Wednesday, December 09, 2009

Billboard's One-Hit Wonders of the 2000s

This month is very exciting for chart geeks as we are not only receiving hordes of year-end lists but also a bunch of "Best of Decade" lists (2000-2009). Billboard already started the "season" with releasing some of chart notes and trivia for the decade. So far from what they've published online, the Top One-Hit Wonders got my attention.


Daniel Powter's Bad Day topped the list as it was #1 on the Hot 100 for 5 weeks but this is the one and only song from Daniel Powter that charted. Bad Day also topped the 2006 Year-end Hot 100. I don't know if this is something to be ashamed about, well yes, it's not flattering to top this list but still the song was a genuine hit. And to be fair, when Bad Day became a hit in the US, the song was already a year old and it was just really lucky it was used in American Idol That exposure for me made it somehow qualified as a novelty hit but nevertheless the song is good and one of the most memorable songs of the decade. Who knows next decade, Powter could score another hit on the Hot 100?
Some other surprising stuff I found from this list is the inclusion of Gnarls Barkley and Macy Gray. I was not really aware that Crazy (for Gnarls Barkley) and I Try (Gray) are their only Billboard hits. Anyway, they are the type of artists that are not chart-driven anyway. S Club 7 was very popular in Europe and Asia but in the US they only had single hit, "Never Had A Dream Come True". Before Nicole Scherzinger found success with the Pussycat Dolls, her first group "Eden's Crush" scored one hit "Get Over Yourself" and while 98 degrees was a moderately successful boyband in the US, Nick Lachey as a solo artist is a one-hit wonder with his post-Jessica Simpson single "What's Left of Me. Linkin Park is a band that have scored several Billboard Hot 100 hits but member Mike Shinoda's side project Fort Minor only had one hit with "Where'd You Go". The Calling had several hits here in the Philippines but in the U.S only their signature song "Wherever You Will Go" was a hit. Carrie Underwood obviously did well after American Idol but her runner up Bo Bice is considered a one-hit wonder. On another note, I'm surprised that season 5 winner Taylor Hicks did not make the cut as his only hit on the Hot 100 was the #1 song "Do I Make You Proud", his AI coronation song. I don't know if it was just an oversight or if his previous charted songs were counted as hits (in my opinion it shouldn't be). I have nothing against Hicks by the way. To see the full list with explanation of why they made the cut click here but if you just want to see the songs that made the cut in just one list, see below:

1 Bad Day - Daniel Powter
2 Lean Back - Terror Squad
3 Butterfly - Crazy Town
4 This Is Why I'm Hot - Mims
5 Laffy Taffy - D4L
6 You're Beautiful - James Blunt
7 Crazy - Gnarls Barkley
8 Hit Em Up Style - Blu Cantrell
9 Inside Your Heaven - Bo Bice
10 He Loves U Not - Dream
11 Tipsy - J Kwon
12 Me & U - Cassie
13 Mambo #5 - Lou Bega
14 My Baby - Lil Romeo
15 Never Leave You - Lumidee
16 Lips Of An Angel - Hinder
17 Turn Me On - Kevin Lyttle
18 Damn! - Youngbloodz feat Lil Jon
19 Where'd You Go - Fort Minor
20 Gotta Tell You - Samantha Mumba
21 Hotel - Cassidy
22 I Try - Macy Gray
23 Wherever You Will Go - The Calling
24 A Thousand Miles Vanessa Carlton
25 No More - Ruff Endz
26 Blue - Eiffel 65
27 Throw Some - Ds Rich Boy Feat Polow Da Don
28 What's Left Of Me - Nick Lachey
29 Oops (Oh My) - Tweet
30 A Bay Bay - Hurricane Chris
31 Chain Hang Low - Jibs
32 It Feels So Good - Sonique
33 Heaven - DJ Sammy & Yanou
34 Get Over Yourself - Eden's Crush
35 Listen To Your Heart - DHT
36 Addictive - Truth Hurts feat Rakim
37 24/7 -Kevon Edmonds
38 Never Had A Dream Come True S - Club 7
39 Shoulder Lean - Young Dro feat TI

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