As a decade, the '90s has brought us that color and swag like no other. It's the decade where Michael Jackson peaked, Seinfeld was that one show everybody was talking about, the internet was just taking off, the hi-top fade like in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was the hottest cut on earth, and the list goes on and on. The '90s is a nostalgic decade in every right, even for people who didn't grow up during those times.
However, behind all those blings, there are also people who bring us the anthems of the decade but are now relatively unheard of: the "one-hit wonders." It's not easy to survive the fast-paced nature of the music industry. It's more than just a pretty or angelic voice: you need to attach a certain personality to the music and win the audience, which, unfortunately, these people just couldn't capitalize on. To sum it up, here are some of the one-hit wonders of the 90s and how they live their lives now.
6 Aqua
The '90s saw European acts marking their marks in the US market, including the Copenhagen-based band Aqua. They rose to international fame thanks to their not-so-innocent hit "Barbie Girl," which became one of the highest-selling singles of all time in the UK. The Danish Europop band released their last album, Megalomania, in 2011, and they haven't managed to recreate the magic that they once had with the single. However, last year, Aqua released their rendition of Broadway's "I Am What I Am" as their comeback single.
5 House Of Pain
Nobody would have thought rap and rock would blend well in the '90s, unless you were the Beastie Boys, but House of Pain was something else. It was rapper Everlast's creative channel before he went to pursue his solo career. Their "Jump Around" song is a club classic in many countries, but unfortunately, the group broke up in 1996. The boys did a few reunions in the past decades, including as supergroup La Coka Nostra in the 2000s. Everlast is still making music, having released his seventh album Whitey Ford's House of Pain in 2017. Danny Boy and DJ Lethal have also been producing for other artists.
4 The Verve
Another European act of the '90s, The Verve's "Bitter Sweet Symphony" dominated the airwaves back in the days. It was a perfectly intertwining song from start to finish, hailing as one of the songs that defined the Britpop era and gaining a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Song.
So, what happened to them? Well, The Verve's rise to fame hasn't been a smooth ride by any means, and they have broken up not once, but three times. Bitter, without the sweet. Frontman Richard Ashcroft became a successful solo artist with three UK top albums. Peter Salisbury plays drums for British band The Charlatans to replace their regular Jon Brookes who passed away in 2013. Nick McCabe teaches music technology at the Stoke campus of Staffs University. Simon Jones worked with other artists including Scottish band boletes.
3 Chumbawamba
Punk rock band Chumbawamba rocked the world in the '90s, especially for their stances and social commentaries with serious subjects like pacifism, working-class struggle, and gay rights. Their most successful hit, "Tubthumping," topped the chart in their home country of the UK before hitting sixth on the US Billboard Hot 100. They signed to EMI, much to their fans' dissatisfaction, to release its album Tubthumper. Now? Chumbawamba has broken up for good after 30 years together in the summer of 2012.
2 Sir-Mix-A-Lot
Passionate about hip-hop and rap from a young age, rapper Sir Mix-A-Lot released his debut album Swass in 1988. It took him years to get it to platinum, but his biggest body-positive hit, "Baby Got Back," came from his 1992 third album Mack Daddy. In addition to topping the Hot 100 chart and being certified as double platinum, "Baby Got Back" won him a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance.
The rapper's last album, Daddy's Home was released in 2003, and has now been more focused on his acting and hosting career. "I was at the #1 spot when I realized that there was no zeros, and there were no negative numbers. That the only way for me to go was down," he said during an interview. "I realize its all about the fans. Without the fans, I wouldn't be here. That moment changed my entire perception of my career."
1 Haddaway
Haddaway signed to German label Coconut Records, and that's how his overnight success story began. A year later, his debut single, "What Is Love," quickly spread across Europe and became one of the hottest singles of 1993. In the US market, his magnum opus song reached number 11 on the Hot 100 chart. Now, he's been trying to orchestrate his comeback, having released several singles for his forthcoming album Day After Day.
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