4 One-Hit Wonders Who Tried (And Failed) to Make a Comeback

One-hit wonders will often get a taste of fame and then try to keep that fame afloat. Sadly, though, part of being a one-hit wonder involves never quite getting as big of a hit again. Let’s look at four one-hit wonders who tried to kick off a comeback but didn’t quite make it!

1. Vanilla Ice

This is probably the most famous example of one-hit wonders who tried to launch a comeback with not-so-good results. This rapper became famous for his debut single from 1990, “Ice Ice Baby”. The song was a no. 1 hit in the US and abroad. 

Unfortunately for Vanilla Ice, his follow-up record Mind Blowin’ from 1994 sold only 42,000 copies in the US. He continued to release albums well into the 2010s, but nothing quite stuck.

2. Crazy Town

This rap-rock outfit made it big with their no. 1 hit “Butterfly” in 2000. That single’s album, The Gift Of Game, ended up selling more than one and a half million units. 

Honestly, Crazy Town was a great little music outfit to come out of LA. It’s a shame that their follow-up Darkhorse from 2002 was such a commercial (and charting) failure. After that last album failed to do as well as The Gift Of Game, the band broke up in 2003.

3. Chumbawamba

Honestly, few one-hit wonders through the years have delivered a hit that aged quite as well as Chumbawamba’s “Tubthumping”. This 1997 punk tune is still a delight today. It doesn’t make much sense why the band didn’t get bigger internationally, or at the very least in the US. 

They did enjoy some success in their native UK after the “Tubthumping” craze ended, but attempts to entice American audiences didn’t go well after the 1990s wrapped up.

4. Debby Boone

This is a bit of an older entry on our list of one-hit wonders who tried and failed to stage a comeback. This country pop singer is best known for her one claim to fame, the 1977 hit “You Light Up My Life”. The song made it to no. 1 on the Hot 100 chart and even earned Boone a Grammy award.

Instead of capitalizing on that fame, Boone decided to focus more on non-pop country and Christian music. She did nab a few more awards for her work, but she never reached the Top 10 on the US mainstream charts again.

Photo by Vince Bucci/Getty Images

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