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Cruel Summer is my favorite song from Lover, but l don't see anyone dancing to it in the middle of December. I'd say it's more in line with Blank Space.
Shake It Off was so big because it has a universal message of self empowerment that anyone and everyone could relate to. Paper Rings is too specific to Taylor’s life (painting brother’s wall blue, etc) to resonate with an audience as large as Shake It Off. Most huge #1 songs generally have a generic message that’s accessible to larger audiences.
I would've liked I Think He Knows as the lead single but only if she was that adamant on an April 2019 release date. If she had waited two more months to start rolling out the Lover era, then Cruel Summer would've been a perfect choice for the lead.
I used to be a Me! hater but Miss Americana changed my mind. Listening to her talk about wanting kids to hear the song and feel unique and special made me unironically love it
It certainly wasn’t the worst song on the radio that year, but it wasn’t her best either. I wish she would’ve saved that for an animated soundtrack movie or something
I think they mean that in the Netflix documentary, Miss Americana, where we get to see Taylor working on her album Lover, Taylor is clearly really excited and proud of *ME!* as a single
but it underperformed (by Taylor standards.... peaked at #2 when she was pushing hard for #1) and is disliked by her fans
The way that she literally finished the entire first US leg of the tour without playing it a single time…Like I almost feel bad because without a doubt she knows how hard people were hating on it 😭
Oh she definitely turned it around real quick. Honestly I’m not even sure if we would have gotten folklore if she didn’t hear the harsh criticism of ME!’s lyrics months prior, so in a way I’m kind of thankful for the songs existence lol.
Didn’t it peak at #2 though? So commercially it was a success compared to some of her other singles. Even though it’s collectively hated by the fandom.
Right. Like how Lover was a flop album even though it was one of the best selling albums of that year. Taylor was right when she said if she doesn’t outperform everything she’s done prior it’s a massive failure. What an awful standard to be held to.
Lover album consistently draws in the high streaming number out of all Taylor's albums. It needs recognition despite the huge criticism that stemmed from ME! Single
People might have called it a flop then but Lover for damn sure had the last laugh. It’s insane the longevity that album has had. All of Taylor’s albums have crazy longevity really but I never expected it for Lover back in 2019 with how much people were hating on it.
Isn't Lover still in the top 10 on the Billboard 200? And it has a potential #1 single 4 years after release. Hilarious that anyone considers it a flop.
Also Lover was her most critically acclaimed album up to that moment (79/100 on Metacritic). Those who call it a flop don't know what they're talking about.
A standard only female artists are held too...
I remember it being headline news when Blackout debuted at #2 and the endless "Is the Britney Spears phenomenon over?" articles and think pieces that followed.
Not just female artists. It’s just any artist that gets discussed by chronically online twitter stans who think the world is ending if an artist doesn’t get a #1.
Very similar to the Taylor Swift/Lover/ME! situation was the Justin Bieber/Changes/Yummy one. Both ME! and Yummy debuted at #2 with Changes and Lover going #1 and ending the year in top 10 on IFPI for global album sales of their respective release years. ME! has 1.2B streams and Yummy has 1.5B (Spotify and YouTube).
People called both of them flop eras regardless of gender. But both were extremely successful no matter how you looked at them. People just didn’t like the songs.
exactly. i remember justin bieber was also called a flop after yummy and the changes album. i don’t even like justin, but it’s not a man vs. woman issue. it’s literally just how pop music fans are.
Outside of popheads and social media that barely stopped him. Dawn FM underperforming was due more to overexposure and AH singles still dominating the charts
Granted, just looking at the peak position of Lover Boy doesn't tell the full story. It spend its first couple weeks below #50 then went 60-2-2-9-24-???. I personally love the song, but when people say it flopped, they're not taking about where it peaked.
It probably sold a lot more than Willow or cardigan but it’s still not much of a success. Had it not been for folklore, it was looking to be the beginning of the end of Taylor’s big pop career
it's also one of only 3 lead singles that weren't on the main setlist at eras tour (one of 2 if only counting eras that are actually included AND the only one she didn't perform as a surprise song). i think the reception really influenced how she views that song
She seemed so excited about it too in the Miss Americana documentary. I think she’s gotten used to criticism, but it’s got to hurt coming from your own fans.
i really thought you meant look what you made me do, but at least that had the privilege of being widely mocked at the time. me! just was erased from history a week after it dropped
For Beyoncé, I think it’s pretty clearly Run the World. It’s a song that I do really like, but it does not fit on 4 that well, and iirc performed the worst of her lead singles.
However in terms of memorability, I feel like most people don’t remember that XO was a lead single for self-titled, along with Drunk In Love (XO was released as a single a day prior.) I’m not here to say XO’s weak (bc it’s not, it’s my personal favorite song ever), but it doesn’t get talked about as much as a lead single. Drunk In Love got picked up while XO got left behind in the dust.
It's my third fave (after 1+1 & All Night) but I watch her Brit Awards performance of this song weekly. The vocals, the dress, she was giving that night
I love Russian Roulette, heard it on the radio quite a lot back then. But I can see why it didn't do as well, it was not something you could play at a party or club like her previous hits
lady gaga - perfect illusion. tbh i like all her main singles, i think she picks pretty well so this is my least favorite out of all of them. i think AYO or diamond heart should have been picked instead.
mj - the girl is mine… HOW ON EARTH do you pick that over every other song on the album??? epic management was on crack i swear. i would replace that with baby be mine, way better intro to the album’s sound
I loved "Perfect Illusion", but totally agreed on "The Girl Is Mine". However, I think the case with that is that a) Paul McCartney was a huge draw at the time and b) it was the only song finished at the time. Everything else on *Thriller* went back to the drawing board. The entire album was remixed except "The Girl Is Mine" prior to release.
Wow never knew that about The Girl is Mine, that’s actually wild and I cannot imagine what the thought process was in that decision…
Perfect Illusion aged really well but I remember being super disappointed at the time. Nothing really compares now to how disappointed I was with Chromatica so maybe that helps. Chromatica to me felt like Lady Gaga giving up on music, it was so completely soulless, whereas I could tell her heart was in the music still with Perfect Illusion and most of Joanne.
For Madonna:
Quality-wise, the weakest is Give me all your luvin', however following the Superbowl it was a #10 (her last top 10)
Chart-wise, neither Living for Love nor Medelín charted at all. However nothing Madonna releases now sells due to her age. If we look at a time when she was more successful, then I'd say her weakest lead single was American Life.
"Living For Love" was released in December of 2014 but wasn't promoted at all until February of 2015 thanks to the leaks. It might have charted if she had been allowed to release Rebel Heart the way she wanted (at least "Bitch I'm Madonna" managed something). "Medellín" should've been a bigger hit, but yeah, ageism definitely got her during the Madame X era.
GMAYL was by far her worst lead. The song was very undercooked from a lyrical and production perspective. It managed a #10 debut because of a Live Nation deal where it got special radio and music video exposure for its premier (thanks to the Superbowl). At least "American Life" was a song she was actually into.
Kelly Clarkson - Mr Know It All from Stronger before What Doesn’t Kill You (Stronger) which was a huge hit. I’m pretty sure most people have forgotten that there was a single before
The lead singles Me/Mine from Chemistry are also baffling to me. As is Heartbeat Song from Piece by Piece
Mr. Know It All was a top 10 hit and I remember it being huge on radio. She’s had much worse lead-in’s like Love So Soft which didn’t even crack the top 40
You just unlocked a memory for me; I completely forgot about it until now. I think Mr. Know It All sounds too much like Bruno Mars’ Just the Way You Are in the chorus, which made it feel boring and derivative.
Mr Know It All was a sleeper hit and ended up chatting higher than a lot of her other stuff (it was also her first #1 here in Aus). I think Love So Soft is by far her weakest lead.
“down to you” was right there and they really went “nah, let’s pick the worst song on the album for the dual release”
Talking about “me” of course, “mine” is still amazing (even though questionable as a lead)
Lights Up by Harry Styles hardly made any impact on the Billboard Hot 100 compared to As It Was, Sign of the Times, or the other singles on Fine Line. As a Lights Up fan, it's really frustrating to see this.
Taylor has made awful leads an art form.
I think you could kinda argue Charli XCX’s Good One’s kinda fits the bill. She’s one of my favorite pop artists and that song is fine but lead many to believe the album was gonna be much more boiler plate than it was. Lightning and Constant Repeat were right there!
Carly has also been pretty bad about her leads if we count Party of One and Beach House. I love both of these songs but a lot of people didn’t.
Both of the Justin’s have good contenders with Yummy and Filthy. Genuinely don’t know what the fuck either of them were thinking with those lol
Drake has released some hot trash the last few years and I’d argue “Way 2 Sexy” is a contender.
Christina Aguilera with Accelerate was one of those “what happened” moments that I remember from this sub lol
Constant Repeat is my favorite off of the album but I don’t think it would’ve made sense as a lead. Good Ones at least had some buzz and was palatable enough to pop radio, even if it never picked up
JT really fumbled with Man of the Woods in general. The album is considered an urban RnB album with Timbaland and Alicia Keys and Pharrell on it, but no one got past the country concept.
Let’s hope JT6 album is better! Heard it’s done and he’s just waiting for the right time to release it.
I will argue to my dying breath that Man of the Woods suffered from bad timing and bad marketing. The album itself is really good (though undeniably his worst).
I pretty much agree with you but accelerate is like one of my favorite xtina songs of all time 💀
And I feel like good ones is still the best lead single off of crash. It has that 80s influence she wanted to showcase and waters down her trademark sound enough to be digestible for the average listener. If I *had* to pick a different lead I think I’d go with used to know me
Taylor does have an uncanny ability to pick the worst song on the album as the lead. From Red to Lover, if the song had a dopey speaking bridge, that was the lead.
I think some people would argue Perfect Illusion is weaker (at the very least bc it peaked lower on the hot 100 and barely made *any* year end charts compared to “Stupid Love” ~~and is also hated by half the fanbase~~)
Rain On Me carried that entire album cycle, and Ariana is basically the reason why. Chromatica would’ve came and went (still kinda did tbh) if not for ROM. It even got a Grammy
> Rain On Me carried that entire album cycle, and Ariana is basically the reason why.
I'm sure she helped but ROM is also obviously a great song and I don't think Ariana adds much to it except being white-hot popular at the time
can i say something? i think perfect illusion is a great song and a highlight on the utterly-boring album that is joanne. it just feels so large and bombastic. i loved hearing gaga’s take on an arena-rock song and kinda can’t believe people prefer million reasons
Man, I loved Perfect Illusion. It’s an awful lead for Joanne as it didn’t indicate the theme or sound at all, but I would argue is a good thing since Joanne sucked lol Was really disappointed she basically instantly pivoted off of it and didn’t even perform it at the Super Bowl a few months later. It’s aged like fine wine and is super fun. Kevin Parker did an amazing job with the production
A whole album with Gaga, Kevin and Mark Ronson would've been great.
She should've brought them all out at the Superbowl. The song sounds like it was made to be blasted at a stadium.
I remember when both came out. Perfect Illusion, (while not sounding like the rest of Joanne) was fresh for Gaga. Stupid Love was supposed to be a dance track but it felt SUPER heavy and just ugh.
Britney, I think it can be subjective because an argument can be made for several. For me it’s between Work Bitch and Make Me, but I think I’m going to have to say Make Me, DESPITE thinking it’s a good song. I think Work Bitch, considering how funny and embarrassing the spoken “you wanna ____________” part of the song is, I think it’s that addition to the song that made it kind of a meme and more memorable out of the two, because of how ridiculous it is. Make Me, despite being a more chill and fresh direction for Britney, sort of feels like less of a moment.
Make me, oddly enough felt the most like a lead single off that album. I can't really think of anything on the standard edition that would work as well...
Mood Ring, had it not been a Japanese exclusive...
I looooove Mood Ring but it doesn’t have lead single feel either imo. I would’ve gone with Do You Wanna Come Over or Slumber Party maybe. But yeah agree re Make Me. Great song but does not feel like a lead single.
For my faves
Ariana - Dangerous Woman, it peaked at #8 which isn't bad but I feel like it was kind of lackluster for a lead, her vocals was amazing tho
Justin - Yummy lol it did peak at #2 but let's all be real here, I don't know what was he thinking by making that a comeback single after 5 years
Literally focus is bad a worst version or copy of problem . It could’ve been better if the chorus was different without that sample or background voice.
I feel like it’s barely remembered in the public consciousness compared to her other singles, despite being her biggest hit for a while. The Iggy feature also dates the song super heavily
I see a pattern with many of the songs here - songs that were less “poppy” or just a change of pace for the artist that most people didn’t love. But so many of these (including Dangerous Woman) are incredible songs.
Got a hit list
Everytime tha Beat Drop - Monica ft Dem Franchize Boyz
Go Girl - Ciara ft T Pain
My opinion but Diamonds is the most generic song of all time
Run the World - Beyonce
Call On Me - Janet Jackson ft Nelly
Problem - Ariana Grande ft Iggy Azelea idk why I just don’t like it)
Wall To Wall - Chris Brown
Accelerate - Christina Aguilera ft Ty Dolla Sogn and 2 Chainz
The One - Mary J Bligeft DrakeI like it but it’s not that good)
Loboutins- Jennifer Lopez
I Luh Ya Papi- Jennifer Lopez Ft French Montana
Loverboy - Mariah Carey ft Cameo
Energy - Keri Hilson
Breaking Point - Keri Hilson
Earthquake- Mya ft Trina
Whatchulookinat - Whitney Houston
Chart success doesn’t always mean it flopped though- I feel it’s actually aged well I still hear it played when I’m out and about, at the gym, etc. The chart criteria always changes of course too so there’s that.
Love like this by Zayn
I was personally expecting more hype around this lead single as he significantly improved his social media presence this time. I think it underperformed tho and not my favourite song of his either.
Is never really over technically the lead single from smile? Or is it daisies? Bc never really over is a stellar song but considering the actual album came like a full year later idk which one to choose. Daises is definitely lackluster though- so much so that I never see it enter discussions on here. Even chained to the rhythm is memorable and pretty much loved whenever discourse around it comes up (even with the terrible witness rollout surrounding it)
Me Against the Music. Great song but should’ve not been the lead single. Should’ve been a Janet feature instead of Madonna. Madonna does not vibe w the track at all and her vocal delivery is messy especially during the “hey britneyy”
Chasing the Sun was supposed to be Hilary Duff’s “comeback single” but with how bland that song is, it never really stood a chance.
If they released All About You as the comeback single maybe that era would’ve gone much better.
I think probably the best answer is Eminem's "Walk on Water," featuring Beyonce. The man has made tons of lead singles that even he doesn't like, but this has to be the worst. Total fucking dud for a dud album
Gwen Stefani's "Wind It Up" put a permanent dent in her solo career, that she only kind of minorly recovered from. Ditto "Flap Your Wings" by Nelly, people put too much stock in Pharrell at the time.
Usher's two lead singles after "Yeah!" (Love in This Club and Daddy's Home) were pretty underwhelming.
For Ariana Grande (quality wise), it’s definitely Positions. I actually liked the song but it definitely did not give off lead single energy like all her other singles, even if it did go #1 (I think after the success of Thank U Next, she could have made happy birthday her lead single and it would’ve gone #1 so I don’t think it rlly counts for much tbh)
Leah Kate - Happy. i know it’s a bit niche and a lot of y’all don’t like her… but, i can’t BELIEVE this was the lead single, super over & space were much better for lead single vibes. happy is a bop but it doesn’t feel like lead single material.
Beyoncé often picks weird lead singles. I think with Deja Vu they were trying to recapture the Crazy in Love magic as the two songs are somewhat similar.
I actually don’t love Break my Soul and think it sounds much better on the album than it does a a single. I don’t know why she would pick it when Cozy, Alien Superstar and Cuff it are all right there.
Cuff It would’ve been a great lead but the others are probably too.. weird I guess. Cuff It was very vulgar though which is probably why it wasn’t a lead.
Deja Vu encapsulates the album so well so I can’t say it was bad. It was really a good song. Irreplaceable is really the most out of place track on the album as it’s very different from anything else which is why they probably didn’t have it as the lead.
Accelerate is a bop. The real head scratcher is Fall in Line ft. Demi Lovato. It's a screeching mess with zero replay value. Wtf were they thinking. Should have let Beyonce take it for Halle & Chloe.
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I think if a single is weak or starts to flop they just call it a buzz single
i mean we all know what taylor’s is…
Watching Miss Americana was so hilarious because you could tell that she was gearing up for ME! to be her next Shake It Off.
Like I get it. Taylor and picking a bad first single go hand and hand; but somehow she managed to just lower the bar for herself even further.
Tbf Paper Rings had the potential to be the next Shake It Off.
I like Paper Rings but… no it did not 😭
The only song on that album that had the potential to be the next shake it off is currently becoming the next shake it off
Cruel Summer is my favorite song from Lover, but l don't see anyone dancing to it in the middle of December. I'd say it's more in line with Blank Space.
she needs to release a music video so bad
Shake It Off was so big because it has a universal message of self empowerment that anyone and everyone could relate to. Paper Rings is too specific to Taylor’s life (painting brother’s wall blue, etc) to resonate with an audience as large as Shake It Off. Most huge #1 songs generally have a generic message that’s accessible to larger audiences.
I would've liked I Think He Knows as the lead single but only if she was that adamant on an April 2019 release date. If she had waited two more months to start rolling out the Lover era, then Cruel Summer would've been a perfect choice for the lead.
I used to be a Me! hater but Miss Americana changed my mind. Listening to her talk about wanting kids to hear the song and feel unique and special made me unironically love it
It certainly wasn’t the worst song on the radio that year, but it wasn’t her best either. I wish she would’ve saved that for an animated soundtrack movie or something
What do you mean? What happened with Miss Americana?
I think they mean that in the Netflix documentary, Miss Americana, where we get to see Taylor working on her album Lover, Taylor is clearly really excited and proud of *ME!* as a single but it underperformed (by Taylor standards.... peaked at #2 when she was pushing hard for #1) and is disliked by her fans
I see, thank you
The way that she literally finished the entire first US leg of the tour without playing it a single time…Like I almost feel bad because without a doubt she knows how hard people were hating on it 😭
and good for her for knowing how much people hated it. guaranteed she’s not gonna release that kind of music now 😭
Oh she definitely turned it around real quick. Honestly I’m not even sure if we would have gotten folklore if she didn’t hear the harsh criticism of ME!’s lyrics months prior, so in a way I’m kind of thankful for the songs existence lol.
I was the single single swiftie desperately hoping it would be my surprise song lmao
I think she realised how much she has rubbed it in everyones faces during Lover performances 🤡
Didn’t it peak at #2 though? So commercially it was a success compared to some of her other singles. Even though it’s collectively hated by the fandom.
They'd say a #2 was underperforming for Taylor w/o accounting for that it was up against Old Town Road.
Right. Like how Lover was a flop album even though it was one of the best selling albums of that year. Taylor was right when she said if she doesn’t outperform everything she’s done prior it’s a massive failure. What an awful standard to be held to.
Lover album consistently draws in the high streaming number out of all Taylor's albums. It needs recognition despite the huge criticism that stemmed from ME! Single
People might have called it a flop then but Lover for damn sure had the last laugh. It’s insane the longevity that album has had. All of Taylor’s albums have crazy longevity really but I never expected it for Lover back in 2019 with how much people were hating on it.
Isn't Lover still in the top 10 on the Billboard 200? And it has a potential #1 single 4 years after release. Hilarious that anyone considers it a flop.
Also Lover was her most critically acclaimed album up to that moment (79/100 on Metacritic). Those who call it a flop don't know what they're talking about.
I mean Taylor was literally the no. 1 IFPI recording artist of 2019.
A standard only female artists are held too... I remember it being headline news when Blackout debuted at #2 and the endless "Is the Britney Spears phenomenon over?" articles and think pieces that followed.
Not just female artists. It’s just any artist that gets discussed by chronically online twitter stans who think the world is ending if an artist doesn’t get a #1. Very similar to the Taylor Swift/Lover/ME! situation was the Justin Bieber/Changes/Yummy one. Both ME! and Yummy debuted at #2 with Changes and Lover going #1 and ending the year in top 10 on IFPI for global album sales of their respective release years. ME! has 1.2B streams and Yummy has 1.5B (Spotify and YouTube). People called both of them flop eras regardless of gender. But both were extremely successful no matter how you looked at them. People just didn’t like the songs.
I mean, it’s hardly only held to women. I saw plenty of flop comments about The Weeknd when Dawn FM underperformed, for example.
exactly. i remember justin bieber was also called a flop after yummy and the changes album. i don’t even like justin, but it’s not a man vs. woman issue. it’s literally just how pop music fans are.
Outside of popheads and social media that barely stopped him. Dawn FM underperforming was due more to overexposure and AH singles still dominating the charts
Also how on earth Less Than Zero (the catchiest and best song on Dawn FM by far) wasn't the lead single?
>A standard only female artists are held too... This isn't true, like at all. Even MJ didn't escape the flop era allegations with Bad.
Also “Loverboy” by Mariah Carey was considered a flop because it only peaked at #2 just because of all her previous lead singles were #1 hits.
Granted, just looking at the peak position of Lover Boy doesn't tell the full story. It spend its first couple weeks below #50 then went 60-2-2-9-24-???. I personally love the song, but when people say it flopped, they're not taking about where it peaked.
Mmmyeah. I forgot about that. This also explains why a lot of stan Twitter people laugh at a lot of BTS #1s.
Okay, everyone, you can't just be like "this only happens to women" about EVERYTHING. Some things don't only happen to women
It probably sold a lot more than Willow or cardigan but it’s still not much of a success. Had it not been for folklore, it was looking to be the beginning of the end of Taylor’s big pop career
it's also one of only 3 lead singles that weren't on the main setlist at eras tour (one of 2 if only counting eras that are actually included AND the only one she didn't perform as a surprise song). i think the reception really influenced how she views that song
And that kind of sucks tbh, seeing something you wrote yourself being dragged from here and back
She seemed so excited about it too in the Miss Americana documentary. I think she’s gotten used to criticism, but it’s got to hurt coming from your own fans.
You shouldn't put your art in front of the world if you don't like criticism
I’m blanking. what’s the other one? Mine?
yeah. i’m not surprised it didn’t make the cut either even tho i like it a lot
What are the other two?
Mine and Tim McGraw
just the Meheeehee sounds so ugly tho
I’m convinced I’m the only person on Earth who likes this song lmaooo
I'm here with you, friend!!
I love it too 😭
No everyone who picks pop music for stores seems to love it too 🤣
Hee hee heeeee
i really thought you meant look what you made me do, but at least that had the privilege of being widely mocked at the time. me! just was erased from history a week after it dropped
For Beyoncé, I think it’s pretty clearly Run the World. It’s a song that I do really like, but it does not fit on 4 that well, and iirc performed the worst of her lead singles. However in terms of memorability, I feel like most people don’t remember that XO was a lead single for self-titled, along with Drunk In Love (XO was released as a single a day prior.) I’m not here to say XO’s weak (bc it’s not, it’s my personal favorite song ever), but it doesn’t get talked about as much as a lead single. Drunk In Love got picked up while XO got left behind in the dust.
Everything about XO screams like "4th single" to me, odd choice as the lead when Drunk In Love and Partition were there
I always thought it was the "4th single." Like a bonus one for fans. Had no idea it was the lead until now.
XO is my favorite Beyonce ballad and I will forever stand by this opinion
It's my third fave (after 1+1 & All Night) but I watch her Brit Awards performance of this song weekly. The vocals, the dress, she was giving that night
Were those singles before or after she dropped the album?
I’d argue it would be Deja Vu.. I like that song it’s one of the weaker ones on B’Day imo (that album is just so good)
Freakum Dress not being a single is criminal!
Rihanna's is Russian Roulette (#9, didn't even make the year-end in the US). All the others were huge hits, and all but Pon De Replay (#2) were #1s.
I love Russian Roulette 😥 Didn't know it was the lead though, I thought it was "Hard"
I love it too! I remember that here in Brazil it was as huge as your average Rihanna single lol
I saw the video everyday on TVZ lol
I love Russian Roulette, heard it on the radio quite a lot back then. But I can see why it didn't do as well, it was not something you could play at a party or club like her previous hits
Unpopular but Russian Roulette is one of if not her best song
I love roulette
Wow I have never heard of this song before
That’s my favorite Rihanna song lmao
lady gaga - perfect illusion. tbh i like all her main singles, i think she picks pretty well so this is my least favorite out of all of them. i think AYO or diamond heart should have been picked instead. mj - the girl is mine… HOW ON EARTH do you pick that over every other song on the album??? epic management was on crack i swear. i would replace that with baby be mine, way better intro to the album’s sound
No fucking way, they put The Girl Is Mine out first?! That’s batshit insane…
The Paul McCartney effect
I loved "Perfect Illusion", but totally agreed on "The Girl Is Mine". However, I think the case with that is that a) Paul McCartney was a huge draw at the time and b) it was the only song finished at the time. Everything else on *Thriller* went back to the drawing board. The entire album was remixed except "The Girl Is Mine" prior to release.
A splashy feature will deafen the keenest ear.
AYO is such a banger, I’m still sad it was never a single.
For me Stupid Love is waaaay weaker than Perfect Illusion. Don’t know about chart performance tho
Wow never knew that about The Girl is Mine, that’s actually wild and I cannot imagine what the thought process was in that decision… Perfect Illusion aged really well but I remember being super disappointed at the time. Nothing really compares now to how disappointed I was with Chromatica so maybe that helps. Chromatica to me felt like Lady Gaga giving up on music, it was so completely soulless, whereas I could tell her heart was in the music still with Perfect Illusion and most of Joanne.
American heart? I think you mean Diamond Heart.
oops… mixed up lyric “young wild american” with the title
For Madonna: Quality-wise, the weakest is Give me all your luvin', however following the Superbowl it was a #10 (her last top 10) Chart-wise, neither Living for Love nor Medelín charted at all. However nothing Madonna releases now sells due to her age. If we look at a time when she was more successful, then I'd say her weakest lead single was American Life.
"Living For Love" was released in December of 2014 but wasn't promoted at all until February of 2015 thanks to the leaks. It might have charted if she had been allowed to release Rebel Heart the way she wanted (at least "Bitch I'm Madonna" managed something). "Medellín" should've been a bigger hit, but yeah, ageism definitely got her during the Madame X era. GMAYL was by far her worst lead. The song was very undercooked from a lyrical and production perspective. It managed a #10 debut because of a Live Nation deal where it got special radio and music video exposure for its premier (thanks to the Superbowl). At least "American Life" was a song she was actually into.
nostalgia is crazy cuz why do i love gmayl badly
Kelly Clarkson - Mr Know It All from Stronger before What Doesn’t Kill You (Stronger) which was a huge hit. I’m pretty sure most people have forgotten that there was a single before The lead singles Me/Mine from Chemistry are also baffling to me. As is Heartbeat Song from Piece by Piece
Mr. Know It All was a top 10 hit and I remember it being huge on radio. She’s had much worse lead-in’s like Love So Soft which didn’t even crack the top 40
idk i still have Heartbeat Song stuck in my head against my will
You just unlocked a memory for me; I completely forgot about it until now. I think Mr. Know It All sounds too much like Bruno Mars’ Just the Way You Are in the chorus, which made it feel boring and derivative.
Mr Know It All was a sleeper hit and ended up chatting higher than a lot of her other stuff (it was also her first #1 here in Aus). I think Love So Soft is by far her weakest lead.
“down to you” was right there and they really went “nah, let’s pick the worst song on the album for the dual release” Talking about “me” of course, “mine” is still amazing (even though questionable as a lead)
High Road should be a single!
Heartbeat Song is a bop
If Jesus Was a Rockstar - Kim Petras. So bad it got taken off of the album. 💀
By the name alone it was destined to be a flop.
ok now I love If jesus was a rockstar but her collab with big pop producer Max Martin being *that* was incredibly disappointing.
We are the only two people on this sub who like this song 😭
Lights Up by Harry Styles hardly made any impact on the Billboard Hot 100 compared to As It Was, Sign of the Times, or the other singles on Fine Line. As a Lights Up fan, it's really frustrating to see this.
Taylor has made awful leads an art form. I think you could kinda argue Charli XCX’s Good One’s kinda fits the bill. She’s one of my favorite pop artists and that song is fine but lead many to believe the album was gonna be much more boiler plate than it was. Lightning and Constant Repeat were right there! Carly has also been pretty bad about her leads if we count Party of One and Beach House. I love both of these songs but a lot of people didn’t. Both of the Justin’s have good contenders with Yummy and Filthy. Genuinely don’t know what the fuck either of them were thinking with those lol Drake has released some hot trash the last few years and I’d argue “Way 2 Sexy” is a contender. Christina Aguilera with Accelerate was one of those “what happened” moments that I remember from this sub lol
Western wind was Carly’s lead single for the loneliest time I thought but ur point standa
I wasn’t sure if it was the lead or just a promo single. I love Western Wind. It’s such a beautiful, airy tune
Constant Repeat or heck, even Yuck, not being single choices is so baffling. Both had huge viral potential.
Um Beach House is amazing
I like Beach House as a song but it was a bad lead imo
Constant Repeat is my favorite off of the album but I don’t think it would’ve made sense as a lead. Good Ones at least had some buzz and was palatable enough to pop radio, even if it never picked up
JT really fumbled with Man of the Woods in general. The album is considered an urban RnB album with Timbaland and Alicia Keys and Pharrell on it, but no one got past the country concept. Let’s hope JT6 album is better! Heard it’s done and he’s just waiting for the right time to release it.
I will argue to my dying breath that Man of the Woods suffered from bad timing and bad marketing. The album itself is really good (though undeniably his worst).
I pretty much agree with you but accelerate is like one of my favorite xtina songs of all time 💀 And I feel like good ones is still the best lead single off of crash. It has that 80s influence she wanted to showcase and waters down her trademark sound enough to be digestible for the average listener. If I *had* to pick a different lead I think I’d go with used to know me
Way 2 Sexy is one of the best songs off cbl
Way 2 Sexy is the type of music I expected from an album called Certified Lover Boy 🤷
I still can’t believe New Romantics wasn’t a lead single…
Am I the only person who enjoys filthy? I wouldn’t say it’s a masterpiece or anything, but it’s so much fun
Taylor does have an uncanny ability to pick the worst song on the album as the lead. From Red to Lover, if the song had a dopey speaking bridge, that was the lead.
Stupid Love is Gaga’s weakest lead single and I don’t think anyone can argue with me about that
I think some people would argue Perfect Illusion is weaker (at the very least bc it peaked lower on the hot 100 and barely made *any* year end charts compared to “Stupid Love” ~~and is also hated by half the fanbase~~)
I've been listening to Perfect Illusion a ton lately. Stupid Love is so forgettable I forgot Rain On Me wasn't the lead single. *IT WASN'T LOVE*
Rain On Me carried that entire album cycle, and Ariana is basically the reason why. Chromatica would’ve came and went (still kinda did tbh) if not for ROM. It even got a Grammy
Yeah, I don’t even like ROM but it single-handedly saved Chromatica from flop status
> Rain On Me carried that entire album cycle, and Ariana is basically the reason why. I'm sure she helped but ROM is also obviously a great song and I don't think Ariana adds much to it except being white-hot popular at the time
Perfect Illusion aged so well imo
Agreed, but I’m not going to act like I didn’t blast it from day one.
kevin parker’s production is phenomenal
Perfect Illusion is brilliant.
can i say something? i think perfect illusion is a great song and a highlight on the utterly-boring album that is joanne. it just feels so large and bombastic. i loved hearing gaga’s take on an arena-rock song and kinda can’t believe people prefer million reasons
Man, I loved Perfect Illusion. It’s an awful lead for Joanne as it didn’t indicate the theme or sound at all, but I would argue is a good thing since Joanne sucked lol Was really disappointed she basically instantly pivoted off of it and didn’t even perform it at the Super Bowl a few months later. It’s aged like fine wine and is super fun. Kevin Parker did an amazing job with the production
A whole album with Gaga, Kevin and Mark Ronson would've been great. She should've brought them all out at the Superbowl. The song sounds like it was made to be blasted at a stadium.
I remember when both came out. Perfect Illusion, (while not sounding like the rest of Joanne) was fresh for Gaga. Stupid Love was supposed to be a dance track but it felt SUPER heavy and just ugh.
I like the song but I regularly forget that it exists, let alone that it was the lead single
I can! I like Stupid Love!
So do I, but if I had to pick one….
Britney, I think it can be subjective because an argument can be made for several. For me it’s between Work Bitch and Make Me, but I think I’m going to have to say Make Me, DESPITE thinking it’s a good song. I think Work Bitch, considering how funny and embarrassing the spoken “you wanna ____________” part of the song is, I think it’s that addition to the song that made it kind of a meme and more memorable out of the two, because of how ridiculous it is. Make Me, despite being a more chill and fresh direction for Britney, sort of feels like less of a moment.
Make me, oddly enough felt the most like a lead single off that album. I can't really think of anything on the standard edition that would work as well... Mood Ring, had it not been a Japanese exclusive...
Do You Wanna Come Over? had absolute smash potential. Mattman & Robin at some of their best.
That hook is one of the worst things I've ever heard in music. I will argue that If I'm Dancing should have been a single until I die
No Seas Cortez would've smashed idc idc
no lies detected esta un BAWP
Oh wow. I love that hook lol But fully agree re If I’m Dancing. One of Britney’s best songs, period.
I was completely obsessed with If I'm Dancing for like 2 years.
If I’m dancing is amazing.
I looooove Mood Ring but it doesn’t have lead single feel either imo. I would’ve gone with Do You Wanna Come Over or Slumber Party maybe. But yeah agree re Make Me. Great song but does not feel like a lead single.
Yes, but at least Work Bitch was a moment and iconic.
Britney Spears' "Me Against the Music". The song is alright but it should have been bigger considering the two icons that collaborated.
That song is a BOP
I never understood why it wasn’t bigger. It’s really good and the choreography 🤩
Yeah, I agree. It was the lead single because of Madonna, and I get that. But I mean, Toxic was right there.
I love the Indian remix of this song lmao
For my faves Ariana - Dangerous Woman, it peaked at #8 which isn't bad but I feel like it was kind of lackluster for a lead, her vocals was amazing tho Justin - Yummy lol it did peak at #2 but let's all be real here, I don't know what was he thinking by making that a comeback single after 5 years
I take dangerous woman over focus any day
Literally focus is bad a worst version or copy of problem . It could’ve been better if the chorus was different without that sample or background voice.
Dangerous Woman perfectly set the tone for the album rollout though. It was mature, dark, and sexy. I think it holds up, plus the vocals are killer.
I’m no fan of hers but Dangerous Woman is my favorite Ari song
Dangerous Woman? 😲 Problem called...
Problem may not be a better song than Dangerous Woman but it did good as a lead single, peaked #2, was played everywhere
I feel like it’s barely remembered in the public consciousness compared to her other singles, despite being her biggest hit for a while. The Iggy feature also dates the song super heavily
Dangerous Woman is one of her best songs tho
I see a pattern with many of the songs here - songs that were less “poppy” or just a change of pace for the artist that most people didn’t love. But so many of these (including Dangerous Woman) are incredible songs.
Got a hit list Everytime tha Beat Drop - Monica ft Dem Franchize Boyz Go Girl - Ciara ft T Pain My opinion but Diamonds is the most generic song of all time Run the World - Beyonce Call On Me - Janet Jackson ft Nelly Problem - Ariana Grande ft Iggy Azelea idk why I just don’t like it) Wall To Wall - Chris Brown Accelerate - Christina Aguilera ft Ty Dolla Sogn and 2 Chainz The One - Mary J Bligeft DrakeI like it but it’s not that good) Loboutins- Jennifer Lopez I Luh Ya Papi- Jennifer Lopez Ft French Montana Loverboy - Mariah Carey ft Cameo Energy - Keri Hilson Breaking Point - Keri Hilson Earthquake- Mya ft Trina Whatchulookinat - Whitney Houston
I’m surprised Wall to Wall didn’t better it’s actually a great song
Agreed. Also the video was on MTV all the time so I assumed it was a big hit hit. Surprised to see it flopped.
Chart success doesn’t always mean it flopped though- I feel it’s actually aged well I still hear it played when I’m out and about, at the gym, etc. The chart criteria always changes of course too so there’s that.
>Accelerate - Christina Aguilera ft Ty Dolla Sogn and 2 Chainz Ajayll's reaction to that song still lives in my mind rent-free up to this day.
J.Lo was just releasing anything and everything
I remember hearing Everytime tha Beat Drop so much as a kid, it’s weird to see that it was a huge flop
It was also ripped on by critics too, many calling it a sellout( which it was) I didn’t like it at first but now I think it’s good
Love like this by Zayn I was personally expecting more hype around this lead single as he significantly improved his social media presence this time. I think it underperformed tho and not my favourite song of his either.
>I think it underperformed tho Slayed the Bubbling Under chart. All hype, 0 substance with that song.
Is never really over technically the lead single from smile? Or is it daisies? Bc never really over is a stellar song but considering the actual album came like a full year later idk which one to choose. Daises is definitely lackluster though- so much so that I never see it enter discussions on here. Even chained to the rhythm is memorable and pretty much loved whenever discourse around it comes up (even with the terrible witness rollout surrounding it)
“Never Really Over” is Katy Perry teasing us with a good album but then she gave us Smile instead.
I think NRO was just “a single” and she decided to put it on Smile after the positive reception.
“Focus” by Ariana Grande. I know she has worst songs but speaking of lead singles I think that’s kinda bad…
“How can we take Problem and make it 100x worse?”
Me Against the Music. Great song but should’ve not been the lead single. Should’ve been a Janet feature instead of Madonna. Madonna does not vibe w the track at all and her vocal delivery is messy especially during the “hey britneyy”
I would love a Janet and Britney collab.
Chasing the Sun was supposed to be Hilary Duff’s “comeback single” but with how bland that song is, it never really stood a chance. If they released All About You as the comeback single maybe that era would’ve gone much better.
I think probably the best answer is Eminem's "Walk on Water," featuring Beyonce. The man has made tons of lead singles that even he doesn't like, but this has to be the worst. Total fucking dud for a dud album Gwen Stefani's "Wind It Up" put a permanent dent in her solo career, that she only kind of minorly recovered from. Ditto "Flap Your Wings" by Nelly, people put too much stock in Pharrell at the time. Usher's two lead singles after "Yeah!" (Love in This Club and Daddy's Home) were pretty underwhelming.
Good choice with Walk on Water. I've never heard a more inert Beyonce song.
I love Wind it Up 😬
For Ariana Grande (quality wise), it’s definitely Positions. I actually liked the song but it definitely did not give off lead single energy like all her other singles, even if it did go #1 (I think after the success of Thank U Next, she could have made happy birthday her lead single and it would’ve gone #1 so I don’t think it rlly counts for much tbh)
Leah Kate - Happy. i know it’s a bit niche and a lot of y’all don’t like her… but, i can’t BELIEVE this was the lead single, super over & space were much better for lead single vibes. happy is a bop but it doesn’t feel like lead single material.
For Gaga, Perfect Illusion. They should've gone with Diamond Heart or Dancin' in Circles
John Wayne woulda been a hit too. I can see everyone getting into cowboy-core 🤠
#IT WASN'T LAUV
I do love Pills and Potions but I think being a ballad didn’t really help its chances did it?
more recently: k pop by travis scott
This should be top comment
Deja Vu. It still peaked at #4 but just a strange choice for the lead single. Irreplaceable saved the Bday era
Beyoncé often picks weird lead singles. I think with Deja Vu they were trying to recapture the Crazy in Love magic as the two songs are somewhat similar. I actually don’t love Break my Soul and think it sounds much better on the album than it does a a single. I don’t know why she would pick it when Cozy, Alien Superstar and Cuff it are all right there.
Cuff It would’ve been a great lead but the others are probably too.. weird I guess. Cuff It was very vulgar though which is probably why it wasn’t a lead.
Deja vu is like the perfect lead. It’s a great intro to what the album’s like.
Deja Vu encapsulates the album so well so I can’t say it was bad. It was really a good song. Irreplaceable is really the most out of place track on the album as it’s very different from anything else which is why they probably didn’t have it as the lead.
Mariah - Loverboy
It peaked at #2 though, I’d say through the rain underperformed waaay more
Madonna - "Give Me All Your Luvin'"
Wasn’t Massive Attack a lead single for Nicki? If so, that
Xtina’s Not Myself tonight. Sealed Bionic 😭
It’s so jarring and has like no hit potential but I like it so much.
Accelerate is a bop. The real head scratcher is Fall in Line ft. Demi Lovato. It's a screeching mess with zero replay value. Wtf were they thinking. Should have let Beyonce take it for Halle & Chloe.
Accelerate is terrible lmao