Albums where the lead single isn't the biggest

[Groovy]

Pretty straightforward, what are albums that the lead single isn't the biggest?

For example, Thank U, Next was the lead off for the album with the same name but 7 Rings would being the bigger hit. Or Hollywood's Bleeding where Wow was the lead off single but Circles ended being the bigger hit. 

[abelone]

After Hours. Heartless was the lead single but Blinding Lights was bigger.

[degen]

There’s lots and lots of examples of this happening, especially before the streaming era. It wasn’t that common for the 1st single to be the biggest hit in the 80s/90s/00s.

[Lost In Musical Reverie]

Jan 27, 2022 17:46:16 GMT -5 abelone said:

After Hours. Heartless was the lead single but Blinding Lights was bigger.

This also applies to "Beauty Behind The Madness", where "Often" was the lead single and only peaked at #59 at the Hot 100, while following singles "Can't Feel My Face" and "The Hills" were #1 smashes.

I agree with degen that this occurrence is surprisingly very common, even for established A-listers with hyped debuts. The main exception to the rule seems to be Adele, where with the exception of her debut era, her lead singles have consistently been pop culture events and dominate on a much bigger level compared to subsequent singles, because she sets the bar that high.

[Deleted]

What about Olivia Rodrigo’s SOUR? Drivers License came out and stayed at the top for several weeks on the Hot 100. But it was Good 4 U that was bigger. Although it wasn’t at #1 for as long as DL (because of some BTS payola) it had a better longetivity on the chart. Also not to forget that Deja Vu also stayed on longer than DL.

[Fire]

blurryface by twenty one pilots? the lead single was "fairly local" iirc and it only peaked at #84, but "stressed out" got a #2 peak and finished in the top 5 on the year-end for 2016

[degen]

Let’s talk about how common this occurrence was in the early 2000s;

Extreme examples I can think of;

Christina Aguilera-“Dirrty” (#48) and then “Beautiful” (#2)
Although worldwide both smashed, that wasn’t the case in America.

Britney Spears-“Me Against the Music” (#34) and then “Toxic” (#9)
Same as above, both singles did better worldwide.

Justin Timberlake-“Like I Love You” (#11) and then “Cry Me a River” (#3).

Jennifer Lopez-“Jenny From the Block” (#3) and then “All I Have” (#1)

It seems like in the early 2000s, the 2nd single was always meant to be the bigger one, or for what ever reason it turned out that way for a lot of album campaigns. Maybe the 1st single was just more novelty and meant to cause hype, while the 2nd single is the song that defines the album.

[Private Dancer]

Mariah Carey- Fantasy/One Sweet Day

Janet- What Have You Done For Me Lately/When I Think Of You

Madonna- Live To Tell/Papa Don't Preach

Whitney-You Give Good Love/How Will I Know

Gladys Knight-Where Peaceful Waters Flow/Midnight Train To Georgia

Diana Ross- Reach Out and Touch/Aint No Mountain High Enough also I Thought It Took A Little Time/Love Hangover

Tina Turner- Let's Stay Together/What's Love Got To Do With It

Aretha Franklin- I Never Loved A Man/Respect also Jumpin Jack Flash/I Knew You Were Waiting For Me

Taylor Dayne- With Every Beat of My Heart/Love Will Lead You Back

Dionne- Windows of The World/I Say A Little Prayer

Whitney Houston- I'm Your Baby Tonight/All The Man I Need

Toni Braxton- Anothsr Sad Love Song/Breathe Again also You're Makin Me High/Un Break My Heart

Mary J Blige- You Remind Me/Real Love also MJB da MVP/Be Without You

[Deleted]

Future Nostalgia.

Don't Start Now did well, making the YE top five and lasting a full year on the Hot 100. But Levitating was a YE #1 and is currently at 63 weeks.

[🇯🇲 lucy88 🇯🇲]

MJ:
Got To Be There #4 (lead)
Rockin Robin' #2

The Girl Is Mine #2 (hard to believe he released this sap as the lead single 🤣)
Billie Jean #1
Beat It #1

Aaliyah:
We Need A Resolution #59 (lead)
More than A Woman #25
Rock The Boat #14

Brandy:
I Wanna Be Down #6 (lead)
Baby #4

Rihanna:
Russian Roulette #9 (lead)
Hard #8
Rude Boy #1

Beyoncè:
Dèjá Vu (lead) #4
Irreplaceable #1
Beautiful Liar #3

Run The World (Girls) #29 (lead)
Best Thing I Never Had #16
Love On Top #20

Chris Brown:
Yeah 3x #15 (lead)
Look At Me Now #6

Usher:
U Make Me Wanna #2 (lead)
Nice & Slow #1

TLC:
Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg #6 (lead)
Baby Baby Baby #2

Paula Abdul:
Knocked Out #41 (lead)
(It's Just )The Way That You Love Me #3
Straight Up #1
Forever Your Girl #1
Cold Hearted #1
Opposites Attract #1

Spice Girls:
Spice Up Your Life #18 (lead)
Too Much #9
Stop #16

SWV:
Right Here (original) #92 (lead)
I'm So Into You #6
Weak #1
Right Here/Human Nature #2
Downtown #2
You're Always On My Mind #54

Can We #75 (lead)
Someone #19
Rain #25

Faith Evans:
You Used To Love Me #24 (lead)
Soon As I Get Home #21

You Gets No Love #38 (lead)
I Love You #14

Keyshia Cole:
Playa Cardz Right #63 (lead)
You Complete Me #62

Celine Dion:
If There Was Any Other Way #35 (lead)
Where Does My Heart Beat Now #4

Beauty and The Beast #9 (lead)
If You Asked Me To #4

Boyz II Men:
Motownphilly #3 (lead)
It's So Hard To Say Goodbye #2
End Of The Road #1

Madonna:
Secret #3 (lead)
Take A Bow #1

[annoymous1]

^although TGIM was sappy it served it's purpose.

[Deleted]

Fine Line: Lights Up was the lead, but Adore You, Watermelon Sugar, and Golden we’re all bigger

[Groovy]

Jan 28, 2022 14:43:45 GMT -5 @imhappy259 said:

What about Olivia Rodrigo’s SOUR? Drivers License came out and stayed at the top for several weeks on the Hot 100. But it was Good 4 U that was bigger. Although it wasn’t at #1 for as long as DL (because of some BTS payola) it had a better longetivity on the chart. Also not to forget that Deja Vu also stayed on longer than DL.

I agree with G4U being bigger than DL but I don't know if I would say the same about Deja Vu. 

[irice22]

"My Happy Ending" by Avril Lavigne was much bigger than "Don't Tell Me." "Don't Tell Me" is s great song, but one of most botched lead single choices in history. Avril was huge and this just totally killed her momentum.

I've said it a million times on this board, but she should have lead with the unreleased "Daydream."

[Luckie Starchild]

Pointer Sisters - Breakout

First single: "I Need You" #48, followed by:
"Automatic" #5
"Jump (For My Love)" #3
"I'm So Excited (Remix)" #9
"Neutron Dance" #6
"Baby Come and Get It" #44

[Deleted]

How about F*ck Love by The Kid LAROI. It’s lead single was So Done, which got outdone by Without You, which got outdone by Stay

[kcdawg13]

I would argue Delicate is the biggest hit off of Reputation even though it only peaked at #12 while LWYMMD peaked at #1

[mkarns]

Panic! At the Disco - Pray For the Wicked: "Say Amen (Saturday Night)" was actually the first single, but was later overshadowed by "High Hopes" and "Hey Look Ma, I Made It".

Ed Sheeran - X (multiply): "Sing" was first, but "Don't", "Thinking Out Loud", and "Photograph" were all bigger.

5SOS - Youngblood: "Want You Back" was first, but the title track was much bigger.

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

First single:


Song of the Decade:

[johnm1120]

Jan 29, 2022 7:42:02 GMT -5 🇯🇲 lucy88 🇯🇲 said:

Celine Dion:
If There Was Any Other Way #35 (lead)
Where Does My Heart Beat Now #4

In the US, WDMHBN was the lead single


Here's another for Madonna:

Evita Soundtrack
You Must Love Me (#18)
Don't Cry For Me Argentina (#8)

[Deleted]

This is a controversial one which is Rihanna’s Loud. The first single was Only Girl (In The World) and the second was What’s My Name?, but I would lie to argue that S&M was bigger than both of them.

[mamooshka]

Attachment Deleted

[degen]

Jan 30, 2022 16:04:44 GMT -5 @imhappy259 said:

This is a controversial one which is Rihanna’s Loud. The first single was Only Girl (In The World) and the second was What’s My Name?, but I would lie to argue that S&M was bigger than both of them.

This is kind of a weird reference since all 3 singles hit #1 for one week. But of the 3 I’d say OGITW is the one I hear the most today.

[Ｓｏｕｎｄｃｌ🕤ｃｋ]

Jan 30, 2022 16:04:44 GMT -5 @imhappy259 said:

This is a controversial one which is Rihanna’s Loud. The first single was Only Girl (In The World) and the second was What’s My Name?, but I would lie to argue that S&M was bigger than both of them.

On Billboard, Only Girl is her biggest hit from the Loud era, What's My Name is #2 and S&M #3. If we talk about WW numbers, Only Girl is easily the biggest.

[Deleted]

Jan 30, 2022 17:18:43 GMT -5 Ｓｏｕｎｄｃｌ🕤ｃｋ said:

Jan 30, 2022 16:04:44 GMT -5 @imhappy259 said:

This is a controversial one which is Rihanna’s Loud. The first single was Only Girl (In The World) and the second was What’s My Name?, but I would lie to argue that S&M was bigger than both of them.

On Billboard, Only Girl is her biggest hit from the Loud era, What's My Name is #2 and S&M #3. If we talk about WW numbers, Only Girl is easily the biggest.

S&M is the most memorable song imao. That’s where I’m getting that from

[Private Dancer]

What's My Name definitely the most memorable...still played and reference to this day...

[August]

Madonna has a couple:

Madonna - First album
-Everybody (didn't chart)
-Burning Up (didn't chart)
-Holiday (#16)
-Borderline (#10)
-Lucky Star (#4)

Bedtime Stories
-Secret (#3)
-Take a Bow (#1 for 7 weeks)

[Au$tin]

Jan 30, 2022 17:58:48 GMT -5 Private Dancer said:

What's My Name definitely the most memorable...still played and reference to this day...

Only Girl too. Both definitely seem at least equal in popularity to S&M still.

[Au$tin]

Nearly all of Katy Perry's albums fit this description.

One of the Boys:
"I Kissed a Girl" was a massive hit and arguably the biggest single from the album at the time, but has long since been surpassed by "Hot N Cold."

Teenage Dream:
"California Gurls" was, at the time, Katy's biggest hit of her career. And then she did it even better with "Firework." Arguably "E.T." may have even outperformed "Firework" initially, but I think we can all agree that "Firework" was sustained its popularity and surpassed "E.T." to become likely even the biggest hit of her career.

PRISM:
"Roar" was a big success, but "Dark Horse" truly lived up to its name.

Witness ("Chained to the Rhythm") and Smile ("Never Really Over"/"Daisies" depending on your definition) have their leads as their biggest hits.

Also throwing in Kelly Clarkson's Stronger as the title track outdid the lead, "Mr. Know It All." Kelly's Piece by Piece also applies as the title track once again outdid its lead, "Heartbeat Song."

Speaking of American Idol alumni, Jordin Sparks' self-titled debut also fits the bill since "No Air" > "Tattoo." Carrie Underwood joins the list multiple times as well. For her debut, "Before He Cheats" outdid both definitions of Some Hearts's lead singles "Inside Your Heaven" and "Jesus, Take the Wheel." Blown Away's title track outdid "Good Girl" as well. I would also argue nearly all of the singles from Carnival Ride have outlasted "So Small." Unfortunately, "Southbound" also could arguably be stated to be the biggest hit from Cry Pretty, unless you define "The Champion" as that album's lead. Really I think the only album of Carrie's that doesn't apply is Play On. Daughtry's self-titled debut also counts since "Over You" and "Home" both outdid "It's Not Over." Leave This Town also had "Life After You" outdo "No Surprise."

Honestly, I think this phenomenon is more common than not. At least in the pre-streaming era.

[Amnesiac]

Def Leppard's Hysteria is one that comes to mind. It went pretty deep singles-wise, and some of the big hits that are most associated with it were released late into its cycle, including a #1 that topped the Hot 100 over a year after album's release:

1. Animal (#19 Hot 100)
2. Women (#80)
3. Pour Some Sugar on Me (#2)
4. Hysteria (#10)
5. Armageddon It (#3)
6. Love Bites (#1)
7. Rocket (#17)

Cosmic Thing by the B-52's is another
1. (Shake That) Cosmic Thing (#7 alternative, dnc Hot 100)
2. Channel Z (#1 alternative, dnc Hot 100)
3. Love Shack (#1 alternative, #3 Hot 100)
4. Roam (#1 alternative, #3 Hot 100)
5. Deadbeat Club (#30 Hot 100)