4 One-Hit Wonders That Became Internet Memes Years Later

Quite a few one-hit wonders from years ago have been memed since the internet first began. It’s simply part of the territory of being an obscure, jam-worthy hit. Let’s enjoy a music/internet history lesson and revisit four one-hit wonders that became internet memes!

1. “What Is Love” by Haddaway

This dance-pop tune is still quite loved today. Honestly, it’s surprising that Euro-pop singer Haddaway didn’t enjoy more hits throughout his career. “What Is Love” was a no. 1 hit across the globe and hit no. 11 on the US Billboard Hot 100 back in the early 1990s. 

“What Is Love” became even more of a hit when it was featured in the 1998 comedy A Night At The Roxbury. For a while, there were endless GIFs and video edits of the song and the movie all over the ol’ Net.

2. “Sandstorm” by Darude

One-hit wonders sometimes become memes because they are so bad that they’re hilarious. That’s far from the reason why Darude’s “Sandstorm” became a meme. This EDM classic is still a banger to punch the air to today. 

But shortly after it was released in 1999, it became a meme staple for everything related to sports. Back in 2013, it had a new bout of life when gaming streamers on YouTube started using it as background music for their streams.

3. “What’s Up” by 4 Non Blondes

Well, this one was unavoidable. What was once a chart-topping 1992 alt-rock single by the outfit 4 Non Blondes became a certified meme in the early 2000s. A famously bad cover of “What’s Up” was used over an excellently edited video of the 1980s cartoon series He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, and it quickly became a meme for the ages.

4. “Take On Me” by A-Ha

We’ve talked about the meme-ery of this particular one-hit wonder, and it’s worth mentioning yet again. “Take On Me” by A-Ha was a huge deal when it first came out, climbing the charts to no. 1 in the US, Norway, and quite a few additional countries across Europe.

It’s been memed a few times through the years, notably on the now-defunct platform Vine as well as TikTok. Memes aside, this new wave tune is still a banger today.

Photo by Tim Roney/Getty Images

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