There were a lot of “no-hit wonders” in the 2000s. To me, a no-hit wonder is a band or musician who influenced music in a big way, but never had a Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart… or even made it to the Hot 100 at all. They might have made it to other charts, but that coveted mainstream chart eluded them for some reason. The charts aren’t always gospel, and these three influential and genuinely amazing bands without major mainstream charting hits prove that. Let’s take a look!
Videos by American Songwriter
Against Me!
This has always surprised me. I grew up with friends who listened to Against Me! nonstop, specifically albums like the 2002 effort Against Me! Is Reinventing Axl Rose and New Wave from 2007. I assumed that this punk rock band had gotten at least some attention on the mainstream charts, or at the very least, a constant spot on the US rock charts. That was not the case at all, apparently.
This punk rock outfit enjoyed a few hit albums in the US, but they never made it to the US Hot 100 chart for their singles. In fact, they only made it to the US rock charts once and the Canadian rock charts three times for their singles. That’s absolutely insane to me, but maybe too many people just weren’t ready for what Again Me! was dishing out back in the day.
Silversun Pickups
I know what you’re thinking. Didn’t the ultra-addicting 2007 song “Lazy Eye” make it to the Hot 100? That song did not, in fact, make it to the Hot 100. It made it to the Bubbling Under chart, and Silversun Pickups’ only song to make it to the coveted Hot 100 chart was “Panic Switch” from 2009, but it only made it to No. 92. The alt-rock outfit has never had a Top 40 hit on the Hot 100, and I think that’s insane. They were so good back in the 2000s, and they’re still amazing today. The drop in “Lazy Eye” still gives me goosebumps.
M83
This one boggles my mind to this day. French electronic outfit M83 produced the hit song “Midnight City” in 2011, but they had been releasing similarly amazing music throughout the early 2000s, from “Run Into Flowers” in 2003 to “Teen Angst” in 2005. “Midnight City” was an absolutely inescapable song across virtually every country out there. And yet, it didn’t make it to the Top 40 of the Hot 100 chart. In fact, none of M83’s music did. They make it to our list of no-hit wonders from the 2000s, begrudgingly on my part, because this group really did inspire a whole generation of electronic musicians. And no Top 40 hit in the US? Blasphemy!
Photo courtesy of Silversun Pickups’ official Facebook page
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.