3 Timeless Female-Fronted One-Hit Wonders From the 90s

The 1990s were the time to express yourself. Looking back on the decade, it seemed like one of the most creative times of the past 100 years. Kids were being slimed on television. MTV was creating wild programs. Music was as diverse as it had been in decades, and people like Michael Jordan and Kurt Cobain were everywhere. What a time to be alive!

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But while all this was going on, the radio was offering hit song after hit song, including those from a few one-hit wonders. That’s right, below, we wanted to dive into some of the great surprise songs of the decade. To remember three classics that helped to shape the era. Indeed, these are three timeless female-fronted one-hit wonders from the 90s.

“What’s Up?” by 4 Non Blondes from ‘Bigger, Better, Faster, More!’ (1993)

An acoustic-driven song that gets stuck in your head, and you don’t even have to hear it. It’s just that sticky, that ubiquitous, that well-crafted. In the 1990s, the acoustic guitar was making a big comeback, and 4 Non Blondes had a big hand in that with this reflective, hopeful tune that hit No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100. How many groups of friends have belted this song out together, arm-in-arm, happy? What a gift.

“U.N.I.T.Y.” by Queen Latifah from ‘Black Reign’ (1993)

This track, which hit No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100, shows just how versatile and talented Queen Latifah is. Today, many know her from television, including hit shows like Living Single and The Equalizer. She’s also been in popular movies like Hustle. But at her core, she is a rapper. And her song “U.N.I.T.Y.” was essential listening in the 90s. Not only for its biting tongue and confidence but for the path it helped lay for many others in the Queen’s wake.

“I Touch Myself” by The Divinyls from ‘Divinyls’ (1990)

While this may not be the song you want to blast from the rooftops, show your parents, or play at work, it is a song that remains timeless today thanks to its brash delivery of a taboo topic. For that, it remains timeless. How many movies have you seen where this tune creeps in perfectly for the soundtrack? How many times has the tune popped in your head at, ahem, opportune moments? It’s just one of those songs that lasts because few others are willing to walk over the same ground. Indeed, there’s a reason it hit No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts upon its release.

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