Fraud, controversy and simply burning out are all common conspiracies as to why an artist falls from fame. Yet, the question left unanswered remains: what happens to one-hit wonders?

One-hit wonders tend not to be recognized, For example, South teacher Fayza Husseini, mentios world renowned songs that come to mind like, “Macarena” by Los Del Rio and “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepson. When listening to these widely known songs, many can forget about the other songs these artists have made. Husseini compares the difference between artists that just fail to build a career and those who have an issue leading to failure.

“I’m hearing and reading more about allegations coming up against Disney stars [that attempt a music career], leading to a one-and-done,” Husseini said.

Though artists who failed to continue their career due to an event are still relevant in this conversation, Husseini classifies a one-hit wonder as an artist with a famous song yet they were not capable of replicating a song with such fame. Similarly, South teacher Brent Revello believes it is hard for the initial popularity not being able to be met.

“They [one-hit wonders] produce, oftentimes, a lot of stuff, but it’s not quite as big for whatever reason,” Rovello said.

Different forms of media have had a sense of control on what leads to one-hit wonders. Rovello mentions the rise of MTV and how it caused many 1980-1990 one-hit wonders.

“You could have a song that was just okay, but the music video was really cool,” Rovello said. “One of them coming to mind is ‘Who Let the Dogs Out.’”

Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused a wider use of social media, led to more exposure and widely spread music along with artists producing constantly rather than touring or going out. Jordyn Dearing ’28, mentions how social media has shifted people’s opinions and ways of critiquing these hits.

“I think one-hit wonders now are based on the fame it gets on social media, not even if it’s good or not,” Dearing said. “But I think back then it was based on the feel of the song and the actual quality.”

All these are possible causes for an artist to get their ‘five seconds of fame,’ yet the true answer is circumstantial.

“A one hit wonder is someone who has a really good song that everyone knows as soon as it plays, but could never name the artist,” Dearing said. “And there are many possible reasons for that.”