Music Industry

“There Is No Such Things as a One-Hit-Wonder Anymore”

Sometimes all you’ve got in you is one great song. But what a song. The classic one-hit-wonder is “In the Year 2525” by Zager and Evans from 1969. HUGE hit. But then Z&E disappeared forever.

But is the traditional notion of a one-hit-wonder still applicable in today’s music environment? Maybe not. Thank (blame?) the Internet.  That’s the contention of this article at New Rock Star Philosophy.

Kreayshawn is an artist that deftly used the internet, her colourful personality, an active web presence, and one smash hit song “Gucci, Gucci”+ video to create a career that had her fighting for “Best New Artist” at the MTV VMA’s.

Within days of posting “Gucci Gucci” it spread virally across the internet and within months she was signed to a major label and work was started on her debut album.

I have been watching Kreayshawn’s career throughout the last while and when I saw that her anticipated debut album got a 3.0 on Pitchfork I realized that her abysmal rating on the hugely powerful website doesn’t really matter. It’s true that although a large part of her original fanbase won’t be interested in her debut album she STILL will have an audience. This is because in the age of the internet the idea of a one hit wonder is gone. Disappeared. At least in our traditional definition.

Keep reading.

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 40115 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.