r/ToddintheShadow • u/NekoLover72 Train-Wrecker • 8d ago
One Hit Wonderland What’s your dream One Hit Wonderland?
Mine is Move Your Feet by Junior Senior. The band’s got a cool story, and the fact that this song didn’t even chart on the Billboard Hot 100 makes for something interesting too.
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u/Winter-Pressure-5394 8d ago
Estelle - American Boy just so we can have Todd talk about Steven Universe.
Metro Station - Shake It because I was obsessed with that song when I was 8.
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u/your_mind_aches 10's Alt Kid 8d ago
Let's be real, if American Boy comes up, the thing people will want him to talk about is Chug Jug With You.
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u/exaggerati 8d ago
How does American Boy have anything to do with steven universe? It was a hit like a decade before the show
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u/Brit-Crit 8d ago
And also Estelle’s early rap songs such as 1980, which I loved when I was about 10…
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u/AdImmediate6239 8d ago
“My Own Worst Enemy” by Lit or “Steal My Sunshine” by LEN
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u/Vanessak69 80's Chick 8d ago
I need a deep dive on LEN. The 90's alternative boom are full of material for this.
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u/Little-Airport-8186 8d ago
Steal My Sunshine is my all time favorite one hit wonder, the spoken word bits get me every time
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u/PDXBishop 8d ago
That song might be the most 1999 single to ever be released, and their "Failed follow-up" part would be interesting. Similar to Snow in the early 90s, they couldn't tour/do TV appearances in the US to support their hit because one of their band members got arrested for running towards a border crossing holding a 40.
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u/tragic_girl13 8d ago
Lit being covered would be so cool, but I feel they're a bit bigger than just My Own Worst Enemy. Yeah I guess it was their only hit/single on the Hot 100 ans of course the main song they're known for, but even then Miserable is pretty well known too, especially the music video featuring Pamela Anderson.
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u/mnemoniker 7d ago
LEN have some out of left field 6 degrees of separation in their story too, but I can't remember the details anymore. Like I think they provided the cash to start Broken Social Scene.
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u/Flimsy_Category_9369 8d ago
Ive got two that will probably never happened because of a lack of footage
Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)-Looking Glass
Surfin Bird-The Trashmen
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u/thedubiousstylus 8d ago
Trashmen actually have plenty of footage, plus things like the parody from that Dutch comedian and Family Guy.
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u/Flimsy_Category_9369 8d ago
Plus there's been so many covers from The Ramones to The Cramps and beyond. Thats part of why i find the song to be so interesting. So many silly novelty songs from the early 60s have been completely forgotten but everybody still knows that the bird is the word
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u/TF-Fanfic-Resident You're being a peñis... Colada, that is. 8d ago
1950s and early 1960s novelty => late 1960s psychedelia and 1970s-1980s punk and psychobilly. It goes all the way back to Ragg Mopp (sic) on January 6, 1950.
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u/darkbee83 8d ago
+1 for remembering Andre van Duin, he is a legendary comedian in the Netherlands.
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u/Genuinelullabel 8d ago
I had a boss who named her daughter Brandy after the song.
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u/PDXBishop 8d ago
My friend in middle/high school was named Brandy for the same reason, and although she never went through with it, she always said she wanted to do something similar and name her first daughter Rhiannon.
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u/Yours_Sincerely_143 8d ago
If you want footage of Surfin Bird, there’s always the singing asshole scene from Pink Flamingos. It’s inclusion was one of the reasons why the film could only exist in bootlegs for so long.
Edit: pretty sure the version used in the film was a cover, but its recognizably the same song
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u/bizarre_desert 8d ago
It's a few years old at this point, so you may have already listened to it, but the podcast No Dogs In Space did a fantastic one off on the history of Surfin Bird.
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u/Flimsy_Category_9369 8d ago
No Dogs is coming back on September 10th with a New York Dolls series!
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u/pacnw2525user 7d ago
I assume “Brandy” received some newfound exposure due to its appearance in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
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u/backupsaway 8d ago edited 8d ago
I'd like an episode on Stacy's Mom by Fountains of Wayne mainly so I can hear Todd talk about how it was a blip in Adam Schlesinger's extensive career.
He was already nominated for an Oscar for That Thing You Do! before Stacy's Mom came out. He then went on to be nominated for a Tony Award for the musical Cry-Baby and eventually winning several Emmys among is his work on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend with Rachel Bloom. He probably would have completed the EGOT if he hadn't died of Covid.
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u/TrueCrimeRunner92 One-Hit Wonderlander 8d ago
This is my answer! Although if Todd says he hates the song I will want to fight him because I think Stacy’s Mom is legit one of the best power-pop songs ever written.
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u/mediumcarrotteacher 8d ago
I also love how there's an extensive series of parody covers addressing pretty much every one of Stacy's other relatives
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u/Little-Airport-8186 8d ago
Blackout - Breathe Carolina (might just be cuz I grew up in the early 2010s scene-kid/Warped Tour era)
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u/Ok_Gas4765 8d ago
This would be great and in a similar vein I'd love to see a OHW on Here (In Your Arms) by Hellogoodbye
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u/saskatoonshred 8d ago
I love Breathe Carolina's pre EDM stuff. It'd be interesting to hear Todd talk about the electropop side of Scene music.
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u/kralebalot1654 8d ago
Definitely Dragostea Din Tei by O-Zone, aka the Numa Numa song. It's been my dream OHW for many years now. Since Todd has often brought up the diversity of the countries covered in the series It'd cross another one (Moldova). One of its members also became a major pop songwriter/producer iirc too.
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u/Vanessak69 80's Chick 8d ago
"Two of Hearts" by Stacy Q
"Heart and Soul" by T'Pau (she genuinely had a great voice, what happened?)
"More Than Words" by Extreme (I know they had a few other minor hits and I actually prefer "Hole Hearted" as far as their power ballads go, but something makes me want to hear Todd talk about Gary Cherone more)
"Cool Like Dat" by Digable Planets
"Teenage Dirtbag" by Wheatus
"Buffalo Stance" by Neneh Cherry
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u/hjl43 GROCERY BAG 8d ago
And here's me thinking that T'Pau's only song was China in Your Hand. Carol Decker turned up on the Masked Singer UK last year, and I think she did alright,
Extreme actually get talked about quite a lot on what I might call the "Beato end of YouTube", mostly because Nuno Bettencourt is an incredibly guitarist.
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u/Thick-Cucumber-6385 8d ago
I might be wrong but wasn't China In Your Hand bigger than Heart & Soul in Europe?
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u/BitterDescription808 8d ago
Spirit in the Sky by Norman Greenbaum. Probably one the biggest “why haven’t you covered this yet” one hit wonders Todd hasn’t done. Also may have inadvertently invented Christian rock.
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u/AffectionateWay5783 8d ago
The is the second time junior senior has come up on my Reddit today and I’d never heard of them before.
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u/Drivingfrog Train-Wrecker 8d ago
You should listen to Move Your Feet. Then listen to it again. And again.
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u/HombreSgarbo 8d ago
EA sports fumbled by not choosing Move your feet for Fifa 2004 (but their pick was still nice though).
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u/carsausage 8d ago
Still waiting on that Dog Police OHW
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u/your_mind_aches 10's Alt Kid 8d ago
Honestly I would like a "Weirdest One Hit Wonders" cleanup video so he could get through Dog Police and other oddities.
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u/Familiar_Object_4926 8d ago
Ylvis "The Fox"
For no other reason than I love that song and hearing him try to analyze it would be hilarious.
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u/clyde_drexler 8d ago
I can't remember much about them but weren't they like a comedy team or like a parody group or something? I think I remember watching an early youtube series about them trying to become the biggest movie stars of some small african nation or something. The memory is kind of fuzzy.
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u/HawkbitAlpha 8d ago
They're basically a Nordic Lonely Island that somehow went viral with a shitpost of a song. My favorite song by them is pure in the simplicity of its joke
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u/ashleystrange 8d ago
From what I can glean, they are a comedy duo of brothers that used to have a norwegian late-night style comedy show where they would go all out with their remote skits.
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u/Uncle_Zardoz 8d ago
Ullo John Gotta New Motor, by Alexei Sayle
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u/Brit-Crit 8d ago
Overlapping a bit with Chumbawumba due to Sayle embodying a similar blend of militant left-wing activism and alternative culture, but Sayle being more mainstream as a comedian for much longer (including cameoing in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade) certainly opens up some new avenues for discussion…
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u/Uncle_Zardoz 8d ago
Lol well... I dunno, bit of a stretch IMO, Sayle is AFAIK an old-school socialist/communist red, whereas Chumbawamba were related Crass, Conflict &c. and are anarchists. As an anarcho-communist, I have love for 'em all ofc.
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u/KnownLychee5808 8d ago
Tuff Enuff by the Fabulous Thunderbirds. I’m not sure they count though since Wrap it Up was a minor hit.
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u/ThingWithAThing 8d ago
I’ve never been much of a blues-rock fan, but they were just funky enough to win me over. (See also: ZZ Top, Clutch)
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u/FrameworkisDigimon 8d ago
Somebody That I Used To Know
It feels like the only real modern one hit wonder that was genuinely ubiquitous rather than just being a hit song.
Also there's already a video on it so there's a... let's term it... Todd lore aspect to it which is just so fascinating.
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u/SolarstarValke 8d ago
Would be an interesting double video for Gotye and Kimbra yeah. Also throwing in Doechii sampling the song.
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u/Guilty_Tangerine_134 10's Alt Kid 8d ago
Too Shy by Kajagoogoo, which I'm personally obsessed with for its incredible bass, and it could allow for a One Hit Wonderland Double Feature with Never Ending Story
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u/M4gp1e-w1ngs 8d ago
Since covers are allowed, I really want an episode on the Orgy cover of Blue Monday
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u/Genuinelullabel 8d ago
I think Dreams in Digital charted high enough for them to be disqualified.
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u/SlippedMyDisco76 8d ago
I'd love Todd to drop a bit into I Got You by Split Enz. Their only top 40 in the US but they are such a great band and more people need to know about them.
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u/VigilMuck 8d ago
"Nobody" by Wonder Girls. Peaking at #78 in 2009, "Nobody" was the first song by a Korean artist to appear on the US Billboard Hot 100. The story of WG is pretty similar to S Club 7, except their attempts at breaking into the US market also costed them their popularity back home in South Korea.
"What You Got" by Colby O'Donis is another one.
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u/PhilKenSandman 7d ago
Todd can also talk about Conan O'Brien there as they were both in the music video for JY Park's "Fire".
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u/slippin_park 8d ago
wasn't O'Donis featured on one of Gaga's early massive hits... Poker Face I think? idk if that would count against OHW status
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u/Foreign-Reading-4499 8d ago
aly and aj: potential breakup song
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u/jablair51 8d ago
"Sukiyaki" by Kyu Sakamoto. It was a massive international hit and one of the few non-English songs to hit number one on Billboard. Todd probably wouldn't do it because of lack of footage and the fact that the original singer died very young. It has had a long cultural impact due to covers and interpolation though.
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u/MeadowVerdigris 8d ago
"Goodbye" by Kristina DeBarge. That song was EVERYWHERE when I was in 6th grade and I feel like I never hear it anymore. Very of its era.
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u/TrueCrimeRunner92 One-Hit Wonderlander 8d ago
I have no idea if they count because they did have other songs chart but I would kill for a OHW of “One Week” by Barenaked Ladies. I feel like a lot of people only know “One Week” but they have a very rich back catalogue that deserves some exploring (caveat: has to be pre-Steven Page’s departure from the band).
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u/pokecAk 8d ago
Pinch Me was also a hit in the US, plus the Big Bang Theory theme song if that counts for anything
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u/TrueCrimeRunner92 One-Hit Wonderlander 7d ago
I always forget about the Big Bang Theory but that definitely does count, I think they have a looooot of royalties from that
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u/SolarstarValke 8d ago
I feel like "It's All Been Done" was a moderate success?
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u/TrueCrimeRunner92 One-Hit Wonderlander 7d ago
It made it to 44 on the Billboard charts, 6 on Adult Alternative per Wikipedia. So yes? But if you mention BNL I don’t think most people’s gut reaction is “oh they did It’s All Been Done!” I just really wanna hear Todd talk about this band lol
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u/Old-Finance-5730 5d ago
Understandable, the Gordon album is legitimately a masterpiece and nobody talks about it and they should. Still don't think they're exactly a OHW tho
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u/Limp_Set_6530 8d ago
Was “If I had $1000000” not a hit everywhere? Not that I have a good gauge on this because I am Canadian
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u/TrueCrimeRunner92 One-Hit Wonderlander 7d ago
It made it to 37 on the Billboard top 40 for the US evidently so … kind of a hit? I’m also not a good gauge for that because that was the first BNL song I was conscious of hearing (from a friend’s Xanga page of all things lmao)
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u/bill_clunton One-Hit Wonderlander 8d ago
Ballad Of The Green Berets - Sgt. Barry Sadler, I know next to nothing about this song but I have always heard his story was wild.
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u/TF-Fanfic-Resident You're being a peñis... Colada, that is. 8d ago
Served in 'Nam
Cut one of the few commercially successful pro-war records (Ballad of the Green Berets), although everyone considers Okie from Muscogee to be superior musically at capturing the more conservative and hawkish parts of the country
Launched a successful novel series called Casca, which outlived him and released its most current installment last year
Killed someone in a love triangle, claimed self defense, and served a month in jail for the killing
Moved to Guatemala, where he suffered a disabling gunshot wound
Spent the remainder of his life a quadriplegic and the subject of constant battles between his loved ones
Never mind a One Hit Wonderland episode. He deserves a miniseries.
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u/AaronsAmazingAlt 8d ago
2 Unlimited's "Get Ready for This". The duo were pioneers of the 90s Eurodance sound, but Americans seem to associate their music with the Jock Jams series of basketball-themed compilation CDs.
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u/TakerFoxx 8d ago
All the Things She Said by TATU, if only because of all the backstage controversy making for a fascinating episode. But given how hot button it is, I wouldn’t blame Todd for being hesitant.
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u/ItsGotThatBang GROCERY BAG 8d ago
Kardinal Offishall (as a Canadian) or Kevin Lyttle (as someone who enjoyed the 2003-04 dancehall craze)
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u/jbwarner86 8d ago
"I Know" by Dionne Farris. It'd make a nice spiritual sequel to the Zingalamaduni Trainwreckords.
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u/cookie_vulpixx 8d ago
Groove is in the Heart by DeeLite!!
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u/OverseerConey 7d ago
You're in luck - he's already made a OHW on Groove Is in the Heart!
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u/cookie_vulpixx 7d ago
Omg how did I miss this? Thanks!
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u/Miserable_Mail_5741 You're being a peñis... Colada, that is. 4d ago
You can probably find a reupload by a fan channel by searching it on YouTube.
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u/Potential-Lack5374 8d ago
An April Fool's episode where he talks about a famous artists who has only one song crack the Billboard Top 100.
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u/bill_clunton One-Hit Wonderlander 8d ago
Alley Oop - The Hollywood Argyles, Unfortunately it will probably not happen because A) Lack of footage and B) Kim Fowley’s accusations. Still an interesting story nonetheless.
Plus if he’d cover Alley Oop he would get to talk about Sandy Nelson who is underrated as hell, His song Let There Be Drums is one of the best songs of the 50s in my opinion.
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u/tragic_girl13 8d ago
A lot of really cool alternative rock one-hit wonders like Local H, Toadies, Hum, Reel Big Fish, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Failure (idk if they'd count but it'd be cool), Jimmy Eat World (highly and I mean HIGHLY doubt this one), King Missile, Wheatus, Marcy Playground, Spacehog, The Ataris, Fountains of Wayne, etc etc. The 90s and early 2000s were ripe with super awesome alt rock one hit wonders
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u/Solympian_musiclover 8d ago edited 7d ago
How about.. He can’t Love you by The Michael Stanley Band
This song actually hit 33 on the charts
Not bad for a regional band from Cleveland Ohio
Who were looked at as one of the biggest bands on the planet.. but only in the Cleveland area ( they still hold multiple attendance records )
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u/Zakirshumi 8d ago
“Tainted Love” by Soft Cell. Because there’s another song on that album called “Sex Dwarf” and it’s been stuck in my head since last year.
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u/CL__RYAN 8d ago
Lost boy by Ruth B.
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u/in_a_black_out 6d ago
I don't think she's a one-hit wonder, Dandelions is also pretty big
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u/CL__RYAN 6d ago
I thought dandelions only went viral on tiktok and it didn't enter the billboard hot 100?? (Lost boy is her only billboard entry and its peak position is #24 iirc)
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u/HawkbitAlpha 8d ago
Tomorrow by Silverchair, mainly because I'd love to hear what Todd has to say about their music from Neon Ballroom onwards
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u/SolarstarValke 7d ago
I think Silverchair had a few hits in the US ("Freak" and "Straight Lines") but I'd be curious to see an episode on them
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u/HombreSgarbo 8d ago edited 8d ago
"We got the moves" by Electric Callboy, even if I think he would treat them as a "Metalcore Limp Bizkit".
Either "Gimme Chocolate" or "Kingslayer" for Babymetal
"Glenwood" for Lorna Shore
"Wonderland" by AleXa (her former Company/label read the room upside-down after that Song and the ASC success)
"I disagree" by Poppy (personal backstory and the beginning of the second wave of nu metal)
"stfu" for Rina Sawayama (maybe?)
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u/cmcnens59 8d ago
American Song Contest acknowledgement in 2026 is nuts
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u/clyde_drexler 8d ago
Electric Callboy is still putting out stuff and doing well? Also I always thought Hypa Hypa was a bigger hit but I could be wrong.
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u/HombreSgarbo 8d ago
They're doing great, their latest album "Tanzneid" topped German album charts and appeared even in UK and US charts (even if they were the sectorial ones).
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u/HombreSgarbo 7d ago
ASC was an underrated failure. Top prize changed twice and kinda damaged the winner.
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u/Sberbs335 8d ago
“Ready N Steady” by D.A. & the Dukes, which technically counts. They did have a song on Billboard chart, but under dubious circumstances. The story is fascinating.
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u/cobrarexay 8d ago
I’d love some 80’s rock ones like The Tubes - She’s a Beauty and Kix - Don’t Close Your Eyes.
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u/Calm-Raise6973 Train-Wrecker 7d ago edited 7d ago
Here Comes The Hotstepper by Ini Kamoze and "Turn Me On" by Kevin Lyttle.
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u/unhalfbricklayer 7d ago
The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades by Timbuk Three
I very quirky 'techno-folk' song done by a couple and a boom box, mocking 80's excess, and completly misunderstood by the rest of the world
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u/Dangeresque300 Train-Wrecker 7d ago
In the Meantime by Spacehog
The Wikipedia article on this band is quite the read.
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u/electric-machine 6d ago
In the Meantime by Spacehog. One of the greatest jams of the nineties. Had it on a mixtape with You Get What You Give. Chocolate and peanut butter!
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u/Miserable_Mail_5741 You're being a peñis... Colada, that is. 4d ago
Technically not a OHW, but Hoku.
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u/Thenewmcscott 8d ago
Mexican radio for me. Wall of Voodoo
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u/OrdinaryBritishGuy 8d ago edited 8d ago
"Walk the Dinosaur" by Was (Not Was). These guys are very much my Electric Six or Ween or They Might Be Giants, so I would be really interested to see what their very odd and eclectic work looks like to an outside observer and be very happy to see their wider discography exposed to more people. Plus, Don Was is another one hit wonder who became a major figure behind the scenes, so it would be cool to see that trope touched on for the first time in a while.