Hello Everyone.

 

I've been collecting Irish charts between 1981-2011 and have been been compiling various lists to post here.

I thought the first list that I would post would be one hit wonders.

 

Here are the Top 50 Most successful one hit wonders in the Irish Chart between 1981-2011 as of today's date.

Their success is based on chart points, 100pts or #1, 99pts for #2, 1 pt for #100, of their chart run between 01/01/81 - 31/12/11.

 

It is important to note that until 1998 the Irish chart was a Top 30.

1998-2000 the chart was a top 40.

2000-2011 the chart was a top 50.

The chart was upgraded to a Top 100 in 2012.

 

This means there is a slight bias towards modern songs.

 

What classifies as a one hit wonder??

I have taken any artist that has only one entrance into the Irish Charts as a main artist as of today's date.

If an act has a good music career with a group but has a one hit wonder as a solo artist then they will be included.

Charity singles such as Band Aid, Artists Sing for Comic Relief, Artists Stand Up for Cancer etc. haven't been included.

 

In each post of the Top 50 I have given the act a mark out of 10.

This mark is how much I believe the act deserves to be included in this list of one hit wonders.

 

This mark out of ten will take into account:

-The act's success outside Ireland.

-The act's success as a featured artist/producer.

-The likely-hood that one of the act's other singles (whether new or old) will enter in the new Top 100.

-The likely-hood that the act had some songs chart just outside the charts range e.g #51.

-How recent the hit is.

-Some acts don't technically have solo-music careers and have entered by default.

 

So without any further ado, let's begin. :cheer:

 

Feel free to post any predictions, comments or opinions about any songs that you think/are on the chart.

 

Recap

#50 Daniel Merriweather ( Red )

#49 Emilia Rydberg ( Big, Big World )

#48 Blue Boy ( Remember Me )

#47 Agnes ( Release Me )

#46 Maria McKee ( Show Me Heaven )

#45 Vitamin C ( Friends Forever (Graduation Song) )

#44 Chad Kroeger ( Hero (feat. Josey Scott) )

#42= Yolanda Be Cool ( We No Speak Americano (feat. Dcup))

#42= Gabriella Cilmi ( Sweet About Me )

#41 Frank Kelly ( Christmas Countdown/Charlie Stepped In )

#40 4 Non Blondes ( What's Up? )

#39 All 4 One ( I Swear )

#38 Wes ( Alane )

#36= Unique II ( Break My Stride )

#36= Chumbawamba ( Tubthumping )

#35 Mike Posner ( Cooler Than Me )

#34 Kate Winslet ( What If )

#33 Uncle Kracker ( Follow Me )

#32 Edward Maya ( Stereo Love (feat. Vika Jigulina) )

#31 HelloGoodbye ( Here (In Your Arms) )

#30 Glen Hansard ( Falling Slowly (feat. Marketa Irglova) )

#29 Nizlopi ( The JCB Song )

#28 Metro Station ( Shake It )

#27 Bodyrockers ( I Like The Way )

#26 Liam Harrison ( Give It A Lash, Jack (feat. Goal Celebrities) )

#25 Special D ( Come With Me )

#24 Foster The People ( Pumped Up Kicks )

#23 Tweets ( Birdie Song (Birdie Dance) )

#22 Andrea Bocelli ( Time To Say Goodbye (Con Te Partiro) (feat. Sarah Brightman) )

#21 Lady Antebellum ( Need You Now )

#20 Vanessa Amorosi ( Absolutely Everybody )

#19 Los Del Rio ( Macarena )

#17= Séan O'Farrell ( Billy Can't Read )

#17= 3 Of A Kind ( Baby Cakes )

#16 Travis McCoy ( Billionaire (Bruno Mars) )

#15 Fool's Garden ( Lemon Tree )

#14 Shannon Noll ( What About Me )

#13 Aloe Blacc ( I Need A Dollar )

#12 Sam Sparro ( Black & Gold )

#11 Tim O'Riordan & Natural Gas ( The Langer )

#10 O-Zone ( Dragostea Din Tei )

#9 Las Ketchup ( Aserje - The Ketchup Song )

#8 Rembrandts ( I'll Be There For You )

#7 Plain White T's ( Hey There Delilah )

#6 Perez "Prez" Prado ( Guaglione )

#5 Klubbhoppers ( Buddy Joe )

#4 Temper Trap ( Sweet Disposition )

#3 Goo Goo Dolls ( Iris )

#2 Bill Whelan ( Riverdance )

#1 Journey ( Don't Stop Believin' )

 

See the posts for the videos, comments and chart performance.

 

Edited January 6, 201312 yr by CianS

As an aid to your predictions, here's a break down of the acts that appear:

Act's Nationality

USA 16

Australia 8

UK 6

Ireland 6

Austria 2

Germany 2

Spain 2

Sweden 2

Cameroon 1

Canada 1

Cuba 1

Italy 1

Moldova 1

Romania 1

 

Act's Configuration

Duo/Group 23

Male solo 20

Female solo 7

 

Act's Genre*

Pop 19

Dance 10

Rock 10

Country 4

R&B 3

Classical 1

Hip-Hop 1

Swing 1

World 1

 

*with genre it's normally hard to limit it to one genre. Some soul-pop have been rounded to pop, pop-rock has been rounded to rock etc. This is just a hint.

Edited December 19, 201212 yr by CianS

First up we have an Australian R&B singer who charted as a main artist after getting his name out through featured work.

 

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#50 Daniel Merriweather

 

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The Song: Red

The Year: 2009

 

Chart Points: 1,425 points

Chart Run: 36-23-16-14-9-19-28-27-30-26-28-36-42-39-36-39-49-X-41-30-27-X

 

Peak: 9

Weeks in chart: 20

 

 

Comment: Australian R&B singer Daniel Merriweather first made a splash in the Irish charts in 2007 when he provided vocals to Mark Ronson's cover of The Smiths classic "Stop Me". It wasn't until 2009 however when he landed his very own hit with "Red" which landed him a Top 10 hit in Ireland, the UK and Denmark. This wasn't his first Top 10 in the UK however as previously in 2009 "Change" reached #8. His debut album "Love & War" reached #15 in the Irish charts and featured a duet with soon-to-be superstar Adele. Since then Daniel Merriweather hasn't produced the 'difficult second album' and hasn't released anything since 'Love & War' and thus ended up on the list

 

Hits That Could Have Charted:

2009: "Change" #8 (UK)

2009: "Impossible" #67 (UK)

2009: "Water and a Flame" (feat. Adele) #180 (UK)

 

6/10 - Possibly a bit premature to class him as a one hit wonder after one album. More likely than not he'll release an album soon and get a Top 50 song out of it.

 

Edited December 19, 201212 yr by CianS

Up next we have a Swedish pop star who is still releasing music under a different name.

 

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#49 Emilia Rydberg

 

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The Song: Big, Big World

The Year: 1998

 

Chart Points: 1,430 points

Chart Run: 13-7-3-4-5-3-3-4-5-5-10-14-18-26-33-33-X

 

Peak: 3

Weeks in chart: 15

 

 

Comment: Swedish pop/soul singer Emilia Rydberg made a splash in the Irish charts in the late 90s at the young age of 20. 'Big, Big World' went Top 3 in Ireland within 3 weeks of its release and stayed in the Top 10 for 10 weeks and for 16 weeks in the Top 40. The success of 'Big, Big World' was not limited to Ireland however, Emilia managed to clock up 6 #1s across Europe including her home country Sweden, and a Top 5 hit in 5 others including the UK. Unfortunately, Emilia's follow-up single 'Good Sign' can only dream of it's predecessor's success as it made little impact only charting in 8 of these countries, highest of which was at #16 in her native country. 'Good Sign' never penetrated the Irish Top 40 resulting in Emilia's appearance today. Since then, Emilia's released 4 albums, the most recent being in September of this year under the name Emilia Mitiku, and has auditioned for Eurovision in the Swedish Melodifestivalen in 2009.

 

Hits That Could Have Charted:

1999: "Good Sign" #16 (Sweden)

1999: "Twist Of Fate" #37 (Sweden)

2001: "Kiss By Kiss" #2 (Belgium)

2006: "Var minut" #22 (Sweden)

2009: "You're My World" #11 (Sweden)

 

9/10 - Unlucky that the follow up didn't chart, however after that nothing else she released made any real impact anywhere else. So with that respects she does deserve to be on the list.

 

For those who want to hear what Emilia Rydberg....now Emilia Mitiku is up to now. See below.

Edited December 19, 201212 yr by CianS

At #48 we have a Scottish DJ who reworked a Marlena Shaw classic.

 

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#48 Blue Boy

 

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The Song: Remember Me

The Year: 1997

 

Chart Points: 1,454 points

Chart Run: 29-19-13-14-15-15-7-6-7-8-8-11-14-19-X

 

 

Peak: 6

Weeks in chart: 17

 

 

Comment: Scottish DJ Alexis Blackmore aka Blue Boy, caused a stir on dance-floors across Ireland and the UK in early 1997 with his dance classic 'Remember Me'. The song sampled 'Woman of the Ghetto' by Marlena Shaw and features the line "Remember me? I'm the one who had your babies", referencing African-Americans raising Caucasian children for little pay. However this anti-racism statement is overlooked thanks to it's jazz like beat. The song reached #6 in Ireland, fairing 2 positions higher than in his native UK. The song took 8 weeks to peak, making it joint longest time for a song to peak of that year. His follow-up 'Sandman' reached #25 in the UK but never made an impression in the Irish Top 40. The song was recently covered by Daley, with Jessie J singing Marlena's vocals

 

Hits That Could Have Charted:

1997: "Sandman" #25 (UK)

 

9/10 - although he possibly may have charted under another name that I may have missed. This is a classical example of a popular dance anthem, rubbish follow-up, then vanishing DJ. Let's see how many more of these will appear in the chart.

Edited December 19, 201212 yr by CianS

Another Swedish pop singer up next, this time a more recent, reality tv sensation.

 

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#47 Agnes

 

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The Song: Release Me

The Year: 2009

 

Chart Points: 1,455 points

Chart Run: 38-22-20-16-12-12-10-11-15-16-15-17-18-29-33-35-47-50-48-X

 

Peak: 10

Weeks in chart: 19

 

 

Comment: Swedish born Agnes Carlsson was only 17 when she failed to receive enough votes to reach the final in the second season of Swedish Idol. Not even the wildcard stages were enough for her to land that precious place in the final. However luck was on her side, as the judges saw that something special in the 17 year old and gave her a position in the final as "judge's choice" competitor. From their she managed to amaze the public and ended up winning the competition. Her winner's single "Right Here, Right Now" landed her Christmas #1 in her homeland. The following year she had a #2 hit with 'Kick Back Relax' but it wasn't until 2008 when she managed international success. 'On and On' charted in 7 Top 50s across Europe but it was the follow up, 'Release Me' that sees her debut entrance in the Irish chart. The song went top 10 after 7 weeks of climbing in the chart. Taking the tally Top 10s across Europe to 10. The follow ups to 'Release Me', 'Love, Love, Love' and 'I Need You Now' proved Top 10 hits for Agnes in Sweden (and the latter a Top 40 in the UK) but never reached the Irish Top 50. This year Agnes released her 4th Top 5 album 'Veritas' which is home to the second Swedish #1 'When You Tell The World You're Mine'. Maybe album #5 will help get Agnes off the One Hit Wonder Hall Of Fame, but until then she remains at her rightful place at #48.

 

Hits That Could Have Charted:

2005: "Right Here, Right Now (My Heart Belongs to You)" #1 (Sweden)

2008: "On and On" #8 (Sweden & Belgium)

2009: "Love Love Love" #4 (Sweden)

2009: "I Need You Now" #8 (Sweden)

2010: "When You Tell The World You're Mine"(with Björn Skifs) #1 (Sweden)

2012: "One Last Time" #1 (Sweden [download])

2012: "All I Want Is You" #9 (Sweden [download])

 

7/10 - Even though Agnes keeps on scoring Top 10s in Sweden, it is very doubtful that she will land a hit in Ireland again. I believe she is quite deserving of being on this list because nobody knew who she was, nobody knows where she went and that's probably how it will remain.

 

Most recent single from Agnes is 'All I Want Is You'.

It's time to jump across the Atlantic to a songwriter who made it big off the back of a movie soundtrack.

 

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#46 Maria McKee

 

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The Song: Show Me Heaven

The Year: 1990

 

Chart Points: 1,474 points

Chart Run: 26-6-2-2-2-2-4-5-6-9-21-30-21-24-27-27-29-X

 

Peak: 2

Weeks in chart: 17

 

 

Comment: Los Angeles born Maria McKee, was the lead singer of American country rock band Lone Justice. However, it was her appearance on the soundtrack of 'Days of Thunder' that saw her get her only entrance into the Irish Top 30. She remained at #2 for 4 consecutive weeks, being held off #1, for each of those 4 weeks, by Saw Doctor's 'I Useta Lover' (recently voted Ireland's favorite #1). The song only reached #28 in her native America, but she landed a #1 across the water in the UK. Although she's had more success in her endeavors with backing vocals (singing for U2 and the Counting Crows) and penmanship (wrote the #1 hit 'A Good Heart' by Feargal Sharkey as well as songs for Talking Heads), her memory lives on as she has recently performed 'Show Me Heaven', a song she refused to sing live for years, in the Dublin Gay Pride Parade.

 

Hits That Could Have Charted:

1991: "Breathe" #59 (UK)

1992: "Sweetest Child"#45 (UK)

1993: "I'm Gonna Soothe You" #35 (UK)

 

7/10 - Although she has only had one song of any impact, anywhere, she lives on behind the scenes as a songwriter for movies and for others which goes unknown. For this she doesn't deserve the full 10, but she might want to keep some of her work for herself if she wants to make it off this list.

 

Staying in the US now, we have the first of a few examples of the bizarre scenraio in which a song from an act outisde Ireland, charts in Ireland and not in the UK

 

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#45 Vitamin C

 

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The Song: Friends Forever (Graduation Song)

The Year: 2000

 

Chart Points: 1,497 points

Chart Run: 6-5-4-5-4-4-4-5-4-7-11-13-16-21-30-34-47-X

 

Peak: 4

Weeks in chart: 17

 

 

Comment: In 1998, Colleen Ann Fitzpatrick left the band Eve's Plum and pursued a solo career under the stage name Vitamin C. 2 years later, thanks to an Irish DJ who bought her single in New York and played it on Irish radio, Vitamin C added Ireland onto the list (along with Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Sweden) of countries on which she had made an impact, outside her native US. 'Friends Forever (Graduation Song)' landed straight in at #6 and hung around the Top 10 for 10 weeks. It is one of rare few songs by an act from outside Ireland to make it big in Ireland and not in the UK. Her follow-up 'The Itch' never managed to make it Top 50 nor did it's predecessor 'Smile' which is her highest charting song in the US. During her fame, Vitamin C had her own doll, appeared in 'The Amanda Show', 'Sabrina the Teenage Witch', 'Scary Movie 2' and opposite 'Gerard Butler' in 'Dracula 200'. She is now still currently writing music, initially for herself, in hopes of a comeback and for artists such as Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez & Miley Cyrus. In March she was named Vice President of Music for Nickelodeon. 'Friends Forever (Graduation Song)' makes an appearance every year in iTunes charts across the world every May as the song, as the title may suggest, is associated with Graduating and saying goodbye to friends.

 

Hits That Could Have Charted:

1999: "Smile" #18 (US)

2000: "The Itch" #6 (Australia)

2003: "Last Nite" #70 (UK)

 

8/10 - Vitamin C was lucky that her song became such a hit over here considering the UK were oblivious to its existence. She does deserve her place on the list due to her very small repitoir of songs and it's no surprise we all forgot about her.

 

Over the border to Canada now where we have a front man of one of the most successful rock bands ever.

 

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#44 Chad Kroeger

 

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The Song: Hero (feat. Josey Scott)

The Year: 2002

 

Chart Points: 1,498 points

Chart Run: 4-3-2-3-4-4-6-7-9-8-9-13-15-21-28-34-49-X

 

Peak: 2

Weeks in chart: 17

 

 

Comment: In 2002, Canadian rocker and Nickelback front man Chad Kroeger was high off the success of Nickleback's #1 the previous year 'How You Remind Me' along with their #1 album 'Silver Side Up'. When Columbia Pictures approached Chad to perform the featured song in what was bound to be the summer's blockbuster 'Spider Man' he would have been a fool to say 'No'. From this collaboration 'Hero' was created charting in 17 countries across the world including a #1 in his home country of Canada and #2 in Ireland and Portugal. The song featured Josey Scott lead singer of Saliva, a US rock band. Since 'Hero' Chad has collaborated with Santana and My Darkest Days but never left Nickleback to persue a solo career. Now Chad Kroeger is still being front man to Nickelback who are having amazing success in the US and Canada where they've sold 21,000,000 albums in the US alone. In August Chad got engaged with fellow Canadian rocker Avril Lavigne.

 

Hits That Could Have Charted:

this was his only release.

 

1/10 - Chad has only really charted here by situation. He is a super successful front man who was asked to write a song for a film that was bound to sell. Who would have said no? He never launched his own solo career so doesn't deserve to be in this list.

Back to Australia for #42 where we see our first joint position.

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=#42 Yolanda Be Cool

 

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The Song: We No Speak Americano (feat. Dcup)

The Year: 2010

 

Chart Points: 1,521 points

Chart Run: 18-5-3-1-2-3-3-5-6-7-11-17-19-26-34-46-42-X-49-X

 

 

Peak: 1

Weeks in chart: 18

 

 

Comment: Yolanda Be Cool consists of Australian DJs Andrew Stanley and Johnson Peterson and in 2010 they had a global smash sensation with "We No Speak Americano" sampling "Tu Vuò Fà L'Americano", the 1956 jazz song by Renato Carosone. In the summer of 2010, "We No Speak Americano" topped charts in 6 countries and went Top 5 in 5 others. In 9 of these countries the sing went platinum. The follow up "Le Bump", a collab with American dance singer, Crystal Waters, made absolutely no impact anywhere unfortunately. Maybe the future will hold another smash for the Australian duo.

 

Hits That Could Have Charted:

2009: "Afro Nuts"

2011: "Le Bump" (featuring. Crystal Waters)

2012: "Cancllad Megamix" (featuring. The Flaming Lips)

 

9/10 - Yolanda Be Cool are a perfect example of a one hit wonder, one huge global mega-hit, and the nothing after it not even a whiff of success. The only reason I haven't awarded it the 10/10 is that it's only been 2 years since the hit. It is still relatively recent.

Remaining in Australia we have a teen star who took the world by storm in 2008.

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=#42 Gabriella Cilmi

 

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The Song: Sweet About Me

The Year: 2008

 

Chart Points: 1,521 points

Chart Run: 44-46-46-X-46-46-46-X-33-32-20-17-16-17-23-30-23-23-21-25-24-33-44-X-46-X

 

 

Peak: 16

Weeks in chart: 22

 

 

Comment: Melbourne native from Italian-Albanian decent, Gabriella Cilmi made her breakthrough into the Irish chart in the summer of 2008. After four major US deals, Cilmi eventually signed to Island Records UK and shared a manager with the Sugababes and Mutya Buena. In March she recorded her debut album "Lessons To Be Learned" off which the lead single "Sweet About Me", was released and charted Top 10 in 14 countries. The song was the 3rd highest selling single in her native Australia and in The Netherlands and the 10th highest selling single in Europe of that year. However in Ireland the song never made it higher than #16 but managed a respectable 22 weeks in the chart, spending a baffling 6 weeks at #46. From then Cilmi managed 3 more Top 40 hits in the UK, even a Top 10 with "On A Mission". However she never managed to re-enter into the Irish Top 50. Cilmi is currently working on her third album.

 

Hits That Could Have Charted:

2008: "Don't Wanna Go to Bed Now" #28 (Australia)

2008: "Save the Lies (Good to Me)" #33 (UK)

2008: "Warm This Winter" #22 (UK)

2010: "On a Mission" #9 (UK)

2010: "Defender"/"Magic Carpet Ride" #4 (Australia)

 

7/10 - I believe that Gabriella Cilmi will get another entry into the charts especially now that we know the Top 100. I believe she was unlucky with "On A Mission" I estimate that it reached Top 60, but since we only had the Top 50 in 2008, it didn't officially chart. How ever if album three has no decent hits, Cilmi will deserve her spot on this chart.

Edited December 20, 201212 yr by CianS

Sweet About Me and We No Speak Americano are brilliant. :wub: I thought the latter would rank higher up tbh.

Back to Ireland where we have an esteemed actor who released A Christmas hit.

 

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#41 Frank Kelly

 

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The Song: Christmas Countdown/Charlie Stepped In

The Year: 1981

 

Chart Points: 1,540 points

Chart Run: 10-6-3-3-5-11-20-23-22-X-15-X-8-10-X-27-X-24-20-25-X-24-22-X

 

Peak: 3

Weeks in chart: 18

 

 

Comment: In the opening sequence of "The Italian Job" (1969) Michael Caine is escorted out of prison by a, then, un-credited young Irish actor by the name of Frank Kelly. From then on Kelly moved on to children's program "Wanderly Wagon". In 1981 Kelly released a parody of the Christmas classic "The 12 days of Christmas" which became a Christmas Classic in Ireland and re-entered again in 1982, 1984 and 1988. In 1984 it reached #26 in the UK. From the Kelly began acting in Glenroe and in 1995 became a regular on Channel 4 as the role of Father Jack in "Father Ted". Kelly is currently in the ITV soap Emmerdale and also provides voice overs for many adverts.

 

Hits That Could Have Charted:

this was his only release.

 

3/10 - Frank Kelly is a comedic actor and never had his own music career so he isn't technically a one hit wonder. However he did have a radio career and has his name to a classic Christmas song so with that regards I'll award him a 3.

Sweet About Me and We No Speak Americano are brilliant. :wub: I thought the latter would rank higher up tbh.

 

Yolanda Be Cool probably sold more tbh, but because we don;t have sales figures, chart runs are the only way to compare songs.

We're into the Top 40 now and kicking us off is a band with a song that's recognised everywhere!

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#40 4 Non Blondes

 

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The Song: What's Up?

The Year: 1993

 

Chart Points: 1,544 points

Chart Run: 12-3-1-1-1-1-1-2-3-6-7-11-18-18-28-30-30-X

 

 

Peak: 1

Weeks in chart: 17

 

 

Comment: The San Francisco 4 piece, 4 Non Blondes, stormed to the the top of the charts in 1993 with their only hit "What's Up?". The Linda Perry led group topped charts across the world with the track and with it's mother album "Bigger, Better, Faster, More!" both of which topped the European Hot 100 for at least 4 weeks.In Ireland the song topped the charts for 5 consecutive weeks. However "What's Up?" was the question everybody was asking when 4 Non Blondes disappeared from the music scene without a trace. This was partially due to front woman Linda Perry left to pursue a solo career. The rest of the band slowly disbanded after. Linda released 2 albums and then called it a day in 2001 when neither took off. Since then she's written huge hits for Christina Aguilera, P!nk and Gwen Stefani.

 

Hits That Could Have Charted:

1992: "Dear Mr. President"

1993: "Spaceman" #28 (Germany)

 

10/10 - 4 Non Blondes 100% deserve to be on this list. "What's Up?" can still be heard on the radio. It was a huge hit in it's day and still sounds good today. Afterwards the band dropped off the face of the earth except for a follow up single that only charted in a handful of countries.

Edited December 20, 201212 yr by CianS

Now for a mutli-grammy nominated band that have had an astoundingly successful career in America, but not in Ireland

 

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#39 All 4 One

 

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The Song: I Swear

The Year: 1994

 

Chart Points: 1,546 points

Chart Run: 24-8-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-4-6-13-17-19-28-28-X

 

 

Peak: 3

Weeks in chart: 17

 

 

 

Comment: Grammy award winning R&B quartet All-4-One spent 8 consecutive weeks at #3 in the Irish charts in 1994. The song "I Swear" was a cover of a song of the same name by American country singer John Michael Montgomery and proved more popular elsewhere. The song topped 10 charts across the world and made top 3 in several others. It sold over 4 million copies worldwide, a quarter of which was during an 11 week stint on top (and 18 week stint Top 2) of the US chart. The song was the 9th highest selling song of the 90s in the US. This superb success continued in the US as they managed another 2 top 10 hits along with several movie soundtrack features. After their third album they were left in limbo due to a rift between their two record labels. Ever since then the band's success in the states (and worldwide) has dwindled greatly. Their latest album was released in 2009.

 

Hits That Could Have Charted:

1994: "So Much in Love" #5 (US)

1995: "I Can Love You Like That" #5 (US)

1996: "Someday" #30 (US)

 

6/10 - Although the group have sold 22 million records worldwide, they never managed to get a second track into the Top 50. They are one hit wonders and do belong in the list but I only marked a 6/10 because of their huge popularity world wide.

Now for our only African on the list, a singer from Cameroon whose song was a hit due to a huge Football Tournament in the same year.

 

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#38 Wes

 

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The Song: Alane

The Year: 1998

 

Chart Points: 1,547 points

Chart Run: 38-21-17-13-11-18-22-9-11-12-13-15-17-15-14-27-33-30-36-X

 

 

Peak: 9

Weeks in chart: 19

 

 

 

Comment: Cameroonian singer Wes caused quite a unanticipated stir in Europe in 1997 with "Alane". The song topped French charts for 10 weeks and sold 1,418,000 copies (making it th 18th highest selling single ever in France). The song also sold well in Austria, Belgium, The Netherlands and Norway. The following year, the song began to creep into the English speaking countries i.e. UK and Ireland managing a Top 10 in Ireland. Wes never managed to make an impact all over Europe with a few songs peaking here and there. However he is one of the most successful African acts to make it to the Irish chart

 

Hits That Could Have Charted:

1997: "Awa Awa" #44 (The Netherlands)

1998: "Midiwa Bôl" (I Love Football)" #49 (Switzerland)

2010: "Sela-Sela (Dance Together)" (featuring Zahra)

 

10/10 - A song that came from no where and the artist was never seen again. However "Alane" doesn't have the longevity that many of the other one hit wonders have. Despite that, the song is another classic example of a one hit wonder and deserves the 10.

Another dance act now, this one got big off an 80s classic.

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=#36 Unique II

 

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The Song: Break My Stride

The Year: 1997

 

Chart Points: 1,558 points

Chart Run: 26-20-29-9-13-16-9-9-15-14-10-21-11-17-18-29-36-28-31-X

 

 

Peak: 9

Weeks in chart: 19

 

 

 

Comment: Austrian Euro dance project Unique II had one of the biggest dance floor smashes in 1997 with their Matthew Wilder cover "Break My Stride". They topped charts in Austria and New Zealand and made it into the Top 10 in many other countries including Australia, Italy, Canada and South Africa, not to mention Ireland. This is another example of one of those strange occurrences when a song from an act from outside Ireland makes it into the Irish charts and not the UK! The song lasted for an impressive 19 weeks in the chart including 3 weeks in the top 10 and was the 7th best song of the year based on chart performance. However their success was short lived as any other singles they released fell short of charting anywhere outside Austria.

 

Hits That Could Have Charted:

1992: "Iko Iko" #8 (Austria)

1993: "Loveline" #2 (Austria)

1996: "Do What You Please" #6 (Austria)

1999: "Forever" #8 (Austria)

 

9/10 - Another example of a dance act which managed to dominate charts with one song and then cease to exist. Because this happens so often with dance songs, normally they're not considered a one hit wonder, they're just the latest dance song to make it big and nobody normally expects anything else from them. For this reason the song only gets a 9.

Edited December 20, 201212 yr by CianS

A 90s classic now from a band who's had a career of over 30 years.

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=#36 Chumbawamba

 

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The Song: Tubthumping

The Year: 1997

 

Chart Points: 1,558 points

Chart Run: 16-9-2-1-2-4-3-5-8-9-11-13-20-22-29-31-36-39-X

 

 

Peak: 1

Weeks in chart: 18

 

 

 

Comment: November 3 2012 was the last ever gig from Burnley six-piece Chumbawamba. It was announced in July 2012 that the band would end their 3 decade spanning-career in music. The song in question came from their 9th album before which their highest charting single was #56 in the UK. "Thubthumping" was released in 1997 and was a global success. #1 in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Ireland. Top 10 in the USA, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Belgium. In they're native UK, they only reached #2, being held off the Top spot by Will Smith's "Men In Black". Across the Irish sea the song topped the Irish chart and stayed in the chart for 18 weeks, making it the 6th most successful song of the year according to chart success. Another 9 albums followed this single the most recent being of this year. In the UK and Canada they managed anoth Top 10 with "Amnesia". But after that they're song made little if any impact, along with their albums.

 

Hits That Could Have Charted:

1998: "Amnesia" #10 (UK)

1998: "Top Of The World (Olé, Olé, Olé) #21 (UK)

 

9/10 - Despite the 27 years in the business and 12 band members, Chumbawamba never managed to get the second entry into the Top 40. Meaning despite their tenacity they are at the end of the day, they're a one hit wonder. Quite a hit that hit was as you can still hear it on various countdowns of the 90s and occasional airplay. They lose the point due to the fact they have produced reams and reams of new material and were unfortunate not to make any impact.

Up next we have a singer who got famous thanks to a song performed by Cher Lloyd on the X-Factor.

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#35 Mike Posner

 

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The Song: Cooler Than Me

The Year: 2010

 

Chart Points: 1,589 points

Chart Run: 27-6-4-7-7-7-7-8-11-19-19-22-13-16-20-24-28-43-42-X

 

Peak: 4

Weeks in chart: 19

 

 

 

Comment: Mike Posner started off by producing hip-hop artist and hometown friend Big Sean. He releases his first mix-tape using iTunes U, a website for promoting free educational audio files. He signed with J Records in July 2009 and released his first single "Cooler Than Me" which performed well in the US Billboard chart. It wasn't until "Cher Lloyd" performed the song in the judge's house stages of the X-Factor that brought it to the attention of UK and Irish audiences. By 2011, Posner hadn't achieved any #1s, but managed Top 10 in over 11 countries, the highest of which was in New Zealand (#3). His follow-up "Please Don't Go" made Top 20 in the US and New Zealand, but only a measly 194 in the UK and probably an equivalent in Ireland. Since then Mike has released songs with Big Sean and Lil Wayne, and featured in the artist who made him famous on these shores, Cher Lloyd.

 

Hits That Could Have Charted:

2010: "Please Don't Go" #16 (US)

2011: "Bow Chicka Wow Wow" (featuring Lil Wayne) #21 (New Zealand)

2011: "Looks Like Sex" #42 (Austria)

 

7/10 - it's still a bit soon to properly hand Mike the title of one hit wonder, but it's looking quite likely that none of his releases will make the Irish charts. He'll remain 7/10 for another few years, and if he still hasn't made anything new he'll be bumped up to 10/10.

Edited December 24, 201212 yr by CianS