Nate Ruess is an American singer best known as the frontman of fun., the band behind the era-defining smash "We Are Young", and before that of the cult favourite The Format. His place on this list is strictly about his solo career, because in his bands he was anything but a one-hit act.
That solo career, so far, is defined by one song. "Nothing Without Love", released in 2015 as the lead single from his solo album, is a big, soaring pop-rock track in the anthemic style of his fun. work, and it became his most-streamed solo release by a clear margin.
On streaming, "Nothing Without Love" sits near 56 million plays, while his next most-streamed solo track trails at around ten million. That puts the ratio above 5, over our line.
So by our strict, numbers-only measure, Nate Ruess registers as a certified one-hit wonder as a solo artist, and we flag the caveat firmly. This is the voice of one of the 2010s' biggest bands. It is only that, under his own name, one anthemic single stands ahead of the rest of his solo output.