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Billboard’s Greatest Pop Stars: The 10 Greatest One-Year Wonders of the Modern Pop Era


Billboard offers its picks for the greatest pop star one-year wonders -- the pop stars whose period of dominance lasted just a single calendar year.

The Year to Remember: The U.K. trio of new wave alumni found the sweet spot between pop and alternative with their sophomore album The Raw and the Cooked, with hybrid singles “She Drives Me Crazy” and “Good Thing” riding massive hooks and eye-catching videos to the top of the Hot 100 in 1989. The Year to Remember: Darius Rucker’s merry band of South Carolina frat-rockers offered good vibes and sing-along choruses a-plenty on debut album Cracked Rear View, pushing well past Diamond status and blanketing radio and MTV in 1995 with the top 10 hits “Hold My Hand,” “Let Her Cry” and “Only Wanna Be With You.” The Year to Remember: Teenage brothers Taylor, Isaac and Zac brought bubblegum back to the alternative nation with their brain-drilling, chart-topping breakout hit “MMMBop,” turning the trio into pop-rock pinups for pre-teens and sending their major-label debut Middle of Nowhere to multi-platinum status.

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