Heqdlines by spice girls for sure

If i told you that, reached top10, so it was hardly a flop

 

Perhaps not a flop, but compared to the hype and expectation it had, it definitely did a whole lot worse than expected.

 

Pretty sure that up to the week of release it was anticipated to be on lock for No.1, as a collaboration with that billing in that era probably should have been.

 

Talking of singles hyped to the hilt and expected to be No.1 in 2000 and then completely failing, there was also Girl Thing’s Last One Standing (I shudder to think how much money their label lost), which peaked at No.8.

 

Sure, that wasn’t a ‘flop’ either if you regard every top ten hit as a success, but actually in terms of what was expected of it and the money invested in it/them to be a success, this was very much more than just an underperformance.

Edited December 28, 2024Dec 28 by gooddelta

Don't call me angel

My recollection x If I told you that is that nobody expected it to be #1, maybe if it had been released prior to the album

but releasing a couple weeks after the album and the album being one of the biggest GH ever, you're not gonna get a #1

I personally don't even consider it an underperformance, let alone the biggest flop in the history of music

 

i know it's all about expectations, but it's like saying Born this way or Skyfall were the biggest flops ever cos they didn't go to #1 when everybody assumed it, but that's an underperformance not a flop.

I didn’t say it was the biggest flop ever, I was going by the line in the opening post - ‘ Something with big expectations that didnt perform?’ and this just stuck out in my head as one I particularly remember as being a massive surprise, whether others agree or have the same memory or not.

 

It was definitely No.1 on the Woolworths chart which tended usually to be a barometer of what was expected, with some pre-order sales mixed in I believe. It exited the chart after a few weeks and sold very little in total, so I’d never compare it to the huge sales of Born This Way and Skyfall, which just had unfortunate release dates straddling two chart weeks with their peak sales.

 

It’s Only Rock & Roll that I also mentioned was definitely a bigger failure - that for sure was being hyped up like Perfect Day was initially until it became apparent that nobody really liked it much.

Edited December 28, 2024Dec 28 by gooddelta

It’s Only Rock & Roll that I also mentioned was definitely a bigger failure - that for sure was being hyped up like Perfect Day was initially until it became apparent that nobody really liked it much.

 

I was gonna say I remember the hype around it. Truth was though it was a cacophonus mess and realistically, the Christmas number one was Westlife's to lose that year, even with the strong sales of that God awful Cliff Richard track (I especially have bad memories of the latter because our crone of a headteacher forced it to be played in assemblies leading up to Christmas that year. Much to the chagrin of me and one of my best mates who were Music Prefects at that time).

 

This thread has quickly become a list of underperformances despite the title being "biggest flop ever" lol

 

Rhythm Divine is an interesting case though. It reached only #32 in the US as well... maybe it was too similar to Bailamos?

 

I mean a lot of the records I listed in my original post were flops of that December 1999 chart week, no question. Thunderbugs absolutely were a flop given the hype, development of over 18 months and money they'd had thrown at them by their label. The video alone for "It's About Time You Were Mine" cost about £100k to make!

 

Lou Bega was coming off the back of one of the top 5 biggest selling singles and number ones of the year (even if it was just "Mambo No. 5" with a slightly different melody), so more was expected of him. Even Eiffel 65 managed another top 3 hit!

 

As for Enrique, I think the problem was that "Bailamos" was a fantastic single but everything else on that first English language album of his was just a derivative of it. Not to mention that the whole Latino flavoured sound largely sold more in the lighter, warmer months - the first release of Santana and Rob Thomas' "Smooth" is a great case in point actually. Missed the top 40 altogether - in fact barely made the top 75 - in October 1999, but then the reissue came out in the following spring 2000 and it was a much bigger hit.

let alone the biggest flop in the history of music

I think this thread jumped the shark very quickly in terms of that question... :kink: and it's kind of impossible to pinpoint what the answer to that question would be, because there's way too many variables.

 

"Something with big expectations that didnt perform?" from your opening post allows for more varied and interesting responses, and is probably what the thread should be retitled as.

 

On paper a Whitney Houston & George Michael collaboration surely had big expectations, enough so to be selected as the UK lead for Whitney's first Greatest Hits era, at least.

 

Based on George Michael's chart history over the majority of the 90s, I'd say a #9 entry to start off the 2000s portion of his career was something of an underperformance for him.

 

I know the song is more so a Whitney single, given that it's from her album, but the artists do have equal billing on the single. You might be forgiven for thinking that George's fanbase would have showed up more than they did for this single, based on the amount of Top 5 hits he'd accumulated over the years.

 

'Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me' marked the beginning of George's longest string of Top 10 hits, the majority being Top 5s:

 

1991 - #1 - Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me

1992 - #4 - Too Funky

1993 - #1 - Five Live EP

1996 - #1 - Jesus to a Child

1996 - #1 - Fastlove

1996 - #2 - Spinning the Wheel

1997 - #3 - Older/I Can't Make You Love Me

1997 - #2 - Star People '97

1997 - #10 - Waltz Away Dreaming

1997 - #2 - You Have Been Loved

1998 - #2 - Outside

1999 - #4 - As

2000 - #9 - If I Told You That

2002 - #7 Freeek!

People still overlook that If I Told You That was JUST A DUET VERSION of a song released on a successful album in 1998. It surely affected its sales.

 

I would say Freeek! was a bigger underperformance for George Michael and Whitney had a complete flop era too.

Edited December 28, 2024Dec 28 by Sour Candy

Perhaps not the biggest ever but One Direction's Midnight Memories stands out as a pretty major misfire among their discography. When all of their other singles peaked in the top 20 (You & I scammed its way there but came close on its single release anyway), Midnight Memories scraped the top 40 at #38 with a digital EP release boosting it in. It had been performed on the X Factor final at the end of 2013 and that had only got it to #46! It's been certified silver since, so it streams well enough, but their discography does quite well on streaming on the whole anyway. Definitely a big misfire by their standards.

One True Voice entire career.

 

'Sacred Trust'/'After The Love Has Gone' - was predicted to outperform Girls Aloud significantly. Pandered to the masses way more. Ended up getting thrashed by GA by over 65k copies and a swifter chart exit...

 

'Shakespeare's Way With Words' did even worse.

 

---

 

I'd also put Leona Lewis' 'Trouble' down as a complete and utter misfire and led to her complete downfall in the UK charts :drama: (I like the song - but 'Glassheart' has a couple of other tracks I'd have opted over that as a single....) and she never really recovered (outside of her Christmas era).

I think one that could absolutely qualify for this thread - and actually represented the nadir of the "finding the next Spice Girls" craze that briefly existed at the turn of the millennium - would be Girl Thing.

 

Everyone's quite well aware of how they were formed from Simon Cowell's saltiness / hubris at missing out on signing the Spice Girls. And their first single "Last One Standing" had such a high degree of conceit around it to the extent they again, had millions flung at their launch; front cover of Smash Hits before they'd had a single out, showcase at the Eiffel Tower in Paris, on every TV show imaginable prior to release.

 

First single that was basically "Copy my homework but change a few words" of "Wannabe" in both video and song. And then so hyped up as a number one that they actually pre-recorded their congratulatory interview with Mark Goodier for Radio 1 celebrating their number one. It then went to #8 instead, the second single "Girls On Top" missed the top 20 and then "Pure & Simple" from their cancelled album got given to Hear'Say.

 

People say it was Hear'Say that killed off that four year period of bubblegum pop the Spice Girls started. It was actually Simon Cowell with Girl Thing that did it in if you want my opinion.

I'd also put Leona Lewis' 'Trouble' down as a complete and utter misfire and led to her complete downfall in the UK charts :drama: (I like the song - but 'Glassheart' has a couple of other tracks I'd have opted over that as a single....) and she never really recovered (outside of her Christmas era).

 

It's not like the previous couple of singles did that much better than 'Trouble' to be fair? Think she just had a pretty gradual (albeit fast) decline in relevance through the first three albums.

 

(also it's her best song xx)

Anastasia- I Can Feel You

It's not like the previous couple of singles did that much better than 'Trouble' to be fair? Think she just had a pretty gradual (albeit fast) decline in relevance through the first three albums.

 

(also it's her best song xx)

'I Got You' release was completely mis-handled iirc, so I'm not sure it's fair to completely include that in this thread as it was more that the label didn't do what they needed to do, when they needed to do it etc.. (the "single release" was delayed, the viideo came out later than it should have etc..) whereas the lead single from 'Glassheart' could have "course corrected" due to it being the lead single of a brand new era, with a big prime time promo slot (it was the year James Arthur won - so XF hype was still a thing and she was still in favour with the XF audience)

I think one that could absolutely qualify for this thread - and actually represented the nadir of the "finding the next Spice Girls" craze that briefly existed at the turn of the millennium - would be Girl Thing.

 

Everyone's quite well aware of how they were formed from Simon Cowell's saltiness / hubris at missing out on signing the Spice Girls. And their first single "Last One Standing" had such a high degree of conceit around it to the extent they again, had millions flung at their launch; front cover of Smash Hits before they'd had a single out, showcase at the Eiffel Tower in Paris, on every TV show imaginable prior to release.

 

First single that was basically "Copy my homework but change a few words" of "Wannabe" in both video and song. And then so hyped up as a number one that they actually pre-recorded their congratulatory interview with Mark Goodier for Radio 1 celebrating their number one. It then went to #8 instead, the second single "Girls On Top" missed the top 20 and then "Pure & Simple" from their cancelled album got given to Hear'Say.

 

People say it was Hear'Say that killed off that four year period of bubblegum pop the Spice Girls started. It was actually Simon Cowell with Girl Thing that did it in if you want my opinion.

Good call, it was so hyped at the time and for it to end up at number 8 was a disastrous result for them, as a kylie fan I remember that week so well as it was a career changing week for kylie who went number 1 with spinning around that week.

I did like last one standing though but in my support of kylie I only bought spinning around that week as I wanted no part in helping anyone stopping her going number 1 so bought last one standing on week 2.

 

'I Got You' release was completely mis-handled iirc, so I'm not sure it's fair to completely include that in this thread as it was more that the label didn't do what they needed to do, when they needed to do it etc.. (the "single release" was delayed, the viideo came out later than it should have etc..) whereas the lead single from 'Glassheart' could have "course corrected" due to it being the lead single of a brand new era, with a big prime time promo slot (it was the year James Arthur won - so XF hype was still a thing and she was still in favour with the XF audience)

 

I was moreso referring to 'Collide' (and 'Hurt' although tbf that is really its own category of confusing misstep).

Oh yes, 'Collide' in between... I think the whole Avicii lawsuit thing destroyed that campaign tbh :lol: It seemed pretty high profile for what usually gets swept under the carpet beyond the initial "Leona is being sued" headline.

If we are talking about under performing songs, Headlines by Spice Girls is definitely a memorable one

One True Voice entire career.

 

'Sacred Trust'/'After The Love Has Gone' - was predicted to outperform Girls Aloud significantly. Pandered to the masses way more. Ended up getting thrashed by GA by over 65k copies and a swifter chart exist...

 

'Shakespeare's Way With Words' did even worse.

 

---

 

I'd also put Leona Lewis' 'Trouble' down as a complete and utter misfire and led to her complete downfall in the UK charts :drama: (I like the song - but 'Glassheart' has a couple of other tracks I'd have opted over that as a single....) and she never really recovered (outside of her Christmas era).

 

 

I think they f***ed her up with the whole second album era tbh, it wasn't strong enough and they had no idea what to do with her. Happy while going to #2 didn't sell that great in the long run and she went from an album selling over 3 million to under 700k with the second one. That second album should have been a million seller at least.

 

I agree the third album was a chance to correct course but they f***ed it up even more, I mean she had Burn (Ellie Goulding) and We found love (Rihanna) on the table and both were rejected in favour of Trouble!?!? I actually really like Trouble but a lead single it is not. :blink: Then again neither was Happy...

I think they f***ed her up with the whole second album era tbh, it wasn't strong enough and they had no idea what to do with her. Happy while going to #2 didn't sell that great in the long run and she went from an album selling over 3 million to under 700k with the second one. That second album should have been a million seller at least.

 

I agree the third album was a chance to correct course but they f***ed it up even more, I mean she had Burn (Ellie Goulding) and We found love (Rihanna) on the table and both were rejected in favour of Trouble!?!? I actually really like Trouble but a lead single it is not. :blink: Then again neither was Happy...

The 2nd album is widely considered her absolute best by many though, isn't it?? I agree that 'Happy' wasn't the right choice of single, but I completely understand that they were trying to launch the era with another 'Bleeding Love' kind of power ballad (and then 'I Got You' release being delayed significantly really hindered 'Echo' success/longevity).

 

Single choices are important, but at least there was some kind of method to thinking 'Happy' would do what 'Bleeding Love' did etc.. I'd have probably launched her new era in July/August tbh. Lead with 'Outta My Head' as a Summer "omg Leona can do uptempo!!!" banger and then have an X Factor performance for the 2nd single and more Q4/ballad friendly choice and then launching a 3rd single in February and choosing one of either 'Naked' or 'Can't Breathe' which I think could have been huge on US radio for her.

 

I just don't think this era is quite the disaster it is made out to be... unlike 'Glassheart'. Yeah it was an under performance - I agree, but not a flop (but following up what was at the time the biggest selling debut album by a solo female was ALWAYS going to have added pressure and an impossible bar to beat)