One-hit wonders usually make it far on the charts because they have at least some kind of earworm element that makes them stand out. Many of those one-hit wonders that charted well back in the day, though, would be considered the cheesiest songs ever today. It’s all a matter of opinion, but I’m particularly fond of the following cheesy and/or cringey one-hit wonders from the turn of the millennium.
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1. “Graduation” by Vitamin C
Vitamin C really cornered the market on graduation songs for the better part of the 21st century. I have to hand it to her.
“Graduation (Friends Forever)” was released in 2000 at hit no. 12 on the US Pop Airplay chart and ranked even higher in Canada and Ireland. Technically, Vitamin C would be considered a two-hit wonder: “Graduation” hit no. 38 on the Billboard Hot 100, but her 1999 debut single “Smile” ranked even higher in 1999. Still, we’ll include her on this list, considering “Graduation” is significantly more memorable than “Smile”.
2. “He Loves U Not” by Dream
Remember Dream? They were like a dance-pop girl group from a television show or a fever dream. And I just had to include them on this list of the cheesiest one-hit wonders for their one claim to fame, “He Loves U Not”.
“He Loves U Not” was the girl group’s only high-ranking song, and it peaked at no. 2 on the US Hot 100 chart back in 2000. Sadly, Dream’s follow-up singles barely charted at all, and they disbanded in 2003.
3. “Stacy’s Mom” by Fountains Of Wayne
The cheesiness and cringiness of this song come down to the fact that it hasn’t aged well at all. I still feel bad for Stacy to this very day. Sue me!
This power-pop outfit didn’t have much luck at all in the US. “Stacy’s Mom” peaked at no. 21 on the Hot 100, but none of their subsequent releases charted in the US at all. Though, they were pretty popular on the UK and Scottish charts ahead of their global luck with “Stacy’s Mom”.
4. “Shut Up + Dance” by Walk The Moon
Listen, I’m a millennial. I’ll still move a little bit to this song when it comes on. But it’s still very much worthy of being on this list of the cheesiest one-hit wonders of all time. The production, the lyrics, the manufactured pep… It’s cringe, but it’s a great example of how great things were back in the early 2000s and 2010s when nobody really cared about being cringe.
Pop rock outfit Walk The Moon hit no. 3 on the Hot 100 with “Shut Up + Dance”. Sadly for them, they never made it to the Top 60 again.
Photo by Steve Azzara/Corbis via Getty Images
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