Every once in awhile, a song takes the world by storm, hogging the airwaves and dominating the charts. Unfortunately, not all hits get a worthy follow-up; some have no follow-up at all. Some artists drop a beloved hit then promptly disappear without a trace.
It should be noted that there are no official criteria for a "one-hit wonder," and it might be jumping the gun to call them as such. But for the time being, here are 7 of the one-hit wonders from the last decade:
Ylvis - "What Does The Fox Say?"
In 2013, one question got the world thinking: "What does the fox say?" While answering the question with bark and a howl like that of canines, the Norweigian comedy siblings Ylvis managed to get the world singing with them as they went from "Ring-ding-ding-ding-dingeringeding" to "Hatee-hatee-hatee-ho."
What was intended as a joke doomed to fail, the song actually became Ylvis' breakout hit, the highest Norwegian charting song (at No. 6) on the Billboard Hot 100 since A-ha's 1985 chart-topping "Take On Me."
Magic! - "Rude"
The Canadian reggae fusion act Magic! was fronted by Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter Nasri Atweh, who is also half of the songwriting duo The Messengers. He co-wrote some hits for Justin Bieber, Pitbull, Halsey, Shakira, and more. Objectively speaking, it's shaky to classify Magic! as a one-hit-wonder, as they had a couple of other good songs, but in terms of chart and sales performance, here we are.
However, the only hit song that his band ever produced was "Rude," in 2014. It topped the Billboard Hot 100, as well as a few other charts. They have released three studio albums, with "Expectations" being the four-piece group's latest work.
Gotye - "Somebody That I Used To Know" (Ft. Kimbra)
The Belgian-born Australian musician is often described as a vocal mix of Peter Gabriel and Sting, releasing what became the break-up and moving on anthem for a lot of people in 2012. In the course of his career, Gotye became friends with electro pioneer Jean-Jacques Perry and helped him preserve his legacy.
Kimbra, who was featured on the song, released a second studio album in 2014 to positive reception, charting at the Australian and New Zealand Albums chart at number 5 and entering the Billboard 200 at No. 43.
Cali Swag District - "Teach Me How To Dougie"
Cali Swag District founders Big Wy and Dairold Potts were former artists under Suge Knight's Death Row Records. By 2010, the hip-hop collective released the biggest dance craze of the year. "Teach Me How To Dougie" peaked at No. 28 in the Hot 100, No. 9 at the Hot R&B/ Hip-Hop Songs, and No. 6 at the Hot Rap Songs charts.
Unfortunately, they never released another hit and had to suffer the loss of two members - Montae "M-Bone" Talbert died from a drive-by shooting in their native Inglewood, CA, while Cahron "JayAre" Childs died from a cardiac arrest as a complication of his sickle cell anemia. Whether The District gets out of the "one-hit wonder" slump, only time will tell.
Passenger - "Let Her Go"
Passenger is the stage name kept by English singer-songwriter Michael David Rosenberg from when it used to be the name of his band. Also, while everyone listened to his hit song "Let Her Go" in 2014, it was released two years prior.
While Passenger has not yet replicated the success of his smash hit, he has continued releasing several good songs. He already has 10 albums across his solo career.
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