One Hit Wonders of the 90s

Some bands stay at the top of the charts for decades, changing their style and sound. But there are also those beloved one-hit wonders who make their mark with one unforgettable song and then fade away. These are the best one-hit wonders of the 90s!

Jump to:

• What Makes a One-Hit Wonder?
• The One-Hit Wonder List
• Other Playlists You May Like
• Complete list of One Hit Wonders of the 90s
• Spotify Playlist
• YouTube Music Video’s
• Final thoughts
• Frequently Asked Questions

You might be surprised to learn that some of your favorite songs from the ’90s were actually one-hit wonders. Can you think of another hit song by any of these artists? We doubt it! Enjoy these nostalgic tunes that never get old in our playlist with the best 90s One-Hit Wonders.

What Makes a One-Hit Wonder?

One-hit wonders are songs or artists with only one big hit. More specifically, the song in question must be the only song in the artist’s music catalog that has appeared in the Top 40 or the Billboard Hot 100.

One-hit wonders are often catchy and easy to remember because they are designed to be radio-friendly and played repeatedly.

This makes them stick in your head and make you want to sing along. In addition, one-hit wonders tend to be nostalgic, frequently surprising, and fun to listen to.

The One-Hit Wonder List

Let’s look at the list, highlight the top 5 one-hit wonders, and discover some fun facts about them. Here we go!

5. “I’ll Be There For You” by The Rembrandts (1995)

You probably know the song “I’ll Be There For You.” But did you know that it was initially written for the Friends theme song and was only 45 seconds long? After the show became popular, the producers returned to the Rembrandts and asked them to expand it into a full song, the catchy three-minute version we all know and love today.

4. “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” by Deep Blue Something (1993)

You probably didn’t know that the song was actually inspired by the Audrey Hepburn movie “Roman Holiday,” but the band didn’t think “Roman Holiday” was such a catchy title! Luckily, they chose “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” instead, which became a hit on the charts.

3. “Save Tonight” by Eagle Eye Cherry (1997)

Did you know that Eagle-Eye Cherry isn’t just some random artist who came out of nowhere with a single smash hit? In fact, he comes from a pretty musical family. His half-sister is the iconic singer Neneh Cherry, known for her hit “Buffalo Stance.” So music seems to be in his blood!

2. “Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit Of…)” by Lou Bega (1999)

Despite the song’s infectious Latin vibes and Lou Bega’s smooth delivery, he’s not actually Latino! Believe it or not, Lou Bega is German. His musical inspiration came from digging through old mambo records, and he captured the sound perfectly, even though his heritage wasn’t directly tied to the genre.

1. “Torn” by Nathalie Imbruglia (1997)

Nathalie Imbruglia’s beautiful song “Torn”. But did you know that while the song made Natalie a star, it was actually a cover?

The original version was written and performed by an American alternative rock band called Ednaswap in 1995. Although their version did not reach the same level of worldwide fame, Natalie’s haunting rendition is more recognizable today.

Other Playlists You May Like

Complete list of One Hit Wonders of the 90s

#	Song - Artist	Year
1	Torn - Natalie Imbruglia	1997
2	Mambo No. 5 (a Little Bit of...) - Lou Bega	1999
3	Save Tonight - Eagle-Eye Cherry	1997
4	Breakfast At Tiffany's - Deep Blue Something	1995
5	I'll Be There for You (Theme from "Friends') - The Rembrandts	1994
6	Jump Around - House Of Pain	1992
7	Summer Girls - LFO	1999
8	Bitter Sweet Symphony - The Verve	1997
9	Jump - Kris Kross	1992
10	How Bizarre - OMC	1996
11	The Freshmen - The Verve Pipe	1996
12	Possum Kingdom - Toadies	1995
13	Your Woman - White Town	1997
14	In the Meantime - Spacehog	1995
15	Brick - Ben Folds Five	1997
16	Cannonball - The Breeders	1993
17	Connected - Stereo MC's	1988
18	Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth with Money in My Hand - Primitive Radio Gods	1996
19	What Is Love - Haddaway	1993
20	Closing Time - Semisonic	1998
21	No Rain - Blind Melon	1992
22	Flagpole Sitta - Harvey Danger	1997
23	Just a Friend - Biz Markie	1988
24	Nothing Compares 2 U - Sinéad O'Connor	1990
25	Mentirosa - Mellow Man Ace	1995
26	Knockin' Boots - Candyman	1991
27	Groove Is in the Heart - Deee-Lite	1990
28	Life Is A Highway - Tom Cochrane	1991
29	Unbelievable - EMF	1991
30	I'm Too Sexy - Right Said Fred	1991
31	Achy Breaky Heart - Billy Ray Cyrus	1992
32	I Got A Man - Positive K	1998
33	Ditty - Paperboy	1991
34	Whoot - There It Is	1997
35	I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) - The Proclaimers	1988
36	What's Up? - 4 Non Blondes	1993
37	Back in the Day - Ahmad Lewis	1994
38	I Wish - Skee-Lo	1995
39	I Know - Dionne Farris	1991
40	Missing - Everything But The Girl	1994
41	5 o'clock - Nonchalant	1992
42	Counting Blue Cars (Tell Me Your Thoughts On God) - Dishwalla	1995
43	Hay - Crucial Conflict	1996
44	Lovefool - The Cardigans	1996
45	Barbie Girl - Aqua	1997
46	Criminal - Fiona Apple	1996
47	Sunny Came Home - Shawn Colvin	1996
48	Sex & Candy - Marcy Playground	1997
49	My Own Worst Enemy - Lit	1999
50	No Pigeons - Sporty Thievz	1999
51	She's so High - Tal Bachman	1994
52	Ice Ice Baby - Vanilla Ice	1990
53	There She Goes - The La's	1988
54	The Sign - Ace of Base	1994
55	Runaway Train - Soul Asylum	1989
56	Epic - Faith No More	1989
57	Insane in the Brain - Cypress Hill	1993
58	I Touch Myself - Divinyls	1990
59	MMMBop - Single Version - Hanson	1997
60	Good Vibrations - Marky Mark And The Funky Bunch	1991
61	Black Velvet - Alannah Myles	1989
62	Return of the Mack - Mark Morrison	1996
63	The Rhythm of the Night - Corona	1993
64	Firestarter - The Prodigy	1996
65	Informer - Snow	1992
66	Fade Into You - Mazzy Star	1993
67	More Than Words - Extreme	1990
68	Seether - Veruca Salt	1994
69	A Girl Like You - Edwyn Collins	1994
70	Pepper - Butthole Surfers	1989
71	Stay (I Missed You) - Lisa Loeb	1994
72	Crush - Jennifer Paige	1998
73	Right Here Right Now - Jesus Jones	1993
74	Regulate - Warren G	1994
75	Macarena - Los Del Rio	1995
76	Show Me Love - Robin S	1993
77	Kiss Me - Sixpence None The Richer	1998
78	The Impression That I Get - The Mighty Mighty Bosstones	1997
79	I Love You Always Forever - Donna Lewis	1998
80	Cumbersome - Seven Mary Three	1998
81	Don't Wanna Fall in Love - Jane Child	1990
82	Finally - CeCe Peniston	1991
83	You Gotta Be - Des'ree	1994
84	Little Black Backpack - Stroke 9	1999
85	Good - Better Than Ezra	1995
86	Better Days (And the Bottom Drops Out) - Citizen King	2000
87	We like to Party! (The Vengabus) - Vengaboys	1997
88	C'est La Vie - B*Witched	1998
89	To Be With You - Mr. Big	1991
90	How Do You Talk To An Angel? - The Heights	1998
91	Sell Out - Reel Big Fish	1997
92	Connection - Elastica	1995
93	Freak Like Me - Adina Howard	1995
94	Two Princes - Spin Doctors	1993
95	This Is How We Do It - Montell Jordan	1995
96	Tubthumping - Chumbawamba	1997
97	Touch It - Monifah	1998
98	Short Dick Man - 20 Fingers	1993
99	MMMBop - Hanson	1997
100	Bitch - Meredith Brooks	1997
101	Lemon Tree - Fools Garden	1995
102	Time After Time - INOJ	1988
103	What Do I Have to Do? - Stabbing Westward	1994
104	Get Here - Oleta Adams	1982
105	How Do I Live - From "Con Air" - Trisha Yearwood	1997
106	Novocaine For The Soul - Eels	1996
107	Always And Forever - Whistle	1991
108	Bad Boys (Theme from COPS) - Inner Circle	1987
109	Walking in Memphis - Marc Cohn	1991
110	I Wanna Be Rich - Calloway	1991
111	Baby - I Love Your Way	1990
112	Loser - Beck	1994
113	Butterfly Kisses - Bob Carlisle	1997
114	Pump Up The Jam - Technotronic	1989
115	Ballad of Jane - Re-Recorded - L.A. Guns	1994
116	Would I Lie To You? - Charles & Eddie	1990
117	Poison - Bell Biv DeVoe	1990
118	Whoomp! There It Is - Tag Team	1993
119	You Get What You Give - New Radicals	1998
120	Here Comes the Hotstepper - Ini Kamoze	1994
121	Who Let The Dogs Out - Baha Men	2000
122	One Of Us - Joan Osborne	1995
123	Butterfly - Crazy Town	1999
124	Cotton Eye Joe - Rednex	1995
125	Closing Time - Semisonic	1998
126	Take a Picture - Filter	1999
127	Far Behind - Candlebox	1993
128	The Way - Fastball	1998
129	Brimful of Asha - Cornershop	1997
130	Blue (Da Ba Dee) - Eiffel 65	1999
131	Connected - Stereo MC's	1988
132	The Bad Touch - Bloodhound Gang	1999
133	Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm - Crash Test Dummies	1993
134	Ready to Go - Republica	1997
135	Mrs. Robinson - The Lemonheads	1992
136	Come on Eileen - Save Ferris	1996
137	Alright - Supergrass	1995
138	Everything You Want - Vertical Horizon	1999
139	Blue Monday - Orgy	1998
140	Steal My Sunshine - LEN	1999
141	Baby Got Back - Sir Mix-A-Lot	1992
142	Sleeping Satellite - Tasmin Archer	1992
143	7 Seconds (feat. Neneh Cherry) - Youssou N'Dour	1994
144	Simarik - Tarkan	1997

Haven’t had enough of one-hit wonders yet? Check out our list of one-hit wonders from the 1980s!

Spotify Playlist

YouTube Music Video’s

Final thoughts

This was our selection of what we consider to be the greatest one-hit wonders of the 1990s. There are undoubtedly more than our Top One-Hit Wonders list, but these are the best.

Do you disagree, or would you like to add an absolute 90s stunner to our list? Let us know in the comments section or via our social networks. We love to hear your opinion! Bye bye!

Frequently Asked Questions