2000s One-Hit Wonders: Where Are They Now?
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Fountains of Wayne finally found success after their third album, when the song "Stacy's Mom" packed the awkwardness of a teen comedy into a three-and-a-half-minute summer jam. Unfortunately, the band no longer seems to have it going on, as they broke up after their fourth album release. Lead singer Chris Collingwood continues to pursue music as a solo artist, releasing an album in 2016. However, Collingwood seems likely to spend the rest of his career chasing after "Stacy's Mom."
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In 2002, Vanessa Carlton matched the Proclaimers' pledge of devotion with her hit single, "A Thousand Miles." Before she was banging out ballads on the keys, Carlton graduated from the School of American Ballet. In 2004, Carlton opened up about having struggled with depression and anorexia. In 2010, Carlton headlined a show for Nashville Pride and came out for the first time publicly on stage as being bisexual. Since then, time just seems to be passing Carlton by. She both released an album and had a baby (with husband John McCauley of the band Deer Tick) in 2015.
Do you remember this?In the late '90s, Hoobastank was gigging around local venues with bands like Incubus. Eventually, they garnered a following and a record deal, but they didn't really break through until their 2003 release of "The Reason." Despite not having much commercial success since 2003, it seems the band keeps finding a reason to start over new, as they have released four albums since The Reason and released new music in 2017.
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- Nine Days Facebook
This is the story of a girl, who cried a river and drowned the whole world after Nine Days faded into oblivion after topping the charts with their 2000 hit, "Absolutely" (Story of a Girl). After Nine Days shared the story of a girl with listeners, they seemingly faded from the alternative rock scene. In 2016, the band released their first record since the album that launched them to the top, claiming to just be making music for themselves. Sounds like the typical commentary of a one-hit wonder who has accepted their unfortunate fate.
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Once everyone realized Y2K wasn't a thing, Americans began to wonder just one thing: "Who Let the Dogs Out," anyway? There was no place to hide from Baha Men's infectious hit remake of "Who Let the Dogs Out" in 2000. Before they gained popularity in the US, they were a Bahamian band called High Voltage. After their single was featured on the Rugrats in Paris soundtrack, every 2000s kid knew what noise a dog made. The Baha Men continue to record new music and tour, with their most recent release happening in 2015.
Do you remember this?You may recognize Afroman's 2002 hit "Because I got High" from any teen or college comedy film from the 2000s. Afroman started his music career in the eighth grade, by selling mixtapes at school, with songs about a teacher who suspended him for violating the school dress code. He continues to tour and make music today, and he was arrested in 2015 for laying out a female fan who danced her way on stage.
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The ballad "You're Beautiful" by James Blunt was played at every school dance in 2004. Even though it's a creepy tune about a guy who sees a beautiful woman he can't have, this hit was the peak of Blunt's musical career. Before he was crooning to pretty ladies, Blunt was a reconnaissance officer for the British Army. In 2012, Blunt retired from the music industry, stating he simply wished to spend more time on himself. But then he released new albums in both 2013 and 2017, so who even really knows with these people.
Do you remember this?The rap/metal band Crazy Town made its debut on the charts in 2001 with the smash hit, "Butterfly." In the early '90s, Crazy Town's founding members, Seth "Shifty Shellshock" Binzer and Bret "Epic" Mazur were performing together in clubs around Los Angeles under the name The Brimstone Sluggers. Eventually, they were joined by Rust Epique, James Bradley Jr (AKA JBJ), Doug Miller, Adam Goldstein (AKA DJ AM), and Antonio Lorenzo "Trouble" Valli. This is the group that formed Crazy Town in 1999.
Following a sophomore slump release and an eventual hiatus, some members of the band turned to drugs and alcohol. DJ AM died from an accidental drug overdose in 2009, and Shifty appeared on VH1's Celebrity Rehab and Sober House Seasons 1 and 2 before he relapsed and fell into a coma in 2012, eventually waking up later that year.
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- Daniel Powter Facebook
Daniel Powter grew up in a musical household and learned how to play the violin at age four. At age 10, he switched to piano when some kids who were bullying him smashed his violin. Powter struggled with dyslexia while trying to study music, and he eventually dropped out of music school. He was determined to do things his own way - learning music by ear, rather than attempting to read it, and recording new melodies he created, rather than writing them down. Since his 15 minutes of fame following the international success of "Bad Day," Powter has continued to focus on his music career but has not had another chart-topping hit. His most recent release was the single "Delicious" in January of 2017.
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This Italian pop group reached international success when their single, "Blue" (Da Ba Dee) charted in the US, Europe, and Canada in 2000. When they formed the band, they used a computer program to randomly generate their name, and the computer selected Eiffel. The 65 came later (and by accident) when their producer mistakenly wrote a phone number on a piece of paper and the last two digits bled onto the label copy, creating Eiffel 65. They continue to make music under the same name with modest success in Italy.
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Macy Gray became a household name when her hit, "I Try," blew up in May of 2000. Before that, she was just a mother of three trying to make it in the music world. Although she hasn't appeared on the Hot 100 since "I Try," she has continued to have success in the entertainment industry, appearing in movies such as Training Day, Spiderman, and Spiderman 3.
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Cee-lo Green and Danger Mouse went "Crazy" in 2006, when they teamed up to create the neo soul duo, Gnarls Barkley. Cee-Lo Green went on to be a judge on the very popular singing competition, The Voice. He departed from the show in 2014, however, after some legal issues. Cee-Lo pleaded no contest to a felony count of furnishing a controlled substance, which stemmed from an incident in which a young woman accused Cee-Lo of slipping Exstasy into her drink. Green has expressed an interest in returning to The Voice, but so far, they have not reciprocated his advances.
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Trapt was feeling ready to take on anyone after their "Headstrong" release in 2003. The members of Trapt met in middle school, long before they were telling people where they belonged, and they were opening for acts like Papa Roach before they even finished high school. Regrettably, since their "Headstrong" peak in 2003, the band has not been able to make their fantasy a reality. Although they haven't had much commercial success since, the band continues to tour and make music, with their most recent album released in 2016.
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Released in 2001, "Wherever You Will Go," has been heralded as the No. 1 Adult Pop song of the decade by Billboard magazine. Founding members Alex Band and Aaron Kamin spent two years carefully crafting the album Camino Palmero after convincing Band's neighbor, a music business veteran, that they had potential. They released a second album (which tanked) in 2004 and went on an indefinite hiatus in 2005. They reunited in 2013 for a few shows, but have since permanently disbanded. Maybe they just don't feel 'the calling' anymore?
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In 2007, the whole country was crankin' that Soulja Boy. Before he was tellin' 'em, Soulja Boy was just a kid with a MySpace page, recording demos in the studio his dad built for him. Soulja Boy might have that "Pretty Boy Swag," but it has yet to earn him the same claim to fame as when he was teaching the world to "Crank That" (Soulja Boy).
Do you remember this?If you were at a party in 2007, chances are pretty good that you've heard Atlanta-based hip hop group Shop Boyz explain the finer points of Partying like a Rockstar. Unfortunately, since becoming the number-one selling ring tone of 2007, the Shop Boyz haven't had much success. Although, they haven't closed up shop yet; the Boyz released a mixtape in 2015.
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Blu Cantrell went buck wild with her 2001 smash, "Hit 'Em Up Style." Before she found solo success, Cantrell was singing back up for artists like Puff Daddy. In 2014, bystanders in Santa Monica, CA reported a disheveled and frantic Cantrell roaming the street, claiming to have been poisoned by gas. She was taken in by the boys in blue for a full evaluation, during which she reportedly asked them if they knew who she was and referred to herself as a one-hit wonder. Poor Blu Cantrell.
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In the summer of 2004, the hip hop collective Terror Squad had us all doing 'the rockaway' with their hit, "Lean Back." Before their chart-topping club banger, Terror Squad member Fat Joe was simply trying to clear a path for Latino rappers in the hip hop scene. Fat Joe has been relatively quiet in the music scene since, but he served four months in prison in 2013 for tax evasion.
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J-Kwon, Tipsy
Errbody remembers the summer banger "Tipsy" from 2004. After being kicked out of his parents home at 12 for his first entrepreneurial endeavor (selling drugs), at 17, J-Kwon found success, however brief, in the music industry Unfortunately, "Tipsy" was the peak of J-Kwon's career, but according to his tweets, he's still doing club promotions and living off the 2004 club classic.
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Billboard attributes the popularization of 'snap music' to the hip hop group D4L and their 2006 release of "Laffy Taffy." Shortly after the group toured in support of their only album, they went their separate ways. Rapper Shawty Lo notably went on to release another chart-topping hit ("Dey Know") in 2007 as a solo artist. Shawty was slated to get his own reality show on Oxygen called All My Babies Mamas, but the NAACP shut it down. In 2016, Shawty Lo was killed in a single car accident, when he crashed while driving under the influence of prescription drugs and alcohol.
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- Jibbs Facebook
Jovan "Jibbs" Campbell had his head held high while his chain hung low in 2006, when he made the top 10 of Billboard's Hot 100 at only 16 years old. At 26, Jibbs is still hanging in there, having released a new album in 2017.
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Christopher "Hurricane" Dooley Jr. was a high school drop out who catapulted to fame with his cat-calling hit "A Bay Bay" in 2007. Since then, Hurricane Chris has been more of a gentle breeze in the music industry. Despite his obvious and early peak, he continues to huff and puff around the scene, having released a mixtape in 2017.
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- Phantom Sound
- Sonique Clarke Facebook
British pop star Sonique was feeling pretty good in the Spring of 2000 when her single, "It Feels So Good," charted at number 8 in the US. In 2009, Sonique underwent surgery and chemotherapy for breast cancer. She has since received a clean bill of health and continues to make music.
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Eden's Crush, Get Over Yourself
Eden's Crush was a girl-group created in 2001 via an American reality television series called Popstars on the WB. Just like Adam and Eve, the girls were kicked out of Eden when their record label collapsed in 2003, and they disbanded. After their quick descent, most of the girls faded into obscurity; however, member Nicole Scherzinger went on to be the lead singer in the girl-group the Pussy Cat Dolls.
Do you remember this? Before he was throwing D's on things, Maurice 'Rich Boy' Richard's was studying mechanical engineering at Tuskegee University. He dropped out to pursue a career in hip hop, which seemed to pay off in 2007 when he topped the charts with "Throw Some D's." Unfortunately, the only thing being thrown these days is shade, as Rich Boy keeps trying to find his way back to the top in the music industry.
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