Biggest non-singles

[chloe]

Even though random album tracks have been allowed to chart for quite some time now, the single(s) on an album almost always do(es) better than the non-singles. Are there any notable instances in which a song never pushed to “singlehood” far eclipsed its single counterpart in terms of success?

[leonagwen]

Led Zeppelin- Stairway To Heaven.

[Gary]

I think the OP means the digital era where any single purchased on iTunes can chart regardless of whether or not the arbitrary title of "singlehood" was obtained. The list is lengthy

Prior to that the list is short
-90s era airplay songs
-Stairway to Heaven
-Isolated Beatle tracks
-Into The Groove
-Tell Me I'm Not Dreaming
- and a few others

[jimijoop]

Taylor Swift - Enchanted

[rainie]

Apr 17, 2023 17:26:35 GMT -5 jimijoop said:

Taylor Swift - Enchanted

all too well as well, though i'm not sure it counts (the original at least does right ?)

other then that:
eminem ft nate dogg - til i collapse (the #1 biggest if you go by spotify)
bruno mars - marry me
pearl jam - black
lil wayne ft kendrick lamar - mona lisa
kendrick lamar - dna
motley crue - shout at the devil
the weeknd - less than zero (arguably)
nicki minaj ft eminem - roman's revenge
taylor swift - cruel summer
taylor swift - don't blame me (ngl i didn't realize how many big non singles she had until compiling this list)
that one madonna song that was a tik tok hit a year or two back (back up to the beat i believe ?)

there's also the 90s airplay only singles but i don't count those

edit: if lovely by billie eilish and khalid count them it's up there with til i collapse as one of the most prominent modern examples of this imo

[rnb]

rihanna’s desperado has over 300 million streams on spotify as an album track and for a while out streamed the 2nd single from that era kiss it better and for a recent example, sza’s snooze is doing very well as an album track

[Skibidi Bop Bop]

In midnight alone 6 non single hit the top 10. Did I mention Drake? Lol. But prior to streaming I think Pocketful of Sunshine by Natasha Bedingfield is a non Single the time it became huge before her label decided to release it as a single. Speaking of Rihanna, I think Love On The Brain is a Non Single before it exploded.

[Private Dancer]

Apr 24, 2023 6:39:13 GMT -5 Skibidi Bop Bop said:

In midnight alone 6 non single hit the top 10. Did I mention Drake? Lol. But prior to streaming I think Pocketful of Sunshine by Natasha Bedingfield is a non Single the time it became huge before her label decided to release it as a single. Speaking of Rihanna, I think Love On The Brain is a Non Single before it exploded.

Those are still singles...

[irice22]

Apr 17, 2023 20:20:03 GMT -5 rainie said:

bruno mars - marry me

It's wild to me he never released this.

[rainie]

Apr 24, 2023 9:57:17 GMT -5 irice22 said:

Apr 17, 2023 20:20:03 GMT -5 rainie said:

bruno mars - marry me

It's wild to me he never released this.

honestly between that, count on me, the other side, runaway baby, and talking to the moon (which i forgot abt in my original comment but has almost a *billion* streams), doo wops and hooligans has SO potential smashes that the fact they only went three singles deep blows my mind

[irice22]

Apr 24, 2023 10:34:30 GMT -5 rainie said:

Apr 24, 2023 9:57:17 GMT -5 irice22 said:

It's wild to me he never released this.

honestly between that, count on me, the other side, runaway baby, and talking to the moon (which i forgot abt in my original comment but has almost a *billion* streams), doo wops and hooligans has SO potential smashes that the fact they only went three singles deep blows my mind

I hated Bruno Mars when he came out because his first four singles (including "It Will Rain") were so generically awful. I didn't see his merit until Unorthadox Jukebox, where still kinda feels like he botched the singles (no "Natalie"? What?).

[jdanton2]

Apr 24, 2023 9:57:17 GMT -5 irice22 said:

Apr 17, 2023 20:20:03 GMT -5 rainie said:

bruno mars - marry me

It's wild to me he never released this.

Talking To The Moon might be bigger . on Spotify it has 995M streams and should pass 1B in a week or so. Marry You is at 740M streams.

[tekkenguy]

Apr 24, 2023 12:11:24 GMT -5 irice22 said:

Apr 24, 2023 10:34:30 GMT -5 rainie said:

honestly between that, count on me, the other side, runaway baby, and talking to the moon (which i forgot abt in my original comment but has almost a *billion* streams), doo wops and hooligans has SO potential smashes that the fact they only went three singles deep blows my mind

I hated Bruno Mars when he came out because his first four singles (including "It Will Rain") were so generically awful. I didn't see his merit until Unorthadox Jukebox, where still kinda feels like he botched the singles (no "Natalie"? What?).

Yeah this is a good point. Bruno’s DW&H singles were mainly generic pop ballads but songs like Runaway Baby had a more unique sound to them. UJ and 24kM had way more variety and leaned into retro sounds like disco, ska, new jack, and funk for its single choices. Uptown Funk fit that category as well.

[salt]

As someone who also hated the DW&H singles, it just blows my mind that the rest of the album is actually full of bangers yet they were never singles. That album could've competed with Teenage Dream in terms of sheer volume of hits.

[JJ]

Apr 24, 2023 15:03:41 GMT -5 jdanton2 said:

Apr 24, 2023 9:57:17 GMT -5 irice22 said:

It's wild to me he never released this.

Talking To The Moon might be bigger . on Spotify it has 995M streams and should pass 1B in a week or so. Marry You is at 740M streams.

Talking to the Moon was a big hit in Brazil, that could explain it.