Songs You Were Surprised Became Hits

[Lahey's Lucky Star]

Whenever I think of Meghan Trainor's "All About That Bass", a song that was catchy but had a high chance of flopping IMO, I become very surprised that it's as big as it is now. You guys got any other examples to share?

[emerald]

"Animals" by Martin Garrix comes to mind. I never thought a not so by-the numbers instrumental would become a hit on Pop. None of the EDM songs on Pop before it sounded anything alike that so I was surprised when it actually did take off.

[Green Baron]

Trapt - "Headstrong"
Staind - "It's Been Awhile"
Shinedown - "Second Chance"
KONGOS - "Come With Me Now"

[sabre14]

Steve Holy - "Brand New Girlfriend" (Steve had a few singles in a row that failed to take off like "Put Your Best Dress On", "Go Home", "It's My Time (Waste It If I Want To)", and when I heard this song I actually liked it but I thought if those songs didn't take off, why would this love it or hate it song take off? It also had a slow start on the singles charts. Then for some reason around April/May of 2006 it just picked up steam and exploded)

Love and Theft - "Angel Eyes" (another single that took forever to catch on, but I certainly did not think it was going to become not only a #1 song, but wind up as one of the 5 biggest singles on country radio of 2012)

I also didn't expect the huge cross-over success of "Need You Now" by Lady A. I thought it would do well don't get me wrong, but a four week stay at #1 on the country charts and a giant cross-over hit on pop radio I certainly didn't predict.

[Joe1240]

Magic!-Rude
Nino And Vinz-Am I Wrong

[Mr. Thonk Eyes]

Aug 16, 2014 21:01:08 GMT -5 Joe1240 said:

Magic!-Rude
Nino And Vinz-Am I Wrong

And they're my two favorite songs of the summer

[M1tchD]

Maroon 5 - Love Somebody. They had all the momentum in the world when it was released so top 10 was pretty much a given for any single they chose...but #2 for the most boring single on the album?
Demi Lovato - Neon Lights. I don't think this ever came close to the top 20 on iTunes.
One Direction - Story Of My Life. After so many of their previous singles hitting a brick wall around #15 I thought this was destined for the same, but it just kept going.

[Mikey]

Magic! - Rude (Wtf is this?)
Sam Smith - stay With Me (Very boring to me)
Demi Lovato ft. Cher Lloyd - Really Don't Care (Can't believe this song beats Neon Lights -_-)

[Deleted]

"Macarena" by Los del Rio - Had a midchart peak, dropped, and returned to smash a 14-week @ #1 run.
"With You" by Jessica Simpson - "Sweetest Sin" never made it big, and this started really slowly, but it went to #1 on Mediabase and 14 on the Hot 100.

[Flip]

Gangnam Style actually... didn't expect it to become a global smash when it was released in July 2012.

[rimetm]

"Fancy" - Iggy Azalea feat. Charli XCX - Back when I was making chart videos, the last one I made overlapped with the first week of "Fancy"'s stay on the Hot 100 (#88). Seeing the next week how it fell, I paid it no mind and got completely boggled when it started surging to #1.

"Bailando" - Ennrique Iglesias feat. [Whoever it is depending on version] - The fact that this is poised for the top 10 is just a wondrous surprise to me. The sound feels like a combination of reggaeton and something faster, evoking a mid-00's style for me. I would never have thought it would become a radio monster.

"Let it Go" - Idina Menzel - Yes, the movie was a success, but it's still so weird having seen Idina in the top 5. I knew her from Wicked and Chess (2008), but I never imagined her nabbing such a level of success.

[dbhmr]

Jason Mraz, "I'm Yours"

Love him and the song, and did for a long time before it became this sleeper, record-breaking smash. It was always great and catchy to me, but didn't seem to take off when it was released, and then when it just slowly picked up steam, I was surprised to see it become so huge.

[The Music Man]

Foster the People - "Pumped Up Kicks." Love the song, but to this day I can't believe it caught on with a mainstream audience. The vocal effects and lyrics seemed like a lot to swallow.

AWOLNATION - "Sail," for essentially the same reasons.

Miley Cyrus - "Party In The USA." Sounded even more Disney Channel than her 2008 releases; became a cross-generational anthem.

[Deleted]

Bruno Mars-When I Was Your Man
John Legend- All Of Me
A Great Big World ft Christina Aguliera- Say Something

[Kris]

All of Adele's music

[lyhom]

Milky Chance - Stolen Dance

In Canada, it's currently #9 on the Hot 100. Its only real success on radio so far is Alternative, so I have no clue how it's already so high on the general charts.

I'm not complaining, though.

[irice22]

Aug 18, 2014 13:05:08 GMT -5 Kris said:

All of Adele's music

I agree with this, but in a positive light.

[YourFaveIsAFlop]

All of Me by John Legend. The song was released in August of 2013 as the 3rd single to his album. Nobody paid attention to it at all until his Grammy performance when it exploded.

[♛ The Manticore ☯]

Alicia Keys - Fallin (2001)

Came out of nowhere and Alicia Keys was almost unknown and was going up against uptempo songs from Destiny's Child and Christina Aguilera. The piano driven song was rare at that time in pop radio as far as I remember. She even won grammys.

[♛ The Manticore ☯]

A Whole New World (Aladdin's Theme)

A disney song went to number one on the Hot 100. And dethroned Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You". Was this the only disney song to hit number one?

[Verisimilitude]

Yes, but remember, it was the "pop" version from Regina Belle & Peabo Bryson that hit #1.

[when the pawn...]

Aug 19, 2014 0:57:28 GMT -5 irice22 said:

Aug 18, 2014 13:05:08 GMT -5 Kris said:

All of Adele's music

I agree with this, but in a positive light.

Yeah, it sounds absurd in retrospect but I didn't see "Rolling in the Deep" coming at all. Once it achieved such massive success, I wasn't too surprised by SLY or SFTTR.

[The Music Man]

Aug 21, 2014 13:21:07 GMT -5 when the pawn... said:

Aug 19, 2014 0:57:28 GMT -5 irice22 said:

I agree with this, but in a positive light.

Yeah, it sounds absurd in retrospect but I didn't see "Rolling in the Deep" coming at all. Once it achieved such massive success, I wasn't too surprised by SLY or SFTTR.

I agree with this entirely. I didn't envision RITD making it beyond Hot AC, but once it did, I knew "Someone Like You" and "Set Fire To The Rain" were set. In fact, I was mostly surprised that "Rumour Has It" missed Top 5 at CHR.

Another one that I think many of you will agree with - Justin Timberlake's "Sexyback." When I first heard it, I thought he'd absolutely lost his mind. Even during the initial weeks of its run, I was convinced it was going to pull a "Me Against The Music." By the time I "got it," the song was almost #1.