one-hit wonder - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

• one hit wonder

one-hit wonder (plural one-hit wonders)

1. (idiomatic) A recording artist known for only one hit song, especially after failing at subsequent attempts at success.

   Coordinate terms: no-hit wonder, two-hit wonder

   • 2003 September 21, Jon Caramanica, “Music: When Rap Sounds Anything but Urban”, in New York Times, retrieved 3 Aug. 2009:

     Eleven years ago, Arrested Development became one of Southern hip-hop's first crossover successes with “Tennessee,” a wistful, bohemian-influenced song about the scars of history. But the group was a one-hit wonder.

2. (idiomatic, by extension) A person or group known for achieving only a single major accomplishment.

   • 1990 February 19, S. C. Gwynne, “Two Sides of a Giant”, in Time:

     The European company is no one-hit wonder. The company has another best seller in its J-class car, sold as a Vauxhall Cavalier.

3. (slang, marijuana subculture) An instance of achieving a high from the first hit.

• The first sense sometimes refers to the song, rather than the musical artist.

• one-trick pony