TOP FIVE ONE-HIT WONDERS OF THE 2010s
In this second installment of our one-hit wonders series, we’ll be looking at what in my humble estimation are the top five one-hit wonders of the previous decade, the 2010s. Quick note: you won’t find Carly Rae Jepsen on this list because she did have several other pretty big hits, although to say "Call Me Maybe" is the one everyone remembers is an understatement! Having said that, my criteria here and throughout this series is going to be highly-flexible, so certainly Jepsen could’ve been included. The criteria will in a lot of cases be more of a moving target, so take it all with a grain of salt, as it’s meant to be a fun, light exercise. Some of the artists may have had some other hits of varying degrees of success, but in those instances where I wanted to get that artist on the list I’ve gone for the definitive hit the artist has more or less become synonymous with. In any case, let’s get into it.
Honorable Mentions
Sam and the Womp-"Bom Bom" (2012)
This one’s for my British readers. In fact, I think all of my Honorable Mentions were much more popular in the UK than US, but given I was living in the UK and not the US during this time period, I don’t actually have a frame of reference. One of the most relentlessly catchy songs of the decade, "Bom Bom" refuses to be denied entry into your brain for repeat spins long after the track is over, even if you don’t want it there.
Kiesza-"Hideaway" (2014)
This deep house smash of 2014 really recalls some of the best of 90s dance, and for me that is a resounding positive. Reinforcing my point earlier in my "Bom Bom" commentary, the Canadian former Naval Reservist Kiesza, who relocated to London, in an interview with Geoffrey Rowlands of the Gulf Times stated that, "'Hideaway' is a deep house song but it's regarded as mainstream. That kind of thing doesn't happen in America or back home in Canada."
Cali Swag District-"Teach Me How to Dougie" (2010)
Post-snapping, ghost riding the whip, Cupid Shuffling, and jerking, we now learned how to Dougie. On the horizon we’d watch Willow whip her hair back and forth and Silentó whip and nae nae.
TOP FIVE
5. Far East Movement featuring The Cataracs and DEV-"Like a G6" (2010)
In mainstream pop music, the years 2008-2013 were basically one big party on the dancefloor with Lady Gaga crushing the Madonna playbook, EDM and dubstep’s takeovers of the airwaves, et cetera. Smack-dab in the middle of that era, Far East Movement dropped "Like a G6." Though the beat isn’t dubstep, this song’s release also coincided with the rise of dubstep and kind of scratched the same itch for fans of that style. The song is definitely a product of its time, but it’s a fun time capsule. DEV is obviously not a one-hit wonder, but as with another track we’ll discuss below, she is a feature and thus "doesn’t count" so to speak. The Cataracs did some other production work for prominent artists, including DEV on "Booty Bounce," but their star never quite ascended to these same heights with the duo dissolving just a couple years later.
4. Bonnie McKee-"American Girl" (2013)
When this song dropped, it definitely had an end of an era feeling. There is something almost melancholy about the song, despite its upbeat and insanely catchy nature. Bonnie McKee may not have any other hits as a singer, however she is an S-tier songwriter; per her Wikipedia:
She has written 10 singles that have reached number one in either the United States or the United Kingdom, which have sold more than 30 million copies worldwide combined…McKee is particularly known for collaborating with pop singer Katy Perry. The duo wrote the hits "California Gurls", "Teenage Dream", "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)", "Part of Me", "Wide Awake", and "Roar". McKee also co-wrote "Dynamite" by Taio Cruz, which became the second-best-selling song by a British artist in the digital era. McKee co-wrote other hits including "Hold It Against Me" by Britney Spears and "C'Mon" by Kesha; she has written for Cher, Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, and Adam Lambert.
Don’t cry for her, Argentina.
3. Icona Pop featuring Charli xcx-"I Love It" (2012)
Obviously Charli xcx is not a one-hit wonder, but she’s the feature here, so "the kid stays in the picture." Could you make the argument the song is obnoxiously repetitive? You could, but in such a way that: a) captures the zeitgeist of the era, and b) regardless of whether you like it or not, it is going to bludgeon itself past your defenses into your brain and stay there on repeat, which perhaps perversely is a testament to the strength of the songwriting. Still gets people hype today.
2. Kreayshawn-"Gucci Gucci" (2011)
Man, what could have been with Kreayshawn. I feel like she had genuine superstar potential, and I’m not sure what happened. I absolutely love this track. Kreayshawn comes in sounding like Too Short, with some great one-liners and surprising and hilarious rhymes. Like the next song on this list, "Gucci Gucci" doesn’t just hold up, it still sounds like the future in a lot of ways.
1. Azealia Banks featuring Lazy Jay-"212" (2011)
Vulgar, irreverent, and undeniably catchy, "212" is it. For Tom Ewing, "The more you dig into the song, the more you can hear details and decisions that suggest a scary degree of pop talent." Like our previous selection, I’m surprised Azealia Banks never became a superstar. Banks has had an interesting career to say the least, and given the "off-field issues" so to speak never truly ascended the way I thought she would. Nonetheless, as with "Gucci Gucci," at least we still have this forward-sounding classic. Indeed, Banks is often under-appreciated for her approach to incorporating house and other dance music styles into her hip-hop akin to what I typically associate much more with some British hip-hop artists. "Liquorice," for example, is exquisite. Though less mortally tragic, Kreayshawn and Banks are to me the rap version of the "what could have been" of Len Bias in basketball.