In this article we are going to list the 20 biggest one-hit-wonders. Click to skip ahead and jump to the 10 biggest one hit wonders. As the famous saying goes, music is the food of the soul. Not only food though, music is also a large part of almost every culture. It is often an integral part of their identity. It serves as a tool to unite people. In an age where globalization is constantly bringing the world closer today, music provides people something to talk about, to bond over. Whether it be music tours of large festivals, people have always found a way to enjoy the tunes with company. From culture to nationalism, music has a way of expressing every core identity. It has been also used as a tool for political activism, promoting solidarity under a common cause.
We as humans have the constant urge to express ourselves and music provides a platform for it. That platform has grown so much that we have a whole industry for the art. The music industry is one of the most, if not the most, dominant industries in entertainment. It emerged almost a century ago and has become a big part of a country’s economy. It provides sustenance to a considerable chunk of society and has become a major source of revenue for governments. Apart from employing artists and creators, the industry provides all sorts of employment in all fields.
This is part of managing and distributing music on large levels. Three of the giants in the industry are Universal Music Group (UMGP), Sony Entertainment Inc. (NYSE:SNY) and Warner Music Group (NASDAQ: WMG). They are in charge of music recordings and videos as well as their distribution. Each of these labels have a glittering catalogue of universally acclaimed artists. Universal Music Group, the leader in terms of revenue has the likes of Taylor Swift, Lana Del Ray, Lady Gaga, and Rihanna amongst others on its roster. The label is owned by Vivendi and Tencent . The record label accumulates a revenue of approximately 7 billion USD. Sony Entertainment Inc., is a close second. The label has Mariah Carey, Shakira, Britney Spears and the Queen Bee Beyoncé herself as part of its artists. The third world music giant, Warner Music boasts a catalogue including Ed Sheeran, Madonna, Charlie XCX, Camilla Cabello and Jason Derulo. Its parent company is Access Industries. A combined revenue generated by the three music giants is equal to approximately 18 Million USD per year! Safe to say, they contribute to a large part of the economy.
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Another large money making sub industry in the music department is the streaming platform clan. YouTube to Spotify (NYSE: SPOT) to Apple Music (NASDAQ: AAPL), each has an importance of its own and earn just as much, and sometimes more than the aforementioned record labels. While music for YouTube is just part of the services and different entertainment options it provides, Spotify and Apple Music deal largely in music.
While mainstream artists and music are certainly what come to mind when you think about the music industry, another phenomenon of entertainment are the one hit wonders. The songs are categorized when a fairly unknown or unpopular artist or group releases a song which amasses fame and tops music charts but the subsequent projects of the artist or group fail to replicate that fame. Hence the name one hit wonders. History has seen many such tracks by a myriad of artists from The Weather Girl’s Its Raining Men to James Blunt’s love Ballad You’re Beautiful, the category is filled with these fun, sometimes annoying ear bugs. Here we have a list of the 20 biggest one hit wonders in the music industry. We have ranked them by the number of weeks they stayed on Top 40 chart, compiled from the Billboard 100. The data has been collected from listings in the Billboard 100, Wall Street and USA Today.
20. “One More Try”
Starting off our list is One More Try by Timmy Torres, known by his stage name Timmy T. The song was released in 1991 and topped the charts from January of that year to May! It spent a total of 16 weeks as no. 1. He released a total of two albums, Time After Time which served his chart topping single and All for Love. Its video on YouTube has garnered about 6.5 Million views as of Dec 2020.
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