Top 20 2000s One-Hit Wonders That Still Bang

#20: Don't Think I'm Not (2000)

Kandi

You may know her from The Real Housewives of Atlanta or The Chi. However, for nineties kids, Kandi Burruss is a certified hitmaker with Xscape fame. After winning a Grammy for co-writing TLCs iconic song No Scrubs, she had the world looking forward to her future. So, when she went solo with Don't Think I'm Not, fans were obsessed. It was on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for months and dominated party playlists. The Miami bass beats and Kandis smooth vocals were just hitting different. The song is still the perfect anthem for carefree queens who cant be played with. However, Kandis solo singing career did not live up to the hype it built. She didnt make another album until 2010, and thats her latest.

#19: Who Let the Dogs Out (2000)

Baha Men

Critics may have dubbed this one of the worst pop songs ever, but fans beg to differ. This chaotic hit went platinum in the United Kingdom and peaked at number 18 on the U.S. Billboard Pop Airplay chart. It was viral before going viral was even a thing. However, the song wasnt able to build a solid identity for Baha Men in the international music scene. Most people only knew the catchy chorus and didnt actively seek out more music from the group. Sure, it was a Grammy-winning release, but it wasnt taken seriously, and the rest of the groups discography didnt have the same impact. Nevertheless, to this day, it is constantly referenced in pop culture and is a mainstay at sports events.

#18: Absolutely (Story of a Girl) (2000)

Nine Days

This power pop love song soundtracked the story of many a teens first crush. It was a hard-earned success for Nine Days, who had been in the music business for years without breaking into the mainstream. With Absolutely (Story of a Girl), they not only entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart but also made it to the top 10. MTV and VH1 were generous with their promotion of the song, too. However, due to issues with their label, 550 Music, the band lost its momentum and could not deliver a strong follow-up. Years later, when different versions of Absolutely were created for and featured in Everything Everywhere All At Once, Nine Days came under the spotlight again. Needless to say, each version was a masterpiece.

#17: This Is Why I'm Hot (2006)

Mims

The New York rapper popped off with this signature record, paying homage to hip-hop greats like Mobb Deep, Snoop Dogg, and Ye. The beat switches up according to the area hes paying tribute to, but his rhythm and flow remain immaculate. What helped the track blow up even more was the lyrics, simple and easy to follow. No wonder it topped the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and was one of the most popular ringtones back then. All these years later, it is still impossible not to sing along to the chorus, even if ironically. However, Mims couldnt replicate his magic and eventually stopped releasing music entirely.

#16: Pop, Lock & Drop It (2006)

Huey

You couldnt walk into a party in the late 2000s without this banger blasting through the speakers. DJs never failed to include it in their set lists, and club goers had the titular dance moves down pat. The song was a total earworm and impossible to forget, so famous MCs like Bow Wow and T-Pain jumped on remixes. By 2007, it had peaked on the U.S. Hot Rap Songs chart at number two and on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 at number six. Unfortunately, this success was short-lived, and Huey retired from music to start a fashion company before passing away from a fatal shooting. Still, his legacy remains indelible because Pop, Lock & Drop It never stopped being cool.

#15: All the Things She Said (2002)

t.A.T.u.

A lot of things about this record were questionable. The music video was criticized for depicting a WLW relationship for shock factor and the artists were accused of queerbaiting. However, one thing everyone acknowledged was that the song itself was hypnotizing. The mix of Eurodance and emo lyrics brought the pop fanatics and the scene kids together. t.A.T.u. broke records, climbing up to the twentieth spot on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, and topped the U.K. Singles Chart, becoming the first Russian artist to do so. However, t.A.T.u. never managed to outdo themselves. The track may have become a meme today because of its exaggerated angst, but theres no denying that we still headbang to it.

#14: Tipsy (2004)

J-Kwon

The only problem with this song getting too big too fast was that everything else the artist released afterwards paled in comparison. Tipsy was a seventeen-year-old J-Kwons magnum opus. The lyrics channeled the carefree and rebellious energy of youth, and the beat was groovy enough to dominate club playlists. Being a crowd-pleaser, it landed high on the charts, taking second place on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 list and topping the U.S. Hot Rap Songs ranking. It was not only ingrained into the pop landscape of the 2000s, but its impact is still felt, even though J-Kwons fame has faded. In fact, its so timeless that when Shaboozey interpolated it for his song A Bar Song (Tipsy), it instantly became a chart-topping hit.

#13: Lip Gloss (2007)

Lil Mama

This song was much more than an ode to a makeup staple. Lil Mama gave teens all over the world the perfect dose of motivation to strut their stuff down intimidating school hallways. When that hook hit, it was like a shot of pure confidence, and you couldnt help stomping your feet to the beat. This was schoolyard rap at its simplest and best, and it was popping, to say the least. Although the highest rank it reached on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart was tenth, it went platinum in teen bedrooms and school talent shows. Even now, if we heard that intro, wed get to clapping. Meanwhile, Lil Mama is focusing on her film and reality TV career.

#12: My Neck, My Back (Lick It) (2002)

Khia

The enduring life of this song needs to be studied. Intellectuals have praised it for its empowering exploration of female pleasure. What really made it viral, however, was its unapologetically explicit lyrics set to a laid-back beat ideal for sweaty nights at the club. One listen and youd be hooked, repeating the chorus in your head until you got sick of it. Radio stations opted for a clean version, and all that airplay earned the track a place in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. On social media, the name Khia might now be synonymous with someone whos past their peak, but the icon deserves respect for giving us this addictive hit. People still havent forgotten the lyrics, and we doubt they ever will.

#11: A Thousand Miles (2002)

Vanessa Carlton

This song has been inextricably linked to Terry Crews after his White Chicks character Latrell jammed out to it in the film. However, the original music video by Vanessa Carlton is just as legendary. The singer is seen making her way downtown while playing a piano. It was simple but struck gold. The lyrics resonated with listeners, especially young people who found it relatable. It topped Billboards Pop Airplay and Adult Contemporary charts in the U.S. However, Vanessa could not build on its popularity with her later releases and even admitted that its unique charm could never be recreated. Nevertheless, A Thousand Miles will live on because every time we hear that piano riff, well be back in our teen heartbreak era again.

#10: About Us (2006)

Brooke Hogan featuring Paul Wall

Move over, Britney. Step away, Beyoncé. Its time to make way for the first daughter of wrestling: none other than Hulk Hogans eldest child, Brooke. In all seriousness, as the first single off of Hogans debut album, About Us holds up as an irresistibly catchy time capsule. Thats probably at least partially due to its head-bopping beat, produced by hip hop mainstay Scott Storch (Hogan was signed to his record label, Storch Music Company). Rapper Paul Walls effortlessly cool feature only adds to the songs authenticity, and Hogan shows genuine pop star chops, making it a genuine shame that her music career never took off.

#9: Crazy (2006)

Gnarls Barkley

Where were you when you found out that Gnarls Barkley wasnt the name of a person, but a band? Okay, maybe thats just us, but the duo of Cee Lo Green and producer Brian Danger Mouse Burton came out of nowhere to blow us all away in 2006. Based on a Spaghetti Western sample and driven by Greens powerhouse vocals, Crazy sounded like nothing else on the radio, and it could be argued that nothing has sounded like it since. While Burton and Green would separately go on to have fruitful solo careers, they never again produced a hit as unique or as ever-present as this mid-2000s banger.

#8: Move Ya Body (2004)

Nina Sky featuring Jabba

Yet another case of a duo with a confusing name that made them sound like a single person, maybe that has something to do with why this Puerto Rican musical outfit never produced another major hit. Consisting of identical twins Nicole and Natalie Albino, Nina Skys 2004 hit Move Ya Body was designated by Pitchfork as one of the best songs of that year. And its easy to see why the songs hypnotic groove makes it nearly impossible to not move ones body. Riding high on the dancehall wave of the 2000s that also introduced Sean Paul and Rihanna to the general public, Move Ya Body still gets audiences hips shaking over 20 years after its initial release.

#7: Wherever You Will Go (2001)

The Calling

Woof pull out the tissues for this one. A yearning post-grunge ballad, Wherever You Will Go tugs at the heartstrings from its opening guitar plucks. It isnt exactly hard to tell what the song is about; over an all-too-familiar chord progression, the Callings Alex Band devotes his life without abandon to the subject of Wherever You Will Go. According to Band, the song was written after a funeral, in which I just started thinking of what it would be like to [...] have your whole life change so dramatically and not for the best in a matter of moments. Landing at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100, Wherever You Will Go takes the remnants of grunge and cleans them up for radio.

#6: Shake It (2007)

Metro Station

Look, lets get it out of the way first thing: yes, Metro Station is a Disney adjacent band. Consisting of Mason Musso, older brother of Mitchel, and Trace Cyrus, half-brother to well, you know who. But putting the Disney connection aside, Shake It is more than a nostalgia-fest: its a rousing emo-pop tune thatll instantly perk any millennials ears up, before calling them straight to the dancefloor. The perfect kind of pop song that doesnt take itself even the slightest bit seriously, the earworm chorus of Shake It is undeniably a hook for the ages.

#5: Flavor of the Weak (2000)

American Hi-Fi

With a clear, indelible ear for crafting unshakable hooks and finely tuned pop songs, American Hi-Fis lack of enduring success is an unfortunate curiosity. Maybe it owes to radio programmers insistence on grouping them in with pop-punk acts like Blink-182, Sum 41, and Good Charlotte, when they were really closer to vintage acts like Cheap Trick and the Cars. Whatever the case may be, Flavor of the Weak tells a classic suburban semi-love story of wanting, but not having. Featuring a sugary-sweet chorus and nimble guitar licks that deserve to be blasted from your parents six-disc CD changer, it may be a shame that the band never took off the way they should have, but at least they can be your best-kept secret.

#4: Stacys Mom (2003)

Fountains of Wayne

Speaking of power-pop bands, Fountains of Wayne members Chris Collingwood and Adam Schlesinger specifically engineered this song to be reminiscent of the Cars. Stacys Mom contains one of the catchiest choruses in pop music, which almost makes up for its ah well, lets say questionable lyrics. As if the actual story of the song wasnt bad enough, its actual inspiration was a childhood friend of Schlesingers who bore a crush on the Fountains of Wayne bassists grandmother. Said Schlesinger of the awkward situation, Hey, you're stepping over the line,' but at that point in life, I wouldn't put it past anyone. Must be nice to have a friend as forgiving as Adam!

#3: Teenage Dirtbag (2000)

Wheatus

If you havent guessed from our last few entries, the Y2K era may have been the golden age of pop-punk. Case in point: this all-time sad-boy banger, which many have mistakenly attributed to Weezer. Even the Buddy Holly boys never produced a song so in tune with the mainstream sensibilities of the time. Teenage Dirtbag immediately strikes a chord or should we say, a power chord, with its belt-out-loud hook and eternally relatable lyrics. So Y2K is this Wheatus jam that its music video is a spin-off of the 2000 film Loser, starring American Pie alums Jason Biggs and Mena Suvari. It doesnt really get more Y2K than that.

#2: Pieces of Me (2004)

Ashlee Simpson

Poor Ashlee Simpson. When you listen to Pieces of Me, you can hear a new Avril Lavigne in the making, an emo-pop queen for the 2000s. Unfortunately, the only thing anyone can associate Pieces of Me with at this point is Simpsons now infamous Saturday Night Live performance, in which the singer was caught lip-syncing redhanded. Which is too bad, considering she was on doctors orders not to sing! It also takes away from the genuine, headbanging, lay-it-all-out greatness of Pieces of Me, which had the potential to launch Simpson into pop superstardom. Although that didnt end up happening, at least she can take solace in the fact Pieces of Me still goes hard. That chorus! Chills!

#1: Stars Are Blind (2006)

Paris Hilton

We cant say that we expected Paris Hilton of all people to come up with the hottest reggae slapper of 2006. To be clear, were not complaining Stars Are Blind is a legitimately great, somehow even moving pop hit. The lead single from Hiltons self-titled debut album, the idea of the socialite recording a musical project was derided by critics and audiences at the time as a mere vanity record. Stars Are Blind forced the world to sit up and take notice of the possibility of a hot new musical talent on the horizon. While that, of course, wasnt the case in the end, we can still relish in the moment when it looked like Paris might become the next Britney or Christina.

Which of these songs do you think would still top the charts if they were released today? Tell us in the comments!