The Artist Behind ‘Let Her Go’ Has Released an Album a Year Since His Award-Winning Hit

Sometimes an artist can provide the world with dozens of hits that win every award, like Beyoncé or Lady Gaga. Other times, some artists hit it big one time and are never really heard from again, at least not in the same capacity as their previous hit. For the band-turned-solo artist Passenger, one hit is what he’s best known for. However, that doesn’t mean that he’s out of the spotlight completely.

“Let Her Go” was a top-charting song for Passenger in 2012, but he has not stopped making music. Instead, he has put out many albums since, recording all over the world and writing songs that speak to a specific time and place, reflecting where the songs were written and recorded. Although Passenger may be included in the one-hit-wonder category, they aren’t giving up just yet on getting that second big hit to take the world by storm.

Who is Passenger and Michael David Rosenberg?

Passenger is the former band name and current stage name of singer/songwriter Michael David Rosenberg. He is a native of England and started his career in the band of the same name. While there was a falling out of the band in 2009, Rosenberg has continued to use the band’s name for all of his solo work.

In 2012, Passenger hit it big with the single “Let Her Go.” The song was at the top of the charts in 16 countries and racked up more than 3.2 billion views for the video on YouTube. It was the most-viewed YouTube video of all time in Australia, according to The Washington Post. The song was such as big hit that it was nominated for the Brit Award for Single of the Year. It also won the British Academy’s Ivor Novello Award for the song being a Most Performed Work.

The single ‘Let Her Go’ was followed by an album each year after

Although “Let Her Go” was a big hit in England and Australia, the albums and singles that followed from Passenger didn’t get the same kind of fanfare. Passenger has actually released an album every year since the release of the hit single, but none of his work since has reached the same type of achievement. He has also worked with other top artists, such as his former bandmates and his childhood friend Ed Sheeran.

Along with each of those albums, Passenger makes a point to help support causes and charities that he finds important. He has supported causes such as Teenage Cancer Trust, UNICEF U.K., The Trussell Trust, and Eden Reforestation Projects.

Some of the most popular one-hit wonders from the 2010s

Passenger isn’t the only artist to have scored a hit song in the 2010s and then fade from the spotlight. Some other one-hit wonders from that era include Gotye’s “Somebody I Used to Know” and La Roux’s “Bulletproof.”

One that you still may not be able to forget is Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe.” That is because the song was not only a classic earworm, but it was also heavily promoted online, starting with Justin Bieber telling the world it was his favorite song, then releasing a video of him lip-syncing to it. That sparked a trend across the internet where everyone put out their lip-syncing video to “Call Me Maybe.” Although she may not have charted as highly since then, Jepsen has released critically acclaimed albums and was chosen to sing the new version of the Full House theme song for the reboot Fuller House.