Why do so many musicians end up being one-hit wonders?

High Snobiety:

Several years ago I came across an interesting statistic: nearly half of all musicians that created a chart hit in the half-century in between 1955 and 2005 never did so again – 47.5 percent, to be exact.

This Hollywood Walk of Shame includes the likes of Los Del Rio (Macarena), A-ha (Take On Me), Nena (99 Luftballoons), Chumbawumba (Tubthumping) and, more recently, Psy (Gangnam Style,) not to mention countless other has-beens.

So what is it about pop stardom that makes it so difficult to sustain?

Is it because pop music is so ephemeral and music tastes change so rapidly?