TikTok is testing a new feature that allows users to limit the amount of AI-generated content they see in their FYP feeds.
Users will soon be able to head over to the "manage topics" page in their settings and use a sliding bar to choose to see fewer AI-generated videos. The feature, set to roll out in the coming weeks, reduces rather than eliminates AI content. It also does not impact videos on content pages other than the FYP within TikTok, like the "following" feed.
For people who love AI videos and aren't getting enough of them on other dedicated AI apps like OpenAI's Sora or Meta's Vibes, they can also turn up the dial to boost the amount of AI they see on their TikTok FYP.
AI-generated content has become increasingly common on social apps like TikTok and YouTube, as it has become much easier for users to create videos using text prompts via tools like Google's Veo 3. About a third (35%) of US consumers said they engage with generative AI tools in social media and messaging apps, according to a June survey from Deloitte.
Some creators and social marketers are turning to the tech to streamline the process of creating, editing, and revising videos. Major brands, such as Coca-Cola, are also integrating AI into their advertising campaigns.
But some users are souring on AI content and looking for alternatives. A new video startup called DiVine is launching this week with the goal of focusing on human content rather than AI-created videos.
The task of eliminating AI-generated videos from the feed may become trickier as AI tools get more sophisticated.
While TikTok requires creators to disclose when a video contains realistic-looking AI content, some users upload their AI-generated videos without disclosure. TikTok said it's testing a new "invisible watermarking" feature that appears in a video's metadata to reduce instances where a video evades detection.
In comments filed with a California regulator and published on Monday, Tesla pushed back against a proposal backed by Waymo that could require Musk's company to disclose more data about its ride-hailing service.
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is drafting new rules governing robotaxi passenger services and has invited companies — including Tesla, Uber, and Waymo — to comment.
All three companies are racing to deploy autonomous vehicles in California, but are taking very different approaches.
The EV giant lacks the necessary permits to offer fully driverless rides in California, however, so its Bay Area vehicles have safety drivers who monitor Tesla's assisted driving system, called Full Self-Driving. Tesla also has human safety drivers sitting in the passenger seat for its Austin service.
Waymo, by contrast, offers fully driverless ride-hailing in San Francisco and Los Angeles, while Uber is planning to launch a robotaxi service with autonomous vehicle companies Nuro and Lucid in the city next year.
In its filing, Tesla disputed Waymo's suggestion that operators who offer ride-hailing services with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) — which can handle some actions autonomously but require human supervision — should be required to submit quarterly reports detailing the number of miles traveled, passenger trip time, and information about collisions and other incidents.
Under current regulations, Tesla's ride-hailing service in California does not have to report this information, while robotaxi operators like Waymo do.
Tesla argued that vehicles equipped with driver-assist technology, such as its Full Self-Driving system, are "wholly distinct" from autonomous vehicles because they require human supervision, and that requiring additional reporting would overwhelm the regulator with data and confuse consumers.
Separately, Tesla hit back at comments filed by Uber with the regulator in October. The ride-hailer argued that the regulator should ensure that ADAS-equipped vehicles are not marketed as fully autonomous and avoid "misleading" phrases such as "self-driving" or "robotaxis."
In a follow-up filing published on Monday, Uber said that the regulator should not extend its autonomous vehicle rules to vehicles with driver-assist systems, arguing it would conflate different technologies and cause confusion.
An Uber spokesperson told Business Insider that the company's original comments emphasized that California's Department of Motor Vehicles should be responsible for determining what is and isn't an autonomous vehicle.
Tesla, Waymo, and the CPUC did not respond to a request for comment.
Robotaxi race heats up
Tesla has faced criticism in the past over its marketing of Full Self-Driving, with lawsuits accusing the manufacturer of misleading customers by portraying the system as fully autonomous.
The company's rollout of a ride-hailing service in San Francisco also sparked confusion. Musk has previously referred to Tesla's service in California as "self-driving" and "autonomous," and Reuters reported that regulators reached out to Tesla to clarify that it would not be a "robotaxi" service like the one the company operates in Austin.
Tesla argued that Uber's suggested tweaks were unnecessary, as misleading advertisements were covered by the existing rules. In a separate filing published on Monday, Waymo said there was "no reason" that existing regulations shouldn't be extended to ride-hailing services that use driver-assist systems like FSD.
Both Waymo and Uber have agreed in previous filings submitted this year that ride-hailers should be allowed to offer vehicles with driver-assist systems under the new rules, and Waymo joined Tesla in recommending that CPUC loosen rules barring unaccompanied minors from riding in driverless cars.
It comes as Tesla races to hit Musk's ambitious goals for its robotaxi rollout.
The billionaire has said that Tesla plans to have its robotaxi service up and running in eight to 10 metropolitan areas by the end of the year. On Tuesday, the automaker received the green light to launch a ride-hailing service in Arizona.
Prop-trading firms like Tower Research reaped a windfall from pandemic-era volatility and have been in expansion mode since.
ANGELA WEISS / AFP
Tower Research has been using a twist on the hedge-fund SMA to recruit top quants.
The firm first started signing external traders to "Software Vendor Agreements," or SVAs, in 2017.
Profit-sharing, IP control, and access to Tower tech and resources are key components of the deals.
Tower Research Capital, one of the biggest names in quantitative trading, has quietly become a player in one of Wall Street's hottest talent races — backing external traders.
In the battle to attract top investment talent, hedge funds such as Millennium, Qube, and Schonfeld have increasingly pitched a tantalizing setup to prized candidates: Rather than joining another in-house investing or trading team, they can set up a separate vehicle to run the firm's capital under their own banner.
These arrangements, often structured as "separately managed accounts," or SMAs, have become a shortcut for launching a fund — without the burden of raising money or building infrastructure from scratch. Assets in SMA-style strategies at multistrategy hedge funds rose 27% last year to $315 billion, according to Goldman Sachs, more than double the 2019 level.
But hedge funds aren't the only ones cutting deals with independent portfolio managers.
New York-based Tower, founded in 1998 by former Credit Suisse trader Mark Gorton, began experimenting with a twist on the SMA years before the recent frenzy, and the practice has gained traction at the firm in recent years, Business Insider has learned.
Instead of an SMA, Tower offers select recruiting targets what it calls a "Software Vendor Agreement," or SVA, to quants that might otherwise set up their own trading firms. The deals vary by team, but the basic contours are the same, people familiar with the contracts said: External teams keep control of their intellectual property and brand while using Tower's technology, connections, and capital — and sharing any profits they generate.
Tower's embrace of external trading teams underscores how the line between hedge funds — which invest on behalf of clients — and prop-trading firms — which trade their own money — is increasingly blurring.
Tower isn't the only prop trading firm to have backed external quant PMs, according to several prop-trading insiders, but it is among the largest and most prolific. The firm signed its first external manager in 2017, according to people familiar with the matter, and Tower now works with more than 10 external trading teams under SVAs, one of the people said.
One recent example is Pierre Laffitte, a former Jump Trading quant who launched his London-based firm LQT Technologies last year under a Tower SVA, according to people familiar with the deal. (Laffitte did not respond to requests for comment.)
A Tower spokesperson declined to comment.
Hedge funds and prop trading firms converge
Top prop firms like Jane Street, Citadel Securities, and Hudson River Trading rose to prominence in the 2010s for their high-frequency trading and affinity for secrecy. But many firms reaped a windfall from pandemic-era volatility and have been in expansion mode since, edging into medium-frequency quant strategies long considered the dominion of hedge funds.
Those efforts have paid off: prop firms have notched record profits in 2025 amid renewed market turbulence.
At Tower, which has over 1,100 employees and 12 offices around the world, mid-frequency trading now accounts for 25% to 30% of the business and is growing, one person with knowledge of the matter said.
Tower has also gone further than its peers in crossing into hedge fund territory. The firm is preparing to launch Tower Research Asset Management, its first vehicle for outside investor capital, the Financial Times reported. The launch could come in 2026.
Internally, Tower already operates more like a multistrategy hedge fund than most of its peers, with distinct trading teams — including Latour Trading or Limestone — responsible for their own PNL.
Plug-and-play for quants
The upshot of a plug-and-play deal with Tower for a quant trader or researcher is straightforward. With Tower's capital and resources, including access to exchanges across the world, they can accelerate their timeline to turning a profit and potentially amplify their earnings.
One industry expert familiar with the arrangements, who asked to remain anonymous to protect business relationships, said even fairly simplistic quant strategies can cost tens of millions to get up and running, not to mention all the other aspects of building a company unrelated to developing profitable trading strategies.
An external agreement like an SVA allows the PM to maintain some operational independence and IP ownership but also to "de-risk by having all of the structural elements of the company set up for you day one so you can put your head down and focus on alpha generation."
The setup mirrors many of the benefits of an SMA, but the structures differ in key ways.
Prop firms face different regulatory oversight since they do not manage funds on behalf of clients. In an SMA, a PM is typically managing assets as an investment adviser and has a fiduciary responsibility to the client.
An SVA, by contrast, is a commercial technology or services deal. The external quant team licenses trading algorithms or strategies to Tower, people familiar with the structures said, which implements them with its own capital and shares a cut of the profits. Regulatory requirements can vary based on market jurisdiction and the assets being traded.
A quant team on an SVA doesn't necessarily trade Tower's money exclusively, but some do, a person familiar said.
For Tower, the SVA has become a helpful tool to lure more established quants who may already have IP or even profitable trading strategies, people close to the firm said.
In addition to LQT Technologies — which had 10 employees and planned to start trading in September, according to a LinkedIn post by Laffitte — other Tower-linked teams include:
Ansatz Capital, founded by Albert Shieh, Charles Chen, Hyun Soo Kim, and Shiyang Cao.
Differential Research, run by John Williams and Martin Thanh Pham Vu.
EquiLibre Technologies, based in Prague and led by Martin Schmid, Matej Moravcik, and Rudolf Kadlec.
"It's a mechanism to bring in people they otherwise wouldn't have access to hire," one person close to the firm said.
Though Texas has eventually begun to feel like home, I still miss so many of our friends and family in Canada.
Kathryn MacDonell
Nearly 20 years ago, we left Canada and moved to Texas because my husband had a work opportunity.
Moving wasn't easy, and it was hard to adjust at first, though I mostly enjoyed the warm weather.
Texas has been home for many years now, but we still miss our big family in Canada.
Nineteen years ago, on a freezing January night, my husband proposed we move to Dallas for a work opportunity.
I jumped at the offer, eager for a new life in a warm climate. After all, we'd been living in Alberta, Canada, for 50 years, and I've always hated the cold.
So, we got ready to move south with our 13-year-old daughter and a big dog. At the same time, our oldest child went east to a Canadian university, over 1,700 miles from Dallas.
As we sold, donated, and packed most of our possessions, our family grew eager for new beginnings. We didn't fully understand what or who we were leaving behind.
We celebrated Canada Day on July 1, and on July 4, 2006, we moved to Texas.
Moving and stepping into a new life has come with many challenges
I enjoy the Dallas heat, even though it made our move tricky.
George Dodd/Getty Images
The summer heat made our move even more challenging, as we had most of our belongings transported from Canada to Texas in a large container.
We chose not to upgrade to a climate-controlled storage unit because it was quite expensive. So, I spent hours worrying about my artwork melting in Dallas' triple-digit temperatures.
Thankfully, that didn't happen. However, the heat also meant it was too dangerous to transport our dog in a crate by plane.
We checked temperatures every day in both Calgary and Dallas until conditions were safe enough for her to fly to the US. It took about three months for us to be reunited.
The early days of living in Texas weren't easy. We'd built up a community and network of go-to places and pros in Canada, but here, we were starting from scratch.
We had so much to figure out, from finding a good dry cleaner and a reliable local bakery to sourcing medical providers who'd take our new insurance.
Navigating US healthcare has been a challenge, especially coming from Canada's taxpayer-funded universal system. We had to get used to dealing with a privatized system and more out-of-pocket expenses.
Our youngest daughter also had a hard time adjusting after the move. Even though she was able to keep up her grades, she missed her friends and big sister. Plus, being a teenager is tough no matter where you are.
We all eventually made friends — our daughter through orchestra and school, us through local book clubs and our neighborhood wine group — but we still miss our big family of cousins and our community in Canada.
Our relationships with loved ones have changed, and it's been hard to miss special occasions. When you live far away, births, funerals, and weddings don't feel the same, even with the best technology.
These days, we mostly use our vacation time and travel budget to go back and visit family.
As expats, there's a lot of living in-between and not belonging anywhere. We get the best of both worlds by being a curious outsider in a new country, and the worst by missing our original one.
All in all, moving to the US has shifted the course of our lives and my perspective
Our lives would look so different if we'd never moved from Canada to Texas.
Kathryn MacDonell
Fortunately, moving to the US has come with advantages. For one, we've all had great work opportunities.
My husband expanded his client base, and I started a decade of work in healthcare in Texas. Our daughter developed an interest in US presidential campaigns, which shaped her educational path and helped her build a career in public affairs.
We love the vibrant offerings of Dallas, from the hot weather and many wonderful pool days that come with it to neighborhood gatherings over delicious Tex-Mex cuisine and local educational dance programs.
Our older daughter even fell in love with a Texan boy and married him. We now have two American granddaughters with dual citizenship.
Ultimately, moving has helped me love the world more deeply and expand my concern for humanity.
Living in Texas has awakened and challenged my values about civil rights, education, healthcare, and gun control — things I took for granted and didn't think much about when we lived in Canada.
It turns out that you can leave a home you love, and create another one wherever you are. It takes time, it won't be the same, but it's worth it to discover what really matters.
The New York Democrat sounded the alarm about the issue at a House hearing on AI chatbots on Tuesday, wading into a debate that's been raging in the tech world for months.
Pointing to the fact that AI companies like Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Meta have been driving a disproportionate amount of growth in the stock market and the economy, Ocasio-Cortez said that "the exposure of this industry and this investment, I fear, has reached broad levels, potentially, of the American economy."
"We're talking about a massive economic bubble," Ocasio-Cortez said. "Depending on the exposure of that bubble, we could see 2008-style threats to economic stability."
She also said that if such a bubble were to pop at some point in the future, there should be no federal bailout of AI companies.
"We should not entertain a bailout of these corporations, as healthcare is being denied to everyday Americans, as SNAP and food assistance is being denied to everyday Americans, precipitating some of the very mental crises that people are turning to AI chatbots to try to resolve in themselves," she said.
It comes after OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar suggested that a federal "backstop" may be needed to support the company as it embarks on an infrastructure buildout. She later walked back those comments, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said that the company isn't seeking any guarantees from the government.
Ocasio-Cortez is one of the first members of Congress to publicly weigh in on whether there's an AI bubble.
Fears of an AI bubble are generally driven by circular spending in the tech industry, along with questions about whether Big Tech's increasing levels of spending on AI infrastructure will ultimately be offset by eventual profits. Others have pushed back on the idea that we're in a bubble, pointing to high demand for AI products and compute. Wall Street will be looking for any signs of industry weakness when leading AI chipmaker Nvidia reports earnings on Wednesday after the closing bell.
Ocasio-Cortez said on Tuesday that the pressure to generate profit is driving companies to develop exploitative AI chatbots.
"People's deepest fears, secrets, emotional content, relationships can all be mined for this empty promise that we're getting from these companies to turn a profit," Ocasio-Cortez said.
Three professional perfumers shared tips for how to find your signature scent.
Sorbis/Shutterstock
Three perfume industry professionals shared their best tips for finding a signature scent.
They recommended training your nose to learn what types of scents you gravitate toward.
It's important to test fragrances on both paper and skin, they said.
Earlier this year, the Business of Fashion reported fragrance was among the fastest-growing sectors of the beauty industry in 2024, despite being one of the smallest.
There are many online recommendations and tempting new launches available, but it can be difficult to decide which fragrance to purchase and really make your own.
So, Business Insider asked fragrance brand founders and developers for their best advice on finding your perfect signature scent.
Train your nose
Before entering any fragrance shop, it's important to train your nose and determine what scents you naturally gravitate toward, Brianna Arps, founder, CEO, and designer at Moodeaux, told BI.
Note the fragrance categories you enjoy — like gourmands, florals, or citrus — then narrow it down to specific notes, like line items in a recipe, Arps said.
"As you become more familiar with what certain things smell like, you're able to quickly weed out things that wouldn't work for you," she added.
Understand the feeling and intention behind your scent
Scent tells stories through layers of notes, Carlos Huber, a fragrance developer and founder of Arquiste Parfumeur, told BI.
He said it's important that people ask themselves how a scent makes them feel and where it takes them. For example, certain notes can make you feel energized or relaxed when wearing them.
"We associate our life experiences with the stuff we put on us, whether it's fashion or a perfume. Figure out your intention for that," Huber said.
Try to test fragrances on both paper and skin
Arps also said she prefers testing scents on skin.
SVEPET/Shutterstock
Romano Ricci, founder and artistic director of Juliette Has a Gun, advised testing fragrances on both paper and skin when shopping.
Paper can offer a more neutral palette, but since everyone's bodies react differently to scents, it's important to test a fragrance on your skin to see how it will really sit.
Beware of olfactory fatigue
Olfactory fatigue can make it harder to describe a scent's notes, Ricci said.
To avoid this, he suggested limiting your testing to three to four scents and spreading your sniffs out by about 10 minutes. That way, their middle notes (also known as heart notes) have time to come out.
Some fragrance shops also offer cups of coffee beans for customers to smell between perfumes to "reset" their olfactory sense, but Arps said this might do more harm than good by clouding your nose's judgment.
Instead, she recommended smelling clean skin on the inside of your arm or the back of your hand between fragrances.
Give your test fragrance time to settle
Whether you spray a fragrance on paper or your skin, Arps recommended letting it settle to draw out the complexities of the top, middle, and bottom notes.
For example, some scents that you may initially adore could unfurl into something you don't actually enjoy.
"You're gonna live with it, and it's gonna live with you for a little bit. You may like something immediately, but then if you don't like it within an hour, then it's not meant to be your signature scent," Huber told BI.
Take note of the positive or negative feedback you get while wearing a new fragrance
Sometimes, testing a fragrance once is enough, especially if you receive positive feedback.
While wearing a fragrance, see if anyone offers a compliment or reaction to the scent, like how someone might mention a flattering new lip color or hairstyle.
"It's the same way as your makeup or your outfit. It's a way of expression," Ricci said.
Look into a fragrance discovery kit before purchasing a full-sized bottle
Discovery kits offer multiple scents for consumers to test.
Olha Yefimova/Shutterstock
Before you dive into a full-size, or even travel-size, bottle of fragrance, Arps suggested trying a discovery kit of multiple scents in even smaller quantities.
Ricci recommended using a platform like Nose, which uses your past fragrance preferences to build a kit of new scents you might like.
Keep a log of fragrances you try
Arps also recommended keeping a list of the scents you try as a concrete way to analyze common scent notes that you're drawn to.
This can help point you in the right direction for a fragrance you'll love.
Consider alternative methods for finding a new fragrance
Although your first thought when looking for a new signature scent may be to run to a department store, Arps told BI that swap meets are becoming more popular among fragrance fans.
While there, people swap perfumes (including partially used ones) with one another.
"It's another way to help find a scent that you truly love, because just as a fragrance evolves, we as people evolve," she said. "These types of events allow people to honor growth and find things that speak to them now."
Determine the kind of longevity you want to have
A fragrance's longevity depends on its oil concentration: the lower the concentration, the less time the scent will last.
A pure parfum, for example, should last the longest — up to eight hours — because it has an oil concentration between 20 and 30%.
After parfum comes an eau de parfum, followed by an eau de toilette, an eau de cologne, and an eau fraiche, which has the lowest oil concentration.
However, don't worry if you fall in love with a scent that doesn't last. Longevity can be a little overrated, Huber said, as you can always reapply a fragrance.
Remember to keep your budget in mind
Some fragrances retail for hundreds of dollars.
Aleksandra.Vitorovic/Shutterstock
The price of a fragrance can depend on various factors, including scent longevity, ingredients, and brand name. The popular fragrance brand Le Labo, for example, has bottles that retail for over $1,100.
Although it's probably the least fun part of finding a signature scent, Arps recommended keeping a realistic budget in mind when deciding which fragrances to add to your collection.
Have fun searching for your signature scent
There's no right or wrong way to find your signature scent or "olfactory personality," Ricci said.
His best advice: Visualize your fragrance as an "invisible dress and not as a composition of ingredients," and reflect on what you want to express through your scent.
This story was originally published on April 29, 2025, and most recently updated on November 19, 2025.
I found the value to be excellent, and I was especially impressed by the mac and cheese.
I suggest buying a few extras, like another dessert and ingredients for a flavorful cranberry sauce.
My husband and I spent our first Thanksgiving as newlyweds eating turkey plates at a Denny's in Niagara Falls — a hard lesson in what happens when you honeymoon somewhere that largely shuts down for the holiday.
Since then, I've mostly been a guest at other people's tables, contributing a side or two but never taking on the full spread. This year, with no Thanksgiving travel plans and only a small family gathering on the calendar, that finally changed.
With the rising cost of groceries and a small guest list, I struggled to decide on a perfect menu until I came across Walmart's Thanksgiving dinner, which is supposed to feed 10 people for just $40.
I set out to test the deal, and although the value and convenience were undeniable, I also came up with a few ways to upgrade my meal.
I used Walmart's app to order my haul with just a few taps.
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Abigail Singrey
Walmart's 2025 Thanksgiving meal comes with 15 items, including store-brand, Great Value products like three boxes of mac and cheese, three cans of corn, brown gravy mix, and pie crusts.
Ingredients from other brands are included, too, like Campbell's cream of mushroom soup and Stove Top stuffing mix.
Using the store's app, I was able to automatically load everything included in the $4-a-person deal into my cart. From there, I could adjust quantities as needed.
The only thing I changed was the amount of corn — I'm not a huge fan, and I couldn't imagine what I'd do with three full cans of it.
Every item in the meal was in stock at my local store and ready for pickup within a few hours. The entire haul cost me just under $43, including tax.
Some recipes were straightforward, but I bought a few extra ingredients to make the turkey and cranberries.
Ingredients from Walmart's Thanksgiving meal.
Abigail Singrey
I picked up all 15 ingredients that evening.
Notably, Walmart's list doesn't include certain essential cooking basics and pantry staples I ended up using — namely, sugar, milk, butter, eggs, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
Thankfully, I already had these in my kitchen. If you don't have them on hand, though, I'd suggest adding them to your cart so you can make the full meal, including the pumpkin pie.
Later on,I also bought a few extra items to flavor the turkey with, including cooking wine, sage, and parsley — plus oranges to use when cooking my cranberries.
Altogether, I spent an extra $10 on these additions, but I had a feeling the splurge would pay off in terms of flavor.
Several dishes on the list were pretty self-explanatory.
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Abigail Singrey
The stuffing, gravy, dinner rolls, and mac and cheese were the easiest parts of the meal, and didn't necessitate any ingredients beyond butter.
I appreciated how effortless it was to prepare the Great Value gravy and Stove Top stuffing. Both of these came together in minutes and shaved a huge chunk of prep time off my usual family recipes.
Mac and cheese isn't something we normally serve at Thanksgiving, but this Great Value version was fast and easy to cook.
My haul came with everything I needed to make green-bean casserole.
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Abigail Singrey
I was excited to realize I had everything I needed to make green-bean casserole, one of my all-time favorite Thanksgiving sides.
Using green beans, the cream of mushroom soup can, and Kinder's fried onions, I was easily able to follow my go-to recipe.
I made the cranberry relish first so that it could sit overnight.
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Abigail Singrey
Since I wasn't sure what to do with the cranberries, I made a family-favorite relish recipe from my husband's great-grandma.
Ever since I started bringing it to the holidays, my parents and siblings have adopted it into their own Thanksgiving and Christmas spreads, too.
Though the recipe's simple, it does need time to sit. I started by combining the cranberries with two whole oranges in a blender until all the fruit was chopped.
Then, I poured the mixture into a container with an airtight lid, stirred in sugar, and allowed it to build flavor overnight.
The pumpkin pie came together easily, but it did require a few spices I already had at home.
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Abigail Singrey
Walmart's Thanksgiving meal included three ingredients I needed to make a pie: crust, condensed milk, and a Great Value can of pure pumpkin.
There was a simple pumpkin-pie recipe on the can, which I followed closely. It was easy to follow, but I did have to use a few items I already had on hand, including sugar, eggs, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
I wasn't sure what to do with the carrots, so I made a simple glaze with easy ingredients.
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Abigail Singrey
The Great Value baby carrots took more thought, since the meal didn't come with any particular instructions on how to cook them.
I decided to toss them in a simple glaze made with butter and honey, two pantry staples I already had on hand.
I'm glad I used a few additional herbs and ingredients to make a more flavorful turkey.
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Abigail Singrey
Then, I made more dishes, including the turkey.
I'm loyal to Martha Stewart's cheesecloth method, which consistently produces the moistest, most flavorful turkey. After trying it once, I never went back.
All I did was melt several sticks of butter with white wine, soak a layer of cheesecloth in the mixture, and drape it over the turkey before putting it in the oven. I basted every 30 minutes.
When the bird was done, the cheesecloth peeled off effortlessly, leaving perfectly browned, tender meat underneath.
If you're making Walmart's $40 Thanksgiving, I'd recommend buying a few more dessert options.
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Abigail Singrey
One thing that stuck out to me was that no beverages were included in Walmart's meal. If you're hosting, it might be worth buying some sparkling water, apple cider, or wine.
Also, the only dessert I was able to make using Walmart's preset list of ingredients was pumpkin pie. If I were to make this meal again, I'd plan a few more Thanksgiving desserts — or have friends and family bring some to share.
The meal was delicious, and I was especially impressed by the mac and cheese.
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Abigail Singrey
Overall, I was impressed by the meal's quality. I didn't love the texture of the turkey stuffing, but stuffing usually isn't one of my favorite Thanksgiving dishes anyway.
The mac and cheese really surpassed my expectations; it tasted far more elevated than boxed versions I've tried in the past. I firmly believe no one would guess it came from a box unless I told them.
All in all, Walmart's Thanksgiving dinner had undeniable value.
Walmart's $40 meal yielded 10 different dishes.
Abigail Singrey
In the end, I used every ingredient, except the one can of corn I'd added to my cart.
After making this meal myself, I definitely think it could feed 10 people. My husband and I ate leftovers for nearly five days, and we still had plenty of turkey left after that.
In total, I spent around $50 on the meal and a few extra ingredients — and I would have had to spend a bit more on eggs and milk, if I hadn't already had those essentials in our kitchen.
And, by buying a few extras and adding herbs and fresh citrus to my turkey and cranberries, I was able to make my menu feel truly homemade.
All in all, I found that Walmart's Thanksgiving dinner delivered exactly what it promised: an easy, affordable holiday meal that still tasted like the real deal.
It's not as common to turn Thanksgiving leftovers into aspic anymore.
Alexander Prokopenko/Shutterstock
Today, Thanksgiving tables typically feature side dishes like mashed potatoes and mac and cheese.
Once-popular options like Jell-O salads and hot Dr Pepper are no longer part of the celebrations.
However, some people still like to make dishes like ambrosia salad for nostalgia's sake.
No festive Thanksgiving gathering would be complete without a table heaped with steaming dishes. These days, the most popular side dishes include mashed potatoes, rolls, stuffing, and cranberry sauce.
These vintage food trends were often driven by economic factors, involving ingredients that were inexpensive or readily available in past decades.
Gelatin, for example, became a popular foundation for meals during the 1930s after the Great Depression because it was an inexpensive source of protein. According to The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, close to a third of all cookbook recipes from this time period were gelatin-based.
Here are seven unique Thanksgiving menu items that have mostly fallen out of vogue.
Turkey leftovers were turned into aspic.
Turkey aspic.
Ann_Zhuravleva/Shutterstock
One dish that used gelatin was aspic, a savory jelly made from stock that firms up when chilled. It would hold meat, fish, or vegetables.
In 2015, YouTuber and vintage recipe enthusiast ThisMidlifeMillennial tried a vintage Thanksgiving leftover Jell-O recipe from a 1975 cookbook called "Carefree Cooking with Aluminum Foil." The recipe called for turkey, frozen vegetables, cream of celery soup, and ranch dressing mixed with gelatin.
"I probably would not eat this again, but it's not the worst thing I've ever had," she said.
Savory Jell-O salads made for festive centerpieces.
A Jell-O dish with radishes, scallions, and a few tablespoons of vinegar wouldn't have been out of the ordinary at a festive meal. Some people continue to serve them up on Thanksgiving just because.
"Modern American palates have changed to dislike savory gelatin, but that was not always the case," food historian Sarah Wassberg Johnson previously told Business Insider. "Probably until the 1960s, savory gelatinous dishes were a thing."
A "spring basket dessert" consisted of fruity Jell-O with chunks of fruit inside.
A fruity Jell-O loaf.
alisafarov/Shutterstock
Gelatin was also popular in sweeter desserts. One example is the "spring basket dessert," which was advertised in The Ladies Home Journal in 1948.
The molded-gelatin dessert usually contained fruit juice and chunks of fruit. The gelatinous dish is no longer the dessert of choice at most holiday gatherings.
Ambrosia salad is still popular in the South, but many have left it behind.
Ambrosia salad.
Bart Ah You/Modesto Bee/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
Ambrosia recipes began appearing in publications towards the end of the 19th century, Serious Eats reported. It remains a holiday classic in some Southern homes, but is rarely seen elsewhere.
Ambrosia usually includes some kind of canned fruit with mini marshmallows, with variations that include Cool Whip, cottage cheese, and Jell-O.
Canned foods were once all the rage, including creamed corn.
Creamed corn.
freeskyline/Getty Images
A 1948 ad in the Ladies Home Journal advertised creamed corn in a can as "something to try — smooth, creamy, with plenty of tender-skinned kernels to round out the good eating."
However, in the past few decades, canned products have gone out of style in favor of fresh food. With that, creamed corn from a can has become less popular at the table, too.
Served on special occasions, Hot Dr Pepper consisted of warm soda over lemon slices.
Dr Pepper bottles.
AP
In a 1968 advertisement, Dr Pepper recommended serving "steaming hot" soda over lemon slices. It definitely is "something different" to offer Thanksgiving guests.
Per Serious Eats, the drink was concocted by Dr Pepper in the 1960s "to keep profits strong during the holiday season, when sales of cold pop plummet." It was apparently pretty huge in the South but has since faded in popularity.
Hellmann's mayonnaise shared a recipe for a Thanksgiving-themed "Cranberry Surprise."
hellman's cranberry surprise
Hellmann's
In 2013, Hellmann's mayonnaise released a compilation of vintage advertisements and recipes to celebrate its 100th year.
One of the delicacies in the collection was the "Cranberry Surprise," a holiday side dish that "blends the tartness of cranberries with the delicate creaminess of Hellman's Real Mayonnaise" with an extra dollop of mayonnaise on top to provide "the final distinctive flavor garnish."
This story was originally published in 2018. It was updated in 2025.
As someone who loves easy breakfast recipes, I always thought a French omelette sounded too complex.
Then, I tried making one myself — and the technique was much easier than I thought it would be.
The result was delicious, and I felt like I was eating a fancy room-service breakfast.
About a month ago, if you had asked me whether a French omelette would ever find a place in my breakfast rotation, I would have said, "Heck no."
I love trying new recipes, but French omelettes have always sounded difficult and a little too technical for me, especially since I'm always bleary-eyed in the morning.
Then, I stumbled upon Julia Child's tutorial video. She said that, when done correctly, her French omelette recipe takes under 30 seconds to prepare. Needless to say, I was intrigued.
After giving her recipe a try, I can confirm: French omelettes are surprisingly easy to make. Now, they're one of my favorite versatile breakfast staples.
First, I made sure I had a few simple ingredients.
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Haein Jung
To make a French omelette, all you need are two or three eggs, butter, salt and pepper, and fresh herbs of your choice.
I went with basil and chives for my first attempt, but a variety of combinations should work. Child suggests tarragon and chervil, and since falling in love with her recipe, I've also tried parsley, which adds a nice bitter bite.
Although Child recommends about a tablespoon of fresh herbs, I love a burst of herby flavor in my eggs, so I decided to add more.
I chopped the herbs and put a non-stick pan on medium heat.
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Haein Jung
A non-stick pan is ideal because it makes the omelette easier to shape and fold.
I put my pan on the stovetop, and then chopped up the herbs as I waited for it to heat up.
After that, I cracked three eggs into a mixing bowl and added salt, pepper, and my chopped herbs. I gave them a good mix with a fork — Child recommends about 30 strokes.
Once my egg mixture was prepped, it was time to grease the pan.
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Haein Jung
At this point, the pan was ready to be greased. I added a tablespoon of butter and waited to add the eggs.
Child's trick for knowing when to put the eggs in is to watch how the butter bubbles up. Wait until the butter foams, then subsides; that's when it's time to add the eggs. Be careful not to let the butter brown.
Then, it was time to make the omelette.
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Haein Jung
Next came the fun — and technical — part.
I added the egg mixture to the pan, then shook the pan quickly back and forth while simultaneously stirring the eggs rapidly with the fork. This allowed the eggs to curdle and become creamy, but also helped the mixture not stick to the pan.
I did this for about 10 seconds, and Child was right: It came together surprisingly fast.
Once the outer edges formed and the mixture in the middle curdled, I started to gently fold and form my omelette. I tucked the ends into the omelette to make them look even fluffier.
As soon as the omelette was nearly formed with just one more fold left, I took the pan to the edge of my plate and carefully rolled the omelette onto it. I used the fork to help maintain its shape and fold it once more.
This technique was quick and easy, and my omelette felt much fancier to eat than it did to make.
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Haein Jung
My first French omelette tasted like something I'd ordered via room service at a luxury hotel, not a dish that came together in under five minutes.
The flavors were delicious: I loved basil's freshness coupled with the chives' garlicky taste, all wrapped up in a fluffy egg. The great thing about this recipe, too, is knowing I can always try out different combinations of flavors and fillings.
I learned from Child that the French actually eat these omelettes for lunch or as a light dinner. Although I personally love having them for breakfast, I'll have to try a lunch omelette next — maybe with a filling like bacon, tomatoes, or cheese.
Take Tommy Tutone, for example. You might not know the band, but you can definitely recite the number "867-5309" — Jenny's phone number.
Although the members of Tommy Tutone have gone their separate ways, they continued to make money off the song years after its 1981 release.
Lead singer Tommy Heath told the Houston Chronicle in 2002 that his former bandmate Jim Keller "makes plenty of money off it. I don't see how he could complain." He continued, "I've done some solo shows without the song, but it'd be tough not to do it now. … It's fun to sing, but only once a night."
In the last six decades, many one-hit wonders have blessed our ears, and we've rounded up the top 57 in the US. While some of these singers or bands may have found moderate success across the pond, they practically disappeared stateside.
Take a trip down memory lane to revisit these classic jams.
"Rockin Robin" by Bobby Day (1958)
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
You might know "Rockin' Robin" best as a kid's song with an accompanying hand game, or as the 1972 version sung by the Jackson 5.
However, Bobby Day recorded the original version in 1958, and it was his biggest (and only) hit.
Day stopped recording music as a solo artist after 1960 when he began concentrating on songwriting.
Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey in "Dirty Dancing."
Vestron Pictures
The DJ Ötzi remix of "Hey! Baby" is the version you've most likely heard at sporting events and such — but the original is much more relaxed, with a prominent harmonica. Sung by Bruce Channel, it topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 1962.
Channel, while touring Europe, was accompanied by a little-known band (at the time) named the Beatles.
There's a popular urban legend that suggests that the harmonica part in "Love Me Do," the Beatles' first single, was inspired by Channel and this song, but Lennon had already been playing the instrument for a few years.
The song experienced a resurgence in popularity after being used during a scene in the 1987 classic film "Dirty Dancing."
You might not know the song by name, but chances are you've heard "Wipe Out" — either The Surfaris version or a cover.
It's been used in over 20 movies and TV shows. In fact, it pops up at least once a decade, and in 2019, the band was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame for the hit song.
The song spent four months on the Billboard charts, but never reached the top spot.
"Spirit in the Sky" is Norman Greenbaum's only hit as a solo artist, though he had moderate success with his bands Dr. West's Medicine Show and Junk Band, and Bruno Wolf with the Jim Kweskin Jug Band.
"Spirit in the Sky" topped the charts in multiple countries and reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was ranked No. 341 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
The only virtual band on this list, The Archies was made up of the fictional characters in the "Archie" universe: Archie, Jughead, Betty, Veronica, and Reggie. "Sugar, Sugar" was a No. 1 song in 1969 and became The Archies' signature song.
Their only other top 10 song, "Jingle Jangle," has not stood the test of time as well as "Sugar, Sugar," and is best known for being a recreational drug in "Riverdale," a dark modern reboot of "Archie."
"O-o-h Child" was ranked at No. 402 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, so it might come as a disappointment that Five Stairsteps never had another mainstream success.
They had multiple Top 40 hits on the R&B chart, but only peaked at number eight with "O-o-h Child" on the Billboard Hot 100. The song has been used in many different TV shows and movies, including "How I Met Your Mother," "Scandal," and "Guardians of the Galaxy."
"Mr. Big Stuff" was a huge song during the '70s. It spent five weeks at No. 1 on the Soul Singles chart and hit No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.
However, Knight's career plateaued after "Mr. Big Stuff," and she was never able to replicate that level of success. But the song lives on: it was the top Soul Single of 1971, has been covered by many artists, and is frequently sampled in other songs.
"Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)" by Looking Glass (1972)
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Looking Glass only released three singles during their time as a band: "Brandy," "Golden Rainbow," and "Jimmy Loves Mary-Anne." "Brandy" was their only hit, and it topped the Billboard Hot 100.
The song played a big part in 2017's "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2," where Ego (played by Kurt Russell) called it "one of Earth's greatest musical compositions, perhaps the greatest."
King Harvest's one and only hit single made it to No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. Though the group has gone through various ups and downs (like break-ups and a fluctuating roster), they released another single in 2016.
Toploader, a British alternative band, released a cover of "Dancing in the Moonlight" in 2000, which was certified Platinum in the UK.
"Magic" was recorded by Scottish band Pilot in 1974 and was their first hit single. It peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was No. 31 on the end-of-year Billboard Hot 100.
The song remains their biggest (and only) hit in the US. Thirty-five years after its release, former Disney Channel star Selena Gomez covered the song for the soundtrack of her show "Wizards of Waverly Place."
Cheryl Lynn at 'The Disco Ball…A 30 Year Celebration' at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. October 13, 2002. The show will be airing on ABC January 16th
Kevin Winter/ABC/ImageDirect/Getty Images
"Got to Be Real" has been called a defining moment in disco history, though Cheryl Lynn isn't a huge name in mainstream music. "Got to Be Real" was her debut single and topped the US R&B charts, though it didn't even crack the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 — neither did any of her other singles.
"Got to Be Real" was reintroduced to a younger crowd when Mary J. Blige and Will Smith covered the song for the 2004 animated film "Shark Tale."
Doug Fieger performs 'My Sharona' at the Countdown Spectacular 2 at Acer Arena on August 24, 2007 in Sydney, Australia.
Gaye Gerard/Getty Images
For The Knack, "My Sharona" was as good as it ever got. Their debut single rocketed to the top of the charts and became Capitol Records' fastest-ever song to achieve Gold status since "I Want to Hold Your Hand" by the Beatles, according to Rolling Stone.
The band failed to have another single break the top 10.
appers the Sugar Hill Gang pose backstage during Grammy Fest 2003 'Songs Of The City: A Celebration Of New York In Song' on January 30, 2003 in the Winter Garden at the World Financial Center in New York City. The free concert was presented by the Recording Academy and the NYC Grammy Host Committee to kick off Grammy Fest, the month-long celebration held throughout New York City leading up to the 45th Annual Grammy Awards which will be held on February 23.
Even though they're credited with bringing rap into the mainstream, the Sugarhill Gang didn't enjoy much mainstream success. They failed to crack the Top 40 after "Rapper's Delight."
867-5309 is one of the most famous phone numbers of all time. How did Tommy Tutone pick the exact catchiest combination of numbers? It's unclear, but whatever he did, it worked.
However, "867-5309/Jenny" was Tommy Tutone's only song to ever break the top 25. The titular Jenny is the subject of many urban legends: some believe she was a sex worker, while even members of the band disagree on whether she was real.
"Come On Eileen" was atop the Billboard Hot 100 for one week and prevented Michael Jackson from having back-to-back No. 1 hits. It remains Dexys Midnight Runners' only song to chart in the US.
It was more recently used in the teen comedy/drama "Perks of Being a Wallflower" and appears on the soundtrack.
Consequence of Sound ranked "I Melt With You" the best one-hit wonder of all time.
"I Melt With You" wasn't a massive hit originally — it only reached No. 76 on the Billboard Hot 100.
But it's nearly impossible to find someone who can't at least hum along to the catchy song. This is because of its high usage in pop culture: It's been used in "Valley Girl," and covered by both Jason Mraz and Bowling For Soup for "50 First Dates" and "Sky High" respectively. It's also been featured in multiple commercials.
No, "Pass the Dutchie" isn't about smoking marijuana, though many people these days use the term "dutch" as slang for a joint — technically, in the context of the song, a dutchie is a cast-iron pot that's hung over an open fire, according to Urban Dictionary.
"Pass the Dutchie" was released in 1982 by the British-Jamaican reggae group Musical Youth. It was their first (and only) single to reach the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100.
It should be said that Musical Youth had many hit singles in their home country, but across the pond, they'll forever be known for "Pass the Dutchie."
"Always Something There to Remind Me" by Naked Eyes (1983)
Naked Eyes.
Ron Wolfson/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
"Always Something There to Remind Me" was originally recorded in the '60s and enjoyed mild success.
But the definitive version will always be Naked Eyes' synth-heavy cover, which eventually rose to No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was the group's debut single, but also their peak. Their next big hit failed to crack the top 10.
Their version remains culturally relevant over 30 years after its release — it was featured in a trailer for "Arrested Development."
A rare non-Spanish foreign language hit, the German "99 Luftballons" topped the charts in 1983, and was even popular enough to warrant an English version, though this one didn't do as well in the US (it didn't reach the Billboard Hot 100).
Nena never had another song hit the top 100 in the US.
Eddy Grant performs during the 46664 concert in celebration of Nelson Mandela's life at Hyde Park on June 27, 2008 in London, England.
Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
Grant has had three songs chart on the Billboard Hot 100 (two of which hit the perfectly respectable spots of 53 and 26).
But his almost-chart-topping smash hit "Electric Avenue" will remain his biggest song — and it's a true bop to boot. Just try listening to "Electric Avenue" without singing along.
While A-ha is definitely not a one-hit wonder in their native country of Norway, the band only had one big hit in the US: "Take On Me" topped the charts in 1985.
Much of the song's success can be attributed to its innovative music video, which combined live-action and animation, making it perfect for heavy rotation on MTV.
"Don't You (Forget About Me)" by Simple Minds (1985)
Universal Pictures
The triumphant ending of the movie "The Breakfast Club," when rebel loner Bender raises his fist in the air, would not have been the same without this Simple Minds classic playing in the background.
The song peaked at No. 1 on the Hot 100 and topped charts around the world.
Simple Minds capitalized on its success and actually scored another top-five single with "Alive and Kicking," but the band's enduring legacy will always be "Don't You (Forget About Me)."
"(I've Had) The Time of My Life" by Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes (1987)
Vestron Pictures
"(I've Had) The Time of My Life" and the movie "Dirty Dancing" are irrevocably linked — turn the song on at any event and prepare to see people attempt to recreate the movie's iconic dance move.
Billy Medley and Jennifer Warnes have both had mild success as solo artists, but nothing ever compared to their smash hit "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" — though Medley achieved more number ones as part of the musical duo The Righteous Brothers. The two never collaborated again.
Commonly mistaken for a Bob Marley song, "Don't Worry, Be Happy" is actually performed by Bobby McFerrin. When the song hit the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1988, it became the first a capella song to reach No. 1.
McFerrin is mainly a jazz conductor, and "Don't Worry, Be Happy" remains his only crossover hit.
"I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by The Proclaimers (1988)
Charlie (L) and Craig Reid of The Proclaimers take time out during The T In The Park Festival on July 12, 2003 at Balado near Kinross in Scotland.
Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
"I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and is the only song by The Proclaimers to chart in the US to date.
It's a popular choice at sporting events, especially in their home country of Scotland.
The popular sitcom "How I Met Your Mother" also had a running gag throughout the show, in which the song was the official road trip music of two of its main characters, Marshall and Ted.
"There She Goes" is a controversial song, as there's some debate about whether it's about a girl or heroin, mostly because of the lyrics "Pulsing thru' my vein."
The La's found moderate success in their native UK, but not even their original version of the song made much of an impact on the charts. Many '90s kids remember the song mainly from "The Parent Trap."
However, it's been covered and remixed numerous times, keeping it in our heads. Sixpence None the Richer released a cover version 11 years after the original in 1999, which hit No. 7 on the US Adult Top 40, and in 2025, the DJs Cyril and MOONLGHT produced a techno remix that went viral on TikTok.
DJ Biz Markie poses backstage at the Jordan Presents LOVE: In Concert in Atlanta at the AmericasMart February 7, 2003 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images
Even though Biz Markie was a certified one-hit wonder, he was definitely beloved before his death in 2021. VH1 ranked "Just A Friend" at 81 on its list of greatest hip-hop songs ever.
The song is certified Platinum, and also Markie's only song to ever grace the Hot 100.
Mr. Big is a hard rock supergroup that is still churning out music to this day — they released an album in 2017.
But their one bona fide hit is the acoustic ballad "To Be With You." The certified Gold song reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The group never had another song that reached that same level of mainstream success.
Recording artists (L-R) Glen Graham, Brad Smith, Roger Stevens, Christopher Thorn and Travis Warren of Blind Melon attend the fourth annual MusiCares Benefit Concert at The Music Box @ Fonda on May 9, 2008 in Hollywood, California.
Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images
Part of "No Rain's" legacy is the "Bee Girl" featured in its music video. American actor Heather DeLoach is still best known for portraying a tap-dancing bee in the 1992 video, which spawned many a Halloween costume.
"No Rain" was the second single from the band's debut album, and their only song to make it on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Oh my God, Becky, look at her butt." With that one sentence, you already know you're in for a true banger. "Baby Got Back," an ode to women and their curves, has recently received new life from being sampled in Nicki Minaj's smash hit "Anaconda."
But "Baby Got Back" was huge in its own right. It spent five weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, a feat none of the rapper's other singles came close to reaching.
Even if you think you hate this song, give it one more try (when was the last time you listened to it in its entirety?) and just try not to smile.
"What's Up?" doesn't actually feature the lyrics "what's up" anywhere in the song. It would have made much more sense to name the song "What's Going On," but there's a common internet urban legend that claims the band didn't want any confusion with the Marvin Gaye song of the same name.
Part of the song's charm is how genuinely fun it is to sing. That chorus will get any crowd screaming at the top of their lungs. Unfortunately, 4 Non Blondes was not long for this world, and broke up just a year after the song was released.
"What's Up?" reached the top of the charts in many countries and hit No. 14 in the US, making it their first and final song to crack the top 100.
It's once again back in our feeds as a recent TikTok trend is people lip-syncing to a mash-up of "What's Up?" and Nicki Minaj's song "Beez in the Trap."
Who among us doesn't do the "A Night at the Roxbury" head bob when we hear "What is love?/Baby don't hurt me/Don't hurt me/No more?"
But not many people know the artist behind this dance hit. "What Is Love" was recorded by Trinidadian-German artist Haddaway. It was his debut single and ended up becoming his signature song. His only other song to reach the Billboard Hot 100 peaked at No. 41.
Los Del Rio members Rafael Ruiz, left, and Antonio Romero Monge wave their music awards at the 1997 World Music Awards.
Lionel Cironneau/AP
According to VH1, "Macarena" is the best one-hit wonder of all time — and it's hard to disagree. Los Del Río's original version of the song didn't make any waves, but once the Bayside Boys remix was released, the world was never the same.
"Macarena" is inescapable at weddings, sporting events, parties, and essentially any public event.
But who are Los Del Río? Many Americans would be hard-pressed to remember the duo behind this iconic song. Their only other song to reach the charts was "Macarena Christmas" in 1996, which reached No. 57 on the charts.
Whether you find yourself charmed by "I'll Be There For You" depends on whether you're a fan of "Friends" or not.
And since "Friends" is one of the most popular TV shows ever, it's a reasonable assumption. If you don't find yourself clapping along during the theme song — this song isn't for you.
The members of The Rembrandts have gone back and forth about their feelings for the tune. Danny Wilde told The Independent in 2004 that he believed that the song's mainstream success cost them many of their original fans, who thought they sold out.
The Rembrandts actually had a song chart higher than "I'll Be There For You," called "Just The Way It Is, Baby," but their most enduring contribution to pop culture will always be "I'll Be There For You."
The Wallflowers, with singer Jakob Dylan (C), perform on 'The Tonight Show with Jay Leno' at the NBC Studios April 2, 2003 in Burbank, California.
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
While The Wallflowers are a pretty successful alternative band, their biggest mainstream crossover is "One Headlight," which hit No. 2 on the Billboard Top 40.
It also won a Grammy for best rock performance by a duo or group in 1997.
The band is rocking out to this day, but hasn't appeared on the charts since 2000. "One Headlight" remains their only top 10 hit.
Natalie Imbruglia poses at the Sensis Marquee on Derby Day at Flemington Racecourse on November 4, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia
Scott Barbour/Getty Images
Australian pop star Natalie Imbruglia's biggest hit to date isn't an original song — it's her cover of Ednaswap's 1993 single "Torn," though Imbruglia's version has become the better-known one.
"Torn" has received critical acclaim and was even chosen as the best pop song by Q Magazine. According to the Guardian, it was also the most-played song on UK radio in 1998.
The album "Torn" appears on "Left of the Middle," which was certified double Platinum in the US, mainly because of the success of "Torn."
However, Imbruglia's next album peaked at 35, and her three follow-ups have failed to chart. Her only other single to reach the Hot 100 was 2002's "Wrong Impression," which only reached 64.
"Torn" was exposed to a new generation when boy band sensation One Direction chose to perform the song during their time on "The X-Factor" and again at a Radio 1 Live Lounge performance in 2015.
Eagle-Eye Cherry on 'The Tonight Show with Jay Leno' at the NBC Studios in Los Angeles, Ca. October 3, 2001
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
"Save Tonight" was Norwegian musician Eagle-Eye Cherry's big break in the US — or at least, it was supposed to be. He could never replicate the success of this soft-rock jam, which peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, and led to Eagle-Eye Cherry making the rounds on American late-night TV … and not much else.
"Bitter Sweet Symphony" can potentially be credited for the breakup of The Verve.
The song spawned a bitter lawsuit that ended with The Verve giving up all their royalties from the song to The Rolling Stones, who claimed that the band had used more of their song "The Last Time" than they had agreed upon, according to Rolling Stone.
The song is widely loved, especially in The Verve's home country, the UK: BBC Radio 1 listeners even voted it the third-best track ever.
But even though the song defines an era, The Verve could never duplicate its success, especially in the US — it was their one and only song ever to reach the charts.
Joey Del Valle/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal/Getty Images
"You Get What You Give" was New Radicals' first single, and ended up being one of only two — the group broke up shortly after the release of their only album, "Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too" in 1998.
While they broke up in 1999, the song is continually used in pop culture, from"Glee" and "Community" to movies like "A Walk to Remember" (which also featured a cover of their other song, "Someday We'll Know" by star Mandy Moore).
Who knows if New Radicals would have remained a one-hit wonder — they broke up before they could release more music. As it stands, "You Get What You Give" lives on as their only hit.
If a running joke throughout an entire movie is about whether a song was sung by its actual band or Third Eye Blind, it's a one-hit wonder.
At the climax of "Friends With Benefits," Justin Timberlake's character finally admits he was wrong: "Closing Time" is, in fact, sung by Semisonic, not Third Eye Blind.
The perfect last-call anthem remains Semisonic's only hit.
"Steal My Sunshine" is the perfect summer anthem — Rolling Stone ranked it No. 33 on its list of the best summer songs of all time.
It reached the top 10 in the US Hot 100 and was in the top 100 songs of 1999.
But Len's following six singles failed to make an impact, leaving the band trapped in an eternal summer. The song has also been used in plenty of TV shows over the years, including "Roswell, New Mexico," "Love Island," "Private Practice," "PEN15," and more.
This song was originally recorded in 1949 by Cuban musician Dámaso Pérez Prado, but didn't enter the mainstream until Lou Bega's cover in 1999.
Even though it has been ranked as one of the most annoying songs by Mental Floss, we'd have to disagree. Try listening to it without smiling and dancing in your seat — impossible.
The song hit No. 1 in nine countries and reached No. 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100. It became so popular that Disney created its own version, replacing the women's names with Disney characters.
Bega had one other song on the Hot 100, "Tricky, Tricky" in 1999, which hit No. 74, but hasn't had another mainstream hit since.
Margaret Norton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal/Getty Images
Most people can relate to being interested in someone they think is way out of their league, which might be why "She's So High" is still remembered so fondly. It peaked at No. 1 on the Adult Top 40 and at 14 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The song has lived on in movie soundtracks (see: "Loser" and "She's Out of My League"), but Tal Bachman has faded from the spotlight.
His last single, "Na Na Na," was released in 2019 and failed to chart. Bachman didperform his hit song with Taylor Swift in 2011, ensuring that a new generation will enjoy "She's So High."
"Absolutely (Story of a Girl)" by Nine Days (2000)
Nine Days.
James Devaney/WireImage/Getty Images
"This is the story of a girl, who cried a river and drowned the whole world." Any self-respecting pop-punk fan's ears will perk up at the opening lyrics to "Absolutely (Story of a Girl)."
The song appeared on the band's fourth album (but their first to be on a mainstream label). It reached No. 6 on the Hot 100 and No. 1 on Mainstream Top 40.
Nine Days is still together, but none of their albums have come anywhere near the success of "The Madding Crowd" (none have charted), and the guys in the band have all moved on.
Lead singer Hampson still moonlights as a musician, but by day, he's a perfectly respectable English teacher at a Long Island high school, according to Impose Magazine.
City High backstage at the MTV 2001 Video Music Awards during the Radio Forum at Metropolitan Opera House in New York City on September 5, 2001.
Gabe Palacio/Getty Images
"What Would You Do?" deals with some heavy subject matter (mothers living in poverty who turn to sex work to provide for their kids), which is why its commercial success was a bit of a surprise. The song topped the US Rap chart and reached No. 8 on the Hot 100.
City High only released one album in 2001, and their other two singles besides "What Would You Do?" failed to have the same impact. Their follow-up, "Caramel," reached No. 18, and their last single, "City High Anthem," failed to chart.
Singer Afroman attends the 2001 Radio Music Awards at the Aladdin Resort and Casino October 26, 2001 in Las Vegas, NV.
Jason Kirk/Getty Images
Afroman was nominated for a Grammy for "Because I Got High," a song all about blowing off tasks, work, child support, and basically everything in order to smoke weed.
The catchy song was Afroman's mainstream breakthrough, but he hasn't reached that same level of success since.
Actor Jason Schwartzman appears onstage during MTV's Total Request Live at the MTV Times Square Studios October 18, 2006 in New York City
Bryan Bedder/Getty Images
Just listening to the first few piano notes will take anyone back to the days of "The OC."
While it was never a commercial hit, millions of people heard it every week for four seasons of the hit show, for which it was the theme song.
Phantom Planet never achieved mainstream success in the US, and officially disbanded in 2008 — but they reunited in 2019 and released an album, "Devastator," in 2020.
"I Believe in a Thing Called Love" by The Darkness (2003)
The Darkness.
Brian Rasic/WireImage/Getty Images
"I Believe in a Thing Called Love" was supposed to help British band The Darkness break into the US market, and was believed to signal the return of glam rock. Neither happened.
"I Believe in a Thing Called Love" was very successful in the UK, and mildly successful in the US (where it reached No. 9 on the Billboard Alternative chart), but it has endured as an emblem of the 2000s.
It has been heavily covered by different artists and used in many different forms of media, ranging from a commercial starring Taylor Swift to appearing on the "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason" soundtrack.
The band 'Fountains of Wayne' pose backstage during day 2 of the Coachella Music Festival held at the Empire Polo Field on April 28, 2007 in Indio, California
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If a party ever needs to be livened up, queue up "Stacy's Mom." Even though it might be a bit juvenile, "Stacy's Mom" is a tried-and-true crowd-pleaser.
But the Grammy-nominated song is Fountains of Wayne's only song to ever chart — and even "Stacy's Mom" didn't do that well commercially. It peaked at No. 21, though it was one of the first songs to ever reach No. 1 on iTunes.
And in a true test of "one-hit wonder" status, many people don't even realize that Fountains of Wayne is behind this ode to hot moms — it's commonly mistaken for a Bowling for Soup song.
Fountains of Wayne had a cultural bump over the last few years for a sad reason, as one of its members, Adam Schlesinger, died in 2020.
"Bad Day" was ubiquitous for a good chunk of the 2000s — it was used as the farewell song on the fifth season of "American Idol." It was also certified triple Platinum by RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America).
In fact, according to one BBC reporter, "turning off the radio isn't enough to escape the tune. It can be heard everywhere from in shops, on mobiles, and especially on TV."
But now that we're somewhat removed from the peak of "Bad Day," it's hard to hear the song and not feel compelled to wave a lighter in the air, or at least sing along.
Powter hasn't come anywhere near this level of success again, with no other songs appearing on the Billboard Hot 100.
The members of The Click Five pose during media availability on Arthur Ashe Kids Day before the start of the 2005 US Open at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Corona Park on August 27, 2005 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York.
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The Click Five were unfortunately too late for the boy band craze of the '90s and early aughts, and too late for their Renaissance with bands like One Direction, PrettyMuch, and Why Don't We.
However, "Just the Girl" is a classic for anyone who grew up in the 2000s, mainly from its appearance on the soundtrack of teen comedy "John Tucker Must Die." The song hit No. 1 on the Hot Digital Songs chart, and No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The group eventually disbanded in 2013, three years after their last album was released, but they're making a comeback in 2025.
Cupid has released multiple albums but has only had real success with "Cupid Shuffle," a song that reached 66 on the Billboard Hot 100, and has become an extremely popular line dance, rivaling the Cotton-Eye Joe or the Electric Slide — except "Cupid Shuffle" is actually a good song.
Cupid even auditioned for "The Voice" to try to re-energize his career, but unfortunately, none of the judges turned their chairs around, eliminating him from the competition.
"Somebody That I Used to Know" by Gotye feat. Kimbra (2011)
Musician Wouter De Backer and Kimbra Johnson, winners of Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, Best Alternative Music Album and Record of The Year, pose in the press room at the 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on February 10, 2013 in Los Angeles, California.
Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
"Somebody That I Used to Know" was a smash hit in every sense of the word. Gotye and Kimbra won multiple Grammys for the song and stayed at the top of the charts for eight full weeks.
But Gotye hasn't released a follow-up to his 2011 album "Making Mirrors," which itself didn't make a huge splash in the US besides "Somebody That I Used to Know."
In fact, Gotye released his first single in 11 years in 2024, but it was just a remix of this song, called "Somebody (2024)." It didn't reach the Hot 100.
Kimbra is still making music, but in terms of album sales, she also hasn't come anywhere close to that level of success. Her most recent album, which was released in 2024, did not chart in her home country of New Zealand or the US.