One Hit Thunder

In the Summer of 2001, Blu Cantrell looked poised to become the next household name in mainstream R&B. Her debut single “Hit ‘Em Up Style (Oops!)” was topping charts and earning her Grammy nominations, and industry titans such as L.A. Reid and Dallas Austin were singing her praises and putting their talents to work to further her career. When she released her sophomore album in 2003, she achieved...

The Thundred is BACK! Starting this Friday, April 10th, we'll be counting down the 100 greatest one hit wonders of all time, as determined from the Top 10 lists of our listeners, past guests, and friends in the music world. This five-part series will feature 20 songs each week, and it's a whole lot of fun. Tell your friends and get ready! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoi...

The people have spoken! Tune in for the results to the FINAL MATCHUP in our annual March Madness tournament, this time pitting singles from the year 1996 up against each other. Listeners voted in a battle for the ages between Smashing Pumpkins "1979" and Gin Blossoms "Follow You Down." One Hit Thunder is brought to you by DistroKid, the ultimate partner for taking your music to the next level. Our...

Have you ever been SO inspired by a comic strip that you can’t HELP but write a song about it? Well, if you were a funnies enthusiast in 1960, you could end up topping the charts. Yes, that’s right…”Alley Oop” by The Hollywood Argyles, who were BARELY even a real band, hit #1 on the Hot 100. How did this happen? And WHY did this happen? Secure your loincloths, because we’re going to try to make se...

It's time to get the final showdown songs!!! Voting starts tomorrow on the One Hit Thunder on the Facebook Page One Hit Thunder is brought to you by DistroKid, the ultimate partner for taking your music to the next level. Our listeners get 30% off your first YEAR with DistroKid by signing up at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://distrokid.com/vip/onehitthunder⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Buy some Merch⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

In the summer of 2009, La Roux released “Bulletproof,” an irresistible pop gem that combined a synth-heavy 80s sound with an instantly memorable chorus. The English duo’s androgynous vocalist Elly Jackson also provided a visual aesthetic that stood out from the crowd, and the single could be heard everywhere from dance clubs to public pools. With a hit song and soon a Grammy in hand, La Roux seeme...

It's Final 4 Time! Matt shares the results from Round 3 with Chris after his tour! Voting starts tomorrow on the One Hit Thunder on the Facebook Page One Hit Thunder is brought to you by DistroKid, the ultimate partner for taking your music to the next level. Our listeners get 30% off your first YEAR with DistroKid by signing up at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://distrokid.com/vip/onehitthunder⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bu...

When Deee-Lite dropped “Groove Is In the Heart” in 1990, it was simultaneously a throwback to the style and vibes of the late 60s while futuristic in its sound and worldview. A product of an open-minded New York City club scene, the group just oozed fun and positivity, and you couldn’t escape the unforgettable green-screened music video that featured Bootsy Collins, bodysuits, platform shoes, and...

It's Elite 8 Time! Matt shares the results from Round 2 with a rotating door of guests from the Punchline Green Room before their Philly show last night! One Hit Thunder is brought to you by DistroKid, the ultimate partner for taking your music to the next level. Our listeners get 30% off your first YEAR with DistroKid by signing up at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://distrokid.com/vip/onehitthunder⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠B...

When you think of disco, a lot of names come to mind: Donna Summer, Gloria Gaynor, Bee Gees, Chic. The name Yvonne Elliman, however, might not be one you’ve even heard…but you’ve certainly heard her biggest hit. “If I Can’t Have You” hit #1 on the Hot 100 in May of 1978, and it was part of a parade of hits from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. Though the song was originally intended to be anot...

Down to the Sweet 16! Matt shares the results from Round 1 with the guys from Punchline, and he gets their live reactions to them while they ride in the van.  One Hit Thunder is brought to you by DistroKid, the ultimate partner for taking your music to the next level. Our listeners get 30% off your first YEAR with DistroKid by signing up at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://distrokid.com/vip/onehitthunder⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

2015 was a blissfully oblivious moment in America, when the future hadn’t yet caught up to us and all we wanted to do was dance, party, and eat dessert in the sand. It makes sense, then, that DNCE’s hit “Cake By the Ocean” would become a massive success, with its funky grooves and sugary melodies. Fronted by a shoeless Joe Jonas, the song was born from a hilariously mistranslated drink order and w...

Chris and Matt introduce the brackets for this year’s One Hit Thunder March Madness tournament, where various singles from 1996 will all compete to try to take the crown! Listeners will determine who advances, and YOU can make your voice heard by voting in the One Hit Thunder Facebook group. One Hit Thunder is brought to you by DistroKid, the ultimate partner for taking your music to the next leve...

In 1985, MTV was in the thick of the rock revolution. You couldn’t turn on the channel without seeing guys with big hair and loud guitars playing to sexy, scantily clad women, and Y&T’s “Summertime Girls” was no exception. This long-running Bay Area band was well respected in the world of hard rock and had amassed legions of fans around the globe, yet they remained somewhat under the radar in the...

2013 marked the peak of “Stomp Clap Hey” music, a wave of indie anthems built on folksy instruments, group choruses, and irresistible stomping and clapping. Right in the thick of it was Of Monsters and Men, whose Top 20 single “Little Talks” became instantly recognizable from its opening horn melody alone. The Icelandic band quickly found themselves everywhere, being featured in commercials, woven...

This was originally recorded for the One Hit Thunder Patreon where Matt tasked Chris to build a Punchline Essentials album. The rules were every album needed to be represented but no songs off the newest album Somewhere to Land. Join our Patreon for more bonus conversations like this one Go see Punchline during their tour Feb 24th until March 15th! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone...

In 1987, an up-and-coming film director named Spike Lee was working on his first major film after achieving success in the indie world. School Daze was based on Spike’s own college experiences, and he needed the ultimate party jam for the soundtrack. He commissioned D.C.’s favorite go-go funk band, E.U., to record “Da’ Butt,” and the world was never the same. The song sounds like a party because i...

In today’s bonus episode, Chris and Matt give their thoughts and opinions on Bad Bunny’s halftime performance at Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. They also dive into Green Day, Charlie Puth, Coco Jones, Brandi Carlile,  the cultural conversation, the commercials, and of course, the game itself! One Hit Thunder is brought to you by DistroKid, the ultimate partner for taki...

This week, Chris and Matt are joined by their friend Moose to revisit Steriogram’s 2004 breakout hit, “Walkie Talkie Man.” They dig into the band’s mix of punk and rap that KINDA works (depending on who you ask), as well as their unforgettable Michel Gondry-directed music video. In the end, they seems to be yet another victim of the cruel and unforgiving world of major labels, but should you dig u...

Immediately following the Grammys on Sunday, February 1st, 2026, Chris and Matt recap the night and give their reactions on what was a big night for Bad Bunny, Kendrick Lamar, Billie Eilish, Olivia Dean, Lola Young, and many more. One Hit Thunder is brought to you by DistroKid, the ultimate partner for taking your music to the next level. Our listeners get 30% off your first YEAR with DistroKid by...

The DREAM TEAM is back! One Hit Thunder hosts Chris Fafalios and Matt Kelly are joined once again by draft regulars Matthew Milligan and Tony Hartman, this time to each try to get the very best collection of records from the STACKED year of 1996. Each drafter starts with 100 theoretical dollars, and they’ll try to outbid each other on albums like Pinkerton, Evil Empire, Tidal, The Score, Odelay, a...

From Chris DeMakes A Podcast (originally released as Episode 265 on 7/7/25)... On this episode, Tracy Bonham sits in to break down her explosive 1996 single "Mother Mother." From her early days as a classical violinist to the raw vocal power that defined her biggest hit, Tracy shares how the song evolved both lyrically and emotionally. She opens up about the recording of her debut album, navigatin...

Not to toot our own horn, but this is our 300th episode of One Hit Thunder, so we HAD to focus on a song about tooting your own horn. It’s unclear if anyone has ever actually referred to masturbating as “tooting their own horn”, but that’s not the point here. The point IS that in 1991, you could be riding in the car with your grandparents and hear “I Touch Myself”, an ode to self-pleasure from Aus...

From Chris DeMakes A Podcast (originally released as Episode 266 on 7/14/25)... In this episode, Chris is joined by Fred LeBlanc, the high-energy frontman and drummer of Cowboy Mouth, to break down the story behind their signature song “Jenny Says.” Originally written during Fred’s stint in Dash Rip Rock, the song went through several incarnations before becoming a crowd-commanding anthem and a st...

2025 is in the books, and now it’s time to RANK the last 50 songs that were featured on the show. This time, Chris and Matt are joined by CLASSIC One Hit Thunder guests Matt DiStefano, Johnny Yetsconish, and Jim Logrando to put the songs in order from worst to best. What will come out on top? Tune in to find out! One Hit Thunder is brought to you by DistroKid, the ultimate partner for taking your...