3 One-Hit Wonders From the 1990s That Just Make You Feel Good

Perhaps more than any other decade, the 1990s saw the creation of music that wanted to make you feel something. It wasn’t just an onslaught of rock. It was a cornucopia of sounds that wanted to treat your music-loving soul like a pin cushion or a voodoo doll. Each song is like a new pin to make some other part of you feel awake or doubled over in agony.

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But here we wanted to dive into three songs from the era that simply made you want to feel good. Three tracks that had no other motive than to put a smile on your face, pep in your step, and some sunshine in your afternoon. Indeed, these are three one-hit wonders from the 90s that just make you feel good.

“I’m Too Sexy” by Right Said Fred from ‘Up’ (1991)

There is almost no reason to even write words about this song in this context. It’s obvious. While the lyrics are spoken in the first person, the listener takes them on as if they are the lead singer. And so the song pumps you up. By the end of it, you’re gleaming. Ready to take on any beach or runway. You are the sexiest person in the world. The song, which hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, told you so. Believe it.

“No Rain” by Blind Melon from ‘Blind Melon’ (1993)

While on the face of it, this song can be interpreted as sad or melancholy, there is just something so uplifting about it. Why? Well, it offers commiseration—almost a sense of friendship, which is always good. But the music is not dour. While the vibe of the track, which hit No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100, offers a bit of a sense of reclusiveness, the music—that sublime guitar lead lick—is the kind of thing that makes you remember joy cuts through sadness more often than not. That’s worthy of a grin, to be sure.

“You Get What You Give” by New Radicals from ‘Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed Too’ (1998)

This track, which broke through and hit No. 36 on the Billboard Hot 100, was a vibe. An uplifting, modern but still easy listening offering that you can sing along to, “You Get What You Give” was like Alka-Seltzer. An effervescent, medicinal tablet to take whenever you needed your spirit to rise up and feel that much better. The 1990s had all kinds of songs, but they definitely had those that wanted to make you feel joy when it got hard out there.

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