Most surprising CHR/Pop underperformances?

[iHype.]

If I had to do a (nonranked) top 15:


* these are Billboard's CHR peaks, not Mediabase/R&R.

1. Daft Punk - One More Time [peak: #33]: Had horrible callouts in addition, yet this was a worldwide smash and ironically.... this has become a Gold/Recurrent staple on radio today.

2. Beyonce - Run The World [peak: #37]: Going from her 2000s track record to immediately struggling to chart with a lead single is absolutely insane especially even more considering the song did end up becoming a signature hit for her.

3. Mariah Carey & Whitney Houston - When You Believe [peak #35]: One of those collaborations that naturally would seem like a smash on paper, so the performance is nothing but insanely disappointing.

4. Madonna - Hung Up [peak #17]: One of the largest comebacks by an established superstar and an incredibly likable song, very hard to imagine it largely got ignored at radio. 

5. Taylor Swift & Ed Sheeran - End Game [peak #10]: There is no way anybody imagined a collaboration following 1989 & Divide, the biggest Pop eras of the last decade would struggle top 10 and have an insane plummet after said disappointing peak. 

6. Katy Perry - Bon Appetit [peak #38]: Coming off an insane track record of having 16 of her 18 career singles reach top 10 on the format, to having a song almost struggle to chart on the format was beyond drastic and shocking. 

7. Michael Jackson - You Rock My World [peak #16]: This was the return of the King of Pop, radio friendly, and most importantly had a *extreme* radio deal. It reached top 10 on overall radio in just its 2nd week, yet it stalled as quickly as it started on all formats peaking after less than 1 month.
 
8. P!nk - Trouble [peak #16]: Following her massive M!ssundaztood era with 4 top 5s, this lead single not even scratching top 15 was a headscratcher.

9. Kelly Clarkson - Never Again [peak #20]: Going from 5 top 5s with the Breakaway album to struggling to make top 20 with a lead single is one of the most overnight declines the format has ever seen with a hitmaker.

10. Jennifer Lopez - Get Right [peak #18]: Her prior 4 lead singles were all top 2 smashes on the format, she was one of the biggest celebrity names in the world, this was extremely radio friendly, a global hit, and considered a signature single today by her.

11. Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper - Shallow [peak #19]: The song was a comeback in all forms for Gaga, is a signature song for her today, was a massive global and pop culture hit, and it had a second wind at the format only to still not go anywhere. 

12. Adele - When We Were Young [peak #13]: While having the biggest return ever with "Hello" followed by "25" it is insane to imagine directly in the midst the most surefire ballad faltered and couldn't even reach top 10.

13. Coldplay - Viva La Vida [peak #12]: This song was such a massive moment and continues to be today, it is one of those songs you would logically assume there was no way it wasn't spammed on radio. 

14. Elvis & JXL - A Little Less Conversation [missed top 40]: This was a massive worldwide #1 hit, and even built up so much hype in the United States the Elvis compilation it was a single for debuted #1 with 500K. Yet with all it achieved it couldn't even get a grasp at charting on radio.

15. Justin Bieber - Baby [peak: #16]: This was one of the first ever internet *viral* hits and this elevated him into an international superstar. When Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, and even BTS have achieved radio embracement with their breakthroughs it is bizarre this song was rejected even during an era where corny tween pop music was embraced more than ever on radio. This is also one of the very few Pop songs that felt absolutely inescapable to huge levels without being a Pop radio hit.

[iHype.]

May 5, 2022 11:53:37 GMT -5 Codex said:

Birthday by Katy Perry, considering it was her first real flop after like 20 hits and her biggest career hit, then Maroon 5 smashed with a carbon copy of it? (Sugar)

Unconditionally also peaked at the same position months prior.

Birthday was surprising though… it always sounded like a huge smash to me.

[mkarns]

May 5, 2022 14:05:38 GMT -5 iHype. said:

May 5, 2022 11:53:37 GMT -5 Codex said:

Birthday by Katy Perry, considering it was her first real flop after like 20 hits and her biggest career hit, then Maroon 5 smashed with a carbon copy of it? (Sugar)

Unconditionally also peaked at the same position months prior.

Birthday was surprising though… it always sounded like a huge smash to me.

Not sure about Billboard, but "Birthday" officially peaked at #8 in Mediabase/R&R, lower than any of her previous hits as a lead other than "Thinking of You" and "Unconditionally" (which was quickly dropped in favour of "Dark Horse.") But that's still good enough that it wasn't a real flop IMO.

However, nothing from her in the eight years since has charted higher at CHR, so it feels less successful in retrospect; sort of a "jump the shark" moment in terms of chart performance if not musical quality.

[thirddegree50123]

First thing that came to mind was "Gotta Be Somebody" by Nickelback. They had just had 5 top 10s on Pop from a diamond selling album and this song, which was another perfect pop song, failed to go top 10. Was still a huge Hot AC hit and went top 10 on the Hot 100 but this was truly bizarre to me.

[rihannabiggestfan]

One More Time is the DEFINITION of "longevity wins in the end" - an iconic hit and excellent song. Radio should have done it better during its main run (same with Around the World I think? I mean, both of these songs missed top 60 on Hot 100 - robbed)

[Love Plastic Love]

One More Time is so iconic and well-known I am stunned it wasn't a massive airplay hit from the start.

[HEADOFTHEPACK]

Things like this plus, for example, the trajectory of most early Britney singles shows that charts truly are not an accurate measure of a song's impact/reach.

[Dammn Baby]

Janet Jackson's "Feedback". Yes, she was 40 and radio was told not to play her songs, but it was a banger.

[johnm1120]

2. Beyonce - Run The World [peak: #37]: Going from her 2000s track record to immediately struggling to chart with a lead single is absolutely insane especially even more considering the song did end up becoming a signature hit for her.

Despite being considered a signature hit in reality this was a really weak single and just a desperate attempt to create a female empowerment anthem.


3. Mariah Carey & Whitney Houston - When You Believe [peak #35]: One of those collaborations that naturally would seem like a smash on paper, so the performance is nothing but insanely disappointing.

Deserved much better. Even on the Hot 100 it only got to #15. Superstar duets tend to be hit or miss.


4. Madonna - Hung Up [peak #17]: One of the largest comebacks by an established superstar and an incredibly likable song, very hard to imagine it largely got ignored at radio. 

This did about as I expected. American Life was pretty much a flop.


5. Taylor Swift & Ed Sheeran - End Game [peak #10]: There is no way anybody imagined a collaboration following 1989 & Divide, the biggest Pop eras of the last decade would struggle top 10 and have an insane plummet after said disappointing peak. 

Again, superstar duets are hit or miss.


6. Katy Perry - Bon Appetit [peak #38]: Coming off an insane track record of having 16 of her 18 career singles reach top 10 on the format, to having a song almost struggle to chart on the format was beyond drastic and shocking. 

Plus this was one of her weakest singles.


7. Michael Jackson - You Rock My World [peak #16]: This was the return of the King of Pop, radio friendly, and most importantly had a *extreme* radio deal. It reached top 10 on overall radio in just its 2nd week, yet it stalled as quickly as it started on all formats peaking after less than 1 month.
 

Also the fact he was 43 and was still getting negative press. It also had bad timing as 9/11 was just around the corner.


9. Kelly Clarkson - Never Again [peak #20]: Going from 5 top 5s with the Breakaway album to struggling to make top 20 with a lead single is one of the most overnight declines the format has ever seen with a hitmaker.

This was pretty much label politics. Kelly wanted more creative control and this was pretty much Clive's way of saying "do what you're told."


10. Jennifer Lopez - Get Right [peak #18]: Her prior 4 lead singles were all top 2 smashes on the format, she was one of the biggest celebrity names in the world, this was extremely radio friendly, a global hit, and considered a signature single today by her.

But sounded pretty much like a bad New Year's Eve party song.


12. Adele - When We Were Young [peak #13]: While having the biggest return ever with "Hello" followed by "25" it is insane to imagine directly in the midst the most surefire ballad faltered and couldn't even reach top 10.

Pretty much wrong 2nd single choice.


14. Elvis & JXL - A Little Less Conversation [missed top 40]: This was a massive worldwide #1 hit, and even built up so much hype in the United States the Elvis compilation it was a single for debuted #1 with 500K. Yet with all it achieved it couldn't even get a grasp at charting on radio.

I was surprised this even cracked the top 40 at all (on R&R). Now had it been released in the 90s it would've done much better.


15. Justin Bieber - Baby [peak: #16]: This was one of the first ever internet *viral* hits and this elevated him into an international superstar. When Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, and even BTS have achieved radio embracement with their breakthroughs it is bizarre this song was rejected even during an era where corny tween pop music was embraced more than ever on radio. This is also one of the very few Pop songs that felt absolutely inescapable to huge levels without being a Pop radio hit.

Radio was very hesitant with pubescent Bieber. There was some kind of stigma with playing him. It was also one of those love/hate songs (before the feature went away it was one of the most disliked videos on Youtube). He never hit the top 10 until "Boyfriend" peaked at #9.

[Joe1240]

First one comes to mind for me is Ariana Grande,Miley Cyrus & Lana Del Rey's Collaboration "Don't Call Me Angel" underperforming on the charts at the time. This was after Ariana Grande's peak era of Thank U Next. It peaked at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100,#22 Mainstream Top 40 and #37 Adult Top 40 and hyped at the time of it's release. The song was also produced by Max Martin who is known for his hit songs.

[Enigma.]

DCMA underperformed also in streams though, so it wasn't all radio's fault.

Great and interesting list, iHype!

[mkarns]

May 13, 2022 1:10:32 GMT -5 Joe1240 said:

First one comes to mind for me is Ariana Grande,Miley Cyrus & Lana Del Rey's Collaboration "Don't Call Me Angel" underperforming on the charts at the time. This was after Ariana Grande's peak era of Thank U Next. It peaked at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100,#22 Mainstream Top 40 and #37 Adult Top 40 and hyped at the time of it's release. The song was also produced by Max Martin who is known for his hit songs.

Another example of collaborations being hit or miss? Plus after Ariana had seven straight top 10 hits--all but one of which went top 3--a burnout factor may understandably have been creeping in. It was wise of her to wait a year before the "Positions" era, though I'm kind of surprised it stopped so early, with three big hits over less than a year--and done.

[salt]

"Juice" by Lizzo. So weird in that 2019 was a huge year for her... just not for the current single she was pushing for her new album. This one only reached #28 on the airplay chart while her years old songs reached #1.

[degen]

“Dirrty” by Christina Aguilera in 2002 fizzling out at #14 was a big surprise, considering she had 6 top 10s, including 3 #1s, from 1999-2001, and was arguably the favorite female for pop radio at that point. For a major comeback 1st single, this was a blow. It sounds like a song that should’ve been a huge smash on 2002 pop radio. Everyone likes to say the video was what caused it to stall, but actually it was sent to radio and stalled a whole month before the video even premiered. I remember that fall was a full slate was of new singles by J.lo, Eminem, Justin Timberlake, and I guess “Dirrty” was the one that had to give out.

[degen]

May 15, 2022 22:44:06 GMT -5 salt said:

"Juice" by Lizzo. So weird in that 2019 was a huge year for her... just not for the current single she was pushing for her new album. This one only reached #28 on the airplay chart while her years old songs reached #1.

I don’t think this was radios fault. I think the label abandoned the radio push to promote “Truth Hurts” which was gaining huge traction in streams and even outstreaming “Juice.” It would not have made sense for them to ignore that. I think “Juice” is a victim of bad timing.

[jimijoop]

Ed Sheeran - Eyes closed

[rnb]

river

[tekkenguy]

Old Town Road never going #1 on CHR.

[jdanton2]

Umbrella by Rihanna not going to #1 at pop radio.

[rnb]

^ both of those aren’t underperformances since they still did really well

[tekkenguy]

Apr 29, 2023 9:41:51 GMT -5 jdanton2 said:

Umbrella by Rihanna not going to #1 at pop radio.

The song that blocked Umbrella is a fairly forgotten Justin Timberlake song. We saw a similar thing happen in 2008 when a random Jesse McCartney hit blocked I Kissed a Girl. 

[mkarns]

"Hung Up"'s radio underperformance feels even more surprising in retrospect: it's currently Madonna's second most streamed song on Spotify (behind "Material Girl".) At this point I'd say that it's her most popular or enduring 21st century song, and maybe one of her most such ever.

For two individually proficient hitmakers, Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran have never smashed together despite several tries, at least to the degree one might expect. "The Joker and the Queen" is another example of this, though it was frankly a nice but somewhat dull song without much of a hook other than "Here's Taylor!" Its performance threw the Equals era off track and it never fully recovered, though "2step" and the feature on Camila Cabello's "Bam Bam" did turn things around a bit.

I'd add Adele's "Oh My God", which was When We Were Young, Part Deux in terms of radio performance (disappointing followup to a #1), except this time there wasn't any subsequent "Send My Love (To Your New Lover)" rebound hit.

[Devil Marlena Nylund]

A “desperate attempt at a female empowerment anthem.” Lol

[Az Paynter]

Apr 29, 2023 9:13:38 GMT -5 jimijoop said:

Ed Sheeran - Eyes closed

...this is top 10 with a +800 bullet right now, if anything compared to its streaming the song is over-performing at pop radio. And it ain't even done.

[Night Senses]

Apr 29, 2023 10:44:47 GMT -5 Devil Marlena Nylund said:

A “desperate attempt at a female empowerment anthem.” Lol

Right. Since when is being “desperate” to empower women a negative thing? And while the context was shady, I still don’t see the problem with intentionally creating anything of the sort, lol. It didn’t land at the time, but it’s a cute cult classic for her now. More memorable than it gets credit for.

[Deleted]

May 13, 2022 1:10:32 GMT -5 Joe1240 said:

First one comes to mind for me is Ariana Grande,Miley Cyrus & Lana Del Rey's Collaboration "Don't Call Me Angel" underperforming on the charts at the time. This was after Ariana Grande's peak era of Thank U Next. It peaked at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100,#22 Mainstream Top 40 and #37 Adult Top 40 and hyped at the time of it's release. The song was also produced by Max Martin who is known for his hit songs.

yeah, he also did Never Gonna Not Dance Again, sooooo. I wasn’t a fan of DCMA, tbh, although I was excited for it, I wasn’t surprised at it stalling, names can only take it so far. Sometimes the hit makers flop.

[rockymartin]

Bauer - Harlem Shake

[avamaxstan]

I'm a Slave 4 U. She was the biggest pop star in the world coming off two of the biggest female albums of all time, and the lead single bombed in the US. Scraped top 20 CHR and even lower on Hot 100. And the next three singles did even worse on CHR and missed the Hot 100 entirely. There's a lot of talk about her being blacklisted by Clear Channel at the time, I'm not sure how much truth there is to that?

[mkarns]

May 24, 2023 11:08:38 GMT -5 avamaxstan said:

I'm a Slave 4 U. She was the biggest pop star in the world coming off two of the biggest female albums of all time, and the lead single bombed in the US. Scraped top 20 CHR and even lower on Hot 100. And the next three singles did even worse on CHR and missed the Hot 100 entirely. There's a lot of talk about her being blacklisted by Clear Channel at the time, I'm not sure how much truth there is to that?

I'm not aware of Britney personally being blacklisted by Clear Channel. One issue may have been that radio by then (late 2001-2002) may have been moving away from most artists associated with the teen-pop boom of a few years earlier, except perhaps 'N Sync, perhaps viewing them as played out. Britney of course overcame that by modernizing her sound and image, as did others such as Christina and solo Justin.

[avamaxstan]

May 24, 2023 14:17:14 GMT -5 mkarns said:

May 24, 2023 11:08:38 GMT -5 avamaxstan said:

I'm a Slave 4 U. She was the biggest pop star in the world coming off two of the biggest female albums of all time, and the lead single bombed in the US. Scraped top 20 CHR and even lower on Hot 100. And the next three singles did even worse on CHR and missed the Hot 100 entirely. There's a lot of talk about her being blacklisted by Clear Channel at the time, I'm not sure how much truth there is to that?

I'm not aware of Britney personally being blacklisted by Clear Channel. One issue may have been that radio by then (late 2001-2002) may have been moving away from most artists associated with the teen-pop boom of a few years earlier, except perhaps 'N Sync, perhaps viewing them as played out. Britney of course overcame that by modernizing her sound and image, as did others such as Christina and solo Justin.

Good point. I'm old enough to remember that the teen pop craze took a hard nosedive in 2001 when urban music took over. Britney enlisting the Neptunes and going urban-pop with Slave 4 U was very smart strategically, and even though it wasn't a smash hit, it helped establish her as an adult pop artist.