A one-hit wonder is a beautiful thing. Especially one-hit wonders from the 90s, when artists would seemingly put out whatever came to mind, and it would still climb the charts. Here are four one-hit wonders that may carry a hint of cringe for today’s crowd, but are straight bangers if you don’t care about performative music taste.
“How Bizarre” by OMC
New Zealand group OMC released one album, How Bizarre, in 1996, but the title track became an unexpected hit. Its mellow instrumentals serve as a backdrop for descriptions of odd occurrences throughout a day spent driving around town. Things like getting pulled over only for the cop to ask, “Is that a Chevy ’69?” But the simple refrain of “How bizarre, how bizarre” after each increasingly weird encounter feels almost comforting. It’s almost like saying, “Well, that was weird. Anyway, who wants brunch?”
“Bitch” by Meredith Brooks
Meredith Brooks released “Bitch” in 1997 on her second album, Blurring the Edges. The snappy, infectious chorus becomes an effortless mantra that so many women in the late 90s related to. Brooks herself stated that she wrote the song in response to the notion that having big emotions as a woman made you a “bitch.” That stereotype, unfortunately, has still stuck around. But not with the kind of blind acceptance that it once had. Still, for all that it’s maybe a little cringe nowadays, “Bitch” remains a fantastic and powerful one-hit wonder.
“If You Could Only See” by Tonic
“If You Could Only See” appeared on Tonic’s debut 1996 album Lemon Parade. Apparently, it was written about frontman Emerson Hart’s relationship with an older woman when he was in his early 20s. His family didn’t approve, and Hart recalled spontaneously saying the first lines of the song to his mother in response. After hanging up, he wrote the rest of the lyrics in mere minutes. Clearly, this relationship didn’t work out. But there’s no denying that opening a song with a word-for-word parting shot to your mother about your older girlfriend goes pretty hard.
“Informer” by Snow
Did you know Darrin Kenneth O’Brien, aka Snow, was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in December 2023? I sure didn’t. In fact, I completely forgot the 1993 single “Informer” existed until just now. O’Brien was in prison with two allegedly bogus attempted murder charges when he came up with the idea for “Informer”. The reggae-fusion No. 1 hit is nearly incomprehensible all the way through, but it’s a solid anti-snitch anthem. O’Brien still gets fans telling him their misheard lyrics; one guy thought he said “born and raised in Connecticut” (“I never even heard of Connecticut,” said O’Brien). Another heard, “I’m a farmer.” But as O’Brien told the CSHF in 2023, “They’ll mumble it, and that’s the closest they’ll get.” At least he’s aware of it.
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