The Top 40 one-hit wonders of the decade

Landing a song in the Top 40 on the Official Singles Chart is no mean feat, particularly as the continued overall growth of the music market in recent years has significantly upped the units needed to enter the top flight.

There's no obvious recipe for cooking up a Top 40 single; some acts are backed by major label marketing budgets or ride the wave of the latest trend, while others may have a highly dedicated following or find themselves in the middle of a viral storm thanks to YouTube or TikTok.

MORE: The UK's Official Top 100 biggest songs of the decade

The last decade has thrown up many one-off hits for artists who scored one Top 40 song and didn't return to the upper reaches of the Official Singles Chart again. The most successful of the 2010s appear at the bottom of the page; many are by acts who have gone on to have continued success on the Official Albums Chart or as touring artists, while a handful have since faded into obscurity.  

The biggest 'one-hit wonder' of the decade goes to Let Her Go by Passenger. The Brighton-born musician released the gentle folk-rock track in 2012 as the second single from his fourth album All The Little Lights. It turned out to be a surprise grower, taking almost a full year to reach its chart peak of Number 2 in the UK. The track introduced the little-known singer-songwriter to a wider audience, and he's since scored five Top 10 albums, including 2016's chart-topping Young As The Morning, Old As The Sea. View Passenger's full Official Chart history.

Lukas Graham pick up their Official Number 1 Award for 7 Years. Speaking to OfficialCharts.com, frontman Lukas said: “We’re surprised, ecstatic, vibrant and exultant about the success of 7 years! It’s very satisfying when you see your song at the top of the top of the charts." Read our full interview with the group here.

Other big one-off hits of the 2010s include 7 Years by Danish band Lukas Graham, a five-week Number 1 in 2015, and Somebody That I Used To Know by Belgian-Australian singer Gotye. The track's minimalist art-pop sound initially found success online as the antidote to the slew of dance-pop out at the time, and went on to become the UK's biggest song of 2011, logging five weeks at Number 1. 

In 2013 Canadian band Magic topped the Official Singles Chart with their reggae-pop debut song Rude, and as yet haven't managed to recreate the, well, magic again, and in 2014, French folk-pop duo Lilly Wood & The Prick found themselves with a surprise smash with Prayer In C thanks to a remix from German producer Robin Schulz, topping the chart for two weeks. 

Elsewhere, country music superstars Lady Antebellum feature with their only song to make the Top 40 in the UK, 2010's Need You Now, and comedian Big Shaq features with his Top 3 (and only) hit novelty song Man's Not Hot from 2017.

Below are the Top 40 biggest one-hit wonder releases of the 2010s, based on sales and streams compiled by the Official Charts Company. 

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