Butterfly Effects in music history

[Groovy]

What are some for famous butterfly effects in music?

An example, in a way, Paul Walker dying made Charlie Puth famous, he became a star after See You Again. 

[Trilogy]

steve angello getting a tattoo --> dywc being a hit and me still being alive

[degen]

Selena’s death made J.lo a superstar. If she would’ve never landed the role she probably would’ve never had a music career.

[chanman]

The so called affair of Olivia - Joshua - Sabrina helped to skyrocket Olivia into the drivers seat.

[tekkenguy]

If Trump was never elected, would “This Is America” even have been a thing?

How about if “Old Town Road” was never pulled from the Country music charts?

[Az Paynter]

Ariana Grande's entire career can be summed up by particular moments that heavily influenced (if not outright dictated) the direction of her career after each album.

[kcdawg13]

Aug 3, 2021 14:27:02 GMT -5 Az Paynter said:

Ariana Grande's entire career can be summed up by particular moments that heavily influenced (if not outright dictated) the direction of her career after each album.

We all know how thank u, next happened but another point I don't see made often is that we probably wouldn't of gotten positions without the pandemic

[jenglisbe]

Aug 3, 2021 17:06:29 GMT -5 kcdawg13 said:

Aug 3, 2021 14:27:02 GMT -5 Az Paynter said:

Ariana Grande's entire career can be summed up by particular moments that heavily influenced (if not outright dictated) the direction of her career after each album.

We all know how thank u, next happened but another point I don't see made often is that we probably wouldn't of gotten positions without the pandemic

We wouldn’t have gotten a lot of things without the pandemic (see Swift), but I’d consider a pandemic to be a large thing and a true butterfly effect involves a small thing resulting in a large thing.

Multiple Grammy winners 5th Dimension saw Hair because a member left his wallet in a cab, and it was found by a producer of the show. That led to the group seeing the show and singing the #1 hit “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In.”

[gikem]

The obvious one that no one has mentioned yet is Kanye stealing Taylor Swift's mic at the 2009 VMAs. There's a non-zero chance that her 2012-2019 output would not exist (or would be executed very differently) if that didn't happen.

[kcdawg13]

Aug 3, 2021 21:32:55 GMT -5 gikem said:

The obvious one that no one has mentioned yet is Kanye stealing Taylor Swift's mic at the 2009 VMAs. There's a non-zero chance that her 2012-2019 output would not exist (or would be executed very differently) if that didn't happen.

I still think she would've switched to pop music, but reputation wouldn't exist

[johnm1120]

Two of the biggest hits of 1997 as a result of death. I'll Be Missing You (Notorious B.I.G.) and Candle in the Wind 1997 (Princess Diana).

[Lost In Musical Reverie]

I wonder how The Weeknd's trajectory into the mainstream would have been like had the "50 Shades of Grey" franchise never existed.

"Love Me Harder" did give him solid exposure, but it was arguably "Earned It" - a top 3 hit, that set the stage for his subsequent domination both with the obvious 80s throwback and "The Hills".

[dremolus - solarpunk]

COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdown inadvertently led to the creation of folklore and evermore

[Deleted]

Four men murdering someone they presumably didn't recognize because they saw how much money he had -> SAD! surging to number one, and XXXTENTACION becoming an icon (a very polarizing icon who's seen as a famous one to some and an infamous one to others, but still an icon) instead of just another popular rapper

Truth Hurts being featured in a Netflix movie -> A song released in early 2016 (Good as Hell) becoming a top five hit in late 2019

Laugh Now Cry Later being released -> Broadway Girls being a thing and having enough points to debut in the top five if it was released a week later

[JukeboxJacob]

I love analyzing the way one song or one producer ends up influencing the entire music industry for years to come. Some examples:

-Rock Around The Clock popularizing rock n roll (1955)
-The Beatles explosion in popularity lead to MANY mimicking their style (mid 60's)
-The songs Pop Muzik and Cars started an interest in synths which would end up defining the entire decade (1980)
-Timbaland, RedOne, and DJ Mustard's entire production careers
-Skrillex popularizing the "beat drop", a feature that almost every producer in the early 2010's would end up using in their own songs
-Thrift Shop revived interest in brass instruments, playing a part in the whole funk revival of the mid-2010's
-Royals starting the trend of minimalist production

[Joe1240]

The Weeknd and Selena Gomez's relationship,The Weeknd's My Dear Melancholy EP is rumored to be about their relationship and Selena Gomez has songs "Bad Liar","Wolves" and "Souvenir" about him. It also been rumored that The Weeknd's mega hit album "After Hours" is inspired by Selena Gomez.

[Private Dancer]

Aaliyah passing away and the industry trying to create "Aaliyah clones"

Micheal Jackson's success of Thriller allowing the success of multiple black artists

[leoapp]

Spice Girls were the biggest act of 97 in US.
But after Mey 98 when Geri left, their fame dropped extremely drastic. Too quick.

Mariah's unique E=MC2 era in 2008
- Spring: had the biggest hype everrrr, very good body, biggest opening of her album, the lead single becoming 18th no. 1, big airplay hit, etc
- Summer: wrong single choices, sudden marriage, 2 follow up singles tanked, with weak sales and.airplay
- Fall: the era was basically over, with 1 final single failed to even chart on. Hot 100.

[Au$tin]

I don't think some of you know what butterfly effect means lol

[Choco]

Justin Timberlake getting cast on the Mickey Mouse club ultimately killed Janet Jackson's mainstream career.

[leonagwen]

Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven, the song was written about Clapton's 4 year old son Conor who fell out of a window of a 53 story high apartment in NY City and fell to his death. The song ended up peaking at #2 on the Hot 100.

[Devil Marlena Nylund]

Dec 29, 2021 1:02:20 GMT -5 leonagwen said:

Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven, the song was written about Clapton's 4 year old son Conor who fell out of a window of a 53 story high apartment in NY City and fell to his death. The song ended up peaking at #2 on the Hot 100.

What does this example have to do with this thread?

[leonagwen]

Dec 29, 2021 7:16:06 GMT -5 Devil Marlena Nylund said:

Dec 29, 2021 1:02:20 GMT -5 leonagwen said:

Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven, the song was written about Clapton's 4 year old son Conor who fell out of a window of a 53 story high apartment in NY City and fell to his death. The song ended up peaking at #2 on the Hot 100.

What does this example have to do with this thread?

Tears in Heaven was a hit because of the tragedy, otherwise Tears in Heaven wouldn't have happened. It resurrected Clapton's career on the Pop charts, he hadn't had a Pop hit for many years before the tragedy, he had a couple more hits after the tragedy.

[dremolus - solarpunk]

Dec 29, 2021 7:32:05 GMT -5 leonagwen said:

Dec 29, 2021 7:16:06 GMT -5 Devil Marlena Nylund said:

What does this example have to do with this thread?

Tears in Heaven was a hit because of the tragedy, otherwise Tears in Heaven wouldn't have happened. It resurrected Clapton's career on the Pop charts, he hadn't had a Pop hit for many years before the tragedy, he had a couple more hits after the tragedy.

Feel like you should've started with this because Eric Clapton making a song about the death of his child isn't an example of the Butterfly Effect

[weaver]

Maybe next time we do one of these, we should begin with a definition. Like...the Butterfly Effect is a tiny event, like a butterfly flapping its wings, that leads to a series of much more major events. I'd argue that a high profile death does not qualify as a butterfly effect type event.

[Me. I Am l!nk!nfan815...]

Dec 27, 2021 20:17:31 GMT -5 leoapp said:

Spice Girls were the biggest act of 97 in US.
But after Mey 98 when Geri left, their fame dropped extremely drastic. Too quick.

Mariah's unique E=MC2 era in 2008
- Spring: had the biggest hype everrrr, very good body, biggest opening of her album, the lead single becoming 18th no. 1, big airplay hit, etc
- Summer: wrong single choices, sudden marriage, 2 follow up singles tanked, with weak sales and.airplay
- Fall: the era was basically over, with 1 final single failed to even chart on. Hot 100.

I don’t think that’s how a butterfly effect works.

[Glove Slap]

Speaking of the Spice Girls, their breakthrough had a huge impact on labels investing in acts geared towards a very young audience, especially stateside. Backstreet Boys and NSYNC were active already, but with no US success. BSB didn't even release their first proper album stateside. Britney and Christina wouldn't have gotten such big launches (and Britney was in a girl group for a very brief period). Popstars: The Rivals wouldn't have been a thing and therefore Girls Aloud would never have been created.

Without them, the late 90s/early 00s would have played out in a very different manner.

[Au$tin]

Dec 29, 2021 7:16:06 GMT -5 Devil Marlena Nylund said:

Dec 29, 2021 1:02:20 GMT -5 leonagwen said:

Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven, the song was written about Clapton's 4 year old son Conor who fell out of a window of a 53 story high apartment in NY City and fell to his death. The song ended up peaking at #2 on the Hot 100.

What does this example have to do with this thread?

Maybe LG thinks anything to do with falling/flying is a butterfly effect? Ergo, falling out of a window = 🦋


Edit: 2 years later and I'm changing the wording because it still has y'all clutching your pearls thinking I was laughing at a dead kid.

[leonagwen]

Dec 29, 2021 21:19:52 GMT -5 Au$tin said:

Dec 29, 2021 7:16:06 GMT -5 Devil Marlena Nylund said:

What does this example have to do with this thread?

His son tried to fly like a butterfly.

Not funny.

[Private Dancer]

Death jokes...thats tasteless...but I'm not suprised at this point

But anyways,

Gladys Knight created a butterfly effect when she discovered MJ (it was not Diana!!!). She discovered the Jacksons> Micheal Jackson becomes one of the biggest artists of all time, Thriller, MTV, music videos/era etc>allowed Janet to thrive and create a foundation and name for herself>allowed Micheal and Janet to impact and inspire etc...

Lil Kim's sexual image>inspiring Nicki to become a rapper and inspired by her style>Nicki opening up doors for more female rappers and inspiring Cardi B> Cardi B bringing back a wave of mainstream female rappers