One-Album Wonders

These stars had trouble duplicating this breakout success.

One-Album Wonders - Some folks are one-hit wonders—others at least get a whole album to break through with. The following acts, released one hit album that overshadowed their whole career; they'd never again reach the same heights of success. But hey—most folks are no-album wonders. (Photos from left: Michel Linssen/Redferns, Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The United Republic of Tanzania, Michael Putland/Getty Images)

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One-Album Wonders - Some folks are one-hit wonders—others at least get a whole album to break through with. The following acts, released one hit album that overshadowed their whole career; they'd never again reach the same heights of success. But hey—most folks are no-album wonders. (Photos from left: Michel Linssen/Redferns, Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The United Republic of Tanzania, Michael Putland/Getty Images)

Adina Howard, Do You Wanna Ride? - Adina Howard arrived on the music scene with her debut album, Do You Wanna Ride? The offering, in addition to its overtly suggestive cover, also included the single "Freak Like Me."(Photo: East West Records)

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Adina Howard - Adina Howard's 1995 debut, Do You Wanna Ride?, went platinum off the strength of the hit single "Freak Like Me," but her second album was shelved by her record label, Elektra. She didn't re-emerge officially until 2004, with an indie release, The Second Coming. (Photo: East West Records)

Kris Krossing the Nation - Kris Kross' debut album Totally Krossed Out was produced by Dupri. Released in 1992, the album went on to sell 4 million copies in the United States.   (Photo: Columbia Records)

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Kris Kross - Jermaine Dupri's backwards-clothes-wearing teen-rap discovery Kris Kross went quadruple platinum with Totally Krossed Out after their hit single "Jump" topped the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks. They went platinum and gold with their next two albums, respectively—but hey, it was the nineties.(Photo: Columbia Records)

Montell Jordan - Montell Jordan's debut single, the ubiquitous "This Is How We Do It," hit No. 1 in 1995—a feat not duplicated by a male until Chris Brown emerged 10 years later. The single drove his album of the same name to platinum sales. He released albums throughout the rest of the '90s and early 2000s, but no one noticed. (Photo: Def Jam Recording)

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Montell Jordan - Montell Jordan's debut single, the ubiquitous "This Is How We Do It," hit No. 1 in 1995—a feat not duplicated by a male until Chris Brown emerged 10 years later. The single drove his album of the same name to platinum sales. He released albums throughout the rest of the '90s and early 2000s, but no one noticed. (Photo: Def Jam Recording)

Arrested Development - The stage was set for Arrested Development's multi-platinum-selling 1992 album, 3 Years, 5 Months & 2 Days in the Life Of..., a few years earlier with De La's sonically experimental and lyrically progressive debut. (Photo: Cutting Edge Records)

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Arrested Development - Afrocentric rap collective Arrested Development owned 1992—their debut album, 3 Years, 5 Months & 2 Days in the Life Of... went quadruple-platinum and helped them win two Grammys, including Best New Artist. Their second studio set failed to even go gold two years later.(Photo: Cutting Edge Records)

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O.C. - Critics hailed Brooklyn rapper O.C.'s debut album Word...Life as a near classic when it dropped partly thanks to timeless single "Time's Up." O.C. kept at it for years after with his DITC crew, but he's never again attained that level of acclaim.(Photo: Wild Pitch Records)

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O.C. - Critics hailed Brooklyn rapper O.C.'s debut album Word...Life as a near classic when it dropped partly thanks to timeless single "Time's Up." O.C. kept at it for years after with his DITC crew, but he's never again attained that level of acclaim.(Photo: Wild Pitch Records)

Camp Lo - Camp Lo's 1997 debut album featured the timeless "Luchini aka This Is It" and banging beats from Ski—the same man who helped make Jay's Reasonable Doubt a classic the year before. They wouldn't release another album for five years. (Photo: Arista Records)

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Camp Lo - Camp Lo's 1997 debut album featured the timeless "Luchini aka This Is It" and banging beats from Ski—the same man who helped make Jay's Reasonable Doubt a classic the year before. They wouldn't release another album for five years. (Photo: Arista Records)

Photo By Photo: Arista Records

Milli Vanilli - Milli Vanilli's 1990 debut Girl You Know It's True topped the charts and earned the duo a Grammy for Best New Artist—until the L.A. Times revealed that the pair hadn't actually sung any of the album's hits.(Photo: Ariola Express)

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Milli Vanilli - Milli Vanilli's 1990 debut Girl You Know It's True topped the charts and earned the duo a Grammy for Best New Artist—until the L.A. Times revealed that the pair hadn't actually sung any of the album's hits.(Photo: Ariola Express)

Lauryn Hill –The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998) - At a time when Black music was expressing an overwhelming fascination with wealth, materialism and male bravado, Lauryn Hill dropped this phenomenon of an LP. Blending the sounds of R&B, neo-soul, hip hop, reggae and jazz, Miseducation unleashed hits like "Doo Wop (That Thing)" and "Everything Is Everything." Lauryn's accoustic approach to R&B and hip hop helped open the door for neo-soul stars like Alicia Keys and India.Arie.     (Photo: Columbia Records)

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Lauryn Hill - Lauryn Hill's solo debut, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, was an earth-shaker, selling 19 million copies and netting her five Grammys. Between multiple kids and apparent emotional problems, she never came close to that kind of success again, and has only released a single live album since.(Photo: Columbia Records)

Fugees, The Score - No Fugees fan hasn’t dreamed of a reunion of the East Coast trio. But, it's probably not going to happen at this point. And even if it did, crafting a sequel to their classic 1996 release, The Score, inevitably wouldn’t hit the mark. Though it came far too soon, this was an epic send off. (Photo: Courtesy of Columbia Records)

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The Fugees - No one paid any attention to The Fugees' first album, but their second, 1996's The Score, sold six million copies in the U.S. and made them (well, maybe not Pras) superstars. They broke up around a year later. (Photo: Columbia Records)