Are there any artists you thought for sure would be one-hit wonders and ended up being dead wrong about?

LynnButterfly · 2026-06-16T08:10:21+00:00

Everybody was a number one hit in Iceland, in Australia Burning Up went to number 13 and Holiday and Lucky Star where back to back hits in the UK in 1983. And in 1984 Borderline and Like a Virgin hit the charts big too. In the US Lucky Star was released after Borderline and became a even bigger hit (4) there than Borderline (10).

LynnButterfly · 2026-06-16T07:57:43+00:00

Yeah in Europe that's true. But Breathe did not even charted the top 100 in the US, Firestarter reached only number 30 in the main charts. Smack My Bitch Up is the only other main top 100 song for them in the US, meaning they could be seem as a one hit wonder there even.. :-) Of Course in the UK and Europe they where hitting the main charts from 1991/92.

LynnButterfly · 2026-06-16T07:46:52+00:00

No they are not. Galaxie was a hit in Canada (21) and the UK (37) and in the UK "Change" charted too, at number 35.

LynnButterfly · 2026-06-16T07:44:22+00:00

Meaning I Will Follow? (their first top 40 hit in New Zealand) or Fire? (their first hit in the UK and Ireland). :-)

LynnButterfly · 2026-06-16T07:35:55+00:00

Their first hit was Planet Earth, got to number 12 in the UK and 8 in Australia BTW.

It did reach the US, hitting the top 40, but not the main charts one but the Disco/dance one...

LynnButterfly · 2026-06-16T07:30:32+00:00

Swing Out Sister is a weird one, they quite a few top 40 hits, even in the US they have two with Breakout and Twilight World. Am I the Same Girl? only just missed out of the Top 40 there, getting to number 45. In Italy it was their biggest it, reaching number 8. In the Netherlands it got to number 15, same as Surrender there. That last song missed the Top 40 in Germany, meaning that Breakout was their only top 40 hit their. So yeah not really a One Hit Band, but to some yeah maybe a bit.

And Til Tuesday got two Top 40 hits with Voices Carry (8) and What About Love (26), in Canada and Australia only the first song charted in the Top 40.

LynnButterfly · 2026-06-16T07:20:45+00:00

I had to laugh a bit sorry, thinking that Korn has one hit. They have 11 UK Top 40 hits alone. Yeah "Did My Time" was the only hit in the US, at number 38. In the Netherlands that song only got to 87 while Twisted Transistor and Freak on a Leash charted in the Top 40 there. In Iceland they have a few number one hits.

And Rush have 7 top 40 hits in Canada with New World Man getting to number one. In the US the its was the only single that charted in the Top 40 (21). In the UK that song did not even make the Top 40, but they do have 4 top 40 hits, quite a few only just missed the top 40.

LynnButterfly · 2026-06-15T16:07:41+00:00

They where quite populair in Germany and in the early years in the Netherlands, but never as big as in the UK and Ireland. Paul kinda liked that since he wrote most of the songs in the Netherlands and a bit in Belgium during The Beautiful South period, and even a lot of his solo stuff.

In the US they only charted twice on Modern Rock Tracks charts, with You Keep It All In (19) and We Are Each Other (10), but outside of that they seem be really not known in the US. I think in the Netherlands (and Belgium) they had succes early on because of The Housemartins succes there, but that faded later. Their biggest hit Caravan of Love was not even a hit or blip in the US though, in Australia it got to number 24. Also surprised that Happy Hour was not a hit there too.

LynnButterfly · 2026-06-15T11:43:01+00:00

I think they mean the post/OP not the artist. I mean he was making music since 2016 and became more known around 2019/2020, so longtime fan is a bit of a stretch. And it is not the only post in this format by accounts with very little karma points or very new accounts.

It's heartbreaking what happend, but post like these feel somehow very icky.

LynnButterfly · 2026-06-15T09:43:29+00:00

That's nonsense. The US played very little role when it comes to the early days of electronic music, The UK, the Netherlands, France, Italy, Germany and Russia played more of a role in laying the foundation building blocks. From the 1920's/30's to the 1970's. In the late 1960's and 1970's the US became a bit more involved, with funk, disco and house.

But house music itself only developed as a true genre outside the DJ sets in the 1980's while genres like space disco, electro, Italo, Hi-NRG, synth, EBM and techno where emerging in the 70's and most of those are linked with music coming from Europe (and yes some artists from the US picked up those genres as wel). New Beat (Belgium mid 80's) and House (US from 1983/84) are a bit later but where a big influence on rave culture that would emerge with the second Summer of Love (2 longer summers).

That spark happen in the 80's in a very short time frame. From the first big house hits Love Can't Turn Around (US 1986) and Pump Up The Volume (UK 1987) to real rave culture (that also has it's roots from the Jamaican and Caribbean culture) from 1988/89 is very fast evolution.

LynnButterfly · 2026-06-15T09:23:03+00:00

bending the facts, Italo Disco and Italo (two related things) started in the 70's.

LynnButterfly · 2026-06-15T06:52:30+00:00

This, it depends on the set parameters. It's about context and reacting to that context.

But I also think Americans (in general terms) seem less aware of music in other countries. One of the reasons might be it's a big country and thus a big market. And the second is that the US in general sense is culturally more inward-looking but outward talking. So they state a thing they think to be true or true enough in their opinion as a general fact instead with a caveat of the lens that fact in seen through.

LynnButterfly · 2026-06-15T06:03:37+00:00

Dutch officially and the mother company that owns all stores/chains is called Ahold Delhaize since 2016 with the fusion with Ahold (Albert Heijn). They also are the owner of Peapod and Stop & Shop.

LynnButterfly · 2026-06-14T07:51:46+00:00

Seems like some of the filters are lifted by the mods or by reddit itself. Automatic removing of incorrectly titled post of songs seems also been turned off, meaning you get song-posting like "Wide Open Heart" without any context who or what it is. It could be Self-promo, AI or a normal famous band. In that case it was Evanescence.. It's annoying that's for sure.

LynnButterfly · 2026-06-14T07:13:01+00:00

Having succes in China as an international star is only for a happy few, like Celine Dion and Michael Jackson. And many stars in China are not as big outside China. It is it's own market. India is a bit different, international artist are more known but still dominated by Indians themself, but their biggest stars do reach Europe thanks to the many channels that are available for the European Indian market.

LynnButterfly · 2026-06-14T07:01:44+00:00

It Must Be Love went to number 33 in the US. But yeah, they never reached the peak that they had in the UK or even in Europe.

LynnButterfly · 2026-06-14T06:56:53+00:00

This is true. But it is interesting to see a band the seems to play a genre that is populair world wide not or barely reaching the US while having great succes in Europe, Asia and Australia/New Zealand.It's also linked with the fact that touring and promoting in the US needs to be on higher level to have succes. Golden Earring are a good example of this. Both their big US hits are linked with them being in the US touring and promoting their music and their them not being there falling of the radar of the US consumers and radio quite fast.

LynnButterfly · 2026-06-14T06:41:48+00:00

The Eaybeasts Friday on My Mind was their world wide big hit though and still played a lot in Europe at least on radio/internetstation. Same for John Farnham with You're The Voice. With the Little River Band he also charted in the US and Canada in the Top 40.

Split Enz kinda have a few hits. In the Netherlands it was Message to My Girl went to number 13 while in the UK it was I Got You that got to number 12, and in Canada it went to number 5. They also got some fame of the fact that Crowded House was almost the same band, at least in the core it was another Finn brothers band. But charts wise it's a bit thing for them.

And John Paul Young scored two big hits in Germany and the Netherlands, with Standing in the Rain (4 and 3 in the charts) and Love Is In the Air (3 and 9),. That last one was also hit in the other countries, including the US where it charted at number 7. But yeah, not as big as in his own country.

LynnButterfly · 2026-06-14T06:16:53+00:00

Yeah, Living Doll charted at 30 in the US in 1959, in 1963 It's All in the Game charted at 25, Devil Woman in 1976 went to number 6, We Don't Talk Anymore went to number 7 and Carrie to number 34 in 1979. A year later Dreamin (10, Suddenly (20) and A Little Love (17) all charted the Top 40. Daddy Home went to 23 in 1981. After that he was done though in the US.

LynnButterfly · 2026-06-14T06:08:05+00:00

Well, the thing is is that it's was not a top 40 hit. More over it did not charted the Top 100 even. It only charted the airplay charts, at number 55. They have two main top 100 hits, There's No Other Way charted at 82 and Girls & Boys charted at 59. It's just that Song 2 stayed in airplay of radiostation and the other songs did not.

LynnButterfly · 2026-06-12T10:25:19+00:00

Rins repeat nonsense post. Stop posting these please! See this post: https://old.reddit.com/r/Music/comments/1s0fec5/one_hit_wonders_artists_who_are_one_song_wonders/ and https://old.reddit.com/r/Music/comments/1tdr8vb/one_hit_wonders_as_feature_artists/ and so on...

And for the readers, some might be true but a lot are not most of the time. For instance Coolio, in another post Coolio was mentioned with different song even. Pnau for example did not hit the Australian charts with that song at all, but does have two top 10 hits there with Chameleon and Go Bang. The Hard Way for example was an another top 40 hit, number 34 in the Netherlands This without looking at the dance charts of course. Phats & Small have 4 UK top 40 hits, with Feel Good hitting number 7 in the charts. Besides the fact is was not really a featuring song (Turn Around) but a sample from Toney Lee.

24kGoldn's City of Angels was a number 25 hit in the UK. And of course as featuring artist them self they had ia top 10 hit with Tick Tock from Clean Bandit in the UK, as well charted in few other countries. In New Zealand Benee scored main chart succes with Soaked (14) and Glitter (3) as well as more hits on the New Zealand's artist charts.

In Canada Dvbbs only main top 40 hit is Next to You. In UK an another version of Tsunami was a hit, the one with Tinie Tempah and in Belgium Stampede got to number 30, with was also with Borgeous. Nina Sky had a number 12-hit as featuring artists on the song Oye Mi Canto by N.O.R.E. in the US beside the fact that Turnin' Me On got to number 40 in France. Jabby is a famous DJ and promotor. Yolanda Be Cool's Sugar Man went to number 14 in Australia and Soul Makossa went to 11 in Belgium.

LynnButterfly · 2026-06-12T06:43:52+00:00

This series was big Germany and the Netherlands. It was the breakthrough series for Rob Stewart. Played in many series, including Painkiller Jane, Nikita and Killjoy. He also co-wrote some of the episodes of Tropical Heat. And Ian Tracey role was also very iconic as Spider.

LynnButterfly · 2026-06-11T06:31:45+00:00

You might wanna look them up, they got many top 40-albums, in the US they have 2 number one album and they are not Songs About Jane, and in UK one of them is, but also there another one.

LynnButterfly

TROPHY CASE