Forgotten second singles: Did these follow-ups deserve better?

22 February 2022 | By George Griffiths

 

In honour of 22/2/22, we're celebrating the second singles by artists that may have got lost in conversation.

 

A debut single is something of a delicate art in pop music. But some would say that a second single is even harder to get right.

 

Not only do you have to live up to the promise of your first release, but you also have to make sure that it aligns with your artistic identity and what you want to say - or maybe your debut single didn't feel right to you, so you then have to go in a completely different direction and start again.

 

Do you see what we're getting at? Difficult. Check out the follow-up we truly believe deserved more below. Did we miss any?

 

1. No Good Advice by Girls Aloud

Released: 2003

Official Singles Chart peak: Number 3

Sound of the Underground was such a game-changing record, it might have seemed like an insurmountable wall for Girls Aloud to climb. Could they ever live up to a debut single that changed the parameters of British pop music forever? But from the opening dissonance of No Good Advice, one thing became very clear; Cheryl, Nicola, Kimberley, Nadine and Sarah weren't a flash in the pan. They were here to stay. A raucous riot, No Good Advice's UK chart sales stand in excess of 178,000 - with streaming sales over 3 million too.

 

2. Panini by Lil Nas X

Released: 2019

Official Singles Chart peak: Number 21

Old Time Road started off as a bit of a joke, but morphed into one of the biggest hits of the decade. Lil Nas X could have very easily become a one-hit wonder, but Panini seems to hum with the enjoyment of defying expectations. In the UK, Panini's chart sales stand at over 642,000 and the tracks streaming sales have racked up over 58 million. A synth-pop rap record, it pleasingly turned Nas away from country, and allowed him to continue to experiment - eventually leading to Montero (Call Me By Your Name).

 

3. Gotta Be You by One Direction

Released: 2011

Official Singles Chart peak: Number 3

1D's What Makes You Beautiful is a debut single for the ages - telling you everything you need to know (and fall in love with) Harry, Liam, Louis, Niall and Zayn. Its follow-up Gotta Be You doubles down on the teenage infatuation, with heart-swelling strings...as well as rhyming disappointed with anointed. Penmanship! Despite this, Gotta Be You actually misses out on a spot on the boy's Top 10 biggest UK singles, with streaming figures maxing out at 8 million, and a combined chart sales total of 254,000.

 

4. You Need Me, I Don't Need You by Ed Sheeran

Released: 2011

Official Singles Chart peak: Number 4

Who knew Ed Sheeran had bars? Following the success of his major label debut single The A Team, You Need Me, I Don't Need You was a fascinating mix of Ed's standard acoustic sounds, mixed with the cadence of hard rap. His second UK Top 10 single, its streaming figures have hit 58 million, with a combined total of 929,000 chart sales, although this sadly has nothing on his biggest chart hits.

 

5. Deja Vu by Olivia Rodrigo

Released: 2021

Official Singles Chart peak: Number 4

Released inbetween two of the defining hits of the past year - Drivers License and Good 4 U - Deja Vu can be seen as a fascinating detour for Olivia, taking as much inspiration from Radiohead as it does Taylor Swift (who got added as a songwriter after the song's release due to similarities between Deja Vu's shouty-middle eight and the Lover album track Cruel Summer). Deja Vu was still one of the Top 40 biggest singles of 2021, and has chart sales amassing 627,000 with streaming figures of 59 million to match.

 

6. Shakermaker by Oasis

Released: 1994

Official Singles Chart peak: Number 11

The second release from Noel and Liam's first record Definitely Maybe, Shakermaker just missed out on a place in the Top 10 at the time of its release, and just about places in Oasis' Top 20 best-selling singles in the UK - with total chart sales in excess of 354,000.

 

7. If It's Lovin' That You Want by Rihanna

Released: 2005

Official Singles Chart peak: Number 11

Sandwiched between dancehall debut smash Pon De Replay and the Soft Cell-sampling SOS, If It's Lovin' That You Want remains a curiously forgotten entry in Rihanna's singles discography. Again just missing out on a Top 10 placement, the track has streaming sales in excess of 8 million in the UK, with 1 million of those coming from the last year alone.

 

8. Body II Body by Samantha Mumba

Released: 2000

Official Singles Chart peak: Number 5

Gotta Tell You was a revelatory release for Samantha Mumba, and it's follow-up took a bold swing, sampling David Bowie's Ashes To Ashes. Samantha's second UK Top 10 single, Body II Body has streaming sales in excess of 627,000, and was streamed to the tune of 103,000 sales in 2021 alone.

 

9. Funky Dory by Rachel Stevens

Released: 2003

Official Singles Chart peak: Number 26

Another David Bowie sample here, from Rachel Stevens' hilariously left-of-centre follow-up to Britney Spears cast-off Sweet Dreams My LA Ex. We couldn't imagine Brit singing this one. Charting at Number 26, Funky Dory is perhaps the most forgotten of all the second singles placed here, with streaming sales coming in at just over 82,000 to date.

 

10. Up by The Saturdays

Released: 2008

Official Singles Chart peak: Number 5

Never forget when The Saturdays each wore an individual colour. Up was a beloved release by The Sats, actually hitting a higher peak in the Top 10 that their 80s-inspire debut If This Is Love. It's chart sales in the UK add up to 429,000 and it was streamed 1.3 million times last year! Also: we have to give a shoutout to Mollie King's forgotten high-camp Xenomania produced second solo single Hair Down. Na na na na na na na na na!

 

11. Sometimes by Britney Spears

Released: 1999

Official Singles Chart peak: Number 3

Sometimes she runs, sometimes she hides. Any single released after the world-changing ...Baby One More Time would pale in comparison, and it looks like Brit isn't the biggest fan of its follow-up either. Still, props for the lovely video shot on a pier. Sometimes' total combined UK chart sales come in at a respectable 572,000 to date.

 

12. 3 Words by Cheryl Cole ft. Will.I.Am

Released: 2009

Official Singles Chart peak: Number 4

It's giving alt-pop excellence. A curious second release from Cheryl, who teamed up with her professional mentor Will.i.am for a song that is so out of left field, you kind of can't believe that this wasn't only a Cheryl Cole single, it actually peaked at Number 4 on the Official Singles Chart. Still one of her Top 10 best-selling hits in the UK, 3 Words' combined chart sales amount to 374,000 - with a decent 2 million in streaming figures too.

 

13. One Less Lonely Girl by Justin Bieber

Released: 2010

Official Singles Chart peak: Number 62

Oh, to be a teenage girl in 2010. Justin Bieber was pulling on pubescent heartstrings long before Baby - despite One Less Lonely Girl not even cracking the Top 40 upon its release, it still has streaming sales notching up to 9 million, as well as combined UK chart sales of 177,000.

 

14. I Am Not A Robot by Marina & The Diamonds

Released: 2010

Official Singles Chart peak: Number 26

While Marina's debut single Hollywood functioned as a pastiche of American materialism (ironic considering the themes and content of her second album Electra Heart, where she leaned in to the pop stars she was parodying), I Am Not A Robot is a much more personal affair, clearly inspired by the likes of Kate Bush and Lily Allen. Reaching Number 26 on the Official Singles Chart, it's still a fan-favourite cut, with combined chart sales of 168,000 and streaming figures of 6 million to its name.

 

15. Be The One by Dua Lipa

Released: 2015

Official Singles Chart peak: Number 9

By and far the most successful second single on this list, Dua's Be The One was a monster breakout hit - with over 1.3 million combined UK chart sales, and a mammoth 106 million streams to match. It's just a testament to how big she is now that Be The One's feather-light sonics could now be considered overlooked with hits like Don't Start Now, Cold Heart with Elton John and Physical.

I think they all got what they deserved for the quality at the time.

 

Here’s another second single that didn’t get what it deserved which was nothing;

 

That's a very random list :unsure: worst song on there by a mile is 'Gotta Be You'. To this day I cannot understand how anyone thought it was a good enough song for them to record, let alone release as a single. One of the worst songs in their (otherwise pretty decent) discography!

^that's like single 16 and single 20 in their discography as opposed to debut single/second single

but I get what you mean :)

A bit annoying that they're talking about streaming "sales" when they mean the amount of plays a track has had.

Marina’s song definitely deserved more but as an artist she is too different to be big

That's a very random list :unsure: worst song on there by a mile is 'Gotta Be You'. To this day I cannot understand how anyone thought it was a good enough song for them to record, let alone release as a single. One of the worst songs in their (otherwise pretty decent) discography!

 

I'd say if anything it deserved worse. 'More Than This' was right there as a ballady second single!

 

'No Good Advice' still quite a way from being certified. :(

Girls Aloud No good advice was a brilliant 2nd single and for me deserved to have more sales, i always liked sound of the underground but no good advice really drew me to them and i still think its one of the best songs they ever recorded.

Also slightly against the rules, but just wanted to give a shoutout to George Ezra’s third single Listen To The Man which didn’t crack the Top 40.

 

Very odd list. I understand what they’re driving at with second singles like Funky Dory that really underperformed and arguably deserved better, but songs like Deja Vu and Up did just fine.

Forgotten second singles

 

Olivia Rodrigo - Deja Vu

The Saturdays - Up

 

:frankie:

 

Nice to know Up's sales of 429,000 and eek at it's poor streams. The Hair Down mention omg

There's a few cases where after a big initial hit then a second song flops but the act becomes big again and enters their imperial phase after a career-defining mega hit(s)

 

Abba's 'Ring Ring' only made no.32 after 'Waterloo' made no.1 but became big again after 'SOS' and 'Mamma Mia'

Roxette's 'Dressed for Success' only made no.48 after 'The Look' made no.7 but they saved the day with 'It Must have been Love'(3). 'Dressed' was re-released off the back of that and made no. 18

 

Sure there's many examples of this phenomenem.

 

Forgotten second singles

 

Olivia Rodrigo - Deja Vu

The Saturdays - Up

 

:frankie:

 

Up is like the opposite of a forgotten second single since it was much more successful than their Heidi Montag imitation. At least with Deja Vu you could argue it's gotten lost between two bigger singles.

Wild how the OCC can just casually say eww country music in an article. True cultural divide.

Wild how the OCC can just casually say eww country music in an article. True cultural divide.

 

Yeah, I had a double take when I saw that. But it's possible they didn't mean it in that way. They might mean it like "It was a satisfying way of allowing him to try different music styles". But yeah, they could be saying "We're so pleased he didn't do more country-inspired songs", it's not really clear.

Fighting Butteflies by Steve Brookstein cruelly overlooked by the OCC again 😂

I think judging by the OCC's list of examples we can tell what sort of average age its staff are nowadays! Only two of 15 pre-2000 and nothing before the 1990s.

No Good Advice and Sometimes - espwcially Sometimes - were DEFINITELY the worst second single hoices here. Shame Funky Dory didn't do better :( In fact, I could imagine Jerd singing that and releasing it as her debut smash!

 

God Sometimes is HORRENDOUS!! Who thought she should follow up a yuuuge era-defining doo pop song like Hit Me (Baby One More Time) should be that dirge!!!

I can remember when 1D released Gotta Be You after WMYB, and thinking at the time how it was an incredibly big step down in quality.

Terrible choice of a second single.

A rather obvious mistake is the Samantha Mumba figure- 627k can't be right as it hasn't even been certified silver yet alone Platinum. Unless they just mean streaming totals rather than "sales".