This is a celebration of former glories — a toast to the here-today-gone-tomorrow acts who, for a fleeting moment, won hearts with beautiful song... one beautiful song, to be exact.

I believe in second chances! Consider this epic wonder vs. wonder vs. wonder vs. wonder (and on and on) battle a second shot for the girls who were told they only had one. Which hit and hitmaker (once over) will reign supreme?

How It Works
This is a bit like an album/singles rate, except this competition isn't artist specific, and because there are countless one hit wonders in need of recognition, the process could be repeated indefinitely. (Are you as ready to do this a hundred more times as I am?!) And because this game features various artists going head-to-head in total battle royale fashion, it's a bit like a Best of the Best (minus the multiple rounds of competition). Capiche?

• Reserve a spot for your favorite one hit wonder. Send me a PM with your selection (artist and song title). The first 25 participants to reserve a spot will see their selected song in the competition.
• Once we have 25 (this number may increase depending upon interest) stellar selections, you will be asked to listen to and rate each song on a scale of 1-10. Send me a PM with your ratings.
• Keep an eye on this thread as we count down to our favorite one-off hit of all time of this go-around.

Sound simple enough? Well, it might not be that simple. There are some things you should consider when selecting a track to enter into competition.

Are there any restrictions?
Yes and no. I don't want to put too many rules in place, but for the sake of narrowing our scope, I'll suggest that we choose from artists who obtained one hit in the US (meaning that an act who was successful outside of the US on multiple occasions could be eligible to play with their signature hit in this game) from roughly 1980 through the present.

(And we shouldn't get too current with our selections! Tempting as it may be to write Carly Rae Jepsen off as a one hit wonder, there's always an off chance that she has another cutesy tune with hit potential in her arsenal.)

That said, I'm sorta open to anything and if you come up with something that doesn't fit exactly within these parameters, I'll probably allow it.

How do you define a one hit wonder?
Always a difficult question. When people discuss one hit wonders, they inevitably touch upon the elusive two hit wonder (someone who is generally mistaken for a one hit wonder). I would say that most two hit wonders are intelligible to participate in this particular rate (sorry Paula Cole and Paula Cole), but I suppose there could be an exception. For example, if an artist has one definite hit and one could-be-but-probably-not-a-hit hit, I might be inclined to consider that person a one hit wonder. And that, of course, leads to lots of debate regarding what should and should not be considered a hit. There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to this subject, so just use your own judgment. Chart positions can be a good point of reference, but there are songs that, despite not appearing on a main chart, became notable hits. (OMC's smash hit, "How Bizarre" was ineligible to chart on the Hot 100 because it was not given a commercial release in the United States. However, it was very successful on the Hot 100 Airplay chart.)

If you need some guidance, you can find a lengthy (but by no means comprehensive) list of one hit wonders on Wikipedia.
1980s: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of..._United_States
1990s: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of..._United_States
2000s: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of..._United_States

And don't just go for the obvious. I'm sure Sinéad will get a mention, and deservedly so, but more-often-than-not, the best one hit wonders are the ones nobody remembers.

Let the Games Begin
These are the 35 songs/artists selected for this outing. Please listen to and assign each song a ranking on a scale of 1-10. When you've completed this process, you may submit your scores to me via PM.

We'll give everyone a week to take care of this. Due by May 8th.

Estelle performing American Boy (feat. Kanye West)
t.A.T.u. performing All the Things She Said
Panic! At the Disco performing I Write Sins Not Tragedies
Sonique performing It Feels So Good
The Veronicas performing Untouched
Chris Isaak performing Wicked Game
Donna Lewis performing I Love You Always Forever
Boy Krazy performing That's What Love Can Do
Toni Basil performing Mickey
Baccara performing Yes Sir, I Can Boogie
Lipps Inc performing Funkytown
Blu Cantrell performing Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)
Crazy Town performing Butterfly
The Cardigans performing Lovefool
Grateful Dead performing Touch of Grey
Mark Morrison performing Return of the Mack
Benny Mardones performing Into the Night
Duncan Sheik performing Barely Breathing
Meredith Brooks performing Bitch
Debelah Morgan performing Dance With Me
Hoku performing Another Dumb Blonde
Liz Phair performing Why Can't I?
Jennifer Paige performing Crush
Yarbroughs & Peoples performing Don't Stop the Music
Charlene performing I've Never Been to Me
Musical Youth performing Pass the Dutchie
Shannon performing Let the Music Play
Tracey Ullman performing They Don't Know
New Radicals performing You Get What You Give
Sinéad O'Connor performing Nothing Compares 2 U
Cassie performing Me & U
Soho performing Hippychick
Deee Lite performing Groove is in the Heart
Des'ree performing You Gotta Be
Dexy's Midnight Runners performing Come On Eileen

The List
35. Panic! at the Disco - I Write Sins Not Tragedies
34. Cassie - Me & U
33. Hoku - Another Dumb Blonde
32. Tracey Ullman - They Don't Know
31. Benny Mardones - Into the Night
30. Musical Youth - Pass the Dutchie
29. Baccara - Yes Sir, I Can Boogie
28. Estelle - American Boy (feat. Kanye West)
27. Debelah Morgan - Dance With Me
26. Yarbrough & Peoples - Don't Stop the Music
25. Grateful Dead - Touch of Grey
24. Crazy Town - Butterfly
23. Soho - Hippychick
22. Charlene - I've Never Been to Me
21. Mark Morrison - Return of the Mack
20. Chris Isaak - Wicked Game
19. Duncan Sheik - Barely Breathing
18. Jennifer Paige - Crush
17. Deee Lite - Groove is in the Heart
16. Sonique - It Feels So Good
15. Boy Krazy - That's What Love Can Do
14. The Veronicas - Untouched
13. Liz Phair - Why Can't I?
12. Toni Basil - Mickey
11. Shannon - Let the Music Play
10. Dexy's Midnight Runners - Come On Eileen

I picked American Boy

Sent. I chose All The Things She Said

"Not Gonna Get Us" was a hit in Europe and "All About Us" smashed in Europe, they're not one-hit wonders.

Sent.

I agree, but for the purposes of this competition I asked people to submit artists/songs that are considered one hit wonders in the United States. t.A.T.u. fit the definition of a one hit wonder in that sense.

.

Thank you for the submissions so far!

And I'd love to get some 90s and 80s in the mix! (*hint hint*)

Also, inb4 Daniel Powter.

And you picked a good one.

There are some things I will not allow.

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present you with your winner?

Hmm, that's tough. They're both fantastic songs. I would definitely like to see some country artists in this rate, however, I think it might be difficult to define these country artists as one hit wonders. While there are many country artists who have only had one significant hit on the Hot 100, many of them have racked up other hits on Hot Country Songs. So do we ignore the success they've had on the country charts and allow them in this game because they only managed to achieve crossover success on one occasion? Or do we consider the "country hits" hits in their own right?

Has anybody chose "Milkshake" yet?

Nobody's taken Kelis yet, but I'm somewhat hesitant to include her because "Bossy" was also a fairly notable hit (peaked within the top 20).

Got any other ideas?

Probably not a good idea since she has three songs in the top 20 range. Four in the top 40...

My homework for tonight.

I chose "Micky" by Tony Basil instead. That song needed to be in here.