Just cause a song reaches top 40, doesnt mean that its a hit

[Deleted]

And vice versa.

For example.

Far East Movement had a song called Live My Life debut at number 21 and fall off the charts right after. No one knows any other songs by him other than G6 and possibly Rocketeer, so how could Live My Life be a hit for them when no one even knows or remembers the song. Meanwhile Afrojack - Take Over Control peaked at number 41 but everyone knows that song very well and it is still played on radios and clubs often. Long story short, Take Over Control not reaching top 40 is a hit while Live My Life is not a hit while reaching top 40.

So I am getting tired of peeps calling songs a hit if it reaches top 40 on Hot 100 charts and not a hit if it doesnt reach top 40.

[House Lannister]

Probably not helping, but I hadn't heard of Take Over Control. Or Live My Life before I read this post.

[Deleted]

Fine Ill use Robin Schulz Sugar. Same example, think it peaked at 44 but is well known around the world and in USA.

[trustypepper]

Everyone doesn't know "Take Over Control" very well. And I happen to remember "Live My Life" quite well but that's beside the point.

There's no absolute definition of a hit, most of it is subjective really. And there's no one person in charge of determining if a song is a hit or not, so you calling TOC a hit and LML not a hit doesn't make it so.

[Gary]

What "everyone knows" and what "no one knows" is the opinion of who says it. Never heard of the Afrojack song either but I believe it is well known to the OP


On the subject of what is a "hit"? This is also subjective. A song that peaks at #40 is a hit, a song that peaks at #1 is also a hit but probably a bigger one. A song that peaks at #99 is also a hit but not as big as a #1 hit.

There could be hits that don't even chart nationally because they were maybe regional hits that were not played nationally.

Peak positions also may have nothing to do with what becomes a hit. Lots of examples of songs that did not chart well at all that became classics later.

[Deleted]

A much better example is "El Perdon". Did not reach top 40 but made year end charts. But people are not going to consider a hit just because it did not reach top 40? WTF, they are wrong on that. That song was very popular.

[godjanny]

Personally, I kinda see it as a hit if it makes the Hot 100. But to each their own.

[🅳🅸🆂🅲🅾]

In some circles here and elsewhere, a peak of #1 or even #2 is considered a flop. Really?

Even some will define a top 10 that had no staying power as a flop because it may have peaked high but it's gone from the charts after a week or two.

[Deleted]

Apr 20, 2016 0:11:50 GMT -5 🅳🅸🆂🅲🅾 said:

In some circles here and elsewhere, a peak of #1 or even #2 is considered a flop. Really?

Even some will define a top 10 that had no staying power as a flop because it may have peaked high but it's gone from the charts after a week or two.

Focus for example.

[Linnethia Monique]

Apr 19, 2016 22:16:41 GMT -5 @walker9 said:

Fine Ill use Robin Schulz Sugar. Same example, think it peaked at 44 but is well known around the world and in USA.

Something more towards LMFAO Shots or Enur Calabria 2007 would be better examples.

[redrooster]

Two themes that seem to be common in any discussion about what constitutes a "hit."
1. Everyone has different definitions of a "hit."
2. No one is willing to budge on their own definition.
The cutoff, depending on who you're asking, could be set at just making the Hot 100, top 50, top 40, top 10, and then some people only consider songs that made it to #1 "hits."
Some will take it even further by saying that a song has to have longevity within their region of choice to be a 'hit" while some will say that a song that isn't "remembered" isn't a "hit" regardless of how high and for how long it peaked. And of course there will always be a few who think a song is a hit if, and only if, they personally like that song.

[Nyte]

Gentleman and Good Time are examples of Top 10s that aren't considered hits by the general public.

[Dylan :)]

In my head I usually think of it is a "top 40 hit", "top 10 hit", not necessarily just "hit song". As others have said, even charting on the Hot 100 could be considered a hit. I loved Good Time by Owl City and Carly Rae Jepsen and consider it a big hit for both of them, while others don't. I consider Payphone a bigger hit than One More Night, despite Payphone peaking at #2 and One More Night spending multiple weeks at #1. Everyone's definition is different.

[Zach]

My definition of a hit varies with the scale I'm looking at. In the absolute widest scale I'd say just managing to spend a single week on the Hot 100 is a massive achievement and that song can be considered a hit. Way on the other end of the spectrum on the scale of individual artists, if a heavily promoted Taylor Swift lead single failed to crack the top 5 I probably wouldn't declare the end of the world, but I'd at least be sorely disappointed in its chart performance.

Then there's the issue of time. Often a song may peak low on the chart and that be understandable because of how big or small the song felt and how well it was initially known. But then over time it gains more widespread popularity. Prime example is The Scientist by Coldplay which never debuted on the Hot 100, but eventually went Gold, and I'd consider to be a hit song.

[MTSChart21]

I think a "hit" should be a certain amount of chart points it can get per week. Like if the average #40 song, for example, get 10k points, make it be that a song is a hit if it can reach 10k in any chart week.

Some #40's are weaker than others. Sometimes #1-#40 are too strong and they prevent a strong #41 from becoming a "top 40 hit" while a #36 the next week could be smaller than the #41 from the week before.

[Gary]

Breaking things down by peak positions and chart points makes it complicated.  (No one outside of people who make prediction threads will know or care if a song has 10,000 chart point or 8,000)


For any given song, you like it or you don't.

If you like a song great, it is a "hit" to you. If enough other people feel the same way as you, then it is a bigger hit. If people outside your circle of friends like it as well, then it becomes even bigger. The more people that like it on a national scale the more likely it will chart.

The higher it charts the bigger the hit FOR THAT WEEK. With the invention of viral videos, a song can be a hit one week and not a hit the next of course.

[redrooster]

One point I must emphasize tho is this:
If two different songs have the exact same (or very similar) chart runs they are either both hits or both not hits.

[bat1990]

I would love to see regional charts for the United States.

[Deleted]

Any song that makes the year end charts is a hit to me, no matter what the peak is. Same with songs that have longevity, again, regardless of peak position. And any song that didn't chart high or chart at all, but would end up becoming classics are hits to me. The only songs I wouldn't consider hits are either songs that don't chart very long (making the year end chart would make it a hit, though) no matter the peak position, and songs that underperform and don't make the year end list and end up being forgotten. 

[SPRΞΞ]

I don't consider Dope a hit at all.

[Deleted]

Apr 24, 2016 11:54:53 GMT -5 SPRΞΞ said:

I don't consider Dope a hit at all.

Yea thats a very great example. Dope peaked at 8 but it is not a hit at all, or should be, since barely anyone knows that Gaga song.

[Nyte]

A good example of two Top 40 songs that aren't considered hits by the general public are Mike Posner's follow-ups to "Cooler than Me" -- "Please Don't Go" and "Bow Chicka Wow Wow". They were quickly forgotten, receive virtually no airplay today, and Posner was widely regarded as a OHW for his debut single until "I Took a Pill in Ibiza" took off.

[MTSChart21]

Apr 24, 2016 12:01:41 GMT -5 @walker9 said:

Apr 24, 2016 11:54:53 GMT -5 SPRΞΞ said:

I don't consider Dope a hit at all.

Yea thats a very great example. Dope peaked at 8 but it is not a hit at all, or should be, since barely anyone knows that Gaga song.

I didn't even know it until @markg94 mentioned it

[Devil Marlena Nylund]

It's all relative to so many variables. Songs could be regional hits, local hits, international hits, hits in some genres and formats, plus how it compares to expectations, effort in promo, the artist's previous recent output, how far into an era the single is, etc etc.

The only thing I think of when defining a hit song is that you can't use one single definition for all. It's purely a case by case thing.

[Deleted]

Apr 24, 2016 11:54:53 GMT -5 SPRΞΞ said:

I don't consider Dope a hit at all.

It was a promo single so it only garnered a good debut spot due to a sales drive but quickly died out as it wasn't an official single so it wasn't sent to radio, given a music video, etc.
Same with Gaga's other promo single for Born This Way, Hair which peaked at #12.
Promo singles are never actual hits, unless they get moved up to being a official single later on

[mkarns]

Apr 25, 2016 7:54:26 GMT -5 Nyte said:

A good example of two Top 40 songs that aren't considered hits by the general public are Mike Posner's follow-ups to "Cooler than Me" -- "Please Don't Go" and "Bow Chicka Wow Wow". They were quickly forgotten, receive virtually no airplay today, and Posner was widely regarded as a OHW for his debut single until "I Took a Pill in Ibiza" took off.

So he has more than one "pop song that people forgot", to quote his current hit. (Actually I think that was supposed to be a reference to CTM, which is his only previous hit that anyone seems to remember.)

[Deleted]

Apr 20, 2016 0:27:55 GMT -5 @walker9 said:

Apr 20, 2016 0:11:50 GMT -5 🅳🅸🆂🅲🅾 said:

In some circles here and elsewhere, a peak of #1 or even #2 is considered a flop. Really?

Even some will define a top 10 that had no staying power as a flop because it may have peaked high but it's gone from the charts after a week or two.

Focus for example.

'Focus' was still a hit.

[Deleted]

No it was not.

[Devil Marlena Nylund]

I vote yeah, it was. Not a big one but if I saw a sticker on a CD that said "featuring the hit Focus", I wouldn't question it.

[Deleted]

Apr 25, 2016 22:02:51 GMT -5 @walker9 said:

No it was not.

Repeat after me

[clap]Ariana Grande's record setting single 'Focus' was a top 10 on Billboard, where it debuted, and is a hit.[/clap]