4 Underrated One-Hit Wonders That the 90s Gifted Us

The 90s were one hell of a decade. Here are a couple of underrated one-hit wonders that will give you a blast from the past.

Videos by American Songwriter

“Barbie Girl” by Aqua

This one’s fun. You might recognize “Barbie Girl” from its recent resurfacing on social media. If you don’t, though, this is literally the definition of a 90s hidden gem.

As band member Soren Rasted explained to Rolling Stone, the catchy song actually came to be after he took a visit to an art exhibit, of all places.

“When we were writing songs for the first album,” the songwriter explained, “I went to an art exhibition at a store in Copenhagen. They’d taken a bunch of Barbie dolls and made a planet out of them. It looked like a big, round ball. It made me think of, ‘Life in plastic, it’s fantastic.’ I thought that was a great line. Then I wrote, ‘Come on, Barbie, let’s go party.’”

“All For You” by Sister Hazel

“All For You” was Sister Hazel’s debut single, and it’s still their biggest hit even years later. As band founder Ken Block explained to American Songwriter in 2021, this song was inspired by wondering what would happen if you truly committed and went all in on someone, relationship-wise.

“The idea was about not just what was going on in my own life, but with people all around me,” he explained. “Where they weren’t sure about where their relationships were going, where they had one foot in and one foot out, and they kept getting back together.”

“One Headlight” by The Wallflowers

This song is pop-rock, groovy, and oh so 90s.

As Jakob Dylan revealed to Spin, he wasn’t trying to write a No. 1 hit when he penned “One Headlight”. He was actually trying to impress a specific producer that he wanted to work with. The song did impress that producer, but it didn’t lead to the kind of success he expected.

“I could see him lighting up, and I thought, ‘I got him, I got him,’” the songwriter explained. “He finished the song for the third time and said, ‘This could be something. This could be really great.’ But then he left and I never spoke to him again. He never called.”

“Torn” by Natalie Imbruglia

This is one of those songs that’s easy to forget about, but once you put it on, it’s like reuniting with an old friend after a long time. There’s something about the combination of Imbruglia’s breathy voice and the melody in the chorus that makes “Torn” totally unforgettable.

Photo by: Tim Roney/Getty Images