Which chart hits do you generally prefer at the moment - the ones that enter near the top and slay for weeks on end or those that slowly creep to their peak?

 

Current instant smashes include Señorita, I Don't Care, Bad Guy, Beautiful People, Hold Me While You Wait..

Current sleeper hits include Ladbroke Grove, 3 Nights, Higher Love, Castles, Ritual..

 

For me it has to be the sleeper hits, they're usually more interesting - and especially so in the current chart. I do love a good chart run with a nice climb too.

Most of my favourite songs of this year have been the sleeper hits and of those hits I prefer the sleeper one definitely.

 

It changes though last year most of my favourite songs (Shallow aside) were all instant like smashes.

 

I like to see the odd song debut and enter at #1 though from time to time.

Sleeper hits for sure. It's great to see songs gradually climb and get more exposure and become big hits. A lot of the time sleeper hits are by lesser known artists, so it's great to see them do well.

The sleeper hits do generally seem to be the more interesting songs! That said, in my personal chart, sleeper hits are pretty rare and most songs peak in week 1, or within about 3-4 weeks :lol:

The sleeper hits do generally seem to be the more interesting songs! That said, in my personal chart, sleeper hits are pretty rare and most songs peak in week 1, or within about 3-4 weeks :lol:

 

Sleeper hits are now at a significant disadvantage, in that they are more likely to have their progress curtailed by ACR.

Sleeper hits, because they are usually by lesser known or growing artists, or one-hit wonders, and have become hits entirely because of the quality of the song fighting through the noise. There aren’t enough of them around for my liking.

 

The chart is mostly dominated by a handful of superstars these days whose singles in many cases smash initially on name power and instant playlist support and then their subsequent chart run determines if they are genuinely popular songs or not (Senorita, I Don’t Care, Vossi Bop - yes; Me!, Bounce Back - no). It is actually rare for these superstar singles to completely fail these days but you still cannot force a song to click with a disinterested public.

Much much prefer sleeper hits that build and build plus there chart runs are far more interesting.

Sleeper hits for me because as people have mentioned in this era it's a bit like the pre 90s when big artists instantly peaked in the top 10/15 due to their fanbase and power to dictate airplay whereas songs like Dominic Fike or Kygo are songs that rise because they are genuinely popular with the public (I know the Whitney factor is at play in that song).

 

The sleeper hit artists want enough hits to enter instantly high in the future.