3 Era-Defining One-Hit Wonders From the Bygone 2000s

When you close your eyes and look back on the decade of the 2000s, what comes to mind? As the dawn of a new millennium set in, what was on your mind? Or perhaps more specifically, what was on your stereo? Well, we bet we can guess at least three songs were around your speakers.

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Here below, we wanted to explore three famous songs from the 2000s from artists who never quite repeated their success. Indeed, these are three era-defining one-hit wonders from the bygone 2000s.

[RELATED: 3 One-Hit Wonders That Dominated the Airwaves in the 1990s]

“Smooth Criminal” by Alien Ant Farm from Anthology (2001)

A raucous and rambunctious cover of the famous 1988 Michael Jackson tune, this backyard brawl of a track hit No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was also emblematic of the new era in music and popular culture at large. If you saw the music video for this single, chances are you were watching it on the uber-popular program Total Request Live, which was a staple of the 2000s. Not only that but if you look at the fashion and comportment of the people in the vid, it’s just so 2000s. Backwards baseball hats, baggy clothes, suburban pride, and a reckless abandon that can only be seen today as naive youth.

“The Middle” by Jimmy Eat World from Bleed American (2001)

Another high-energy tack (because, well, that’s just what we were doing those days), this song from the Arizona-born band Jimmy Eat World hit No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was also a staple in movies and TV shows at the time. Lead vocalist Jim Adkins sings with a hyper tone that would only be seen as silly today. These days, young people are more chill. They show less and say things like “say less.” But Adkins wants to say and do more! He’s hungry for the new era. He can eat the whole world, in fact! Even if he does know folks who feel stuck in the middle of things.

“Who Let the Dogs Out” by Baha Men from Who Let the Dogs Out (2000)

This track, which cracked the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 (though it seemed much more ubiquitous in the decade), is a party tune. Before the internet and social media took over, we really knew how to have fun. Mostly because we knew we weren’t being watched 24/7. So there was ample room to, well, let the dogs out! And the Baha Men captured this feeling in their 2000 hit song, which has since been repeated over and over again whenever talking about literal dogs out for a walk.

Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for iHeartMedia