Out Of Their Skin

I'd like to focus today on some musicians who made it big with their first hit. Really big. In fact, so big that they could never recapture that early greatness and fizzled out into oblivion after that. Now, I'm not talking about one-hit wonders. I'm talking about artistes who made such an impact, with such a unique, world-changing song that whatever they did after that, they could never quite hit that level of success again. There's a difference there.

I'm talking about groups like Aqua, who after their super-unique 'Barbie Girl' hit, could never top that ever again. There was just no way that they (or anyone else, for that matter) could ever produce a hit to rival that. No-one could have ever replicated that Barbie girl voice, in the first place. And how about Baltimora with that jungle-shaking 'Tarzan Boy' song, way back in 1985? Baltimora frontman Jimmy McShane actually contracted Aids after his singing career and sadly passed away in 1995 at the age of just 37. And what about Depeche Mode-sounding Camouflage, and their retro-dance hit 'The Great Commandment'? Inimitable, and sadly, never to be repeated.

Other examples I can think of include The Beloved's ultra-sensuous 1993 song 'Sweet Harmony'. Now, that, Ladies & Gentlemen, must be the best song to have sex to. If you haven't heard it before, I suggest you take a listen to it. JOY's contagious dance-smash 'Touch By Touch' rocked the air-waves back in the eighties, but rather unsurprisingly, turned out to be their last foray as well. And how about female duo Shampoo's ground-breaking 'Trouble' sometime in 1994? Totally unique & catchy. And totally in trouble. Suffice to say, we never heard from them again. Eiffel 65's 'Blue (Da Ba Dee)' which powered into discos all around the world? Los Del Rio's worldwide sensation 'Macarena'? Bloodhound Gang's superb, controversial hit 'The Bad Touch' (a song that I personally like very much, it's so catchy)? You got the idea now? Songs that were too good to be true, and sadly, it turned out as such. The artistes who sang these songs could never have topped them, no matter what they did.

In more recent times, there have been Metro Station's hip-wiggler 'Shake It' (a song that fits this category to a Tee), Owl City's No. 1 hit 'Fireflies' (now how the hell do you replicate a song like that??) and Kevin Rudolf's sensational 'I Made It' (this was my favourite song at that time, what a chorus, you're just not gonna top this) and rapper Olly Murs's 2011 chart-finder 'Heart Skips A Beat' (I love this song as well). I've also just remembered Jon Secada's 1992 No. 1 hit 'Just Another Day' which thrilled the air-waves in Singapore. That was a powerful number, but ultimately, too powerful for his own good. Yes, I know he did have 'Angel' but that was about it.

Now, there are some artistes who somehow managed to conquer this "too good to be true" syndrome, and some went on to become gigantic successes in the world of pop music. Shows what 'sustaining power' can do, yah? How about Duran Duran, the Fab Five-some who took off into the nanosphere after their unique 1984 sizzler 'The Reflex'. Did anyone on this planet ever hear a song like that back then? No way. Damn, it sounds revolutionary even now, baby; that's how advanced Simon Le Bon and gang were, back then. And how about Erasure's 1984 classic 'A Little Respect'? Hey, they could have floundered way back then, too. And Pet Shop Boys might never have become the worldwide success they are now if they hadn't sustained their rhythm (literally) after their anthemic hit 'It's A Sin'. And it wouldn't be too much a stretch of the imagination to say that Swedish pop duo Roxette might have fizzeld out after their first big hit 'The Look', which catapulted them into stardom through heavy attention from the USA and Europe. And don't forget Alphaville, the German synthpop outfit which in my view, defied destiny twice; first with 'Sounds Like A Melody' and then 'Forever Young'; two of the most unique songs you will hear in any era. 'Forever Young', by the way, remains to this day the song I think has the greatest melody in the history of world music.

But the greatest group to break this spell is in my view, none other than Norwegian trio a-ha. Blazing onto the scene in 1985 with 'Take On Me', they became famous almost instantly. But how the hell do you top a song like 'Take On Me'? Against all odds, a-ha went on to achieve solid success worldwide with a string of acclaimed hits, such as 'I've Been Losing You', 'Stay On These Roads' and 'Birthright'. As a testament to their longevity, a-ha played to the biggest-ever crowd in the world, an audience of 198,000 at Brazil's Maracana stadium for the Rock in Rio II festival in 1991. It set a Guinness World Record for paying audiences - a record, I believe, that stands till this day (and likely will never be topped). It just shows that if you work hard enough and believe in yourself, you can indeed overcome this 'too good to be true' syndrome.