If “Uptown Funk” was released today

[neel]

“Uptown Funk”. Bruno Mars’ career defining hit. A song that was LITERALLY everywhere in 2015. Spent 14 consecutive weeks atop of the Billboard Hot 100. The number one song of 2015 and basically the No. 1 song of the 2010s decade. Probably up there with being one of the biggest hits of the 21st Century.

And with it now being nearly 10 years old (next year November) it makes me wonder…….. If “Uptown Funk” was released today in the current pop landscape, would it still received the same massive phenomenon impact it got 9 years ago?

[jdanton2]

it's daily streaming numbers are quite low compared to other Bruno songs which is surprising. so it is hard to say.

kworb.net/spotify/artist/0du5cEVh5yTK9QJze8zA0C_songs.html

* Uptown Funk (feat. Bruno Mars) 1,792,169,630 685,326
That's What I Like 1,759,418,076 1,342,000
When I Was Your Man 1,724,774,582 1,401,889
Just the Way You Are 1,703,848,763 1,381,285
Locked out of Heaven 1,553,354,322 2,090,371
24K Magic 1,284,178,809 542,778
* Young, Wild & Free (feat. Bruno Mars) 1,269,280,529 615,400
Leave The Door Open 1,148,211,034 727,464
Talking to the Moon 1,104,722,867 924,984
Grenade 1,088,662,321 863,253

[musicfan134]

Lol "Uptown Funk" is literally not even in the top 3 of Bruno's "career-defining" hits. Maybe not even top 5.

[bjordan]

I loved the song when it was new but not so much now.

[Au$tin]

Sept 14, 2023 22:27:28 GMT -5 musicfan134 said:

Lol "Uptown Funk" is literally not even in the top 3 of Bruno's "career-defining" hits. Maybe not even top 5.

I disagree. It absolutely is. I mean, how is it not? It certainly outperformed most of the rest of his discography and still appears in an enormous amount of radio playlists, streaming playlists, memes, movies/TV shows, etc. It was literally one of, if not the, biggest songs of the 2010s. Honestly, the only song from Bruno I feel that eclipses the cultural significance of "Uptown Funk" is "Just the Way You Are."

Plus, "Uptown Funk" marked a significant pivot in Bruno's career. Prior to the track's success, Bruno was creating modern r&b/pop hybrid tracks. After "Uptown Funk," a track that borrows heavily from funk, hip-hop, and r&b from the 70s, Bruno has consistently been creating tracks with heavy elements of the 60s and 70s. I know he was experimenting with that sound on his second album, but "Uptown Funk" was so unapologetically throwback and so ridiculously massive that his music to this day is still like that. I don't think 24k Magic and Silk Sonic would exist without "Uptown Funk" paving the way first.

I know "Treasure" is similar to "Uptown Funk" in the way it borrows heavily from the 70s, but "Treasure" was in no way large enough of a hit to be responsible for that pivot in his sound. "Uptown Funk" is. I firmly believe that had "Uptown Funk" not existed, his musical output would've remained in that modernized r&b/pop lane and tracks like "Treasure" would appear on occasion rather than being his entire brand at this point.

What I can't explain, though, is what's up with its Spotify streaming. It's his second most streamed song of all time there, absolutely indicative of its monstrous size as it predates the streaming boom, but for some reason its streaming has dipped significantly over the last year or two. There's got to be some big technical reasons for that because I can't just see people suddenly going "ew, fuck that song" after it being a massive staple for 6-7 years. Perhaps it's *too* "pre-COVID" and it makes people sad? Or maybe the search/play algorithms changed and hindered it? No clue.

[jdanton2]

the lower stream numbers could be because it does not show up when you search for Bruno Mars . you have to search the song or Mark Ronson who has alot less listeners than Bruno.

[Ｓｏｕｎｄｃｌ🕤ｃｋ]

I think it'd be a huge hit, but not like it was in 2015. People are TIRED of the song, and IMO that's the main reason behind those low daily streams.

[Ezekiel 23:20–21]

It would be canceled for cultural appropriation and for not paying proper tribute and credit to Prince, Jam & Lewis, and Marvin Gaye.

[eyeofthestorm]

If Uptown Funk was released today, I would still change the station whenever it came on.

[tekkenguy]

Part of the reason that Uptown Funk was so big is that it was hot off the heels of Unorthodox Jukebox. Bruno hasn’t been active since his Silk Sonic side project in 2021 and hasn’t released an actual solo album since Obama was president.

That’s like Santana releasing Smooth in 2015 when Matchbox Twenty were yesterday’s news.

[avamaxstan]

I’d like to think it would rightfully flop as it’s truly unlistenable. A bunch of songs with that cringe sound were hits in that time period.

[jdanton2]

as of today this is Bruno's 8th most daily streamed song on Spotify but on You Tube it is #1 with a good lead with both overall and daily numbers.The Lazy Song is actually second on that list.


Video Views Yesterday Published
1 Mark Ronson - Uptown Funk (Official Video) ft. Bruno Mars 5,121,917,806 895,938 2014/11
2 Bruno Mars - The Lazy Song (Official Music Video) 2,687,054,129 608,529 2011/04
3 Bruno Mars - That’s What I Like [Official Music Video] 2,239,603,886 387,847 2017/03
4 Bruno Mars - Just The Way You Are (Official Music Video) 1,908,458,167 369,166 2010/09
5 Bruno Mars - 24K Magic (Official Music Video) 1,637,623,843 253,293 2016/10

[Kelly's 10th Fan]

Dec 18, 2023 17:39:57 GMT -5 avamaxstan said:

I’d like to think it would rightfully flop as it’s truly unlistenable. A bunch of songs with that cringe sound were hits in that time period.

interesting take; my own thought was that a large element of its success was that it didn't sound much like other hits at the time, and despite its catchiness and huge popularity it did not start a wave of loud, brassy funk-inspired pop. So it stood out in a 'good' way and nothing else came along to compare directly to it.

Anyway, I think it would be a hit today (assuming 'today' means 2023-2024), largely for the same reasons it was in 2014-2015 - it doesn't sound like anything else that is out but is still catchy and has a distinct hook; video was meme-able; certain parts of it would have probably gone viral on TikTok. Would it be 'song of the decade' huge though? It's going to be hard for any song this decade to compete with the gargantuan run Blinding Lights had, so I would say no.

Now if you asked me if UF released in 2020 would have been equally huge, that would be a different story. It might have been even huger with everyone feeling cooped up and desperately seeking anything upbeat.

Its low-ish numbers on Spotify compared to Bruno's other hits don't entirely surprise me. Those numbers are WW and not just US, so it makes sense that the songs streaming best there are the more pop-leaning ones (and that Brazilians are almost singlehandedly carrying Talking To The Moon on their backs).

[avamaxstan]

Jan 9, 2024 11:03:03 GMT -5 Kelly's 10th Fan said:

Dec 18, 2023 17:39:57 GMT -5 avamaxstan said:

I’d like to think it would rightfully flop as it’s truly unlistenable. A bunch of songs with that cringe sound were hits in that time period.

interesting take; my own thought was that a large element of its success was that it didn't sound much like other hits at the time, and despite its catchiness and huge popularity it did not start a wave of loud, brassy funk-inspired pop. So it stood out in a 'good' way and nothing else came along to compare directly to it.

Anyway, I think it would be a hit today (assuming 'today' means 2023-2024), largely for the same reasons it was in 2014-2015 - it doesn't sound like anything else that is out but is still catchy and has a distinct hook; video was meme-able; certain parts of it would have probably gone viral on TikTok. Would it be 'song of the decade' huge though? It's going to be hard for any song this decade to compete with the gargantuan run Blinding Lights had, so I would say no.

Now if you asked me if UF released in 2020 would have been equally huge, that would be a different story. It might have been even huger with everyone feeling cooped up and desperately seeking anything upbeat.

Its low-ish numbers on Spotify compared to Bruno's other hits don't entirely surprise me. Those numbers are WW and not just US, so it makes sense that the songs streaming best there are the more pop-leaning ones (and that Brazilians are almost singlehandedly carrying Talking To The Moon on their backs).

Off the top of my head, smash hits from that era with a similar aesthetic (and all of them terrible imo):
Blurred lines
24k magic
Can’t stop the Feeling
Happy

[Kelly's 10th Fan]

Jan 9, 2024 11:31:21 GMT -5 avamaxstan said:

Jan 9, 2024 11:03:03 GMT -5 Kelly's 10th Fan said:

interesting take; my own thought was that a large element of its success was that it didn't sound much like other hits at the time, and despite its catchiness and huge popularity it did not start a wave of loud, brassy funk-inspired pop. So it stood out in a 'good' way and nothing else came along to compare directly to it.

Anyway, I think it would be a hit today (assuming 'today' means 2023-2024), largely for the same reasons it was in 2014-2015 - it doesn't sound like anything else that is out but is still catchy and has a distinct hook; video was meme-able; certain parts of it would have probably gone viral on TikTok. Would it be 'song of the decade' huge though? It's going to be hard for any song this decade to compete with the gargantuan run Blinding Lights had, so I would say no.

Now if you asked me if UF released in 2020 would have been equally huge, that would be a different story. It might have been even huger with everyone feeling cooped up and desperately seeking anything upbeat.

Its low-ish numbers on Spotify compared to Bruno's other hits don't entirely surprise me. Those numbers are WW and not just US, so it makes sense that the songs streaming best there are the more pop-leaning ones (and that Brazilians are almost singlehandedly carrying Talking To The Moon on their backs).

Off the top of my head, smash hits from that era with a similar aesthetic (and all of them terrible imo):
Blurred lines
24k magic
Can’t stop the Feeling
Happy

Naming bruno's own follow-up to UF is cheating lol

I might give you Blurred Lines - that did cross my mind, though I ultimately see it as a different type of derivative as it borrowed more directly from r&b/disco than funk. But CSTF was pop/disco made for children, and Happy didn't even have horns it. (Side bar, I actually remember my biggest pet peeve about Happy at the time being that people kept calling it 'r&b/soul' because while I didn't hate it, it was so watered down from the Curtis Mayfield sound people were comparing it to that I felt insulted as an r&b fan.) Not to mention, the way Bruno delivered his verses was very different from all of the songs you mentioned except for 24K (which again, not entirely fair to count Bruno duplicating his own sound as part of an overall trend).

I actually would have suggested Fifth Harmony's Worth It as a more apt comparison to UF, but that was a moderate hit at best.

[Devil Marlena Nylund]

Would lil boo thing be something similar for 2023-24?