One-Hit Wonders From the 1990s Everyone Forgot

Grab your Walkman for a walk down memory lane.

One-Hit Wonders From the 1990s Everyone Forgot

Ah, the '90s. Acid-washed jeans, flannel shirts, "Seinfeld," O.J.’s trial and hysterical fears of Y2K. And for every musical act that went gangbusters — Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Sean "P. Diddy" Combs — there were many more who had one hit (wonder why?) and were never heard from again.

Even if you were embarrassed to have MC Hammer or Vanilla Ice in your record collection at the time, thanks to nostalgia — which has a way of turning everything once-awful into "retro cool" — there’s a good chance many of these one-hit wonders were regular listens for anyone who graduated high school or college in the final decade of the last century.

So grab your Walkman or Discman for a walk down one-hit memory lane.

25. Torn

Artist: Natalie Imbruglia

Album: "Left of the Middle"

Year released: 1998

Bottom Line: Torn

Aussie import Natalie Imbruglia was only 23 when she scored on the U.S. charts thanks to "Torn," a poppy song about being severely burned in the game of love. Never mind that Imbruglia was actually covering a song that had been written in 1993 and wasa first recorded by Anne Preven. Imbruglia made it her own and appeared in the song’s video sporting her signature pixie cut while wearing a pullover.

She sang her way into our collective hearts in the summer of '98, and even though she has tried her hand at acting and continued recording music, she has never again reached such heights on the charts.

Our Favorite Lyrics From the Song 'Torn'

I'm all out of faith, this is how I feel

I'm cold and I am shamed

Lying naked on the floor

Illusion never changed

Into something real

I'm wide awake and I can see the perfect sky is torn

24. How Bizarre

Artist: OMC

Album: "How Bizarre"

Year released: 1996

Bottom Line: How Bizarre

This earworm was a constant nuisance in the middle years of the ninth decade of the 20th century, what with its simple guitar riff and that refrain: "How bizarre? How bizarre!"

You can be forgiven for not recollecting that the song was recorded by OMC of New Zealand, which we had also collectively forgotten was shortened from "Otara Millionaires Club." Though the band was celebrated by Kiwi compatriots for the hit, the group wasn’t much heard from thereafter.

Our Favorite Lyrics From the Song 'How Bizarre'

Destination unknown, as we pull in for some gas

Freshly pasted poster reveals a smile from the past

Elephants and acrobats, lions snakes monkey

Pele speaks "righteous," Sister Zina says "funky"

23. Your Woman

Artist: White Town

Album: "Women in Technology"

Year released: 1997

Bottom Line: Your Woman

Man, talk about weird with a capital W. White Town was a one-man band that dabbled in all kinds of experimental grooves, but none caught fire with audiophiles as did this surreal 1997 quasi-techno song wherein the male narrator sings dolefully about how he can "never be your woman."

The beat is incessantly catchy, the lyrics delightfully bizarre and the video eccentric nearly to a fault. It went No. 1 in the U.K., which says either something about their tastes or America’s lack of same (it only peaked at No. 23 in the Land of the Free).

Our Favorite Lyrics From the Song 'Your Woman'

You don't even know you're being unkind

So much for all your highbrow Marxist ways

Just use me up and then you walk away

Boy, you can't play me that way

22. Barbie Girl

Artist: Aqua

Album: "Aquarium"

Year released: 1997

Bottom Line: Barbie Girl

What in the world were bubblegum music producers smoking in 1997? It wasn’t bad enough we had to endure the gender-bending craziness of "Your Woman" — the inanity went a step further in the extremely danceable "Barbie Girl" from our never-again-seen friends in Aqua.

The video for this quirky fantasy about inhabiting the life of a plastic toy looks like a pastel factory threw up on the video’s set, but as much as it’s fun to rag on this eardrum-grating confection, it’s still fun to try at karaoke.

Oh, just us?

Our Favorite Lyrics From the Song 'Barbie Girl'

I'm a Barbie girl, in the Barbie world

Life in plastic, it's fantastic

You can brush my hair, undress me everywhere

Imagination, life is your creation

21. Bitch

Artist: Meredith Brooks

Album: "Blurring the Edges"

Year released: 1997

Bottom Line: Bitch

Meredith Brooks proclaimed herself to be a great many things in this screed, one of them being a certain colloquialism for a female dog. "Bitch" is toe-tapping fun from start to finish and had a great many female listeners pumping their fist to the sky in the late-’90s in a show of female empowerment.

Brooks recorded many songs before and since the one about the B-word. However, none of them are as memorable — or chart-climbing.

Our Favorite Lyrics From the Song 'Bitch'

So take me as I am

This may mean you'll have to be a stronger man

Rest assured that when I start to make you nervous

And I'm going to extremes

Tomorrow I will change

And today won't mean a thing

20. What’s Up?

Artist: 4 Non Blondes

Album: "Bigger, Better, Faster, More!"

Year released: 1993

Bottom Line: What’s Up?

Say what you want about the Naughty Nineties, they were extremely good for girl groups of all stripes, whether the never-forgotten Spice Girls of England or the little-remembered 4 Non Blondes of San Francisco. Grunge was largely considered a boys’ game in the early-’90s, but thanks to acts like Hole, many all-girl bands got in on that subgenre while it was super hot.

"What’s Up?" was a radio staple in 1993, but just when things were looking up, 4 Non Blondes disbanded not long after.

Our Favorite Lyrics From the Song 'What’s Up?'

And so I wake in the morning

And I step outside

And I take a deep breath and I get real high

And I scream from the top of my lungs

What's going on?

19. Cannonball

Artist: The Breeders

Album: "Last Splash"

Year released: 1993

Bottom Line: Cannonball

As mentioned, the '90s were kind to experimental rock, especially when it came to female-fronted bands such as the Breeders. Twin sisters Kim and Kelley Deal of Dayton, Ohio, founded the band in the late-’80s, but it wasn’t until the album "Last Splash" that they earned some wider recognition.

Thanks to the video for "Cannonball," the Breeders were on fire until personality clashes and rehab drove them back into the shadows for the rest of the decade.

Our Favorite Lyrics From the Song 'Cannonball'

I know you, little libertine

I know you're a cannonball

I'll be your whatever you want

The bong in this reggae song

18. What Is Love?

Artist: Haddaway

Album: "The Album"

Year released: 1993

Bottom Line: What Is Love?

Haddaway’s one and only hit, "What Is Love?" might have faded away into '90s mixtapes were it not for an ongoing sketch on "Saturday Night Live" that had Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan dancing to the song with a rotating third member — typically that evening’s host. In hindsight, the sketch now looks like a bit of a #MeToo nightmare, with the trio typically grinding up against unsuspecting women at the clubs.

The never-named sketch even spawned a movie, "Night at the Roxbury," whose "quality" was on the level of most SNL sketch-to-movie attempts ("Wayne’s World" and "Blues Brothers" notwithstanding).

Our Favorite Lyrics From the Song 'What Is Love?'

What is love?

Oh baby, don't hurt me

Don't hurt me

No more

17. Breakfast at Tiffany’s

Artist: Deep Blue Something

Album: "11th Song"

Year released: 1995

Bottom Line: Breakfast at Tiffany’s

Most of those young folks tuning into the radio in 1995 had probably never seen the 1961 Audrey Hepburn flick, "Breakfast at Tiffany’s," but that didn’t stop the Deep Blue Something (or other) from striking radio gold with their one hit about a guy who tries to get his on-the-outs girlfriend to stay by putting a movie they "both kinda liked" on the VCR.

The group from Texas surely enjoyed those royalty checks, which was a good thing considering they were split up for the first years of the new millennium.

Our Favorite Lyrics From the Song 'Breakfast at Tiffany’s'

I see you're the only one who knew me

And now your eyes see through me

I guess I was wrong

So what now

It's plain to see we're over

And I hate when things are over

When so much is left undone

16. Whoomp! (There It Is)

Artist: Tag Team

Album: "Whoomp! (There It Is)"

Year released: 1993

Bottom Line: Whoomp! (There It Is)

As much as hip-hop has since melded with the culture at large, there was a time when rap was considered rather risque. Thus, some '90s kids had to trick their parents by presenting "Whoomp There It Is" as Exhibit A, what with its clean paradigm and decided lack of a certain gardening tool among its lyrics.

Tag Team pinned the cash to the mat in 1993, and it was only natural that it was eventually used by WWF’s Men on a Mission tag team because duh.

Our Favorite Lyrics From the Song 'Whoomp! (There It Is)'

Donald Duck, back again

Turn up the music, let's begin

Party on, party people, let me hear some noise

Party with Donald, Daisy, and the boys

There's a party over here, party over there

Tossin' Donald up in the air

Now tryin to catch him, he falls down

15. Tubthumping

Artist: Chumbawamba

Album: "Tubthumper"

Year released: 1997

Bottom Line: Tubthumping

If the title "Tubthumping" doesn’t ring a bell, then how about the refrain, "I get knocked down, but I get up again!" Nope, you’re never gonna keep this one-hit wonder down (it just gets up again), no matter how many times you say you hate it.

"Tubthumping" is basically the ultimate frat boy anthem: a paean to drinking, more drinking, still more drinking, falling down and then, yep, getting back up and doing it all over again.

No wonder so many of us can’t recall much of our college years.

Our Favorite Lyrics From the Song 'Tubthumping'

He drinks a Whiskey drink

He drinks a Vodka drink

He drinks a Lager drink

He drinks a Cider drink

He sings the songs that remind him of the good times

He sings the songs that remind him of the best times

14. Counting Blue Cars (Tell Me Your Thoughts on God)

Artist: Dishwalla

Album: "Pet Your Friends"

Year released: 1995

Bottom Line: Counting Blue Cars (Tell Me Your Thoughts on God)

Granted, a great many rock songs are singularly focused on sex, money, fame and drinking, but once in a blue moon, a tune comes along that asks bigger questions, like what is the meaning of it all?

Dishwalla, from Santa Barbara, California, tapped into something broader, and ran off with plenty of airtime for "Counting Blue Cars," what with entreating the listener to share thoughts on the divine as the narrator is on the way to meet "her" (yes, HER!).

The tune-ski was a staple of its time and even found its way into the soundtrack for the movie "Empire Records." Despite such accolades, Dishwalla wasn’t quite able to catch lightning in a bottle a second time.

Our Favorite Lyrics From the Song 'Counting Blue Cars (Tell Me Your Thoughts on God)'

Tell me all your thoughts on God

'Cause I'd really like to meet her

And ask her why we're who we are

Tell me all your thoughts on God

'Cause I'm on my way to see her

So tell me am I very far,

Am I very far now?

13. Here Comes The Hotstepper

Artist: Ini Kamoze

Album: "Here Comes The Hotstepper"

Year released: 1994

Bottom Line: Here Comes The Hotstepper

Jamaican composer Ini Kamoze had us all going "na na na na na" in the early-’90s thanks to his one and only hit, "Here Comes the Hotstepper." The song is a funky mixup of reggae and hip-hop and features several samples from earlier songs, including Wilson Pickett’s "Land of 1000 Dances."

It set boomboxes on fire in the U.S., New Zealand, Denmark and various other countries before fading into "Where Are They Now?" territory. By all means, press play on it again soon. You’ll find yourself grooving away in no time.

Our Favorite Lyrics From the Song 'Here Comes The Hotstepper'

No no we don't die, yes we multiply

Anyone test will hear the fat lady sing

Act like you know, Rico

I know what Bo don't know

Touch them up and go, uh-oh!

12. Closing Time

Artist: Semisonic

Album: "Feeling Strangely"

Year released: 1998

Bottom Line: Closing Time

Semisonic recorded together only for a few years, yet they managed to release one of the most profound tunes of their era in "Closing Time." It’s lights up at the ol’ watering hole, and the barkeep orders everyone to polish off their drinks, be they whiskey or beer. And with the house lights burning, those still around are faced with their limited choices of companions for the night.

Songs that tell a story are great, especially when they induce a feeling in the listener. Semisonic regrouped a few years ago, so perhaps they won’t be included on the next iteration of this list of one-hit wonders.

Our Favorite Lyrics From the Song 'Closing Time'

So, gather up your jackets, move it to the exits

I hope you have found a friend

Closing time, every new beginning

Comes from some other beginning's end, yeah

11. Save Tonight

Artist: Eagle-Eye Cherry

Album: "Desireless"

Year released: 1997

Bottom Line: Save Tonight

Following ABBA’s lead, Sweden’s Eagle-Eye Cherry made a stab at the international English-speaking market with the kickin’ and deceptively simple "Save Tonight" from 1997. The song’s about grabbing the moment (and perhaps whoever happens to be within arm’s reach) as "tomorrow I’ll be gone," as our hero sings.

Prophetic lyrics, perhaps, as this was Eagle-Eye Cherry’s only chart-topper.

Our Favorite Lyrics From the Song 'Save Tonight'

Save tonight and fight the break of dawn

Come tomorrow, tomorrow I'll be gone

Save tonight and fight the break of dawn

Come tomorrow, tomorrow I'll be gone

10. My Own Worst Enemy

Artist: Lit

Album: "A Place in the Sun"

Year released: 1999

Bottom Line: My Own Worst Enemy

Angsty self-pity was in like flint in way too many songs from the 1990s, and the band Lit from Orange County, California, mined being one’s own worst enemy for one final stab at the decade’s closeout.

The tune is more grating than "good" per se, but it captured enough of our collective attention to land at No. 1 on Billboard’s Alternative Airplay chart in 1999.

Hopefully, Lit learned from their own angst and might have something more in store for us.

Our Favorite Lyrics From the Song 'My Own Worst Enemy'

Please tell me why

My car is in the front yard and I'm

Sleeping with my clothes on

I came in through the window last night

And you're gone, gone

9. Steal My Sunshine

Artist: Len

Album: "You Can't Stop the Bum Rush"

Year released: 1999

Bottom Line: Steal My Sunshine

We always think of Canadians as super chill, and the video for "Steal My Sunshine," with the Ontarians soaking up some rays in sunny Daytona Beach, Florida, only furthers that view.

Catchy and unapologetically optimistic, the rather repetitive song is all but begging for a renaissance in retro 1990s dance clubs everywhere.

Len never again reached the apex of "Sunshine," possibly due to a revolving door of musicians coming in and out of the group over the years since.

Our Favorite Lyrics From the Song 'Steal My Sunshine'

Now the funny glare to pay a gleaming tare in a staring under heat

Involved an under usual feat

And I'm not only among but I invite who I want to come

So I missed a million miles of fun

8. She’s So High

Artist: Tal Bachman

Album: "Tal Bachman"

Year released: 1999

Bottom Line: She’s So High

Tal Bachman is yet another Canadian who sought fortune south of the St. Lawrence River, and he did indeed hit some serious paydirt with "She’s So High." Why that is we’re not 100 percent sure, considering the tune is more than a little bland, and Bachman’s voice isn’t really anything to write home about.

But the buying public felt otherwise, pushing the tune up to No. 3 in Canada and No. 1 in the U.S. — meaning he laughed all the way to the bank.

Our Favorite Lyrics From the Song 'She’s So High'

She's blood, flesh and bone

No tucks or silicone

She's touch, smell, sight, taste, and sound

But somehow I can't believe

That anything should happen

7. Lovefool

Artist: The Cardigans

Album: "First Band on the Moon"

Year released: 1996

Bottom Line: Lovefool

"Love me, love me, say that you love me." Those maddeningly simple lyrics gave the Cardigans a foothold on the charts the same year Bob Dole unsuccessfully tried to unseat Bill Clinton from the White House.

The Cardigans are yet another Swedish import (seriously, what’s up with those Swedes?), and "Lovefool" got a serious bump by virtue of being included on the soundtrack to Baz Luhrmann’s experimental take on Shakespeare’s tragedy in "Romeo + Juliet."

Now, how can we get the Cardigans, ABBA and Eagle-Eye Cherry all on the same bill?

Our Favorite Lyrics From the Song 'Lovefool'

Dear, I fear we're facing a problem

You love me no longer, I know and

Maybe there is nothing that I can do

To make you do

6. Mr. Vain

Artist: Culture Beat

Album: "Serenity"

Year released: 1993

Bottom Line: Mr. Vain

Germany has been a hotbed for club music for quite some time, and Culture Beat from Frankfurt took on the challenge in the '90s to keep up German dominance of dance music.

"Mr. Vain" lit up pop radio stations in 1993, especially in Europe, but "only" managed to crack the top 20 in America. Notwithstanding, Culture Beat continues to make records even today, so we can only hope for "Mr. Vain 2: Re-vained Is a Disc Best Served Cold."

Our Favorite Lyrics From the Song 'Mr. Vain'

Call me Raider call me Wrong

Call me insane call me Mr. Vain

Call me what you like

As long as you call me time and again

5. Mind Is Playing Tricks on Me

Artist: Geto Boys

Album: "We Can’t Be Stopped"

Year released: 1991

Bottom Line: Mind Is Playing Tricks on Me

Dr. Dre, Beastie Boys and Salt-N-Pepa were churning out hit after hit in the rap and R&B genres in the early-’90s, and amid that shuffle, other acts fell by the wayside, including the Geto Boys.

A much-sanitized version of "Mind Is Playing Tricks on Me" was in heavy rotation on MTV during the holiday season of 1991 and got enough airplay to scoot up to No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs.

It’s a rather tough song to listen to, but life in the ghetto isn’t nearly as glamorous as many another rap song has made it sound.

Our Favorite Lyrics From the Song 'Mind Is Playing Tricks on Me'

I make big money

I drive big cars

Everybody know me

It's like I'm a movie star

But late at night

Somethin' ain't right

4. Rico Suave

Artist: Gerardo

Album: "Mo' Ritmo"

Year released: 1990

Bottom Line: Rico Suave

Forgive us for making you think about "Rico Suave" for the first time in 30 years, but for our purposes, it simply had to be done.

The Ecuadorian rapper Gerardo somehow pulled off the ultimate feat and charted big-time in America with this ode to his own machismo told in a slinky style.

Frankly, we’re embarrassed to admit we liked it, too — but not so embarrassed to reveal we also have Weird Al’s 1992 parody, "Taco Grande," also on our hot rotation from that decade.

Our Favorite Lyrics From the Song 'Rico Suave'

So, again, don't let my lyrics mislead you

I don't love ya but I need ya

Would you rather have me lie

Take a piece of your pie and say bye

3. I’m Too Sexy

Artist: Right Said Fred

Album: "Up"

Year released: 1991

Bottom Line: I’m Too Sexy

Ah boy, are you having bad flashbacks yet of some '90s perennials you’d much rather have forgotten? Well, sorry, but we must press on.

Right Said Fred and "I’m Too Sexy" hopped the pond from the U.K. and proceeded to become required play at pretty much every school dance and wedding for far too many years. "I’m Too Sexy" was not too sexy for the charts, as it topped out at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 100.

Admit it, you can’t get it out of your head now. You’re welcome.

Our Favorite Lyrics From the Song 'I’m Too Sexy'

And I'm too sexy for Milan

Too sexy for Milan

New York, and Japan

And I'm too sexy for your party

Too sexy for your party

No way I'm disco dancing

2. Macarena

Artist: Los Del Río

Album: "A Mí Me Gusta"

Year released: 1995

Bottom Line: Macarena

Ever see that flick "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" where the protagonists pay good money to delete memories of their ex-lovers from their memories?

Well, if there were only one one-hit wonder from the 1990s to never hear again for the rest of our lives, it must be the "Macarena." Yep, we all did the dance. Yep, we all still remember it, as much as we’d all like to forget it.

Los Del Río formed in Spain in the 1960s, but it took them more than three decades to become a household name thanks to "Macarena." That’s a study in persistence for sure, but it also makes a strong case for going back in time to stop them from ever recording it in the first place.

Our Favorite Lyrics From the Song 'Macarena'

When I dance, they call me Macarena

And the boys, they say que soy buena

They all want me

They can't have me

So they all come and dance beside me

1. Informer

Artist: Snow

Album: "12 Inches of Snow"

Year released: 1992

Bottom Line: Informer

Stop, stop, no more! We’d somehow all forgotten about Snow, the one-hit "wonder" from Canada whose reggae anthem "Informer" stormed into our living rooms. "Informer" spent an impressive seven weeks at the top of Billboard Hot 100, which was about one week for each time it’s been played on the radio since 2000.

Snow (real name Darrin Kenneth O'Brien) hasn’t been seen or heard from much since the video was played seemingly on the hour by MTV, which means either we all forgot about him … or he’s due for a serious comeback.

Now excuse us while we cover our ears.

Our Favorite Lyrics From the Song 'Informer'

What I'm gonna do? I'm backed and I'm trapped

Slap me in the face and took all of my gap

They have no clues and they wanna get warmer

But Shan won't turn informer