20+ One Hit Wonders From Modern History And What They Look Like Today

Most of them still look so good - which is fantastic, honestly.

Sophia

• Published in Film & TV
• March 9, 2022

Every now and then, there comes an artist with a song that takes the world by storm, and while some of these artists are lucky enough to produce a couple of pieces that become hits as they further progress up their career, there are also a lot more others who just seemed to have dipped their toes, went famous for their song, and then somehow disappeared right after. That's what we call a "one-hit wonder".

The music industry is unusually unpredictable. It's hard to predict who will have a hit, and even harder to predict what kind of hit it will be—a trend just happens effortlessly.

One-hit wonders are perhaps the best proof of the unpredictability of the music industry. To qualify as a great one-hit wonder, the tune must be a song that everyone knows and loves despite the fact that no one ever bought any other recordings by the same artist.

There may be a lot of factors playing here for songs to rise to a pedestal at a certain period of time, but one of the biggest factors here is probably just luck. Songs like "Somebody That I Used To Know" by Gotye and "A Thousand Miles" by Vanessa Carlton has become so known all around the world, but what's surprising is that this is their only song that became a hit before they disappeared from the mainstream media, but until now, their songs are never forgotten.

That being said, take a look at some one-hit wonders in history below and see what they look like now at present time!

1. Lou Bega of "Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit of...)", 1999

Here's what he looks like today:

Go listen to "Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit of...)" here for a trip down the memory lane!

2. Natalie Imbruglia of "Torn", 1997

Here's what she looks like today:

3. Sisqó of "Thong Song", 2000

Here's what he looks like today:

Listen to the "Thong Song" here:

4. Cassie of "Me & U", 2006

Here's what she looks like today:

Listen to "Me & U" here:

5. James Blunt of "You're Beautiful", 2005

Here's what he looks like today:

Listen to his hit song here:

6. Sean Kingston of "Beautiful Girls", 2007

Here's what he looks like now:

Listen to "Beautiful Girls" here:

7. Macy Gray of "I Try", 1999

Here's what she looks like today:

Listen to "I Try" here:

8. Gavin DeGraw of "I Don't Want to Be", 2004

Here's what he looks like today:

Listen to his hit song here:

9. Estelle of "American Boy", 2008

Here's what she looks like today:

Listen to her song here:

10. Willa Ford of "I Wanna Be Bad", 2001:

Here's what she looks like today:

Listen to "I Wanna Be Bad" here:

11. Amerie of "1 Thing", 2005

Here's what she looks like today:

Listen to "1 Thing" here:

12. Trace Cyrus (Metro Station) of "Shake It", 2008:

Here's what he looks like today:

13. Linda Perry (4 Non Blondes) of "What's Up?", 1993

Here's what she looks like today:

Listen to "What's Up?" here:

14. Sir Mix-a-Lot of "Baby Got Back", 1992

Here's what he looks like today:

Listen to "Baby Got Back" here:

15. Vanessa Carlton of "A Thousand Miles", 2002

Here's what she looks like today:

Listen to "A Thousand Miles" here:

16. Tweet of "Oops (Oh My)", 2002

Here's what she looks like today:

Listen to "Oops (Oh My)" here:

17. Eamon of "Fuck It (I Don't Want You Back)", 2003

Here's what he looks like now:

Listen to "Fuck It (I Don't Want You Back)" here:

18. Afroman of "Because I Got High", 2001

Here's what he looks like today:

Listen to "Because I Got High" here:

19. Nina Sky of "Move Ya Body", 2004:

Here's what she looks like now:

Listen to "Move Ya Body" here:

20. Kevin Lyttle of "Turn Me On", 2003:

Here's what he looks like today:

Listen to "Turn Me On" here:

21. Lene Nystrøm and René Dif (Aqua) of "Barbie Girl", 1997:

Here's what they look like today:

Listen to "Barbie Girl" here!

22. J-Kwon of "Tipsy", 2004:

Here's what he looks like now:

Listen to "Tipsy" here:

23. Ryan Cabrera of "On the Way Down", 2004

Here's what he looks like now:

Listen to "On the Way Down" here:

24. Baha Men of "Who Let the Dogs Out", 2000

Here's what they look like today:

Listen to "Who Let The Dogs Out" here!

25. Vitamin C of "Graduation (Friends Forever)", 2000:

Here's what she looks like today:

Listen to "Graduation (Friends Forever)" here:

It was nice taking a trip down memory lane with these songs and artists, right? It's unfortunate that they only had a song that became a hit, but at least they are embedded into our minds forever!

Comment down your thoughts or share this article for all your family and friends to see—especially the music-lover ones!

Sophia