Ah, the turn of the millennium. Depending on who you ask, that little space of time between 1999 and 2000 had some of the best music… or some of the worst. Either way, a few noteworthy one-hit wonders made it big during the Y2K era, and many of them are extremely memorable. Let’s take a look at just a few nostalgic favorites!
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1. “Who Let The Dogs Out?” by Baha Men
Oh, boy. This track was absolutely everywhere in the latter half of 2000, and we understand why. “Who Let The Dogs Out?” by Baha Men was an addictive, shamelessly indulgent little junkanoo/breakbeat hit, and anyone who was a kid this year likely heard it in multiple films from Rugrats In Paris: The Movie to Men In Black II.
This song was an international hit and made it to no. 40 on the US Hot 100 chart, and it ranked even higher on other charts. The song even nabbed the Bahamian outfit a Grammy award. Unfortunately for Baha Men, though, they didn’t score a Top 40 hit in the US again.
2. “You Get What You Give” by New Radicals
Alt-rock was still pretty huge during the Y2K era. And these one-hit wonders made it big with “You Get What You Give”. This fun alt-rock power-pop hit made it to no. 36 on the Hot 100 by the end of 1999, and also did quite well on numerous other charts.
Unfortunately, New Radicals are on this list for a reason. They didn’t chart in the US (among other countries) again after this song came out.
3. “Right Now” by SR-71
“Right Now” by SR-71 was released in 2000. This track became a staple for stoner movie soundtracks in the years that followed. This skate punk classic was featured in everything from Dude, Where’s My Car to Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle to Old School.
SR-71 got some decent commercial success when “Right Now” peaked at no. 2 on the US Alternative Airplay chart, but the pop punks didn’t gain a substantial charting hit again.
4. “Mambo No. 5” by Lou Bega
Well, we couldn’t leave this one out. Lou Bega is one of the most memorable one-hit wonders of the Y2K era, after all. “Mambo No. 5” is still a wedding/birthday party DJ staple today, and it was inescapable after it was released in 1999. If you lived in Europe at the time, you definitely couldn’t escape the song that summer.
Despite the success of “Mambo No. 5” peaking at no. 3 on the Hot 100 in the US, Bega couldn’t scratch the Top 70 again in the US, among other countries. Though, he did have a few additional hits in his native Germany.
Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Inc
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