15 One Hit Wonders Of The 2000s That You Probably Forgot About
The 2000s were a thing that happened and I don’t think any of us still know quite how to think about… that. All of it. I mean something definitely happened because somehow we managed to come out with… I lost my train of thought there. There was a lot. Belly chains and mini skirts and really baggy jeans and winding and grinding and metallic glossy lips and… emo? And… the beginnings of indie? And it’s all… coming… back? Growing up in the 2000s, I wasn’t really paying attention to music other than whatever was included in various compilation CDs floating about, so all I really remember from the 2000s are the one hit wonders which I’ve compiled here. And let me tell you, it’s a trip down memory lane. And no, I still can’t tell whether or not most of it is good or bad, but here are some of the greatest one hit wonders to come out of the 2000’s.
1. ‘Young Folks’ – Peter Bjorn & John, 2006.
It’s the whistle song. You know, the one from Gossip Girl where Serena returns to New York in the first episode, and she’s sitting on the train looking out at the city? That one. Definitely a one hit wonder despite the Gossip Girl stamp of approval. I actually listened to the entire album trying to find more redeeming songs because this one was such a tune for my young indie soul, but alas. This song is definitely one of the most well-recognized one hit wonders!
2. ‘Crazy’ – Gnarles Barkley, 2006.
Genuinely surprised that this one is a one-hit wonder. I mean I genuinely despised this song – like really, really despised – when it first came out and was on every half an hour on MTV (remember when MTV genuinely showed music, and you’d sit in front of the TV watching it for hours on end? Although I have spent hours back-to-back watching vine compilations on YouTube, so maybe things haven’t actually changed all that much) but it’s actually somewhat … good, now? Anyway, in 2006 this was massive, and then the group sank into oblivion.
3. ‘I Love College’ – Asher Roth, 2009
We sometimes listen to this song ironically at pre-drinks and wonder if our uni experience really was like this. Maybe? Who knows. Did it make me want to go to uni in 2009? Maybe? Am I just looking through my quickly disappearing youth through a rose-coloured lens? Yes. 100%
4. ‘F.U.R.B.’ – Frankee, 2001
Didn’t actually know that this was the name of the song, or that it was a one-hit wonder of the 2000s. It actually gets played with some regularity at some of Glasgow’s club nights, and last year a friend of mine fraped me with some inane reference to its lyrics. What can I say, it still holds strong.
5. Crank That (Soulja Boy) – Soulja Boy Tell’em, 2007
I mean, yes, Kiss Me Thru The Phone may have also been a hit, but Crank That is definitely his best-known track. Did anyone go through 2007 without knowing and doing the dance? Does anyone still get through hearing this song without doing a (usually drunken and calamity-filled) rendition of the dance? No they do not. If this isn’t played at my wedding I’m not getting married. As one of the most popular one hit wonders, this song will bring you back to trying to perfect the “superman” dance.
6. Lip Gloss – Lil Mama, 2008
I wanted that lip-gloss necklace so, so badly. This song will forever remind me of listening to it through a tinny flip-phone speaker during a break in school (pre-song purchase where you’d have to record the song to be able to play it on your phone.)
7. Untouched – The Veronicas, 2007
I still rate this song. I didn’t have an emo phase as such (is this emo? Is pop-punk emo?), but oh dear god did my 13-year-old self loose her collective shit over this song. A lot of passionate, heart-wrenching renditions were done of this.
8. Scandalous – Mis-teeq, 2003
This song was on one of those Pop Princess albums your mum would sometimes let you buy from Sainsbury’s after you’d spent the entire shopping trip trawling through the CD/DVD/VHS aisle. It’s still amazing. And I definitely
9. Love Me or Hate Me – Lady Sovereign, 2006
I am slightly embarrassed to admit that I bought and paid for the music video to this song so I could watch it on my iPod on the bus on the way to school. I’m pretty sure I knew this entire song off by heart back in the day, too (actually, considering that I’m currently relistening to this and remember all the lyrics probably means that I did).
10. This Is Why I’m Hot – MIMS, 2006
May have been just the schools I went to but this song was the ultimate diss track. Although somehow a gawky, lanky, insanely tall girl with very, very poor wardrobe (me) just doesn’t quite have what it takes to pull off saying ‘I’m hot ‘cause I’m fly, you ain’t cause you’re not’ at another person.
11. Chasing Cars – Snow Patrol, 2007
This song is Grey’s Anatomy. And me when I was 14. Not that I was particularly heartbroken (other than in the obnoxious fourteen-year-old way), I just really thought I could sing and that this – THIS – was the song to practice my range to. There are recordings. I am not proud of myself. One of the saddest one hit wonders!
12. Roc Ya Body Mic Check 1,2 – M.V.P, 2004
It’s still a tune, tbh. Although listening to it now gives me some intense flashbacks to some very inappropriate dancing done at too early of an age. Tune, tho
13. Superstar – Jamelia, 2003
This was one of my favourite songs when I was younger. I think I had the CD/DVD combo. I’m like, 99% certain I had some form of a dance routine to this (I couldn’t dance. Still can’t, but definitely not back then. I judge my mum a little for not crushing that dream a bit earlier. Seven years of lessons, mum. Seven).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJg-M6HbS2Y
14. Tipsy – J-Kwon, 2003
I feel like everyone who was born in the 90s has a memory related to this and one of their first experiences with alcohol. Mine’s listening to this from a really low-quality early smartphone at the backseat of the bus taking us to our prom afterparty. I had maybe two Bacardi Breezers and a bit of Prosecco and was ‘hammered’ (I definitely wasn’t).
15. Me & U – Cassie, 2006
I mean, this is a one-hit wonder if there ever was one. Cassie did come out with a few other fairly recognisable songs, but her 2000s debut is cemented in Me & U. Again, another incredibly inappropriate song for an 11-year-old to sing along to, but there you have it. What can you do.
