There were a lot of repeat-worthy hits throughout the 2000s, but many of the artists who made them only reached the charts once. Some during that decade spent years working in the studio and selling albums long before their records ever played on MTV or appeared on pop radio stations. Others were fortunate enough to find success beyond their most popular song.
Some songs are even larger than the artist or band who brought them to life, becoming an inescapable earworm even as the musician responsible for the hit hardly rings a bell. Listeners are more likely to know the next line after “‘Cause I’m just a teenage dirtbag, baby” from the adolescent anthem “Teenage Dirtbag” than the name of the band who sings it. Visit almost any karaoke bar in America, and chances are you’ll hear someone yodeling every word to the chorus of “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” performed by, err, whatstheirname.
That’s the power of a one-hit wonder.
Rewinding it to the 2000s, Stacker compiled 20 of the best one-hit wonders from the decade, citing Billboard chart data and music industry news from the time. As you go through the list, don’t be surprised if a few of these tracks have climbed the charts again thanks to a new generation of Coachellagoers.