21 of the best one-hit wonders of the 2000s

There isn’t a millennial alive who won’t have a physical reaction to Nine Days “Absolutely (Story of a Girl)” as it felt like a WB teen drama wrapped in pop rock goodness.

“Gotta Tell You” by Samantha Mumba was featured on many of those random CD compilations, as it was a great track, and even landed her on tour with the Backstreet Boys at one point. However, it would be the first and last time she made that level of noise.

When millennial parents scoff at what their kids listen to now, it must mean they forgot when they were adolescents singing, “Come, my lady, come, come, my lady…” when Crazy Town’s “Butterfly” was in constant rotation on MTV.

It’s a shame the music industry let Blu Cantrell come and go like it did because "Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)" was that girl.

The true test of a millennial is to ask them what a POG is, their favorite TGIF show, and to sing “What Would You Do?” and if they don’t wind up singing the rest of City High’s mega 2001 hit, then they failed the exam.

Back in the day, numerous shows sought to discover the next big act, including Popstars . The show only lasted two seasons, but in its debut, it introduced Eden’s Crush, bringing with it not only Nicole Scherzinger but also their one and only hit, “Get Over Yourself.”

Someone needs to contact the members of The Calling and ask them to try to make a comeback because “Wherever You Will Go” continues to be a jam. Frankly, the people deserve more adult contemporary tunes.

Every decade brings about a new go-to funeral song, and in the 2000s, Amanda Perez’s “Angel” became one of those songs.

No one alive at the time could ever forget “Never Leave You (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh),” but it’s hard to find someone today who’d know who Lumidee even is, as this was it for her. Well, she did chart a handful of years later with "She's Like the Wind,” but it barely cracked the top 50 and never made the impact her debut single did.

In 2004, and for a couple of years following, one could not turn on the radio or TV without hearing “The Reason” by Hoobastank.

Coffeeshop soundtrack music was big in the early 2000s, and at the forefront of that were songs like Howie Day’s “Collide.”

Millennials could never have guessed that “Bad Day” by Daniel Powter would go from a VH1 staple to pretty much being the theme song of their entire generation’s existence. 

Amerie should come back and make a follow-up to “1 Thing” called “Wait, 1 More Thing.”

Hinder was the musical embodiment of Affliction T-shirts, but they made magic when they dropped "Lips of an Angel." 

Emo music was raging in the ‘00s, with many bands under the Warped Tour umbrella achieving mainstream success. That includes The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. Their hit, “Face Down,” remains a staple at Emo Nites around the world.

For those who shopped at Hot Topic in the 2000s, Hellogoodbye was nothing new. An indie pop rock band that toured with bands that ranged from hardcore to pop punk. However, they briefly became a household name, for a minute, with the insanely catchy tune, “Here (In Your Arms).”

There was a moment in the 2000s when music sounded like a Monster Energy drink. “Party Like a Rockstar” was one of those songs.

Estelle might have only had one hit song stateside alongside Kanye West, but that didn’t halt her career. She went on to continue to make music, but really did big things as part of the voice cast of Cartoon Network’s Steven Universe, where she voiced Garnett for five seasons.

Secondhand Serenade only ever made waves with “Fall For You,” but thanks to social media, the song had a resurgence in the 2020s when people tacked the lyrics, “Because tonight will be the night that I will fall for you over again…” to any and every video regarding emo culture.

Miley Cyrus and her Hannah Montana co-star, Mitchell Musso, had older brothers who met and formed Metro Station. They had moderate success, but generated one hit, “Shake It.”

MTV used to play music videos. So much so that they had spinoff channels dedicated to various styles. MTVU was for college-aged kids, and Asher Roth’s “I Love College” was a permanent fixture on that iteration of the network.