Deee-Lite were a New York dance trio fronted by the irrepressible Lady Miss Kier, and in 1990 they made one of the most joyful singles of the era. "Groove Is in the Heart", a riot of colour featuring bass legend Bootsy Collins and a guest verse from Q-Tip, became a club and chart hit and a lasting symbol of early-1990s style.
It also turned out to be the one everyone remembers. Deee-Lite released more music and stayed beloved in dance circles, but no follow-up came near the reach of their debut hit.
On streaming the contrast is extreme. "Groove Is in the Heart" sits near 276 million plays, while their next most-streamed track has under six million. That pushes the ratio close to 50, many times our 5.0 line.
By our measure Deee-Lite are a textbook certified one-hit wonder. It is no slight on a genuinely influential group whose fingerprints are still on decades of dance and house music. Some artists pour a whole aesthetic into one perfect single, and the world is happy to play that single forever while the rest of the catalogue stays a connoisseur's secret.