One Hit Wonderland
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One Hit Wonderland is where ToddInTheShadows takes a look at "one-hit wonders" of the past. In each review, specific segments include "Before the hit" (covering the artist's history before the hit), "The big hit" (a short review of the hit itself); "The failed follow-up" (for when it all went wrong for the artist); "Did they ever do anything else?" (originally "Did they have any other noteworthy songs?" and also "Anything else of note?", to look at what else the artist has done); and "Did they deserve better?" (Todd's final say on the matter). Just as in Todd's Pop Song Reviews, Todd is enshrouded in shadow to enhance his mystery. In the beginning of every episode, he is seen playing his piano, which he has been playing for many years; and is usually playing the song that is featured in the review.
From 2015 onwards, Todd has periodically sold episode requests for this series to his Patreon supporters, covering episodes 39-42, 48-52, 54-57 and 69-78. The songs/artists covered in these episodes range from those he planned to cover eventually, those he would've never and those he'd never heard about/has the faintest recollection of. Occasionally a patron will offer multiple suggestions, or be asked by Todd to request something else if he does not want to cover the first named. The ones he has outright refused to make videos on are 1981's "Down Under" by Men at Work, 1991's "Pop Goes the Weasel" by 3rd Bass and 1992/2009's "Killing in The Name" by Rage Against the Machine (he did, at one point, write a review of "Killing in The Name", which he finds to be the band's worst song, and recycled some of the jokes he came up with for the "Whip My Hair" video, because in his estimate both songs are equally 'obnoxious and annoyingly repetitive').
Episodes[]
№ | Title | Year | Description | Released |
---|---|---|---|---|
01 | "Take On Me" - a-ha | 1985 | Todd's new one-hit wonder retrospective series. Come, check out these Norse gods' only work before they disappeared in a day or twooooooo... | April 7, 2012 |
02 | "Baby Got Back" - Sir Mix-a-Lot | 1992 | He was long, and strong, and down to get the friction on... but was there more to Sir Mix-a-Lot than his love of big butts? | April 29, 2012 |
03 | "Kung Fu Fighting" - Carl Douglas | 1974 | In 1974, everybody was kung fu fighting, but what ever happened to Carl Douglas, the man in the silly karate outfit behind the song? | May 29, 2012 |
04 | "Come On Eileen" - Dexy's Midnight Runners | 1982 | Come found out who Dexy is and why he or she had people running at midnight! | July 28, 2012 |
05 | "Rico Suave" - Gerardo | 1991 | RRRRRRRRRRRRRICO... SUAAAAAAAVE | August 23, 2012 |
06 | "Achy Breaky Heart" - Billy Ray Cyrus | 1992 | The man behind the mullet. Beware: Vintage country cheese ahead | September 11, 2012 |
07 | "The Safety Dance" - Men Without Hats | 1983 | They said we could dance if we wanted to, but that they wouldn't be friends with us if we didn't. Who were these men without hats? | September 28, 2012 |
08 | "Play That Funky Music" - Wild Cherry | 1976 | In 1976, Wild Cherry stood up for the funkiness of white boys everywhere, but what ever happened to them? | October 25, 2012 |
09 | "Monster Mash" - Bobby "Boris" Pickett | 1962 | What ever DID happen to the Transylvania Twist? | October 30, 2012 |
10 | "Tubthumping" - Chumbawamba | 1997 | They got knocked down. Did they ever get back up again? | November 28, 2012 |
11 | "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" - Elmo & Patsy | 1979 | Grandma got run over by a reviewer. | December 19, 2012 |
12 | "Party All the Time" - Eddie Murphy | 1985 | Before Norbit, before Pluto Nash, before Daddy Day Care, Eddie Murphy was embarrassing himself with his music, and it was less than o-tay. | February 27, 2013 |
13 | "Closing Time" - Semisonic | 1998 | Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end. But what ever happened to Semisonic, the band who dropped some timeless wisdom on us? | March 30, 2013 |
14 | "Me and Mrs. Jones" - Billy Paul | 1972 | Todd gets soulful with a look at this heartbreaking soul classic, and how its singer Billy Paul got completely hosed by his record label. | April 10, 2013 |
15 | "It's Raining Men" - The Weather Girls | 1982 | The Weather Girls would like to inform you that there is some good news in the ongoing man-drought afflicting our single women. | May 10, 2013 |
16 | "Cotton Eye Joe" - Rednex | 1995 | Where did you come from, Rednex, and where did you go? | May 29, 2013 |
17 | "Unbelievable" - EMF | 1991 | They're unbelievable, OH!! ...or were they? | June 17, 2013 |
18 | "I Ran (So Far Away)" - A Flock of Seagulls | 1982 | WARNING : Category 5 Eighties Hair approaching | July 22, 2013 |
19 | "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" - The Proclaimers | 1993 | Ayyy wooed woak five hundrrrred maiyls and ayyyyyyyy wooed woak five hundrrred moawr... | July 28, 2013 |
20 | "To Be With You" - Mr. Big | 1992 | Hair metal's last glorious day in the sun. | August 20, 2013 |
21 | "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" - Iron Butterfly | 1968 | Wait a minute... this sounds like rock and/or roll. | September 8, 2013 |
22 | "Who Let the Dogs Out" - Baha Men | 2000 | It's time to answer the age-old question. | September 28, 2013 |
23 | "Somebody's Watching Me" - Rockwell | 1984 | Rockwell felt like somebody was watching him, but they weren't watching him for very long. | October 22, 2013 |
24 | "Smooth Criminal" - Alien Ant Farm | 2001 | Alien Ant Farm's career could have gone a whole lot smoother. | November 10, 2013 |
25 | "You Light Up My Life" - Debby Boone | 1977 | YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUU...LIGHT UP MY LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIFE... | November 28, 2013 |
26 | "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" - Dead or Alive | 1985 | Like a record, baby. | December 22, 2013 |
27 | "Walking in Memphis" - Marc Cohn | 1991 | I'm goin' to Graceland. | February 7, 2014 |
28 | "How Bizarre" - OMC | 1997 | How bizarre! How bizarre, how bizarre, how bizarre! Now get that out of your head... | February 28, 2014 |
29 | "Float On" - The Floaters | 1977 | All right, all ready?
(For April Fools Day, it starts with him playing and talking about 2004's "Float On" by Modest Mouse) |
March 31, 2014 |
30 | "Ghetto Supastar" - Pras | 1998 | Ghetto superstar, that is what he definitely wasn't. | April 17, 2014 |
31 | "Absolutely (Story of a Girl)" - Nine Days | 2000 | Admit it, the first line of this song instantly started playing in your head, didn't it? | May 9, 2014 |
32 | "Groove Is in the Heart" - Deee-Lite | 1990 | WEEOOOOOOOOoooooOOOOOOOOO pop! snap snap snap one two three PBLBLBLBL | May 29, 2014 |
33 | "Just a Friend" - Biz Markie | 1989 | YOU YOU GOT WHAT I NEEEEEEEEEEEED BUT YOU SAY HE'S JUST A FRIEND | June 20, 2014 |
34 | "Informer" - Snow | 1993 | In-foooooooooooor-mah! YanosaydiggadosaynoIgoblaaaaam a licky licky boom down! | July 22, 2014 |
35 | "Hooked on a Feeling" - Blue Swede | 1974 | Ooga chaka ooga chaka ooga ooga ooga chaka. | August 17, 2014 |
36 | "Maniac" - Michael Sembello | 1983 | Just a steel-town girl on a Saturday night, looking for Todd in the Shadows' Halloween episode! | October 30, 2014 |
37 | "Lullaby" - Shawn Mullins | 1998 | Everything's gonna be all right, as long as your expectations for your career aren't too high. | November 30, 2014 |
38 | "Word Up" - Cameo | 1986 | Got a weird thing to show you so tell all the boys and girls. | March 3, 2015 |
39 | "Blue (Da Ba Dee)" - Eiffel 65 | 1999 | I’m blue da ba dee da ba die da ba dee da ba die da ba dee da ba die da ba dee da ba die da ba dee da ba die da ba dee da ba die da ba dee da ba die da ba dee da ba die da ba dee da ba die da ba dee da ba die da ba dee da ba die da ba dee da ba die | March 31, 2015 |
40 | "St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)" - John Parr | 1985 | Who the heck is St. Elmo anyway? | May 12, 2015 |
41 | "MMMBop" - Hanson | 1997 | mmmbopdubadopbopdubopdoobydopbopdubopmmmbopdopdooooo Yeah? Yeah. | August 2, 2015 |
42 | "Turning Japanese" - The Vapors | 1980 | Is this song about what you think it is? I really don't think so... | September 1, 2015 |
43 | "Butterfly" - Crazy Town | 2001 | Sugar! Baby! *Note: Released on CA on January 3, 2016. | October 20, 2015 (YT) (October 19th on Vimeo) |
44 | "Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band" - Meco | 1977 | An elegant dance song for a more civilized age.
Note: Starting with this episode of any Todd in the Shadows series, his piano faces the right for the first time since 2011. |
December 16, 2015 (on YT) |
45 | "Mickey" - Toni Basil | 1982 | OH MICKEY YOU'RE SO FINE, YOU'RE SO FINE YOU BLOW MY MIND, HEY MICKEY, HEY MICKEY | February 19, 2016 |
46 | "Eve of Destruction" - Barry McGuire | 1965 | You just don't get enough pop songs about the complete and total annihilation of the human race, you know? | April 2, 2016 |
47 | "Ridin'" - Chamillionaire | 2006 | They see me reviewin', they hatin'... | May 3, 2016 |
48 | "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" - The Darkness | 2003 | Hello The Darkness, my old friend... | June 2, 2016 |
49 | "Living in a Box" - Living in a Box | 1987 | Spoilers: It's about living in a box. | July 3, 2016 |
50 | "I Love You Always Forever" - Donna Lewis | 1996 | Always. FOREVER. | August 2, 2016 |
51 | "I Touch Myself" - The Divinyls | 1991 | I don't want anybody else... | September 1, 2016 |
52 | "Mexican Radio" - Wall of Voodoo | 1983 | I wish I was in Tijuana, eating barbecued iguana... | October 3, 2016 |
53 | "One Tin Soldier" - Coven | 1971 | It's the return of the One Hit Wonder Spooktacular! | October 30, 2016 |
54 | "Flood" - Jars of Clay | 1995 | Oh, Christ. Literally. | November 25, 2016 |
55 | "Beds Are Burning" - Midnight Oil | 1988 | Presenting the band Midnight Oil, the '80s rockers who taught us all about Australian social issues. Once. | December 3, 2016 |
56 | "Rock Me Amadeus" - Falco | 1985 | Eine kleine Synthpopmusik... | March 3, 2017 |
57 | "Video Killed the Radio Star" - The Buggles | 1979 | The radio star has been KILLED! MTV = MURDER TELEVISION | March 21, 2017 |
58 | "Freak Like Me" - Adina Howard | 1995 | One to the two to the three, Adina do you wanna get freaky with me? | May 8, 2017 |
59 | "Right Now" - SR-71 | 2000 | Whyyyy... why do you always kick me when I'm, highhhh.... | June 7, 2017 |
60 | "In the Summertime" - Mungo Jerry | 1970 | In the summertime, when the weather is hot, we grow a big old 'fro, and giant muttonchops. | July 7, 2017 |
61 | "Laffy Taffy" - D4L | 2006 | DONK DONK DONK. DONK DONK DONK. DAT LAFFY TAFFY. | July 29, 2017 |
62 | "Give It to You" - Jordan Knight | 1999 | New Kids on the Block had a bunch of hits, but their frontman Jordan Knight only had one when he tried to go solo... | August 30, 2017 |
63 | "I'm Too Sexy" - Right Said Fred | 1992 | So sexy it hurts. | September 29, 2017 |
64 | "Fire" - Crazy World of Arthur Brown | 1968 | ONE HIT WONDERLAND SPOOKTACULAR EDITION brings you THE GOD OF HELLFIYAH | November 3, 2017 |
65 | "Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo" - Rick Derringer | 1974 | Rick Derringer! The All-American Boy! The Real American! The man who stood tall for rock and roll AND hoochie koo! | December 3, 2017 |
66 | "Tic Tac Toe" - Kyper | 1990 | This obscure rapper from 1990 has got some ex's and oh's. | February 3, 2018 |
67 | "What Is Love?" - Haddaway | 1993 | Haddaway makes us dance to the eternal question. | March 2, 2018 |
68 | "Pepper" - Butthole Surfers | 1996 | They were surfing on some buttholes, they were doing it in Texas. | March 31, 2018 |
69 | "Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Dop)" - Scatman John | 1995 | A look back at Scatman John, the most unexpectedly inspiring goofy novelty of the '90s! | May 13, 2018 |
70 | "Missing" - Everything But the Girl | 1996 | A long look at the career of Everything But the Girl, the band that missed you like the deserts missed the rain and then vanished into the shifting sands. Or did they?? | June 6, 2018 |
71 | "Lovefool" - The Cardigans | 1997 | Love me, love me, say that you love me! Do the Cardigans count as a one-hit wonder? Let's find out! | July 1, 2018 |
72 | "She Blinded Me with Science" - Thomas Dolby | 1983 | And now a look back at the surprisingly long and varied career of the guy who made the novelty song about love and science! | July 30, 2018 |
73 | "The Mummers' Dance" - Loreena McKennitt | 1998 | This week's request takes us back to a bizarre moment in 1998 when a dance remix of a Celtic folk artist's pagan festival song became a mainstream hit. Yes, this really happened. | September 5, 2018 |
74 | "Wherever You Will Go" - The Calling | 2001 | The alternative scene of the '90s reached its final endpoint in 2001 with The Calling: The teen idol grunge band. | October 18, 2018 |
75 | "Never Had a Dream Come True" - S Club 7 | 2001 | Ain't no episode like an S Club episode! How did the UK teen pop smash only manage to break their least interesting hit in America? | November 18, 2018 |
76 | "Flagpole Sitta" - Harvey Danger | 1998 | They weren't sick but they weren't well... certainly not well enough to have a second hit! Who were Harvey Danger and why was the irony killing them? | January 28, 2019 |
77 | "Here It Goes Again" - OK Go | 2006 | Here it OK goes again! OK Go: the first band to understand how the Internet worked. | March 17, 2019 |
78 | "Jump Around" - House of Pain | 1992 | Pack it up, pack it in, and listen to Todd try and unpack the eternal greatness of the only Irish rap song in history! | April 18, 2019 |
79 | "The Night Chicago Died" - Paper Lace | 1974 | How about we cover a real blast of '70s lameness sure to make you irritated for the rest of the day! Get ready for "The Night Chicago Died," the world's happiest song about gang murders! | July 17, 2019 |
80 | "You Get What You Give" - New Radicals | 1999 | You got the music in you! Todd breaks down the long shelf life of the pop masterpiece "You Get What You Give" and the brief career of the band behind it. | August 17, 2019 |
81 | "The Hustle" - Van McCoy | 1975 | Three words ("do the hustle!") changed the course of pop music history! Get your boogie shoes on and see the dance that made disco, tonight on One Hit Wonderland! | September 19, 2019 |
82 | "I Love College" - Asher Roth | 2009 | Todd revisits a dumb frat rap from 2009 because it's his ten-year Toddiversary! But whatever happened to the great white hope of the 2009? | October 17, 2019 |
83 | "Bust a Move" - Young MC | 1989 | At last, a jam for all the fellas trying to do what those ladies tell us! Young MC brought hip-hop to the masses but what happened to him after that? | February 1, 2020 |
84 | "Funkytown" - Lipps, Inc. | 1980 | Find out the story of "Funkytown," the earworm that managed to survive the death of disco! | March 2, 2020 |
85 | "Oh Yeah" - Yello | 1985 | DAY BOW BOW. Who were the European weirdos who turned experimental dance music into one of the '80s most overused music cues? | April 1, 2020 |
86 | "The Rhythm of the Night" - Corona | 1994 | Sorry, I had to. The '90s dance hit that's making an ironic comeback in 2020 because... yeah. | April 19, 2020 |
87 | "Are You Jimmy Ray?" - Jimmy Ray | 1997 | Are you Jimmy Ray? Also who the hell is Jimmy Ray? Well if you're someone who wants to know, check out this video on the briefly popular '90s teen idol! | June 1, 2020 |
88 | "I Melt with You" - Modern English | 1982 | The best one-hit wonder of the '80s?? Modern English made the most intensely romantic new wave song ever but where did they go after that? | July 28, 2020 |
89 | "Timothy" - The Buoys | 1971 | The long awaited revival of the "One Hit Wonderland Spooktacular Edition" where he talks about one of the strangerst, darkest, and most controversial songs of the entire 1970's. | October 30, 2020 |
90 | "I Know What Boys Like" - The Waitresses | 1982 | Wait, their one hit wasn't "Christmas Wrapping"? The Waitresses's ode to toying with boys and their stupid emotions got them on the charts, but a tossed-off holiday novelty has dwarfed their hit in hindsight... | December 2, 2020 |
91 | "Whoomp! There It Is" - Tag Team | 1993 | In 1993, with pop-rap was nearly dead and gangsta music bringing controversy, but Tag Team found a way to make hip-hop palatable to White America again in 1993, but "Whoomp! There It Is" didn't set up Tag Team for any further success after whoomp there it ended. | February 5, 2021 |
92 | "Return of the Mack" - Mark Morrison | 1996 | Mark Morrison debuted with a comeback, and proved that the Brits could hang in America with his international smash "Return of the Mack," but no one's big enough a mack for their career to survive as many bad decisions as he made. Why did the Mack never return? | March 2, 2021 |
93 | "Disco Duck" - Rick Dees and His Cast of Idiots | 1976 | It's that song where the guy turns into a disco duck. What on Earth was happening where the dumbest song in history became a #1 single? | April 1, 2021 |
94 | "Bitch" - Meredith Brooks | 1997 | Meredith Brooks made it safe for women to be messy and angry in the late '90s, but why did she end up an also-ran in the post-Alanis rush of singer-songwriters? | June 1, 2021 |
95 | "Face Down" - The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus | 2006 | The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus took pop-punk into serious territory with their one hit "Face Down," but where they wound up may surprise you! | June 18, 2021 |
96 | "Mambo No. 5" - Lou Bega | 1999 | Lou Bega mamboed his way into our hearts and then quickly mamboed his way out! Why did the mambo revival never take hold? | September 16, 2021 |
97 | "Crazy for This Girl" - Evan and Jaron | 2000 | They were two beautiful boys who played the most unthreatening music you've ever heard. Is "minivan rock" a real thing, and if so, were Evan and Jaron worth remembering as a part of it? | November 20, 2021 |
98 | "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)" - Edison Lighthouse | 1970 | How does a minor '70s bubblegum band become a one-hit wonder five different times? | March 19, 2022 |
99 | "Don't Worry, Be Happy" - Bobby McFerrin | 1988 | Poor jazz singer Bobby McFerrin just wanted to write a little song to make the world happy. What happened? | May 17, 2022 |
100 | "This Is Why I'm Hot" - Mims | 2007 | Mims made a big promise -- that he would tell you why he was hot -- that he never followed through on. What ever happened to that guy? | June 3, 2022 |
101 | "Macarena" - Los del Rio | 1996 | It's the most insane dance craze to ever exist. Two decades later we are still no closer to understanding the phenomenon known only as the Macarena. | August 2, 2022 |
102 | "Your Woman" - White Town | 1997 | Bedroom pop was invented in 1997, by one obscure computer nerd with a catchy sample. (It's not the Imperial March.) | December 2, 2022 |
103 | "Turn Up the Radio" - Autograph | 1984 | They got in on the ground floor of hair metal and then got left behind? Why couldn't Autograph turn up the radio a second time? | February 18, 2023 |
104 | "99 Luftballons" - Nena | 1983 | Could a bunch of balloons end humanity? The German band Nena thought so in 1983, and somehow made one of the best songs of the '80s. | March 31, 2023 |
105 | "I Wish" - Skee-Lo | 1995 | He wished he was a little bit taller, and that his career lasted a little bit longer. | May 19, 2023 |
106 | "Barbie Girl" - Aqua | 1997 | Mattel may like "Barbie Girl" now, but back in 1997, there were scandals in lawsuits when one Danish band defamed Barbie's good name with one of the maddeningly catchy songs ever made. | July 21, 2023 |
107 | "Tubular Bells" - Mike Oldfield | 1973 | 😈 The Exorcist theme was a top ten hit. Seriously. There's more to it than that though. | October 13, 2023 |
108 | "Relax" - Frankie Goes to Hollywood | 1984 | Let this wonderful '80s classic soothe you... | February 24, 2024 |
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