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Artists that have "fallen off."

tall_guy1

tall_guy1

It's interesting to browse through YouTube and look at has-been artists which are likely one-hit wonders that radio has made the decision to stop playing because they've fallen off the radar. I looked and saw James blunt and Natalie Imbruglia are still making music. More than likely they have an older loyal following that is smaller still. When people see them in concert, most people only know them for their one song. Have you noticed any older artists that people pay little attention to? (Charlie xcx and Carly Rae Jensen have developed a more "hipster" following for their new stuff.) It's funny to see the YouTube page of American idol winner Kris Allen. Live like you're dying got 10 million, the follow ups got a couple hundred thousand views and after that only a few thousand (at most!). He's currently playing coffee shops and very low key events.
 
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TheBigA said:
Maybe those artists need to hire a new publicist who can restart their careers. It's not up to radio to do that. It's up to the artists and their teams to recognize their situation, and take steps to fix them.
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I'd guess there's not enough interest in them anymore and the artists are aware of that.
 
gr8oldies said:
They can still make a living playing smaller venues in many cases, but they aren't going to be making new hits. They're essentially on the nostalgia circuit forever.
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The singer daya might have been the latest example. The last track 1-2 yrs ago was a radio flop "bad girl" and you've never heard the songs she's released since then (garnering a couple hundred thousand views on YouTube.
 
tall_guy1 said:
It's interesting to browse through YouTube and look at has-been artists which are likely one-hit wonders that radio has made the decision to stop playing because they've fallen off the radar.
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"Radio" is not a monolithic entity. Each PD makes their own final decisions, based on how they think of each new release. In fact, familiar names get a bit of preference in reviewing new music, but in the end it is not the artist but the song that is added. Stations play songs, not artists.
tall_guy1 said:
I looked and saw James blunt and Natalie Imbruglia are still making music. More than likely they have an older loyal following that is smaller still. When people see them in concert, most people only know them for their one song. Have you noticed any older artists that people pay little attention to? (Charlie xcx and Carly Rae Jensen have developed a more "hipster" following for their new stuff.) It's funny to see the YouTube page of American idol winner Kris Allen. Live like you're dying got 10 million, the follow ups got a couple hundred thousand views and after that only a few thousand (at most!). He's currently playing coffee shops and very low key events.
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That, of course, is the audience "voting" with views and streams.

And ten million is nothing. Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee's "Despacito" are going to hit 8 billion views in the next few weeks. Those few Chris Allen views do not indicate a strong or memorable following. Nor do his ten minutes of fame indicate any reason, today, to favor a new release by him.
 
DavidEduardo said:
"Radio" is not a monolithic entity. Each PD makes their own final decisions, based on how they think of each new release. In fact, familiar names get a bit of preference in reviewing new music, but in the end it is not the artist but the song that is added. Stations play songs, not artists.

That, of course, is the audience "voting" with views and streams.

And ten million is nothing. Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee's "Despacito" are going to hit 8 billion views in the next few weeks. Those few Chris Allen views do not indicate a strong or memorable following. Nor do his ten minutes of fame indicate any reason, today, to favor a new release by him.
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That was my point. Chris Allen probably got that in 2010, and his following got less as less after that to the point where some of his videos only have a couple hundred views.
 
tall_guy1 said:
That was my point. Chris Allen probably got that in 2010, and his following got less as less after that to the point where some of his videos only have a couple hundred views.
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Music is a job. You have to keep working at it, or you might get fired.

As a performer, you start by creating music people want to hear. Then you tour to bring that music to the people. While you're doing that, you do interviews to keep yourself in the public eye. And when you have a break, you're back writing and recording the next group of songs that will take you hopefully to the next level. Then start the cycle all over again.
 
TheBigA said:
Music is a job. You have to keep working at it, or you might get fired.

As a performer, you start by creating music people want to hear. Then you tour to bring that music to the people. While you're doing that, you do interviews to keep yourself in the public eye. And when you have a break, you're back writing and recording the next group of songs that will take you hopefully to the next level. Then start the cycle all over again.
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I don't know if you can totally blame the artists though. Sometimes the type of music they play goes out of style. (The Edm craze picked up steam after 2010 and now that's over as well.)
 
tall_guy1 said:
It's interesting to browse through YouTube and look at has-been artists which are likely one-hit wonders that radio has made the decision to stop playing because they've fallen off the radar. I looked and saw James blunt and Natalie Imbruglia are still making music. More than likely they have an older loyal following that is smaller still. When people see them in concert, most people only know them for their one song.
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Actually, James Blunt was a major musical star in Europe for years after "You're Beautiful," especially in the UK and Germany. It was only American radio that made him a one-hit wonder.
 
I don't know if you can totally blame the artists though. Sometimes the type of music they play goes out of style. (The Edm craze picked up steam after 2010 and now that's over as well.)

I'm sorry, but I'm new here.........What is Edm? Is that electronic dance music? Is it like Euro-Techno music? Thanks. :)
 
Daryl Lynn L.A. said:
I don't know if you can totally blame the artists though. Sometimes the type of music they play goes out of style. (The Edm craze picked up steam after 2010 and now that's over as well.)

I'm sorry, but I'm new here.........What is Edm? Is that electronic dance music? Is it like Euro-Techno music? Thanks. :)
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Yep...that's it. Was popular in the early 10s and still is in Europe.
 
tall_guy1 said:
(Charli xcx and Carly Rae Jensen have developed a more "hipster" following for their new stuff.)
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gr8oldies said:
They can still make a living playing smaller venues in many cases, but they aren't going to be making new hits. They're essentially on the nostalgia circuit forever.
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I wouldn't say that Charli XCX is on the nostaligia circuit, well, certainly not in the UK. She still has modest success there, with two of her songs ("Beg for You" and "Hot in It") each peaking at number 24 on the Official Singles Chart this year. Her latest album, Crash, went to number one on the Official Albums Chart earlier this year. Looking at the singles in her discography, I see that she hasn't had a top 40 hit outside the British Isles since 2018. So, basically, Charli XCX is a domestic artist who hasn't been able to repeat the international success that she had in the first half of the 2010s.
 
Many artists hated going mainstream because of the high stress, pressure to keep making hits, grueling touring schedule, and not even making that much money due to lousy record company contracts. They're happy to perform at more intimate venues and make new music on their own time.
 
CTListener said:
Actually, James Blunt was a major musical star in Europe for years after "You're Beautiful," especially in the UK and Germany. It was only American radio that made him a one-hit wonder.
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So true, CTListener! This is often pointed out in the comments section of YouTube "One Hit Wonder" videos. These videos usually focus on artists that had a couple of U.S. Top 40 hits and don't take into account that the group may have had success in other genres and/or countries. There's duo called Mary Mary whose record "Shackles" hit the Top 40 several years ago. Listeners may not have realized that "Shackles" was a religious song, and don't know that Mary Mary has sold millions of albums and is still going strong today...on gospel radio!
 
Cordelia Chase said:
So true, CTListener! This is often pointed out in the comments section of YouTube "One Hit Wonder" videos. These videos usually focus on artists that had a couple of U.S. Top 40 hits and don't take into account that the group may have had success in other genres and/or countries. There's duo called Mary Mary whose record "Shackles" hit the Top 40 several years ago. Listeners may not have realized that "Shackles" was a religious song, and don't know that Mary Mary has sold millions of albums and is still going strong today...on gospel radio!
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I've noticed some b list songs (from u.s. perspective) getting hundreds of millions of views on YouTube. More than likely that's coming from overseas! I wonder how much YouTube is an international platform?
 

Here's another case of a one hit wonder. Gregg Alexander of the New Radicals. He is viewed as a one hit wonder. But in real life the New Radicals continued as a songwriting group for other artists into the 2000's. This is a rare case where the performer went on to be song writers for other artists.



Original edition


Cover edition





Here are New Radicals members that went on to write songs for other artists.
 
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tall_guy1 said:
I wonder how much YouTube is an international platform?
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YouTube has been available globally for years, with many countries having localized versions of the platform. In fact, not every YouTube video is available for viewing in the US. For example, videos of the Eurovision Song Contest semifinals and finals from 2016 onward are geoblocked in the US.
 
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