never released one quite like “Kiss Me.” Nowadays, the group sings more religious music with an emphasis on Christian and Indie Pop.

Clearly music affects culture and vice versa because The Verve released an epic hit in 1997, which practically everyone associates with the cult classic film Cruel Intentions. That darn step-sister Katherine ruined everything and hurt our precious blonde-hair and blue-eyed babe known as Ryan Philippe. And that was when he and Reese Witherspoon were still in love. Yes, it takes us back to better times in 1997. Now sing it with us slowly… It’s a bitter…sweet…symphony! Ahh, yes, yes it is.

These guys have been together since 1989 when they created their band in England. They were active for two full decades throughout the ‘90s into the 2000’s. Every few years they released another album, which resulted in four total records. Urban Hymns was the third and biggest with the one-hit wonder “Bitter Sweet Symphony.” After the group split, some of them did solo projects whereas others linked up to other bands. It’s all good though because we will always hear them when we watch Cruel Intentions (and get mad).

Did you ever wonder what if God was one of us? How would he live? What would he do? Never mind that whole thing about Jesus coming down as his only son and walking with us 2,000 years ago. We are talking about Joan Osborne’s rendition of what would Jesus do. This super slow and somewhat sad ballad soared to the top of the charts in 1995. However, it is pretty annoying that she never actually answered any of her own questions.

Despite releasing several albums and even writing all of her own songs for her 2014 record, Joan Osborne simply could not gain the traction needed to stay on top. She of course had her own fan base, which is why she stayed in active in the music industry for over 30 years. Unfortunately, “One of Us” is usually only heard now at reality talent shows like X Factor and The Voice. At least we can sing along to it since it is a one-hit wonder that is still stuck in our head.

The year was 2004 and err-body in the club was getting tipsy thanks to J-Kwon’s single! It did not matter if you were a teeny bopper trying to look cool (because you got a fake ID though…) or a middle-aged parent just trying to enjoy the night off. This was your jam and you got down to it in the car, at school and work, during that awesome house party, and, most importantly, in the club! J-Kwon’s hit peaked at number seven on The Billboard 200.

His biggest hit “Tipsy” was released on his Hood Hop album. Five years later, he released a follow up album known as Hood Hop 2. We are not exactly sure why it took him so long to record and release another record. Nevertheless, the time difference affected the sales and it failed to make a big impact like his first one. J-Kwon has since released a diss track about Old Future and Pusha-T in 2013, which nobody even stopped to listen to.

This was another one of those radio hits that all melodramatic teens loved. Actually, that is an understatement because this one-hit wonder really appealed to a variety of listeners. You might have heard it featured in Coyote Ugly, Star Trek Enterprise, Smallville, and Cold Case. Off of the band’s first album Camino Palmero, “Wherever You Will Go” even peaked at number one on the Billboard charts. In fact, Billboard also named the one-hit wonder the number one adult pop song of the decade.

It was only natural that the band went on a huge tour after releasing such an impressive track. After making a butt load of money and traveling from city to city, The Calling took a break from the music industry in 2005. Alex Band (well that is catchy!) is the lead singer. He continued to make songs as a solo artist. Unfortunately, his career did not take off. For all those fans out there, The Calling got back together in 2013.

As soon as you read this title, you started singing the song. Just admit it! Even if you sang it in your head, you still heard this 2001 hit in the same voice and melody as when it first came out. “Come my lady, come, come my lady. You’re my butterfly, sugar, baby.” Sorry, we couldn’t resist. It is pretty easy to remember the lyrics to a number one Billboard hit even if it is a one-hit wonder from 16 years ago!

Although it only took a year to release another album, which was titled Darkhorse, Crazy Town went on hiatus soon thereafter. The problem was that lead singer Shifty Shellshock, born Seth Binzer, broke away from the group to collaborate with Paul Oakenfold. Although the pair made “Starry-Eyed Surprise” and Shifty worked on a few film projects, the band has yet to release a smash hit again. Hopefully they can come up with something equally as catchy because Crazy Horse just got back together in 2014, released “Megatron,” and planned a 2015 tour.

Donnie Iris achieved something that many musicians probably never would have dreamed of doing in their careers. Before taking on a solo career, the rock artist had a brief stint working as an engineer for seventies funk band Wild Cherry. This collective was of course responsible for the catchy one-hit number, “Play That Funky Music.” Shortly after though, Donnie went his own way, releasing the hit single “Ah Leah!” which received much airplay in Boston, Cleveland and Pittsburgh.

Since having two one-hit wonders, one with a band and the other as a solo artist, Donnie Iris hasn’t given up on his musical passions. The musician has worked under the record label Primary, releasing three albums, Together Alone, Ellwood City and Ah! Leluiah!. Due to popular demand, Iris won a public vote to be inducted into the Pittsburgh Rock ‘N Roll Legends. And Iris has no plans of stopping any time soon, with another album lined up within the next year.

Undoubtedly responsible for one of the most instantly recognizable one-hit wonders of all time, Vanilla Ice bridged the gap between pop and hip-hop with his iconic hit, “Ice, Ice, Baby.” Also known as Robert Van Winkle, the rapper took the famous bass line from Queen’s hit “Under Pressure” and used as the platform to spit his ice cool lyrics over. The single was the first hip-hop record to top the Billboard charts and was number one in seven countries.

Despite reaching incredible heights with “Ice Ice Baby,” Van Winkle was never able to come close to the success that he had made with the 1990 hit. Ice took the risk of delving into less mainstream projects, and suffered commercially as a result. In recent times, he has had minor roles in movies such as The Ridiculous Six and That’s My Boy. He has also worked on a variety of TV shows such as season 23 of Dancing With The Stars.

In 1988, the catchy hit “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” was officially the first acappella to reach number one in the Billboard Hot 100. Impressively, Jazz musician Bobby McFerrin used absolutely no instruments in the production of his only major commercial hit. The song is completely overdubbed by voices and sounds. “Don’t Worry Be Happy” was also a critical success, winning three awards at the 1989 Grammy Awards. These included Song of the Year, Record of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.

Although he never exceeded the success he achieved with “Don’t Worry Be Happy,” it is often overlooked that Bobby McFerrin also had success prior to the 1988 hit. He also won Grammies for Jazz Vocal Performances for songs “Another Night in Tunisia,” “Round Midnight” and “What Is This Thing Called Love.” To this day, McFerrin still enjoys the recognition he received from his trademark hit and regularly performs around the world. He is also happily married with three children.

American pop bad Starland Vocal Band never could’ve predicted how big their song “Afternoon Delight” would become when it was released in 1976. The hit would go down as one of the biggest-selling singles of the seventies. The catchy melody with lyrics that pushed the envelope at the time reached number 1 in Canada and was also a big hit overseas. The song was also nominated for three Grammy awards, winning the award for Best Arrangement of Voices.

The man who wrote the risky lyrics to “Afternoon Delight,” frontman Bill Danoff, is the only member of the band who is still part of the public eye. Despite failing to build on the success of Starland Vocal Band’s keynote hit, Danoff has had success as a songwriter. The frontman wrote hits for other artists such as John Denver, notably “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” Danoff also taught a songwriters course at his alma mater Georgetown University.

Australian singer Natalie Imbruglia’s finest hour came in 1997 when she released a cover of Danish singer Lis Sorensen’s “Torn.” But it was Imbruglia’s rendition that achieved the most success, peaking at number one in Belgium, Denmark, Canada, Spain, Sweden and on Billboard’s Mainstream Top 40. It also reached top 10 charts in many other countries. The song is considered an all time pop hit, but it would be Imbruglia’s only major one. And since then, the song has been covered by many other artists.

Despite never building on the success of her 1997 hit, Natalie Imbruglia has been successful in other many areas of a her career. The Aussie featured in a handful of films such as 2003’s Johnny English and the Australian 2009 indie film, Closed For Winter. Imbruglia also worked as a model for brands such as L’Oreal, Gap and Kallis. But most notably, she has helped raise awareness of obstetric fistula, a medical condition that affects women who endured prolonged, severe or failed childbirths.

Norwegian synthpop band A-Ha will be best remembered for their 1984 classic, “Take On Me.” In 1985, the song reached number two in the UK charts. But it wasn’t just the song that earned A-Ha much success. During its early years, “Take On Me’s” memorable music video featured heavily on MTV, including a pencil-sketch animation called rotoscoping. At the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards, the band won six awards for the music video and was nominated for two others.

Despite only having major US success with “Take On Me,” A-Ha is unanimously regarded as Norway’s biggest musical export. The band has received huge followings in Scandinavian countries, as well as Germany and even parts of South America. Most notably, A-Ha remain in the Guinness Book Of World Records for having the large paying audience. In 1991, they attracted an incredible 198,000-strong audience at Rio’s Maracana Stadium. The band even recorded the theme song to the James Bond movie, The Living Daylights.

During the peak of the disco era, the Sugar Hill Gang brought something completely fresh to mainstream airwaves with their 1979 hit single, “Rapper’s Delight.” Although it wasn’t the first time that a musician had rapped over a hit single (take Blondie’s “Rapture” for example), “Rapper’s Delight” is widely considered to be the song that introduced hip-hop to a worldwide audience. Rappers Wonder Mike, Big Bank Hank and Master Gee are the trio who made history with their ingenious use of Chic’s “Good Times.”

There is no denying that the Sugar Hill Gang had a huge part to play in the evolution of hip-hop with their 1979 hit. But unfortunately, the group never had another major hit in the US and “Rapper’s Delight” will always be the group’s trademark number. Sadly, in 2014, Big Bad Hank passed away after a long battle with cancer. But in 2016, the Sugar Hill Gang got exactly what they deserved, their first world tour in over a decade.