Tuesday Top Ten: One-Hit Wonders by Year - 2000s

Previous one-hit wonders by year lists:
-1960s
-1970s
-1980s
-1990s

Our fifth and final look at one-hit wonders by decade takes us to the aughts.  When they started, I was a senior in high school.  When they ended, I was a father.  It was an odd decade for music, as we shifted from physical music to digital, but there were more than a fair share of memorable one-hit wonders.

As a reminder, here are my rules:

• The song must have been in the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100.  There might be a couple songs that are #21 or #22, as not every year had a ton of one-hit wonders with Top 20 songs to choose from (or one-hit wonders with Top 20 songs that I like).  Also, I'm focusing on the American charts, since that's where I've lived my whole life.  Plus, a look at one-hit wonders on the Dutch charts would require a lot more work.  There are certainly songs and artists who may be one-hit wonders here who have been successful in other countries, and vice versa.
• The band or artist cannot have any other song that broke into the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100.  And just so you know I'm trying to keep everything on the level, I am truly focused on artists who didn't have a bunch of Top 40 hits.  For instance, if an artist had one Top 10 song and then five or six other Top 40 songs, I don't necessarily consider that a one-hit wonder.  On the other hand, if there is an artist who had one big hit and then another song that isn't as well know that happened to go to #21, I'm considering that artist.
• The band or artist cannot be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame or have a band member who is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  For instance, in 2004, former lead singer of The Calling, Alex Band, released a song with Carlos Santana, "Why Don't You and I," which hit #8 on the Billboard Hot 100, but Carlos Santana is a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer as a member of Santana, so that song doesn't count.
• For the year, I am counting the year a song was released, regardless of when it charted.  This avoids having to deal with a situation where a song may have been high on the charts at the end of one year and the beginning of another.  Unfortunately, this also hurts songs that didn't become hits until a few years after their release, as I'm not going to choose a song as my favorite one-hit wonder from a particular year if the song didn't really become big until years later.  For the '00s, I couldn't really think of any examples off the top of my head, but I'm sure there's something out there.

So those are the rules.  With those in mind, here are my favorite one-hit wonders from each year in the 2000s, chronologically by year of release, with the peak chart position on the Billboard Hot 100 noted.

1.  2000:  "Wonderful" by Everclear (#11)
Until yesterday, I hadn't realized Everclear is technically a one-hit wonder.  While I know and love a bunch of their songs, and they had a solid string of alternative radio and MTV hits in the late '90s and early '00s, 2000's "Wonderful" was their only Top 20 song on the Billboard Hot 100 (and actually, their only song to crack the Top 70).  Like several of the band's songs, it dealt with divorce and a broken home through the eyes of a child.


2.  2001:  "The Middle" by Jimmy Eat World (#5)
Jimmy Eat World's power pop classic "The Middle" is not only catchy as hell, but it has a great message:  don't beat yourself up because everything is going to be all right.


3.  2002:  "All The Things She Said" by t.A.T.u (#20)
Russian duo t.A.T.u.'s song about trying to come to grips with lesbianic urges had kind of an electronica meets metal vibe.  The video was particularly controversial, as it featured, gasp, two girls kissing.


4.  2003:  "Stacy's Mom" by Fountains of Wayne (#21)
While this song just missed the Top 20, there wasn't another one-hit wonder released in 2003 that I think tops it.  "Stacy's Mom" is a power pop gem all about a MILF, and the song was written as a tribute to The Cars.  Of course, the video is great too -- an ode to Fast Times and Ridgemont High, featuring Rachel Hunter.  Fun fact:  Fountains of Wayne bassist and co-lead songwriter Adam Schlessinger -- who, sadly, died of COVID-related complications this April -- wrote the title track for the 1996 Tom Hanks film That Thing You Do!, which earned him an Academy Award nomination.


5.  2004:  "Heaven" by Los Lonely Boys (#16)
San Angelo, Texas's Los Lonely Boys combined pop, blues rock, and Tejano for their biggest hit, the smooth and easy-to-listen-to (though I wouldn't call it "easy listening") song "Heaven," which peaked at #16.  It's a song that should be played at a backyard BBQ while you're hanging out with friends and drinking a Shiner Bock.


6.  2005:  "Ridin'" by Chamillionaire feat. Krayzie Bone (#1)
Chamillionaire not only had a great word combination for a name -- which you know I love -- but his 2005 #1 hit "Ridin'" was a great, infectious hip hop song about, well, ridin' dirty.


7.  2006:  "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley (#2)
This is probably one of the top five songs of the decade.


8.  2007:  "Party Like a Rockstar" by Shop Boyz (#2)
Southern rap kind of displaced East Coast and West Coast rap at the top of the hip hop mountain in the 2000s, and Atlanta's Shop Boyz -- no relation to British synth pop duo Pet Shop Boys -- had their biggest hit with "Party Like a Rockstar," which is something we all aspire to do whilst partying.


9.  2008:  "Say Hey (I Love You)" by  Michael Franti & Spearhead feat. Cherine Anderson (#18)
This song is one of those songs that just puts you in a happy mood whenever you hear it.  It's got a timeless sound, and it's no wonder that it's been featured in commercials and various movies and TV shows since its release.


10.  2009:  "I Love College" by Asher Roth (#12)
Asher Roth's 2009 ode to college life was inspired by his time at West Chester University.  It's a catchy song that makes you say, "why didn't I write that?"  Probably because you were too busy playing beer pong, so either way you win.