Why Didn't Enuff Z'Nuff Get Huge?

I was on the way to physical therapy this morning and clicked around my SiriusXM while driving. I honestly don't listen to Hair Nation that much anymore because it is so repetitive but "New Thing" by Enuff Z'Nuff popped on and I stopped to listen. I love that song - it is just catchy and fun.

While driving I sort of wondered... "Why didn't Enuff Z'Nuff blow up with fame?" The band's self-titled album came out in 1989, which should have been a slam dunk. Sure, videos for "New Thing" and "Fly High Michelle" got heavy enough rotation on MTV but that debut still didn't go platinum or anything like many of their contemporaries.

For whatever reason, Enuff Z'Nuff is one of those criminally underrated acts. People seem to dig the music when it comes on but never really think of them organically. Like, how often do you recall the band being mentioned in "best-of" lists? Or even just being beloved by a close friend? Donnie Vie and Chip Z'Nuff had an amazing chemistry for songwriting. Perhaps the Glam label doomed them. Listening to the catalog, the band is probably more pop than hair metal... I guess? The sound is hard to categorize. EZN was probably marketed all wrong. Folks regarded them as Poison copycats - which is a shame. Also, drummer Vik Foxx looks hot as hell in the video below!