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<v Speaker 1>Anyone. Yeah, welcome back to Crash Course Pot, the show

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<v Speaker 1>where we dive deep into the music you love, the

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<v Speaker 1>artists you analyze, and the tracks that stick in your head.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm the host Ash Tone, and we're coming off of

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<v Speaker 1>a deep dive into the business brilliance of Taylor Swift.

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<v Speaker 1>If you heard that episode. If not, go back and

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<v Speaker 1>some to it after this one. And then we talked

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<v Speaker 1>about the experimental genius of Li YACHTI last week. Take

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<v Speaker 1>a look at that one, or take a listen if

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<v Speaker 1>you haven't already heard it. After this one, though, wait

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<v Speaker 1>till you listen to all of this one that brings

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<v Speaker 1>us to today. We are going big picture and talking

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<v Speaker 1>about music's most elusive and fascinating creature, the one hit wonder.

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<v Speaker 1>We all know them, that one song, that one summer,

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<v Speaker 1>that one artist who just vanished. But what exactly defines

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<v Speaker 1>a one hit wonder? Essentially, it's an artist known for

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<v Speaker 1>one song that achieved massive, global, genre defining success, and

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<v Speaker 1>then every subsequent release failed to chart or capture public

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<v Speaker 1>interest at the same level. We're talking about massive peaks

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<v Speaker 1>followed by immediate drop offs, and we're going decade by

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<v Speaker 1>decade to find the kings and queens of the quick

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<v Speaker 1>success story. So let's crash this course. First up, we're

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<v Speaker 1>talking the seventies and eighties disco since and sheer novel.

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<v Speaker 1>We have to start in the seventies. This was the

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<v Speaker 1>era of the disco boom where novelty entrance moved fast.

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<v Speaker 1>My pick for the seventies has to be the Buggles

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<v Speaker 1>with Video Killed the Radio Star. You know, Video Killed

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<v Speaker 1>the rainio Star, Video Killed the Radio Star. I actually

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<v Speaker 1>really really liked that song, and I think well I

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<v Speaker 1>am and Nicki Minaj sampled that song on this song

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<v Speaker 1>they have together called check it Out.

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<v Speaker 2>Check it Out, check it Out, check it out, check

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<v Speaker 2>it out, check it out.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, yeah, we feel in it. No, I can't remember.

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<v Speaker 1>There is stemp up.

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<v Speaker 2>In the punny and my name is Oh the Mother,

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<v Speaker 2>and hate is Madame.

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<v Speaker 1>So established don't don't don't shoot me, don't shoot me.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know that. I mean, I still don't know

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<v Speaker 1>the words. Anyways, that song literally ushered in the MTB generation,

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<v Speaker 1>a perfect prophetic piece of synthpop. It was huge, but

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<v Speaker 1>the Buggles never got close to that success again. Now

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<v Speaker 1>jumping into the eighties, you couldn't escape the synth and

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<v Speaker 1>the sheer strangeness of music videos.

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<v Speaker 2>For me, the one.

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<v Speaker 1>Hit wonder that defines this decade is Tim Buck three

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<v Speaker 1>with the Future So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades. Back

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<v Speaker 1>when MTB played music videos twenty four to seven, this

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<v Speaker 1>one was on a lot. Granted I wasn't born in

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<v Speaker 1>the eighties, but that's what my sources saying. This song

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<v Speaker 1>was played a lot back back then when it came out.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, I'm getting good grade.

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<v Speaker 2>Wait, I'm doing all right, I'm getting good grades.

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<v Speaker 1>The future is so bright, I Gotta Wear Shades. The

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<v Speaker 1>ultimate misunderstood song. Everyone thought it was an optimistic gradual

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<v Speaker 1>euation anthem, but the lyrics are actually about nuclear holocaust

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<v Speaker 1>and students being trained for careers so bright they literally

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<v Speaker 1>need shades. It had that perfect blend of catchy hook

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<v Speaker 1>and dark irony. A huge charting success, but they couldn't

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<v Speaker 1>bottle that lightning twice. The eighties was full of those

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<v Speaker 1>lightning in a bottle moments. Actually, moving on down to

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<v Speaker 1>the nineties, grunge, dance pop, and global crossovers. The nineties

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<v Speaker 1>were chaotic musically. We had grunge, exploding pop coming back,

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<v Speaker 1>and electronic music crossing Over. It's hard to pick just one,

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<v Speaker 1>but I'm going with Fountains of Wayne. Stacy's Mom a classic.

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<v Speaker 1>Though Fountains of Wayne were an excellent band with solid,

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<v Speaker 1>deep cuts. As I would like to say, Stacy's Mom

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<v Speaker 1>became a cultural phenomenon that overshadowed everything else they did.

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<v Speaker 1>The video the hook, pure earworm gold. You guys know,

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<v Speaker 1>Stacy's Mom has got it going on Stacy's most Wait,

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<v Speaker 1>Stacy's Mom has got it going on? Dun you I

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<v Speaker 1>know you know that song. I'm probably not doing it justice,

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<v Speaker 1>but go listen to it after this Stacy's Mom by

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<v Speaker 1>Fountains of Wayne. Anyways, Stacy's Mom was their only massive

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<v Speaker 1>global Top forty hit. They did have another song, Radiation Vibe,

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<v Speaker 1>which was a significant alternative rock radio hit in the

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<v Speaker 1>US and in the UK ninety six. I have another

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<v Speaker 1>one for a global pure dance pop phenomenon, you can't

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<v Speaker 1>ignore Chumbawamba with tub Thumb.

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<v Speaker 2>I get knocked down, but I Get up again.

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<v Speaker 1>This song was inescapable at every sporting event am Bar

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<v Speaker 1>in nineteen ninety seven. Honestly, even to this day, if

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<v Speaker 1>you put us on at a karaoke night, you will

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<v Speaker 1>get the crowd moving. It was an anomaly, a wildly

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<v Speaker 1>successful pop punk anthem by an anarchist collective who openly

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<v Speaker 1>rejected commercial success. It's the ultimate one hit wonder narrative.

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<v Speaker 1>They didn't want the fame and they certainly didn't repeat it.

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<v Speaker 1>And that, my friends, in a nutshell, is the nineties.

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<v Speaker 1>Now let's move on to the two thoys and twenty tens.

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<v Speaker 1>Viral hits and the digital age. The Internet started to

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<v Speaker 1>act the life cycle of a hit song. My choice

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<v Speaker 1>for this decade is gonna be Daniel Powder with Bad Day,

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<v Speaker 1>So You Had a Bad Day, Oh, the ultimate soundtrack

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<v Speaker 1>to every sad movie scene and farewell montage. It was

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<v Speaker 1>everywhere a global chart topper. It's a perfect example of

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<v Speaker 1>a melancholic ballad that hit the cultural nerve just right.

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<v Speaker 1>But Powder's follow ups just couldn't replicate the bigness of

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<v Speaker 1>that song. I believe any rom com in the two

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<v Speaker 1>thousands you can probably catch this song at least once. Like,

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<v Speaker 1>pull out ten rom coms, and I'm sure twice you'd

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<v Speaker 1>hear this song in one of them. I didn't even

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<v Speaker 1>know the guy's name, Honestly, his songs the song superseded him,

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<v Speaker 1>or maybe that's just anything I don't know. Moving on

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<v Speaker 1>into the twenty tens, we have to talk about songs

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<v Speaker 1>that became viral events. My pick is pi Psy with

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<v Speaker 1>Gagnum Style Got Good, Good, good good good good Gagnum Style,

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<v Speaker 1>Hey is it pretty Lady? No, no, no, Gangnum Style.

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<v Speaker 1>This is arguably the biggest one hit wonder of all time,

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<v Speaker 1>measured by sheer global reach. It was the first YouTube

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<v Speaker 1>video to hit a billion views. It was a phenomenon

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<v Speaker 1>that transcended language, genre, and culture. The pressure to follow

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<v Speaker 1>that up was insurmountable. You can't recreate a global accidental

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<v Speaker 1>viral moment, and that's why pi Psy remains the king

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<v Speaker 1>of the twenty tens one hit wonders. Now for the

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<v Speaker 1>trickiest decade, the twenty twenties. We're living in the age

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<v Speaker 1>of algorithms, where hits are born on TikTok and die

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<v Speaker 1>on the radio. But the sheer explosiveness of some of

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<v Speaker 1>these songs is undeniable. My twenty twenties pick has to

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<v Speaker 1>be Dance Monkey by Tones and I No.

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<v Speaker 3>No no no no no no no no h uh

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<v Speaker 3>see I see you see you every time? No no no, no,

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<v Speaker 3>no no no, No, No, Dance for Me, Dance for Me,

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<v Speaker 3>Dance for Me.

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<v Speaker 1>That song, I don't know the words, honestly, if I'm real,

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<v Speaker 1>I didn't like the song. I still don't. That's why

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know the words that well. But I know

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<v Speaker 1>the tone because it was a colossal inescapable hit tones

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<v Speaker 1>and I is an established artist in Australia, but that song,

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<v Speaker 1>dance Monkey globally was ever you, groundbreaking records for the time,

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<v Speaker 1>spent at number one in multiple countries. It had that unique,

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<v Speaker 1>slightly strange vocal hook that TikTok loved and radio couldn't

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<v Speaker 1>stop playing. The music video was also weirdly addicting, like

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know if you watched it because you enjoyed

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<v Speaker 1>the randomness or you just figured the more you watch it,

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<v Speaker 1>the more context you'll get, more understanding you get. But

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<v Speaker 1>whatever the case, that song was a number one. Despite

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<v Speaker 1>follow up efforts, the massive global hit of dance Monkey

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<v Speaker 1>has been impossible to repeat. It defined that period of

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<v Speaker 1>the pandemic, becoming a global anthem of weird, infectious joy.

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<v Speaker 1>It's a perfect modern one hit wonder, wonder, born of

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<v Speaker 1>a strange alchemy between a unique voice and the global algorithm.

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<v Speaker 1>The hit is massive, but the artist struggles to escape

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<v Speaker 1>its shadows. Typical one hit wonder curse Shalley's sat White say.

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<v Speaker 1>The twenty tens and twenty twenties are full of these

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<v Speaker 1>viral flashes, but I had to pick the biggest. But

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<v Speaker 1>we have to mention some close calls. What about I

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<v Speaker 1>Love Maconan's Tuesday. It was an undeniable club anthem that

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<v Speaker 1>defined a year. And what about the SoundCloud generation artists

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<v Speaker 1>like Wybi and de Mer with Rubbing Off the Paint

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<v Speaker 1>and Blue Face with Thoughtiana. They had massive signature tracks

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<v Speaker 1>that exploded and launched their career. But did the rest

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<v Speaker 1>of their catalog manage to sustain that initial shocking peak

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<v Speaker 1>of success. I'd argue that it didn't. You know, some

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<v Speaker 1>of the stands and the fans would say that they're

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<v Speaker 1>still relevant. They aren't one hit wonders. What I'm talking

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<v Speaker 1>about is the global scale of the hit, and were

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<v Speaker 1>they able to repeat that again? Were they able to

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<v Speaker 1>taylor swift their hit where almost everything is global. That's

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<v Speaker 1>my criteria for judging the what Hit Wonder, and that's

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<v Speaker 1>why I'd say they're honorable mentions. It proves that in

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<v Speaker 1>the streaming age, the peak of a single viral moment

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<v Speaker 1>can be the hardest thing to replicate. If you it

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<v Speaker 1>makes you wonder does an artist even need a second

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<v Speaker 1>hit when the first one generates that much cultural conversation

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<v Speaker 1>and financial success. Some don't like Stacy's mom and Gagnum style,

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<v Speaker 1>maybe even top thumping.

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<v Speaker 2>I get knocked down, but I get up again.

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<v Speaker 1>I feel like these songs are like generation one hit

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<v Speaker 1>wonders like I don't think they ever need another hit

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<v Speaker 1>again because these songs are still relevant today. So if

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<v Speaker 1>I answer my question, no, some artists don't need another

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<v Speaker 1>second hit because the first one generated so much cultural

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<v Speaker 1>conversation and financial success. Looking across all those decades, it's

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<v Speaker 1>fascinating how the definition changes from music novelty to viral anomaly.

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<v Speaker 1>The only constant is that the song was always bigger

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<v Speaker 1>than the artist. They all share that one trait. The

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<v Speaker 1>song was bigger than the artists. It was the right

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<v Speaker 1>track at the right exact moment in time. Whether it

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<v Speaker 1>was the synthesizers of the eighties or the TikTok algorithm

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<v Speaker 1>of the twenty twenties, they all managed to capture lightning

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<v Speaker 1>in the bottle so I want to know if you

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<v Speaker 1>could listen to just one of these one hit wonders

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<v Speaker 1>on repeat for the rest of your days. Which one

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<v Speaker 1>are you picking? I think I have to go it too.

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<v Speaker 1>The first one is gonna be Video Killed the Radio Star.

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<v Speaker 1>I really love that song, and the other one is

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<v Speaker 1>gonna be tub Thumpin'.

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<v Speaker 2>I get knocked down, but I get up again.

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<v Speaker 1>Because I want to take that nostalgia trip back to

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<v Speaker 1>the nineties and get knocked down and then get up

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<v Speaker 1>again with Chabawamba. Let us know your favorite one hit

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<v Speaker 1>wonder and if we missed a truly legendary track. You

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<v Speaker 1>can find us on our website, Viva La Life Media.

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<v Speaker 1>All the details are below, or follow Viva Life Media

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<v Speaker 1>on YouTube and Instagram. Thanks for joining us. This is

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<v Speaker 1>Crash Course Pot and I will catch you next time.

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<v Speaker 2>Bye.