Pop Culture | Music | 90s

Their Songs Defined The 90s, But Where Are Our Favorite One Hit Wonders Now?

There are so many one hit wonders in the world. It's kind of sad to think about, because they worked hard on that song and it's not really their fault that they didn't stay popular. People's tastes change so quickly, it's almost impossible to keep up.

But what happens to these people? When you have a huge song, what do you do after that? Do you go back to work? Do you just live off the money you earned in the 90s?

Well, let's take a look at some of our favorite 90s one hit wonders and see what happened to the singers we've all forgotten.

1. Lou Bega

Lou Bega was actually born in Germany, and his real name is David Lubega. He eventually moved to Miami and that's where he discovered Latin-inspired music. Aka, how we ended up with "Mambo No. 5".

What is he doing now? Well, he's married with kids now and is back in Germany. His wife is named Jenieva Jane and his daughter is named Jada Love.

He still releases music occasionally, his most recent album was called "A Little Bit of 80s."

2. Eiffel 65

Personally, I don't think I actually ever knew who was in Eiffel 65, but it was an Italian band consisting of three members: Jeffery Jey, Mauizio Lobina, and Gabry Ponte.

Jeffery Jey actually led the charge when it came to reforming the band in 2010, but all three original members came back.

They released new music in 2016, but the release date for their fourth album is unknown. They do however still do a lot of shows in clubs all over the place.

3. Rednex

The Swedish band was together from 1994-2002, but then they took a break. But apparently you couldn't keep them apart for long, because in 2006 they got back together and have been ever since.

Over the years, the roster of people in their big band has changed, but one thing is certain, "Cotton Eyed Joe" is still their most notable song.

They play at festivals in Sweden, and if you want to keep up with their tour schedule, they've got a whole website for you.

4. Tal Bachman

Talmage Charles Robert Bachman's hit song "She's So High" is still stuck in my head even though it has been nearly 20 years since it came out.

But since then, his career hasn't been able to reach the same level of success. He actually has gotten a bachelor's degree political science, and does some political commentary.

After he left the Mormon church, his marriage dissolved, and he spent a lot of time trying to keep it together. They had four kids and he didn't want to lose his wife.

However, every once and a while he will perform and people are always impressed, but even he admits that the loss of his family has thrown him off his game.

5. Chumbawamba

Chumbawamba was another band like Rednex that had a rotating collection of members. The band decided to dissolve in 2012 with a statement on their website saying "That's it then, it's the end. With neither a whimper, a bang or a reunion."

The official statement claims that they "reserve the right to re-emerge" but so far, nothing. It's hard to figure out where they all are because there are just SO many of them, but one of the band founders Boff Walley actually started a choir of his own just recently.

Do you think they will sing "I Get Knocked Down"?

6. Natalie Imbruglia

Natalie Imbruglia managed to give us all that angsty song we needed in the 90s. "Torn" was everything we wanted and more.

But since then, none of her singles seem to have had the same staying power. She has however consistently put out music over the years.

She's actually also joined up with Virgin Unite to help support campaigns to end poverty and raise awareness for obstetric fistula, which is a condition that affects women most often in developing worlds.

7. Len

Len may have only had one big hit with "Steal My Sunshine," but it was enough to earn them a Juno nomination (the Canadian version of a Grammy).

They continued releasing music until 2005, but then decided to take a break. Shortly after leaving the band, Brendan Canning actually went on to found the well-known Canadian indie rock band Broken Social Scene.

He has been a part of the band for 16 years now, and while the lineup keeps changing, he remains a constant.

8. Meredith Brooks

Meredith Brooks
AP Photo/Dawn Villella

After reaching huge success for her song "Bitch," Meredith Brooks she didn't seem to have the same notoriety, but she did have a few interesting career moments.

She produced Jennifer Love Hewitt's debut album "BareNaked" which caught me off guard because I totally forgot Jennifer Love Hewitt tried to be a pop star.

She also released a song called Shine, which while it didn't chart very well, it did get chosen as the theme music for the Dr. Phil show between 2004 and 2008.

In 2007 she released her last album which was actually a kid's album.

9. Divinyls

Divinyls
PA

The Divinyls hit song "I Touch Myself" really took over the world, and while it had a lot of trouble getting air play because of the suggestive content, it was featured in the original Austin Powers movie.

The band broke up all the way back in 1996, although it never "officially" disbanded.

Since then, vocalist Chrissy Amphlett went into theater, and actually became a fairly acclaimed actress in Australia. She wrote an autobiography called Pleasure and Pain: My Life that details her past drug abuse, love affairs, and memories of being in Divinyls.

Guitarist Mark McEntee went on to run a clothing label called Wheels and Doll Baby in Perth with his partner.

10. Snow

Snow, real name Darrin Kenneth O'Brien, sang the song "Informer" in the 90s, and since then it seems like we have no idea where he went.

He tried to continue releasing music, including a single with Shaggy and Blu Cantrell, but it only found moderate success in Canada.

However, after his longtime partner tragically passed away from cancer, he decided to go into charity work.

He established his own NGO called Pure Snow to help people living in non-profit housing. He still releases music occasionally, but the NGO takes up a lot of his time.

Which of these one hit wonder's songs were your favorite?

There are a lot of one hit wonders out there, how many do you think you can name?

There also were a lot of songs that we still don't fully understand. Like what way do the Backstreet Boys want it? I don't understand...

Even though we sang all of these songs in public, we probably shouldn't have been. We were just children and had no idea what we were saying though, so I guess it's okay...

Source - Vancouver Weekly