20+ One Hit Wonders From Modern History And What They Look Like Today

Every now and then, an artist emerges with a song that takes the world by storm. While some of these artists are fortunate enough to produce a few hits as they progress in their careers, many others seem to have dipped their toes in the industry, gained fame for a single song, and then somehow disappeared shortly after. That's what we call a "one-hit wonder."

The music industry is notoriously unpredictable. It's hard to foresee who will have a hit, and even harder to predict what kind of hit it will be—a trend often happens effortlessly.

One-hit wonders are perhaps the best proof of the unpredictability of the music industry. To qualify as a great one-hit wonder, the tune must be a song that everyone knows and loves, despite the fact that no one ever purchased any other recordings by the same artist.

Many factors contribute to songs rising to prominence during a specific period, but one of the most significant factors is probably just luck. Songs like "Somebody That I Used to Know" by Gotye and "A Thousand Miles" by Vanessa Carlton have become well-known worldwide. What's surprising is that these are their only songs that became hits before they faded from the mainstream media; however, their songs are never forgotten.

That being said, take a look at some one-hit wonders in history below and see what they look like now in the present time!

1. Lou Bega of "Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit of...)", 1999

Ariola Records

Here's what he looks like today:

Tristar Media / Getty Images

Go listen to "Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit of...)" here for a trip down memory lane!

2. Natalie Imbruglia of "Torn", 1997

RCA

Here's what she looks like today:

David M. Benett / Dave Benett / Getty Images

3. Sisqó of "Thong Song", 2000

Def Soul

Here's what he looks like today:

Phillip Faraone / Getty Images

Listen to the "Thong Song" here:

4. Cassie of "Me & U", 2006

Next Selection / Bad Boy / Atlantic

Here's what she looks like today:

cassie

Listen to "Me & U" here:

5. James Blunt of "You're Beautiful", 2005

Atlantic Records / Custard

Here's what he looks like today:

David M. Benett / Dave Benett / Getty Images for Loci

Listen to his hit song here:

6. Sean Kingston of "Beautiful Girls", 2007

Epic Records

Here's what he looks like now:

seankingston

Listen to "Beautiful Girls" here:

7. Macy Gray of "I Try", 1999

Epic / Clean Slate

Here's what she looks like today:

Arturo Holmes / Getty Images

Listen to "I Try" here:

8. Gavin DeGraw of "I Don't Want to Be", 2004

J Records

Here's what he looks like today:

Steve Granitz / WireImage / Getty Images

Listen to his hit song here:

9. Estelle of "American Boy", 2008

Atlantic / HomeSchool

Here's what she looks like today:

Jack Vartoogian / Getty Images

Listen to her song here:

10. Willa Ford of "I Wanna Be Bad", 2001:

Lava / Atlantic

Here's what she looks like today:

Michael Tullberg / Getty Images

Listen to "I Wanna Be Bad" here:

11. Amerie of "1 Thing", 2005

Columbia

Here's what she looks like today:

amerie

Listen to "1 Thing" here:

12. Trace Cyrus (Metro Station) of "Shake It", 2008:

Columbia

Here's what he looks like today:

tracecyrus

13. Linda Perry (4 Non Blondes) of "What's Up?", 1993

Interscope

Here's what she looks like today:

Kurt Krieger - Corbis / Corbis via Getty Images

Listen to "What's Up?" here:

14. Sir Mix-a-Lot of "Baby Got Back", 1992

Def American / Reprise

Here's what he looks like today:

Scott Dudelson / Getty Images

Listen to "Baby Got Back" here:

15. Vanessa Carlton of "A Thousand Miles", 2002

AM

Here's what she looks like today:

Bruce Glikas / Bruce Glikas / WireImage / Getty Images

Listen to "A Thousand Miles" here:

16. Tweet of "Oops (Oh My)", 2002

The Goldmind / Elektra

Here's what she looks like today:

Jason Kempin / Getty Images

Listen to "Oops (Oh My)" here:

17. Eamon of "Fuck It (I Don't Want You Back)", 2003

Jive

Here's what he looks like now:

eamonofficial

Listen to "Fuck It (I Don't Want You Back)" here:

18. Afroman of "Because I Got High", 2001

T-Bones / Universal / Uptown

Here's what he looks like today:

Paul Archuleta / FilmMagic / Getty Images

Listen to "Because I Got High" here:

19. Nina Sky of "Move Ya Body", 2004:

Universal / Next Plateau

Here's what she looks like now:

Andrew Toth / Getty Images for MoMA

Listen to "Move Ya Body" here:

20. Kevin Lyttle of "Turn Me On", 2003:

Atlantic

Here's what he looks like today:

Johnny Nunez / WireImage / Getty Images

Listen to "Turn Me On" here:

21. Lene Nystrøm and Renée Dif (Aqua) of "Barbie Girl", 1997:

Universal / MCA

Here's what they look like today:

Sam Tabone / WireImage / Getty Images

Listen to "Barbie Girl" here!

22. J-Kwon of "Tipsy", 2004:

So So Def / Arista

Here's what he looks like now:

jkwon_duh_don

Listen to "Tipsy" here:

23. Ryan Cabrera of "On the Way Down", 2004

Atlantic

Here's what he looks like now:

Michael Tran / Getty Images

Listen to "On the Way Down" here:

24. Baha Men of "Who Let the Dogs Out", 2000

S-Curve

Here's what they look like today:

bahamenmusic

Listen to "Who Let The Dogs Out" here!

25. Vitamin C of "Graduation (Friends Forever)", 2000:

Elektra

Here's what she looks like today:

Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images

Listen to "Graduation (Friends Forever)" here:

It was nice taking a trip down memory lane with these songs and artists, right? It's unfortunate that they only had one song that became a hit, but at least they are embedded in our minds forever!

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