From chart-toppers to everyday jobs, we're diving into the fascinating world of one-hit wonders who traded music fame for more traditional careers. Discover the surprising paths these artists took after their moment in the spotlight!
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00:00Welcome to MissMojo, and today we're looking at one-hit wonders who left music to pursue
00:09more typical careers.
00:1210.
00:14Tal Backman, She's So High was released in 1999, and became an instant hit.
00:28Tal Backman's debut album hit number one on the Adult Top 40 chart.
00:32The following year, it impressively won a BMI award.
00:42Since then, however, Backman has had little commercial success.
00:48In 2004, he released a second album, and had been playing in his father's band.
00:59Since then, however, Backman has had little commercial success.
01:00He's been in Turner Overdrive since 2023.
01:01Alongside this, he works as a writer for American Greatness and Stain Online.
01:05He primarily discusses rugby, politics, and religion.
01:08Backman also occasionally plays rugby himself, for the Canadian team the Castaway Wanderers
01:12FC, based in British Columbia.
01:189.
01:22The Thompson Twins
01:23Hailing from Sheffield, this group cemented themselves in music history with the single
01:27Hold Me Now.
01:35Despite their name's implications, they often had more than two members, sometimes as many
01:39as seven.
01:40Among them was Alana Curry, a journalist who achieved success writing and singing for the
01:44Thompson Twins.
01:48In 2004, she studied furniture production at London Metropolitan University.
01:57She began calling herself Miss Pocono, and launched a career as an artistic furniture
02:01upholsterer.
02:02Her first sale was a chair that she rebuilt after hurling it off a cliff.
02:05She also got £18,000 for selling furniture with swear words sewn in.
02:098.
02:14Willa Ford
02:15Ford's first and only album was called Willa Was Here, released in 2001.
02:26Its lead single, I Wanna Be Bad, peaked at number 22 on the US Hot 100.
02:30It was her only hit, and she stopped releasing music three years later.
02:38She then pursued a career in acting, but eventually settled on a career in interior design.
02:42Her company W Ford Interiors is quite successful, and still going strong in the 2020s.
02:47They're based in California, but work all across the country.
02:50Ford seems super happy with the career change.
02:58As she has worked for various celebrities, it's easy to see why.
03:047.
03:07Thomas Dolby
03:08She Blinded Me With Science was a quirky early 80s classic that reached number 5 on the Billboard
03:13Hot 100.
03:21Thomas Dolby's subsequent musical ventures were moderately popular, but his 90s business
03:25venture became his real success.
03:33In 1993, he founded Beatnik Inc., an audio technology company.
03:38They'd be responsible for Nokia's polyphonic ringtone playing technology, which bypassed
03:43the need for sound chips.
03:44Unfortunately, they went bust in 2011.
03:51Now Dolby is a Homewood Professor of the Arts at John Hopkins University, where he has been
03:56leading their Music for New Media degree program since 2018.
04:036.
04:07Gerardo
04:08The 12 hit the scene in December 1990, and had a brief stint of widespread popularity.
04:17Gerardo Mejia released quite a few albums after, with his final one dropping in 2007.
04:28He'd move on to become a music executive, working for various companies in his career.
04:32Currently, he works for United Masters as their senior Latin lead.
04:36Here, he was partly responsible for Floy Menor and Chris MJ's hit reggaeton track, Gata Only.
04:45Gerardo also became a Christian pastor in Kentucky, where he was given the nickname
04:50Pastor G.
04:51Later, he launched an Ecuadorian coffee brand, an idea he came up with after bonding with
04:55another Ecuadorian over their country's phenomenal coffee at the Qatar World Cup.
05:035.
05:06Chumbawamba
05:07Tup Thumping was released in 1997, and has since been an absolute classic, topping numerous
05:13charts worldwide.
05:18Alice Nutter joined the anarcho-punk band Chumbawamba in 1982, but left in 2006 to pursue
05:24a wildly different career.
05:31Based in Leeds, she's written multiple plays, shown at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, as
05:35well as a couple of plays for radio.
05:37She also dabbled in television.
05:38The most acclaimed series she worked on was the BBC anthology Accused, which she wrote
05:43one episode for.
05:44A fun fact is that Nutter took her name from an accused witch who was hanged in Lancaster
05:48in 1612.
05:49Growing up in the shadow of Pendle Hill, she felt an affinity for the real-life Alice
05:53Nutter.
05:544.
05:55Tiffany
05:56I Think We're Alone Now was originally written by Richie Cordell in the 60s, but the most
06:04famous version was Tiffany's, released in 1987.
06:14The track was immediately loved, reaching number one in a range of countries.
06:24But music changed, and her career declined in the 90s.
06:27She still performs and releases music despite this.
06:37On the side, she works a few regular jobs, like owning a cooking club called Let's Food
06:41with Tiffany.
06:42She also runs a boutique in Nashville.
06:44Tiffany is on Cameo 2, selling personalized videos to fans.
06:503.
06:52Len
06:53Still My Sunshine, by Canadian band Len, was 1999's summer anthem.
07:05Most members have since left the band, barring siblings Mark and Sharon Costanzo.
07:09They're not officially broken up, but haven't released anything since 2012.
07:21Mark became a music publishing executive, currently working on Inside Music Publishing.
07:29He signed quite a few multi-platinum acts, like singer Derek Wibley of Sum 41.
07:34Sharon, on the other hand, works as a relationship coach under the business name Respected & Connected.
07:39She even has a relationship advice podcast.
07:42It's a massive shift in career trajectory, especially given her master's degree in mechanical
07:47engineering.
07:482.
07:49Sir Mix-A-Lot
07:50More than 30 years after its release, Baby Got Back is still enjoyed by millions globally.
08:01It spent five weeks at number one in America, and even won a Grammy.
08:05He released his final album in 2003, and then stopped making his own tunes.
08:16Between 2017 and 2019, he worked as a radio host in his home state of Washington.
08:20Alongside this, he makes a pretty penny dipping his toes into retail.
08:24In 2018, he collaborated with the DIY Network to make a one-off show, Sir Mix-A-Lot's
08:32House Remix.
08:33The show showed him flipping a house, revealing to everyone his skills in real estate.
08:551.
08:56MC Hammer
08:57Propelled in stardom for his wildly infectious anthem, You Can't Touch This, MC Hammer,
09:01also known as Stanley Burrell, has made numerous business endeavors in his life.
09:11In 1991, he created Oaktown Stables, a semi-successful horse racing business.
09:22Hammer also became a preacher in the late 90s, he was big on the early internet too.
09:30One website of his was DanceJam.com, where he'd personally rate dance videos.
09:35It was based in Silicon Valley, and worth $4.5 million at its peak.
09:39In 2010, he opened a mixed martial artists management company.
09:44A year later, he tried making a search engine, which he thought could compete with Google.
09:53Are there any one-hit wonders that you've spotted working 9-5?
09:55Let us know in the comments.
10:00Do you agree with our picks?
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