Does The One-Hit Wonder Still exist, Has It Ever?
Globalism killed the one-hit wonder?
This article is part of The G Spot, a weekly segment where criticista Gordistotle gives insight into the pop culture happenings of now through opinions or anecdotes on his life living in Toronto.
May 8, 2024 | Written by Gordistotle, Graphics & Page Design: Sierra Madison
“The term one-hit wonder gets maliciously thrown at any popstar that doesn’t immediately stick the landing with their second single. ”
How do we quantify a one-hit wonder? What metrics do we go off of? Do we define it as strictly having one hit song? Or maybe a massive single that eclipses the rest of your discography? If we analyse a pop star's discography and survey a sample group of 10,000 people, and none can name any songs besides the artist's biggest hit, does that mean the artist is a one-hit wonder?
What if I play it at the weekly “let’s sit in front of the TV and mourn our youth watching music videos” session and no one recognises it?
Like, whaaaat, you guys don’t know Sunset?
Oxford dictionary provides the following definition for the term, one-hit wonder: a group or singer that has only one hit record.
Via Oxford Dictionary
The term one-hit wonder gets maliciously thrown at any popstar that doesn’t immediately stick the landing with their second single. Olivia Rodrigo was deemed a flop by any nasty-spirited gay male when Deja Vu (which debuted at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100, something most singers dream of) didn’t live up to the immediate success of Driver’s License. However, she shed the one-hit wonder label only a few months later with Good 4 U, narrowly avoiding the fate of other artists who suffered from such huge debuts.
Now, at this point in her career, Olivia has safely escaped flopdom and landed in the club with other colossal debut legends like Britney, Gaga, and Mariah.
Not all artists survive their debut (or at least their first mainstream single) eclipsing their career. 2010s doll Pia Mia’s single “Do It Again” only peaked at 71 on the Hot 100: to this date though the song has amassed 500+ million streams on Spotify, proving yet again that Billboard isn’t everything guys...
Songs like these. Are. Remembered. And. Be. Lo. Ved.
Has she released anything else of note since? No, not really, or at least nothing that I know of. If you’re a Pia Mia die-hard, honestly, kudos to you!
(Editors note: I went through a weird G-Eazy phase in high school and listened to F**K With U ft. G-Eazy on repeat for a couple of weeks, if anyone is looking for another Pia Mia song to add to their playlists)
The unarguable modern queen of one-hit wonder-dom (but not really) is no other than our own home and native land’s Carly Rae Jepsen. If you ask the average radio listener to name a second Carly Rae song (after them hopefully not asking “Who’s that?”) their response is either going to be absolute silence or a 1% chance of them saying ”That one song with Owl City”.
But you and I (two people with superior music taste) know much better, we love Carly! So do many around the world!
Here’s where the one-hit wonder term gets fuzzy. While Carly may have amassed only two Top 10 Hits on the Hot 100, the other one being the aforementioned Owl City song that no one really likes, by definition, isn't she still ultimately a one-hit wonder?
“Isn’t that the cruel nature of stardom? Your fav is a flop and Tay outsold with Evermore alone!”
Call Me Maybe has almost a billion more Spotify streams than Good Time, by far the most listened-to song in her discography. She’s had a string of other mildly successful songs such as I Really Like You, Cut To The Feeling, and Run Away With Me, most of which some would consider a pop bible, her 2015 album E•MO•TION.
So can we really say that Carly is a one-hit wonder if she can go on multi-continent tours and have audiences scream and shout every song? Sorta kinda, but isn’t that the cruel nature of stardom? Your fav is a flop and Tay outsold with Evermore alone!
There’s also always been these pseudo-one-hit wonders: while my sister and I were playing Fiona Apple for my mom in the car once she surprisingly knew Criminal… but only Criminal? Hellooooo mom, hunger hurts but starving works?
For alternative artists, one random radio hit can have them classified as a one-hit wonder by the mainstream public, but the in-crowd knows that’s nowhere near the case. Florence and The Machine, Lorde (sorta kinda?), and whispers Lana... * hides from the pitchforks *, are considered one-hit wonders by the general public, but come on, we know they aren’t.
“Did you guys know Becky G is kinda like, a massive superstar in Latin America? I, and most others, knew her solely from Shower: a cute kiddie little radio song. But now, she’s in Brazil shaking ass with Anitta!”
Alternative artists have always shined more through album sales anyway, however for the purpose of this arguement I’m focusing mostly on singles, so, sue me!
Tyla via @jamaleurope on Instagram
Let’s look at some of the current potential one-hit wonders, where there are two different cases presented.
Tyla is the current it girl on the internet (rightfully so), we’ve all heard Water, she’s gorgeous, the song is fun, and she has our attention. After the release of her self-titled debut album, she’s been struggling to have a hit match the huge mainstream success of Water.
REAL Tygers know Truth or Dare is an immediate classic, but maybe it has to grow on some of y’all... Jump is currently picking up steam on TikTok and if her label plays her cards right, it could be a summer-shaping hit.
Come on, they never had a pretty girl from Jo’burg! You know it, and if you don’t, you will!
Sabrina Carpenter has been trying to break into mainstream pop music for a whiiiiile. Ever since her Disney stint, she’s released “mature” pop songs without any moderate success. She made her Hot 100 debut in 2021 with the Olivia diss track Skin, but who remembers that... Her real breakthrough was in 2023 with Nonsense and the Instagram Reels classic Feather. These two songs boast large stream counts on Spotify but less than desirable Hot 100 peaks.
Recently though, Sabrina struck the jackpot with her latest single Espresso. This single has been absolutely inescapable after her Coachella performance and the song has been gaining in streams on Spotify daily since its release. How Sabrina navigates from here is up to the A&R gods. Will Espresso regulate her to one hit wonder status and eclipse the rest of her career or are we in for years more of Carpenter’s light and airy voice crooning through our headphones? Only time will tell.
Via @sabrinacarptener on Instagram
I want to note that these thoughts stem from a 22-year-old gay male Canadian’s perspective: some of the previously mentioned artists have had massive careers abroad that none of us even knew about.
For example, did you guys know Becky G is kinda like, a massive superstar in Latin America? Not getting into the #doctor of it all but I, and most others, knew her solely from Shower. A cute kiddie little radio song, but now she’s in Brazil shaking ass with Anitta!
Ultimately, you may have read this article and knew everything I was talking about.
So what does that mean? Is any artist really a one-hit wonder in the internet age where music is so easily consumed?
When’s the last time you played a CD, we no longer have to be picky about the music we consume as there’s little financial incentive not to be. If you like a song by an artist, these days you’ll check out some others and add it to your playlist, just like their labels want you to do.
