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Why the post-Y2K era was a golden age for one-hit wonders

WBUR | By Here & Now Newsroom
Published June 2, 2025 at 8:55 AM PDT
Brendan B. Brown of Wheatus performs onstage with Jax at the iHeartRadio Z100’s Jingle Ball 2022. (Theo Wargo/Getty Images for iHeartRadio)
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Brendan B. Brown of Wheatus performs onstage with Jax at the iHeartRadio Z100’s Jingle Ball 2022. (Theo Wargo/Getty Images for iHeartRadio)

Rolling Stone has just put out its ranking of the top 50 one-hit wonders from the 2000s. Some of the songs might surprise you.

Here & Now‘s Asma Khalid takes a walk down memory lane with one of the folks behind the list: Maura Johnston, a freelance writer and instructor at Boston College.

Rolling Stone’s top 5 one-hit wonders

“Teenage Dirtbag” by Wheatus

“Lip Gloss” by Lil Mama

“I Wanna Be Bad” by Willa Ford

“Tipsy” by J Kwon

“The Reason” by Hoobastank

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2025 WBUR

Here & Now Newsroom