3 One-Hit Wonders From the 90s That Shocked and Surprised

One-hit wonders are often in your face. They are songs that rose up the charts because they stood out. Like a needle in the proverbial haystack, they are different. Sometimes that means they boast melodies or rhythms that stick with you, that are so good they last in your mind, and you just have to hear them again. Other times, though, they stick out because they shock and surprise.

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We wanted to highlight three of those kinds of songs here. Three tunes that are so surprising you might even be shocked to find out they exist at all. Indeed, these are three one-hit wonders that go out of their way to raise your eyebrows.

“Baby Got Back” by Sir Mix-a-Lot from ‘Mack Daddy’ (1992)

When you write a song about butts and loving them a great deal, you’re going to raise a few eyebrows. But that’s okay. That’s exactly what the Pacific Northwest-born rapper Sir Mix-a-Lot was trying to do with his hit single. The song, which earned him a No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 and a Grammy Award, is about celebrating the human body—especially those who have curves. At the time, Mix says, he saw too many cover models who were thin and waifish. He wanted to change the narrative.

“The Humpty Dance” by Digital Underground from ‘Sex Packets’ (1990)

Wearing a cartoonish fake nose and glasses, the frontman for the rap group Digital Underground was known as Shock G. And when that is your moniker and if that’s what you wear, it’s clear that your m.o. is to wow and surprise. And that’s exactly what Shock G and Digital Underground did with their hit single, “The Humpty Dance”, which peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. Shock G and his group, which were known for bringing blow-up dolls on stage to dance with, talk about risque subjects on this track, including intercourse in a fast-food chain bathroom. Indeed, it definitely shocks.

“I Touch Myself” by Divinyls from ‘Divinyls’ (1990)

It’s pretty self-explanatory why this tune made this list. But a one-hit wonder that highlights the benefits of going downtown, so to speak, certainly is a song that shocks and surprises. But that’s the power of music, after all. Everything is fair game. Nothing is off limits. And if you can find your audience, then you’ve made a path ahead for yourself. That seems to be what the band Divinyls did with this single, which hit No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. They said their piece, and it made them famous beyond what they could have imagined.

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