One-hit wonders come and go, and some of them really needed to go. We’re not dogging on the musical talents of these artists for the most part; but after those one hits gave them a bit of fame, they just couldn’t quite produce something that showed off their music talents properly. Some of them made poor musical choices, others settled for gimmicks that just were not it. They’re still one-hit wonders to this day, and they probably should stay that way.
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However, as always, this list is simply a matter of opinion. Let’s take a look, shall we?
1. Vanilla Ice
This rapper made it big in 1990 with the track “Ice Ice Baby”. It’s still an iconic tune today; Ice knew what he was doing with that particular track. However, he just couldn’t replicate the energy and catchiness of that particular Bowie/Queen mashup song.
However, Vanilla Ice more or less buried his own career by following up “Ice Ice Baby” with a sappy, poorly-written ballad called “I Love You”. It was notably very different from “Ice Ice Baby” and was not well-received by listeners.
Just as well, instead of rolling with the same vibe and energy of his one-hit wonder, he decided to simply sample another track from the 1970s for another song, “Rollin’ In My 5.0”. It was another swing and a miss for Ice, and he never quite made it big again.
2. Tommy Tutone
Listen, we love campy, showy 1980s glamor as much as the next person. But Tommy Tutone probably should stay one-hit wonders for good. “867-5309” was the catchiest hit to come out of 1981, and the band itself was quite successful on a local level in San Francisco outside of that one major hit.
However, we just don’t think the band made a strong enough effort to move their career forward together. When their follow-up album National Rescue didn’t exactly hit as well as they wanted, they basically disbanded and gave up. Years later they got back together as a caricature of their former selves with campy Christmas-themed remixes of “867-5309”. That alone should land them in one-hit wonder jail.
3. Sir Mix-A-Lot
This entry might be controversial. However, we think Sir Mix-A-Lot should stay in the vault of 1990s one-hit wonders for good. “Baby Got Back” is an iconic hip-hop track that is still blasted on repeat today, and that campy music video is still pretty wild to see.
That being said, his unique personality and rap skills fell into gimmick territory very quickly. The intense objectification of women wasn’t exactly going to serve him well for a long-term music career. Sir Mix-A-Lot also decided soon after “Baby Got Back” to focus more on his career as a radio DJ and a TV host. Even he seems to be fine with being a one-hit wonder.
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