One-hit wonders: Where are they now?
Every so often, a song comes on the radio that makes listeners wonder, “What ever happened to them?” The one-hit wonder is a common phenomenon in the music industry. Sometimes, an artist has only one mega-hit and then vanishes, leaving everyone wondering what came next for them.
By standard definitions, a one-hit wonder is any musician who breaks into the Top 40 at some point, but never returns. Often, their body of work is extensive, with multiple albums, but their one hit overshadows every other tune they release. Here are some of the most well-known one-hit wonders, from the 1960s to the present day, and what happened after their 15 minutes of fame were up.
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Gregg Alexander from New Radicals
In 1997, Alexander teamed up with Danielle Brisebois to create the band “New Radicals” with a rotating group of instrumentalists. The project was short-lived, lasting a mere two years. In 1998, they released their one album, “Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed Too,” featuring the top hit “You Get What You Give.”
According to Alexander, the song’s central theme is “remembering to fly high and be completely off your head in a world where you can’t control all elements.” The most discussed part of the song was the ending, which lists the names of multiple musicians, including Beck, Courtney Love, and Marilyn Manson, and refers to them as “fakes.” The section is preceded by some political lyrics, which Alexander intentionally chose to see which part of the song the media would fixate on.
In a press release, Alexander announced that the brand was disbanding, and he would transition to freelance producing and songwriting for other artists. He cited the fatigue of traveling and getting little sleep on tour as his most significant reason for leaving. His first project after the breakup was producing an album for Brisebois. In his career, he’s written over 200 songs for Britney Spears, Santana, CeeLo Green, and more, including Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s hit “Murder on the Dancefloor.”
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Thomas Dolby
Dolby’s 1983 synth-pop song “She Blinded Me With Science” hit No. 5 on Billboard’s Top 100. Dolby crafted the song around a “mad scientist” character, stating that it is about a scientist who falls in love with his lab assistant, Miss Sakamoto. His song was one of the first to break into electronic music, utilizing a synthesizer from the Moog company.
Creating synth music was just one of the many ways Dolby followed his passion for technology. Ten years after releasing his hit song, he founded Beatnik, a company that created interactive audio tools, including a new audio file format.
Although he stepped down as CEO in 2002, he continued to pursue other entrepreneurial and technological endeavors. He designed an audio virtual reality experience in 1992, before VR was popularized. Until 2012, he served as the music director for TED Conference, securing other musicians and occasionally performing onstage. Most recently, in 2017, he started leading a four-year music program at Johns Hopkins University’s conservatory. Despite this medley of projects, music remains at the heart of everything Dolby undertakes.
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Chamillionaire
Hakeen Seriki, better known as Chamillionaire, found instant success in 2005 with his first big release, an album titled “The Sound of Revenge.” The song “Ridin” hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100, with its well-known lyric, “They see me rollin’, they hatin.’”
One of his albums, “Venom,” was cancelled in 2011 after its release was pushed back: He had backed out of his deal with Universal Records. While he continued to release music independently, none of his subsequent albums reached the same level of success.
Since 2015, Chamillionaire switched his focus to entrepreneurship, getting involved in venture capital firms and startups across industries. He created the indie record label Chamilitary Entertainment, a modelling company called Masterpiece Mind Frame, a video talent agency, and a tour bus company. His most recent business endeavors include two apps: Convoz, which allows influencers to engage more directly with fans, and Access Club, a private investing app. At only 45 years old, Chamillionaire likely has more big plans ahead as a self-proclaimed “Venture Raptivisit.”
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Fountains of Wayne
In 2003, the NYC-based rock band, founded by Chris Collingwood and Adam Schlesinger, dropped their hit single “Stacy’s Mom.” According to the pair, the inspiration for the song was an adolescent experience in which a friend admitted to being attracted to Schlesinger’s grandmother. Since its release, the song has been covered and featured in numerous TV shows and films, and even became a Northeastern University pep band anthem.
For a band known for their sleaziest song, it comes as no surprise that the intensity of a rockstar lifestyle led to their downfall. The first sign of trouble came in 2006, when Collingwood experienced a mental breakdown. He experienced two days’ worth of hallucinations after not sleeping for four days. Collingwood continued to struggle with alcoholism and depression, and describes being “checked out” during the recording process for their fifth album. Their 2011 album, Sky Full of Holes, marked a volatile period for the band. According to Collingwood, it was difficult for him to reestablish his role in the band, and “every single thing about that record was a fight. It was a brutal thing right up to the end.”
As time wore on, the two founding members grew more distant, speaking of the band entirely in the past tense and beginning new projects. The end of the band was solidified in 2020, when Schlesinger died of COVID-19 complications at 52 years old.
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Rebecca Black
Rebecca Black was only a teenager when her mother paid the record label ARK to record the music video for “Friday.” After about a month, the video went viral, but not for the best reasons. It reached the most disliked video on YouTube in 2011, with over 1 million dislikes. Both the song and music video received overwhelmingly negative reviews, with complaints about the heavy use of autotune and lackluster lyrics, such as “Tomorrow is Saturday / And Sunday comes afterwards.” Despite the hate, the song peaked at No. 58 on Billboard’s Hot 100.
As the hate died down, as well as Black’s 15 minutes of major fame, she continued to release music. She released another song, “Person of Interest,” that same year. Since 2016, she’s released music every year. Her YouTube career also gained momentum, as she posted reaction videos, hauls, and challenge videos, along with music videos. In the past two years, her career has climbed, exemplified by a Lollapalooza DJ set, an appearance at the MTV Video Music Awards, and live performances at the VEVO studio. Up next for her? According to her Instagram, she’s getting ready to keep touring internationally after the release of her sophomore album, SALVATION.
Image Credit: Abdullah Durmaz/ iStock
Conclusion
Artists often end up being one-hit wonders for a variety of reasons, and each has their own unique story behind how they achieved temporary success. For musicians like Thomas Dolby and Chamillionaire, performing just doesn’t provide fulfillment, and they move on to something they enjoy more. Bands like Fountains of Wayne and New Radicals face the extra challenge of navigating a group dynamic, and often, the rock n’ roll life catches up with them, leading them to crash and burn. For childhood stars like Rebecca Black, continuing to write and perform with less traction is the best route. Regardless of how fleeting their fame is, it’s undeniable that these songs made their mark in pop music history.
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