While some one-hit wonders remain masterpieces that became successful for a reason, some stand up far less well to the masses. Whether for annoying lyrics, unwanted earworm beats, or hated music videos, these three one-hit wonders are so cringe it hurts—especially because you know every lyric.
Videos by American Songwriter
“Friday” by Rebecca Black
When Rebecca Black’s “Friday” hit the airwaves in 2011, it became an end-of-week anthem, though its popularity divided listeners. For the adult demo, the song was pretty quickly disliked for its unimaginative lyrics and heavy-handed use of autotune, but that didn’t stop its commercial success. It spent six weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 58.
Shortly after the track’s debut, Ark Music Factory CEO Patrice Wilson told Gawker that “Friday” wasn’t meant to be good.
“Yeah, people didn’t like the song, didn’t like the music video, they thought it was really cheesy,” he said. “But that was the whole point, to create something that was really simple but something that sticks in people’s head. To have people say ‘I hate this song, but I’m still singing it.’”
“The Fox (What Does The Fox Say?)” by Ylvis
In 2013, it was impossible to escape one question: What does the fox say? Listeners have brothers Vegard and Bård Ylvisåker to blame for that. The comedy duo put out the song as a promo for their late-night show, Tonight with Ylvis. Though the song was meant as a joke, they turned to Stargate, a real production company, to bring their vision to life.
“We thought it would be more fun from a comedian perspective to come home to the talk show and say, ‘Listen we had the chance, we could’ve made it big, but the only idea we got for the song was this old idea about what the fox says so we’re sorry. We screwed up.’ That was the plan,” Bård told Entertainment Weekly in 2013. “That would’ve been funny to say on the talk show.”
After the success of “The Fox (What Does The Fox Say?)”—it peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100—the brothers weren’t looking to create another hit.
“We’re just making stuff that we think is funny. Some will get like 100,000 views, and some obviously got 100 million, but it’s the same recipe,” Bård said. “It’s supposed to be three minutes for a Norwegian talk show, and this one traveled.”
“Who Let The Dogs Out” by Baha Men
Despite winning a GRAMMY and reaching the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, Baha Men’s “Who Let The Dogs Out” is widely considered, well, not good. It ranked third on Rolling Stone’s most annoying songs poll, and nabbed the top spot on Spinner‘s list of the worst songs ever.
As it turns out, the world was nearly never introduced to the track, as Dyson Knight told VICE in 2015. According to him, Baha Men founder Isaiah Taylor said there was “no way” his band would record the track. Eventually, though, Baha Men did just that, and “the rest is history,” Knight said.
Now, even the band has become annoyed by the song.
“I’m very tired of playing that song in rehearsal. I mean, we’ve been playing it for almost as long as I’ve been alive,” Knight said, before offering one exception to his assertion, stating, “On stage, it’s different. The fans really give life to that song.”
Photo by Craig Barritt / Contributor via Getty Images
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