3 One-Hit Wonders That Were Huge on ‘TRL’ in the 2000s

Raise your hand if you were one of those people who ran home from school in the early 2000s to rush into your living room and turn on your TV, just so you could see MTV host Carson Daly count down the Top 10 songs of the day. Yes, our hands are raised, too.

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Indeed, Total Request Live was all the rage at the turn of the 21st century. It was a taste-making outlet pre-social media that helped to introduce young music listeners to the most popular songs of the day. It’s how many of us got to know the music we’d grow up with and love. It’s also how several one-hit wonders became famous.

Below are three examples of that phenomenon. Three tracks from artists that rose up the charts but didn’t quite have the same success again. These are three one-hit wonders that were huge on MTV’s TRL in the 2000s.

“Who Let The Dogs Out?” by Baha Men from ‘Who Let The Dogs Out’ (2000)

Not only was this bombastic rap song played early and often on Total Request Live upon its release in 2000s, but the extra attention must have put the track over the top to make it an official one-hit wonder. This Baha Men tune still gets sung today whenever people talk about letting dogs out of the house. And it once made it to No. 40 on the Billboard Hot 100, officially giving it hit status. Put this track on at a party and watch the people laugh and giggle at the nostalgic tune.

“Smooth Criminal” by Alien Ant Farm from ‘Anthology’ (2001)

A cover of the iconic Michael Jackson song, the Riverside, California-born band Alien Ant Farm brought giant riffs and a punk rock mentality to their rendition of “Smooth Criminal”. The tune must have tickled the people behind TRL because it was on the program for weeks and weeks as fans got to watch the accompanying music video for the track, which featured backyard wrestling and a young kid doing a Michael Jackson dancing impersonation. Just about as catchy as the original, this song hit No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100.

“Butterfly” by Crazy Town from ‘The Gift Of Game’ (2000)

This rap-rock crossover hit is emblematic of the dawn of the 21st century when bands like Korn, Linkin Park, and Limp Bizkit were all the rage. The Los Angeles-born band Crazy Town is definitely of the same ilk as those groups, and they earned a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 thanks to their tune “Butterfly”, which features rap lyrics over rock instrumentation. It’s a song that gets in your bones and simultaneously puts a smile on your face.

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