“One-Hit Wonder.” Not exactly the label most musicians strive for, is it? While every recording artist wants that signature smash hit, nobody wants to be known for one song only. But Daniel Powter, whose ubiquitous “Bad Day” became the soundtrack for every American Idol contestant who was sent packing, has been named “One-Hit Wonder of the Decade” by Billboard. That puts poor Daniel right up there with the Number 1 One-Hit Wonder of the 1980s: Dexy’s Midnight Runners for “Come on Eileen.” That’s gotta hurt!
As far as one-hit wonders go, Daniel Powter is king of them all – for this decade, at least.
Powter, whose hit “Bad Day” reigned on top of the Billboard pop charts for five weeks in 2006, was named as the decade’s top one-hit wonder by Billboard.
The magazine describes one-hit wonders as acts whose second hit did not reach the top 25; they only included acts from 2000 to 2007, since someone from last year might just be taking a break.
No. 2 on their list is the Terror Squad for “Lean Back”; No. 3 is Crazy Town with “Butterfly”; No. 4 is MIMS with “This Is Why I’m Hot”; and No. 5 is D4L – remember them? – with “Laffy Taffy.”
Wow, I don’t even remember that last one. This is what happens when you stop listening to pop radio. But here’s the good news: Daniel Powter wrote “Bad Day” himself, so every time the song is played on the radio, or when it was played ad nauseum on “American Idol,” or covered by Alvin and the Chipmunks, Danny boy got paid. Considering the song went gold in the U.S. and platinum in several other countries, Powter is laughing all the way to the bank.
Here’s my favorite take on the song:
Daniel Powter is shown below at the ‘Ratatouille’ premiere on 6/21/07. Credit: WENN.com
