Are We Seeing Another British Invasion?

[Envoirment]

So, in the last year or so, a substantial number of British acts have been seeing success in the states across multiple formats. Not to mention a few are just starting to build up success here. These include;

Adele
Alex Clare
Amy Winehouse*
Calvin Harris
Coldplay
Ed Sheeran
Ellie Goulding
Estelle
Florence + The Machine
Jessie J
Mumford & Sons
One Direction
Rita Ora
Snow Partol
The Wanted

Others that may make a dent this year include;

Alexandra Burke
Cher Lloyd
Cheryl Cole
Emeli Sandé
Example
Leona Lewis
Marina And The Diamonds


Plus a few more I may be missing.

So, with many British acts on the US music scene and the potential for more, do you think we are amidst another British Invasion?

* Amy Winehouse's recent success was due to her death and includes a posthumous release.

[Verisimilitude]

Biggest since the late '90s, I'd say.

[Deleted]

There are more British acts having success right now than there were a few years ago, but I don't think it's an invasion (like the one in the 60s when that term was coined). Only a few of those artists listed have really had a substantial mainstream presence lately.

[Hefty Hanna]

...and Cheryl Cole obviously.

[cesarams]

What's good, 'cause they're doing good music and all of them deserve this. It's good to see US it's listening more around the world.

[Deleted]

I feel like there has been a spike in successful British artists here in the US, but it just doesn't feel cohesive enough to be called a British Invasion. I mean, Coldplay and Amy Winehouse have been/were around for years. Mumford & Sons and Florence + The Machine's mainstream success has been too limited to really contribute to an "invasion." Jessie J and Calvin Harris are making the type of music that is popular here right now.

That leaves Adele and the boy bands. Adele is an anomaly. I feel like the boy bands are part of something different happening- a new wave of teen pop, which Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber sort of spearheaded, and Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, One Direction, The Wanted and Old Lady Carly Rae Jepsen are contributing to. I have no doubt that we will see some more acts in this vein pop up with mainstream success before the year's end.

[Agent Yoncé]

Adele
Alex Clare
Florence + The Machine

I'm here for these 3 acts. Idk them other ones.

[Envoirment]

May 1, 2012 2:14:08 GMT -5 @jjj said:

I feel like there has been a spike in successful British artists here in the US, but it just doesn't feel cohesive enough to be called a British Invasion. I mean, Coldplay and Amy Winehouse have been/were around for years. Mumford & Sons and Florence + The Machine's mainstream success has been too limited to really contribute to an "invasion." Jessie J and Calvin Harris are making the type of music that is popular here right now.

That leaves Adele and the boy bands. Adele is an anomaly. I feel like the boy bands are part of something different happening- a new wave of teen pop, which Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber sort of spearheaded, and Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, One Direction, The Wanted and Old Lady Carly Rae Jepsen are contributing to. I have no doubt that we will see some more acts in this vein pop up with mainstream success before the year's end.

Mumford & Sons have sold over 2 million copies of their debut album, not to mention both "Little Lion Man" & "The Cave" have both sold 1.7mil+ and 1.2mil+ repsectively.

Florence + The Machine has sold 1 million copies their debut album and their 2nd album has gone gold so far. Not to mention "Dog Days Are Over" has sold over 2 million copies and "Shake It Out" over 500k copies.

I think they have contributed quite well. You don't have to be "mainstream" to contribute. Especially considering how well both acts have sold.

I included the likes of Coldplay & Amy because they were having success at the same time as a bunch of other British acts and so were a part of the overall British presence in the US charts.

I wouldn't necessarily say that Adele is an anomaly. Her debut album went platinum and "Chasing Pavements" went platinum too. So I was expecting her to have some success with her 2nd album, especially being a grammy favourite. But in terms of the amount of success it has had, I would definitely agree in calling it an anomaly.

I agree that The Wanted & One Direction fit into the "Teen Pop" category, which has seen a re-emergence. But One Direction have been shifting albums quite well.

Thanks to everyone for their input so far. I added a few more British artists to the lists that I forgot about; Example, Cher Lloyd, Cherly Cole and Snow Partol - who have seen some success with their last album.

[Deleted]

Not anywhere near the same level as the original British invasion in the 60's with groups like the Beatles, the Rolling Stones or singers like Dusty Springfield, or even the mini British invasion of the 80's with groups like Wham and Culture Club, but yes, for the first time in awhile, Americans are proving receptive towards British music and artists, no doubt at least partially spearheaded by the mega success of Adele in the last year.

[Envoirment]

Thought I'd bump this considering the on-going success of Adele and One Direction. Cher Lloyd has recently scored herself a #12 hit and the follow up has started well, Alex Clare's "Too Close" just broke the top 10 on the hot 100. Not to mention Ed Sheeran and Mumford and Sons have had success, the later much more of course! Marina is sending out her 2nd song to POP and Olly murs looks like he will get a big push soon as well. Not to mention Alexandra Burke looks likely to try to break the US next year and Leona will be releasing early next year it seems.

P.S: Calvin Harris & Florence + The Machine "Sweet Nothing" is going for adds soon too. The Wanted are also releasing "I Found You" too.

[Hefty Hanna]

CHERYL my God what a pussy

[Envoirment]

Thought I'd bump this with Little Mix/Emeli Sandé breaking through some what. Labrinth is starting to make a mark with Emeli, Ed Sheeran/Calvin Harris/Muse are seeing continued success, plus Jake Bugg and Ben Howard have made a small dent.

[Envoirment]

And the Brits are still going strong. Sam Smith, Charli XCX, Calvin Harris, Rita Ora, Jess Glynne, Jessie J, Disclosure and I'm sure more.

[Glove Slap]

I wouldn't really call this an "invasion", as it is a natural result of the Social Media age. It's easier than ever to reach people, so if acts make waves in the UK, it's much easier to have some kind of ground to work in the US than before. Any tweet, youtube video, or instagram picture can be viewed and understood by anyone who speaks the language. Exposure through TV shows and movies have also helped (Florence has gotten a huge boost stateside from this).

[Libra]

Aug 19, 2014 17:33:26 GMT -5 Glove Slap said:

I wouldn't really call this an "invasion", as it is a natural result of the Social Media age. It's easier than ever to reach people, so if acts make waves in the UK, it's much easier to have some kind of ground to work in the US than before. Any tweet, youtube video, or instagram picture can be viewed and understood by anyone who speaks the language. Exposure through TV shows and movies have also helped (Florence has gotten a huge boost stateside from this).

Strong point. But: How does this explain a plethora of Brits all scoring success over here at once?

My thought is, attributing this phenomenon to this being the social media age doesn't quite capture the full story.

[Envoirment]

Aug 19, 2014 17:33:26 GMT -5 Glove Slap said:

I wouldn't really call this an "invasion", as it is a natural result of the Social Media age. It's easier than ever to reach people, so if acts make waves in the UK, it's much easier to have some kind of ground to work in the US than before. Any tweet, youtube video, or instagram picture can be viewed and understood by anyone who speaks the language. Exposure through TV shows and movies have also helped (Florence has gotten a huge boost stateside from this).

While that is true, it is the biggest wave of Brits to garner attention & success on the US charts in quite a while. I mean, not too long ago it was considered HUGE if an act from the UK could break the US market. Now we are seeing multiple cases of this and I don't think it can only be attributed to the Social Media age.

[allow that]

Aug 19, 2014 17:33:26 GMT -5 Glove Slap said:

I wouldn't really call this an "invasion", as it is a natural result of the Social Media age. It's easier than ever to reach people, so if acts make waves in the UK, it's much easier to have some kind of ground to work in the US than before. Any tweet, youtube video, or instagram picture can be viewed and understood by anyone who speaks the language. Exposure through TV shows and movies have also helped (Florence has gotten a huge boost stateside from this).

I agree. I don't think it's an "invasion" as much as an "integration." Popular music in the West is increasingly becoming one market. If anything, the US is behind the times (even with AMERICAN acts!) since most our smashes have typically already been hits elsewhere by the time ClearChannel "the US market" reacts. This is the polar opposite of what the norm has always been.

[allow that]

Aug 19, 2014 17:41:55 GMT -5 Libra said:

Aug 19, 2014 17:33:26 GMT -5 Glove Slap said:

I wouldn't really call this an "invasion", as it is a natural result of the Social Media age. It's easier than ever to reach people, so if acts make waves in the UK, it's much easier to have some kind of ground to work in the US than before. Any tweet, youtube video, or instagram picture can be viewed and understood by anyone who speaks the language. Exposure through TV shows and movies have also helped (Florence has gotten a huge boost stateside from this).

Strong point. But: How does this explain a plethora of Brits all scoring success over here at once?

It's not ONLY Brits though. We've seen breakthroughs from France, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Netherlands, Australia, and New Zealand in the past year or two as well. Many of them are one hit wonders and aren't invading in a Beatles/Spice Girls/One Direction sort of way though. Americans ARE spending more time on their computers than they are around their radio/obscure music video channels. This is a major cultural shift of the past decade-- so I do think social media is the biggest part of it. Plus, streaming services such as Spotify will recommend songs that are popular worldwide. In addition, the US has kicked in the door for some new styles (thanks in part to popular US acts who've been influenced elsewhere) so we are becoming more eclectic in general.

Also, behind the scenes, record labels are consolidating and finally seeing the world as a smaller place. How many of our pop stars are sent to Scandinavia by their A&R to come up with hits? The whole world is seen as a viable option to search for inspiration now.