00:00I was flying up on the bench, sliding apart across the street, L-A-T-E-R, that week.
00:08Welcome to WatchMojo.
00:09And today, we're counting down our picks for the top one-hit wonders who you might just need to be
00:15reminded of.
00:16Talk about hot music. Talk about hot music.
00:21Number 10. Obsession and Emotion.
00:32On first listen, you might think that Obsession by Emotion is just another slice of 80s synth-pop, indistinguishable from
00:40its contemporaries.
00:41However, there is quite a lot of effective songwriting going on here, and its catchiness has not been dulled by
00:47the decades that have passed since its release.
00:50I will have you. Yes, I will have you. I will find a way, and I will have you.
00:58Originally released by Michael DeBarre and Holly Knight, for our money, the Animotion cover really sealed its greatness.
01:05Factor in the visual treat that is its music video, and it's no wonder that it went on to be
01:10a big hit, reaching the top 10 in the Billboard charts.
01:14Sure, later single, Room to Move, was also a solid seller, but Obsession is truly the song they're remembered for.
01:21My fantasy is a certain madness, and now my goodness is a certain madness.
01:29Number 9. Saplon Pour Moi, Plastic Bertrand.
01:40Even if you put the mysteries and controversies over who actually sang this song to one side, there's no denying
01:46just how fun Plastic Bertrand's Saplon Pour Moi is.
01:51Some do see it as a novelty song, but at its core, it's a remarkably well-written and melodic punk
01:56classic.
01:57You are the king of the divan. Qu'est-ce que le dit en passant. Woo-woo-woo-woo-woo.
02:02I am the king of the divan.
02:04Even listeners who did not understand French could feel the momentum and attitude instantly, making it a surprise crossover hit.
02:12For years, Bertrand has been pressed by journalists about whether or not he even sang on the recording.
02:18For the most part, he maintains that it was him.
02:21Either way, chart success has eluded him in the time since this debut single came out.
02:26Saplon Pour Moi, Moi, Moi, Moi, Moi, Saplon Pour Moi.
02:32Woo-woo-woo-woo.
02:35Number 8. How do you talk to an angel? The Heights.
02:39I hear a voice in my mind.
02:44When your entire band has been created by a television show, for the purposes of the show itself, it's going
02:50to be hard to escape being labeled.
02:52For the Heights, the fact that they're a fictional band shouldn't distract you from the fact that How Do You
02:57Talk to an Angel?
02:58is a masterful piece of pop songwriting.
03:01How do you talk to an angel?
03:07The general public seem to agree, too, with it soaring to the top of the charts.
03:11Sure, there's a certain novelty to a fictional band from a TV show using that platform to launch a hit
03:16single,
03:17but that doesn't take anything away from the quality of the music.
03:21How do you talk to an angel?
03:26Number 7. How Bizarre, O.M.C.
03:30Bella Bridge was a comfort.
03:32Cena just hides our eyes.
03:34Policeman taps the shades of Santa Chevy 69.
03:37The instant catchiness of this O.M.C. classic is too great to ignore.
03:41When it came on the airwaves back in the 1990s,
03:44it had an incredibly fresh sound,
03:46taking influence from Polynesian music and hip-hop,
03:49with some unique instrumentation added in.
03:51How Bizarre.
03:54How Bizarre.
03:55How Bizarre.
03:57It's a truly atmospheric song,
03:59one that set a vibe within its opening bars
04:01and continues to build on it all the way through.
04:04The track was a big seller across the globe,
04:07landing O.M.C. a platinum record with their very first release.
04:10However, despite some decent commercial success in the oceanic region,
04:15they were never again able to find another hit single.
04:18Ooh, baby.
04:20It's making me crazy.
04:22It's making me crazy.
04:24Every time I look around.
04:27Number 6.
04:29Pop Music.
04:30M.
04:30Pop, pop, pop music.
04:33Pop, pop, pop music.
04:35Some might be quick to dismiss Robin Scott's pop music
04:38as little more than a simplistic novelty song.
04:41But buried beneath its incredibly fun exterior
04:43is a track that was way ahead of its time.
04:46The lyrics aren't trying to do anything crazy,
04:49but they function as a strong commentary on pop music generally.
04:52Want to be a gun slinger?
04:54Don't be a rock singer.
04:55Amy, manny, moe.
04:56What's the way you want to go?
04:57Talk about pop music.
04:59Sometimes it's okay to embrace a fun and nonsensical edge,
05:03though rooted in new wave sounds.
05:05The song is a lot more of a genre blender
05:07than it might initially seem,
05:09and it's a surefire way to fill a dance floor.
05:12It was Scott and the band M's only hits,
05:15but it did reach the very top of the Billboard Hot 100
05:18upon its release.
05:24Number 5.
05:25Under the Milky Way.
05:27The Church.
05:28Sometimes when this place gets kind of empty
05:35the sound of their breath fades with the light.
05:38Sometimes a band with a consistently solid catalog
05:41just needs a bit of fine-tuning
05:43to make their music more widely accessible.
05:46Australian psychedelic rockers The Church
05:48have had a career worth being proud of
05:50and a devoted fan base to go with it.
05:52Their biggest hit, Under the Milky Way,
05:54took their formula and tweaked it
05:56just enough to make it a breakout song internationally.
06:06The essence of what the band does best
06:08is not lost either.
06:10The single ended up charting well abroad,
06:12earning them some well-deserved new fans in the process.
06:15However, it remains their only truly notable dent
06:18on the global market.
06:20Wish I knew what you were looking for
06:37If there's one thing that Len's classic hit
06:40Steal My Sunshine does perfectly,
06:43it is its skillful establishment of a mood and vibe.
06:46Its brilliance lies in how effortlessly it captures
06:49a specific town, that carefree suburban youthfulness
06:52mixed with hazy melancholy.
07:00Even if people were initially quick to call it
07:03a lightweight slice of sunshine pop,
07:05it's pretty fair to say that it has aged remarkably well.
07:08Despite its top 10 status in several major countries,
07:11Len weren't able to follow up their momentum
07:13with further success.
07:14Over the course of their career,
07:16they never made it back onto the Billboard Hot 100.
07:23Number 3.
07:25Another Girl, Another Planet
07:27The Only Ones
07:35This one was more of a slow-burning success
07:38than an instant chart hit.
07:40The Only Ones, Another Girl, Another Planet
07:43Peter Perrette is one of the defining songs
07:45of post-punk-era guitar rock,
07:47even though it barely charted initially.
07:49Its reputation grew because musicians and critics
07:51recognized how extraordinary its songwriting was.
07:55I think I'm on another world with you
07:59With you
08:01I'm on another planet with you
08:04Peter Perrette combined poetic ambiguity,
08:07vulnerability, and romantic obsession
08:09in lyrics that could be interpreted
08:11as either a love song
08:13or a drug allegory.
08:14When you have artists as acclaimed as Blink-182,
08:18The Libertines, The Replacements,
08:19and Michael Stipe covering your biggest song,
08:22you know you've done something right.
08:24Long journeys wear me out,
08:26but I know I can't live without it.
08:29I know.
08:30Number 2.
08:31Mexican Radio, Wall of Voodoo.
08:34I feel a hot wind on my shoulder
08:37And the touch of a world that is bolder
08:40Oddball music rarely sounded as accessible
08:43as the new wave classic Mexican radio
08:45from Wall of Voodoo.
08:47There's so much going on with this track
08:49that it might even be hard to fully grasp
08:52on your first listen.
08:53However, this 1982 track
08:55really predicted a lot of interesting trends
08:58that would eventually envelop
09:00alternative rock in the 90s.
09:02I'm on a Mexican, whoa, radio
09:11It's a truly eccentric song
09:13that at once sounds like it's drawing
09:14from cowboy westerns and science fiction.
09:17The fact that it made it to the 58th spot
09:19on the Billboard charts
09:20probably even surprised the band itself
09:22to some degree.
09:23It was the only charting single
09:25they ever released.
09:27I'm on a Mexican radio
09:32I'm on a Mexican, whoa
09:35Number 1.
09:37A Million Miles Away, The Plimsolls
09:39There are many songs that bridge the gap
09:48between punk music and classic power pop.
09:511983's A Million Miles Away from The Plimsolls
09:54is an example that often gets forgotten about
09:56in that discussion.
09:57It has all of the punchiness
09:59that would define the alt-rock
10:00of the next 10 years,
10:02with the aggression and urgency
10:04of the punk movement
10:05that was in the process of evolving.
10:13It's intentional songwriting
10:15mixed with an undeniably raw energy,
10:17which is a tougher balancing act
10:19to pull off than many realize.
10:21The band's short shelf life
10:23saw them put out two albums
10:24during their initial run,
10:26but they never cracked the charts again.
10:34But what's your personal favorite
10:36one-hit wonder of all time?
10:38Be sure to let us know
10:39in the comments below.
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