“MMMBop” was Hanson’s most successful single, and the song that propelled them into the world sales stratosphere, selling 10 million copies off the back of this debut single.

Looking back on the song, the band said:

It does tap into a theme we’ve continued to have, which is to interweave relatively serious thoughts — the verses, you know, “You have so many relationships in this life / Only one or two will last / You go through so much pain and strife / You turn your back and they’re gone so fast.“ It’s not exactly sunshine and rainbows, but it’s packaged in a way that it’s looking for the moral to the story … “MMMBop” was started as a background part during the making of our previous independent album, called Boomerang. We were looking for background parts for a song, and somebody started singing what became the “MMMBop” chorus. “MMMBop” was originally in the key of A, and we currently play it in F sharp. Sometimes in F.

So the track plays on a darker theme with lighthearted, catchy melodies and a nonsensical chorus. This formula struck gold, making it to number 1 on the US Billboard Charts, and number 1 in 13 other countries, with Europe included in that. It went platinum in 7 separate countries, but it wasn’t nominated for any awards.

The video for the song featured the youngsters running through their local neighbourhood and performing live in their family home, going on an eventual joy ride that ends with surfing, roller blading, and playing their song in front of a giant flower.