3 One-Hit Wonders From the 2000s Who Accidentally Defined a Generation

Need some one-hit wonders to pad your nostalgic 2000s playlist? The following three hitmakers honestly deserved way more hits stateside than they got back in the day, and they’re genuinely amazing songs worthy of any playlist. And if you’re a millennial, I bet you know the words to each of these lovely little tunes by heart!

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“A Thousand Miles” by Vanessa Carlton

Few one-hit wonders are as burned into the collective subconscious of millennials around the world quite like “A Thousand Miles” by Vanessa Carlton. That piano melody, Carlton’s amazing vocals, the whole anthemic sound of the song… It’s still a bop today, and for good reason.

“A Thousand Miles” hit No. 5 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2002. Sadly, Carlton would never hit the Hot 100’s Top 20 again. It honestly doesn’t make sense to me. Her music through the 2000s and 2010s has been fantastic.

“Better Off Alone” by Alice Deejay

This song by Alice Deejay was way bigger in Europe and the UK back in the day. Technically released in 1998, “Better Off Alone” was so enormously popular upon its release that it stayed in radio rotation well through the 2000s.

This Dutch Eurodance project enjoyed several years of charting success through 2001 in their native Netherlands, as well as Europe and the United Kingdom. However, “Better Off Alone” was their only charting hit in the US, where it hit No. 27 on the Hot 100 chart. The group would come to a close in 2002, but would later delight fans by reviving in the 2020s.

“I Hope You Dance” by Lee Ann Womack

Even if you’re not the biggest country fan, Lee Ann Womack was one of those one-hit wonders that you probably couldn’t help but love. She had a gorgeous voice, and her biggest claim to fame, “I Hope You Dance”, is an almost ethereal take on country-pop music.

Lee Ann Womack was a one-hit wonder in the sense that “I Hope Your Dance”, which hit No. 14 on the Hot 100 chart, was her only hit to make it to the Top 30 on that particular chart. Country fans likely wouldn’t consider her a one-hit wonder, though. She stayed on the Hot Country Songs chart well into the late 2000s.

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