A guilty pleasure. Is there any other kind? Probably. Yet, sometimes to enjoy something you know you shouldn’t, to dive headfirst into a song or movie or food item that maybe isn’t all that great for you, that can be the most fun of all. And when it comes to songs like one-hit wonders? Well, it’s just that much more delightful.
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Here below, we wanted to prove that very point. To explore three one-hit wonders that are musical guilty pleasures. A trio of tracks that perhaps surprisingly rocketed up the charts, but in hindsight make perfect sense given how fun or tasty or passionate they can be. Indeed, these are three guilty pleasure one-hit wonders from the 1990s that you may not want to tell anyone you love.
[RELATED: 3 Energetic One-Hit Wonders That Are Perfect To Dance Along To]
“Ice Ice Baby” by Vanilla Ice from To the Extreme (1990)
Wait … is the title of this song a self-referential moment in the third person? Is Vanilla Ice talking about Vanilla Ice in the song title “Ice Ice Baby”? Is that what’s happening here? If so, that’s just one of the many rather ridiculous things going on here. If you squint, this song is a masterpiece. It’s lively, catchy, and demonstrates real talent. But more than that, it’s a goofy tune that will go down in history as a goofy tune. Yet, this is also the perfect combination for a guilty pleasure track. On the song, Ice raps,
All right stop, collaborate and listen
Ice is back with the brand-new invention
Something, grabs a hold of me tightly
Flow like a harpoon daily and nightly
Will it ever stop? Yo, I don’t know
Turn off the lights and I’ll glow
To the extreme I rock a mic like a vandal
Light up a stage and wax a chump like a candle
Dance go rush to the speaker that booms
“I Touch Myself” by Divinyls from Divinyls (1990)
This song is a literal guilty pleasure. As in, well, it’s about masturbation. We’re all adults here, right? So, yes, this is a song that’s clearly all about pleasure. And sometimes it’s the kind that makes you feel a little guilty afterwards. But it takes one to know one, right? And that’s the reason this song rocketed up the charts at the turn of the 1990s. It’s about love and passion and devotion but it’s also about the thing we’re normally not allowed to talk about in public. Shhhh! On the tune, Chrissy Amphlett sings,
I love myself, I want you to love me
When I feel down I want you above me
I search myself, I want you to find me
I forget myself, I want you to remind me
I don’t want anybody else
When I think about you I touch myself
Ah-ah-oh, I don’t want anybody else
Oh-no, oh-no, oh-no
“What Is Love” by Haddaway from The Album (1993)
There is nothing at all wrong about this song—except maybe the volume that you want to put it at. It’s a song to be sung at top levels. When it comes on, you feel this track deep in your gut. It’s philosophy and passion wrapped together in one giant performance by the Trinidadian-born German singer Haddaway. So while it makes total sense that any rational person would dig this tune, what is crazy is just how loud you can be while you have it on. Indeed, Haddaway (and you) sing,
What is love?
Baby, don’t hurt me
Don’t hurt me no more
Baby, don’t hurt me
Don’t hurt me no more
I don’t know why you’re not there
I give you my love, but you don’t care
So what is right?
And what is wrong?
Gimme a sign
Photo by Walter Iooss Jr./Getty Images
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