From The Buggles to Wheatus, here are a few one-hit wonder songs that were also debut singles.
“Video Killed The Radio Star” by The Buggles
The Buggles, aka Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes, released “Video Killed The Radio Star” as their debut single in 1979. The song was released ahead of the group’s debut album, The Age Of Plastic. A song about the way the media was changing at the time, “Video Killed The Radio Star” not only became The Buggles’ biggest hit but also the first song to have its music video aired on MTV.
Videos by American Songwriter
“You Get What You Give” by New Radicals
New Radicals released “You Get What You Give” as their first single in 1998, and released their first and only album, Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed Too, later that year.
As lead singer Gregg Alexander told Stereogum, his reason for leaving the band was a matter of wanting his old life back.
“I simply missed feeling like an artist every day and being able to write songs every day and not feel like my time was being controlled and managed to answer to corporate shareholders,” he shared. “I missed my old life.”
“Teenage Dirtbag” by Wheatus
Talk about an iconic debut single. “Teenage Dirtbag” by Wheatus was the group’s first song, released in 2000, followed by their self-titled debut album. The song was apparently inspired by a teen in Brendan B. Brown’s hometown who was involved in a homicide case. When he got arrested, he was wearing an AC/DC T-shirt. This made AC/DC, along with other hard rock groups, look kind of problematic.
“…So when I sing: ‘I’m just a teenage dirtbag’, I’m effectively saying: ‘Yeah, f–k you if you don’t like it,’” Brown shared with Tone Deaf. “Just because I like AC/DC doesn’t mean I’m a devil worshipper, and you’re an idiot. That’s where it comes from.”
“Take On Me” by A-ha
Last but not least, we have “Take On Me” by A-ha. This song was actually released multiple times. It came out first in 1984, then again, then in 1985, with that iconic music video fans know and love. While the duo had success with other songs like “The Sun Always Shines On T.V.”, it’s hard to match the cultural significance of “Take On Me” with any song.
Photo by: Martyn Goodacre/Getty Images
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