One hit song is enough to catapult a singer onto the pop culture map, but is it enough for lasting fame? Many ubiquitous hits from the early and late 2000s are occasionally still heard today, but the artists themselves have faded out of the mainstream. Where do these singers go after their brushes with fame? Here are a few names you might remember.
Ciara
Many current Columbia students were in middle or high school when Ciara’s “Goodies” and “1,2, Step” blared from iPod Minis and ruled middle school dances, making it appear briefly as if the R&B singer would rise alongside the likes of Rihanna, who was, at the time, on the brink of stardom with “Pon de Replay” (remember when Rihanna wore clothes?). I personally downloaded Ciara’s entire debut album, Goodies, and marveled at the blandly uniform sound of every track but the two I already knew by heart. But not only did Ciara continue singing long enough to drop a sophomore album, she actually released four full-length albums in total, most recently Basic Instinct in 2010.
