A key ingredient of one-hit wonder status is how big that one hit is in relation to the rest of the artist’s output. By that standard, the Belgian-born Australian singer-songwriter Gotye is the one-hittiest of one-hit wonders.
Gotye’s marvelous ‘Somebody That I Used to Know‘ topped my own list of the best songs of 2012 and scores of critics’ lists as well. It reached #1 in 26 countries and remains one of the top-selling digital singles of all time. It was massive.
The rest of Gotye’s output? Beats me. Today’s song made a minor splash in Australia and one other track (‘Eyes Wide Open’) reached #96 in the U.S., but that’s it.
So the question of whether Gotye will be anything more than a one-hit wonder 20 years from now hinges on what he does next. It’s possible he will strike gold again with a future single but I wouldn’t bet on it. It just feels like his time has already passed.
Pick apart
The pieces of your heart
And let me peer inside
Let me in
Where only your thoughts have been
Let me occupy your mind
As you do mine
[Hook]
Your heart’s a mess
You won’t admit to it
It makes no sense but I’m desperate to connect
And you, you can’t live like this
[Verse 2]
You have lost
Too much love
To fear, doubt and distrust
(It’s not enough)
You just threw away the key
To your heart
You don’t get burned
(‘Cause nothing gets through)
It makes it easier
(Easier on you)
But that much more difficult for me
To make you see
Love ain’t fair
So there you are
My love
[Hook]
Your heart’s a mess
You won’t admit to it
It makes no sense but I’m desperate to connect
And you, you can’t live like this
Your heart’s a mess
You won’t admit to it
It makes no sense but I’m desperate to connect
And you, you can’t live like this
Your heart’s a mess
You won’t admit to it
It makes no sense but I’m desperate to connect
And you, you can’t live like this
[Outro]
Love ain’t safe
You won’t get hurt if you stay chaste
So you can wait
But I don’t wanna waste my love
Meet Me In Montauk 
Can’t believe you’ve come for two of my fave artists right in a row!!! That “beats me” line tore at my heart, please please please listen to more Gotye. He’s incredible always. And disappears for long stretches of time. It’s fine. He’ll be back.
Aw, stop hurting my daughter!😜
I hope for Maddie’s sake that Gotye lands another hit, but, if he doesn’t, my name theory is gaining more support.
Meanwhile, shout out to this video. Really cool!
I recall you covering one hit wonders in the past and am wondering whether some middle-aged version of Madison got really steamed that you never listened to all the other brilliant songs aha released. :). Based on your formula, I agree with this choice. I’m not sure how long Gotye had been recording before reaching this level of success, but it must be mind boggling to go from 0 to 60 and, perhaps, somewhat comforting to settle in at a nice steady 15 through the school zone. His hit ensures he can always get a gig, will have a handful of diehard fans such as Madison, and gets the royalties off that one song for ever. Not the worst life for a musician.
Also “Eyes Wide Open” is such a painfully relevant song right now. It’ll never become a hit because people don’t like to think about our flaws as a humanity.
I mean… I happen to not like Gotye that much either. In part due to his voice, in part due to his underlying angst. I happened to dislike strongly his “one hit” so I suppose it might just be me thinking it’s deserved for him not to have another hit since I was surprised that wretched, angsty single received so much airplay in the first place. I have liked some of what my sister has showed me but more of a place than appreciation and respect than actually listening to it again. Perhaps, that’s true of wide audiences which is why he’s destined to be a one hit wonder.
Did you start commenting this week just to hurt me?