Crazy Frogs and Bob the Builder – these were the most absurd number 1 hits in the world

Many musicians dream of having a number 1 hit one day – understandably. Because this usually comes with not only a lot of money, but also fame and honor. However, there is alsoa few hits that are so absurdthat one can hardly speak of fame and honor, but rather of great incomprehension and even greater astonishment. But see and hear for yourself!

So you see again: quality is extremely relative and not an essential characteristic of great success. Kind of comforting, right?

Star WarsIt always works – we’ve known that for 48 (!) years now. And there is no end in sight, because that tooStar Wars-Universe is infinite. Directly published in 1977 byStar Wars: Episode IV – A New HopeThe American musician and producer Domenico Monardo, better known by his stage name Meco, jumped on the bandwagon of success. He released the disco album in the summer of 1977Star Wars And Other Galactic Funk, on which he wrapped composer John Williams' original music in a disco guise - including the well-known oneStar Wars Theme. And with that, Meco succeeded in the wake of the success of the firstStar Wars-Films, which was released in theaters in May, a number 1 hit in the United States.

This number 1 hit is probably the most unusual on this list because: You can't hear it. At least we humans don't, so the titleA Very Silent Nightcan actually be understood literally. The background is as follows: The Underdogs are a New Zealand music and charity project that released the song in question during the Christmas season of 2007. It is a Christmas song for dogs, recorded at a frequency that can be heard by dogs but not by us humans. The single was released in early December 2007 and actually made it to number 1 on the New Zealand charts. At the time, all proceeds from CD sales benefited the New Zealand animal protection organization SPCA (Royal New Zealand Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals). You have to come to that first...

The band Ylvis consists of a pair of Norwegian brothers, Vegard and Bård Ylvisåker. The two work as comedians and entertainers. In 2013 they recorded the songThe Fox (What Does The Fox Say?)about the fact that there are various well-known animal sounds, but hardly anyone knows which sounds the fox actually makes. Actually, the song/video was just a teaser for the third season of their showTonight with YLVISintended, but then became a viral hit and number 1 in Norway. And in South Korea. Why not?!

Speaking of South Korea: The K-pop piece was also an unexpected hit in 2012Gangnam Stylefrom Psy – and not just in South Korea. In the United Kingdom, in Germany, in Austria - in various countries the track managed to jump to pole position. At that time, the associated video was also the most clicked on YouTube with almost 3 billion views at the time. What many didn't understand at the time: The song was actually conceived as a parody - of the lavish lifestyle of the residents of Seoul's Gangnam district.

The band name Rick Dees And His Cast Of Idiots already gives you an idea: this is how serious Rick Dees is about his songDisco Duckalso not taken in 1976. The piece sounds a bit like the disco version of the German versionduck dancewell-known song. Musically in the disco genre, you can hear someone singing about it in a Donald Duck-like voice - completely stupid. Nevertheless, it was enough to persuade enough Canadians and Americans to push the piece to number 1 in their respective charts.

And while we're already on the subject of comics (Donald Duck): the Dutch singer and composer Pierre Kartner also used comic and cartoon characters, namely the Smurfs. He released the song in Holland in 1977 under his stage name Vader AbrahamThe Smurf song– and made it to number 1 in the Dutch charts. So it was clear that there was money to be made with it, and so a year later there was a German version calledThe Song of the Smurfs, and he also had a number 1 hit, this time in Germany. Even today, anyone who grew up during this time can immediately sing along when they say: “Tell me, where are you from? – From Schlumpfhausen, please!”

At the beginning of the noughties, when music television was slowly going downhill and the first cell phones were on the market, we were all terrorized by commercials for ringtones - especially those from the Jamba company! At some point they came up with the Crazy Frog, a kind of advertising character for the company. And this character had some hits. The best known of these is probably the annoying version of the pieceAxel F, which was originally written by the German composer Harold Faltermeyer and through the filmBeverly Hills Copbecame famous. Really bad “song” (read: the Crazy Frog version, not the original).

Now that we've had the Smurfs and talking ducks, let's move on to another "hero" of a children's comic series, namely Bob the Builder. His original English name is Bob The Builder and as such he has also released a few singles. His biggest hit: the cover version of the Lou Bega songMambo No. 5(which is actually also a cover version. The original is by Pérez Prado from 1949). Nobody needs it, but it was at number 1 in the British charts.

The piece was an unlikely hit from Germany in 2004Schnappi, the little crocodile. It was written by the Cologne author, composer and music producer Iris Gruttmann and was sung by her then five-year-old niece Joy Gruttmann. The song was published in 2001, but success only came later, especially through the song's distribution on the relevant file-sharing platforms at the time. It's actually strange that the successful project wasn't continued on a large scale.

And speaking of singing children: The piece was also a very unlikely number 1 hit in 1992It's hard to be a babyby Jordy. He was four years old at the time, making him the youngest singer of all time to have a number 1 hit in France - which is how he got into the Guinness Book of Records. By the way, the title translates as: It's hard to be a baby. Aha.