A one-hit wonder is a Top-40 phenomenon, the combination of artist and song that scores big in the music industry with one smash hit, but is unable to repeat the achievement with another hit. The term can refer to the artist, the song, or both together. The following were notable one-hit wonders in the United States.
Artists on this list have exactly 1 song that charted on the Billboard Hot 100 with a rank of 1 to 40 inclusive.
Note that this is a much less heuristic aproach to determining a list than the method used by other sources, such as VH1. In VH1's 100 Greatest: One Hit Wonders series, they identified several artists that actually had more than one Top 40 Hit, but one of those hits was much more significant than the other; and the general public only remembers the artist for their one contribution, including:
Vanilla Ice ("Ice Ice Baby" was a #1 Hit, but he also had a #4 hit with his cover of "Play That Funky Music")
Rockwell ("Somebody's Watching Me" hit #2, but he had prior chart success with "Obscene Phone Caller" which hit #34)
a-ha ("Take On Me" hit #1 but "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." hit #20).
Kris Kross ("Jump" hit #1 but "Warm It Up" hit #13 and "Alright" hit #21).
Also, some artists who are known for a popular song or more did not chart on the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100. Such as:
The Cardigans ("Lovefool" didn't chart on the Billboard Hot 100, but the song charted high on other charts)
Las Ketchup ("The Ketchup Song" peaked at 53, but the song charted high on other charts)
Semisonic ("Closing Time" did not chart, but the song charted high on other charts)
Modern English ("I Melt With You" peaked at 78, but charted high on other charts)
Bow Wow Wow ("I Want Candy " did not chart, but charted high on other charts)
As a rule of thumb, an artist should not be added to this list within a year of their first hit's entry on the Billboard Hot 100.
"I Think I Want You Back" by Mel B(only solo hit, but had a string of hits as a member of the Spice Girls; has had greater success worldwide than in the USA)
"Look At Me" by Geri Halliwell(only solo hit, but had a string of hits as a member of the Spice Girls; has had greater success worldwide than in the USA)
