High-selling singles that never entered the Billboard top 40

Message Bookmarked
Bookmark Removed
Not all messages are displayed: show all messages (137 of them)

Matt & Kim, "Daylight" (#95, gold)

jaymc, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 20:45 (nine years ago) link

another uk hit that didn't do as well in the us but still sold a lot: corinne bailey rae "put your records on" (#64, uncertified(?) but has sold >945,000)

dyl, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 20:48 (nine years ago) link

Wow, surprised that didn't chart higher.

Skrillex, ""Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites" (#69, double platinum), "Bangarang" (#72, platinum), "First of the Year" (#85, gold), "Kyoto" (did not chart; gold)
Deadmau5, "Ghosts 'n' Stuff" (did not chart; gold)

jaymc, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 20:51 (nine years ago) link

anna nalick "breathe (2 am)" (#45, gold)

i actually like that song so don't hate :)

dyl, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 20:52 (nine years ago) link

Airborne Toxic Event, "Sometime Around Midnight" (did not chart; gold)

jaymc, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 20:53 (nine years ago) link

one of the nearest gas stations to my house has some kind of incredibly small playlist of like 10 songs in constant rotation and "Breathe (2 am)" is one of them, which is kinda dope

some dude, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 20:53 (nine years ago) link

Haha, I am going through someone's Spotify playlist of songs that were on Gossip Girl

jaymc, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 20:53 (nine years ago) link

I wonder how much "Dancing On My Own" sold ? I'm sure it must have gone gold. She played it on so many talk shows and even the MTV Awards. I was surprised it never became a legit hit à la "Bulletproof", "Lights", "Royals", or "Stay High".

LeRooLeRoo, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 20:57 (nine years ago) link

Yeah, I actually just checked Robyn, and nothing has been certified since her '90s output.

jaymc, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 21:00 (nine years ago) link

Future - "Turn on the Lights" (#50, gold)
Young Jeezy - "And Then What" (#67, gold)
Young Jeezy - "RIP" (#58, gold)

I Love Makonnen: New Answers (The Reverend), Wednesday, 29 October 2014 21:02 (nine years ago) link

i'm impressed that "RIP" went gold, wasn't even that big of a rap radio song on the scale of a "Turn On the Lights"

some dude, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 21:04 (nine years ago) link

Postal Service, "Such Great Heights" (did not chart; gold)

jaymc, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 21:06 (nine years ago) link

Tegan and Sara, "Closer" (#90, gold)

jaymc, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 21:08 (nine years ago) link

another adult contemporary person: colbie caillat

"lucky" (w/ jason mraz): #48, gold
"i never told you": #48, gold
"brighter than the sun": #47, platinum

christina aguilera

"tilt ya head back" (w/ nelly): #58, gold
"just a fool" (ft. blake shelton): #71, uncertified but >746,000 sold

dyl, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 21:09 (nine years ago) link

rick ross

"hustlin'": #54, platinum
"you the boss" (ft. nicki minaj): #62, gold

dyl, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 21:12 (nine years ago) link

speaking of nicki...

"did it on 'em": #49, gold
"beez in the trap": #48, gold
"high school": #64, gold

dyl, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 21:15 (nine years ago) link

blake shelton's got plenty of gold singles that reached the 40 to 50 range but more interestingly he also has one that didn't reach the hot 100 at all: "ol' red"

dyl, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 21:18 (nine years ago) link

miranda has some impressive singles sales too:

"kerosene": #61, platinum
"famous in a small town": #87, gold
"gunpowder & lead": #52, 2x platinum
"only prettier": #61, gold

plus 3 gold singles that made it to the 40-50 range

dyl, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 21:26 (nine years ago) link

The Caesars - Jerk it Out (#70, gold)

MarkoP, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 21:30 (nine years ago) link

Bon Iver - Skinny Love (did not chart, gold)

MarkoP, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 21:31 (nine years ago) link

beyonce "countdown" (#71, gold) :)

dyl, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 21:34 (nine years ago) link

another one that's been in a lot of ads:

the ting tings "shut up and let me go" (#55, platinum)

dyl, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 21:36 (nine years ago) link

death cab for cutie:

"soul meets body" (#60, gold)
"i will follow you into the dark" (did not chart, gold)

dyl, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 21:38 (nine years ago) link

Brad Paisley:

Whiskey Lullaby (#41, platinum)
Waitin' on a Woman (#48, gold)
Water (#42, gold)
Beat This Summer (#46, gold)
River Bank (#54, gold)

guess that bundt gettin eaten (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 29 October 2014 21:40 (nine years ago) link

a$ap rocky "wild for the night" (#80, gold)

dyl, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 21:47 (nine years ago) link

My Chemical Romance

"I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" (#86, gold)
"Teenagers" (#67, gold)
"Sing" (#58, gold)

jaymc, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 21:47 (nine years ago) link

should have included pistol annies "hell on heels" (#55, platinum) w/ miranda's :)

dyl, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 21:49 (nine years ago) link

kreayshawn "gucci gucci" (#57, gold)

dyl, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 21:50 (nine years ago) link

The Weeknd, "Wicked Games" (#53, platinum)

jaymc, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 21:54 (nine years ago) link

limp bizkit "behind blue eyes" (#71, gold)

dyl, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 21:57 (nine years ago) link

frank ocean "novacane" (#82, gold)

dyl, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 21:58 (nine years ago) link

oh and i lied about yael naim's "new soul," it has been certified gold after all (the riaa site's search function is annoying)

anyway this game is fun but i'm prob done for now :P

dyl, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 22:13 (nine years ago) link

OH MY GOD I LOVE THIS THREAD

maura, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 23:34 (nine years ago) link

i kind of can't believe 'i'm in miami bitch' didn't go gold, but maybe the franchising hurt sales of the original

maura, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 23:36 (nine years ago) link

'sorry for party rocking' is gold and peaked at no. 49

maura, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 23:37 (nine years ago) link

foo fighters "everlong" (did not chart [#42 hot 100 airplay]*, gold); "times like these" (#65, gold); "doa" (#68, gold)
the offspring "you're gonna go far, kid" (#63, gold)
red hot chili peppers "californication" (#69, gold); "tell me baby" (#50, gold)
coldplay "yellow" (#48, certified gold but has sold over 2 million [as of this week!]); "the scientist" (did not chart, gold), "fix you" (#59, gold)

* this was from the time when songs that weren't released to retail weren't eligible for the hot 100; it was a promo-only single in the us

dyl, Thursday, 30 October 2014 04:39 (nine years ago) link

never heard the temper trap and two door cinema club songs before today and now am kind of fascinated by that genre of Hip Electronic-Infused Indie Pop-Rock that isn't critically acclaimed. feel like i have a soft spot for lots of stuff in that vein. like i found several of the songs i posted above from a last.fm "RIYL Passion Pit" page.

jaymc, Thursday, 30 October 2014 04:48 (nine years ago) link

like phoenix would the respectable version of this stuff. but someone make me a mix of temper trap, two door cinema club, foster the people, grouplove, etc.

jaymc, Thursday, 30 October 2014 04:51 (nine years ago) link

like it's Hip™ for basics

jaymc, Thursday, 30 October 2014 04:52 (nine years ago) link

the more mainstream end of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indietronica

jaymc, Thursday, 30 October 2014 04:55 (nine years ago) link

i've never heard the two door cinema club song but the temper trap one was in a ton of commercials and movies (it plays in 500 days of summer like AT LEAST three times). hip for basics is an apt description lol.

dyl, Thursday, 30 October 2014 04:56 (nine years ago) link

Hip Electronic-Infused Indie Pop-Rock that isn't critically acclaimed.

this is definitely a huge thing rn, really big on the festival scene afaict. kinda feel like that should be a thread tbh

I Love Makonnen: New Answers (The Reverend), Thursday, 30 October 2014 07:37 (nine years ago) link

like all the bands that ripped off MGMT that that bands' fans moved to when MGMT suddenly decided they only wanted to make wibbly tuneless psychedelia

I Love Makonnen: New Answers (The Reverend), Thursday, 30 October 2014 07:38 (nine years ago) link

Hip™ for basics

otm / big lol

and yeah, this stuff is huge, selling out sizable venues everywhere. detestable.

alpine static, Thursday, 30 October 2014 08:18 (nine years ago) link

Capitol Cities "Safe and Sound" is another example of it breaking the top 10 other than Foster the People although I secretly fux with that song (and it rips off M83 instead of MGMT)

I Love Makonnen: New Answers (The Reverend), Thursday, 30 October 2014 09:23 (nine years ago) link

Totally.

jaymc, Thursday, 30 October 2014 12:49 (nine years ago) link

The Romantics "What I Like About You" stalled at #49. That must be gold by now if not platinum.

and in his absence, she (Lee626), Thursday, 30 October 2014 13:42 (nine years ago) link

the weirdest thing about "What I Like About You" peaking so low is that it's so much more famous than their #3 hit "Talking In Your Sleep"

some dude, Thursday, 30 October 2014 14:33 (nine years ago) link

Not unlike the fact that "Pray" is MC Hammer's biggest hit.

Thereby Creating Humor (Old Lunch), Thursday, 30 October 2014 14:38 (nine years ago) link

and a long-haired dude named Michael Morales took a cover into the top thirty in late '89.

guess that bundt gettin eaten (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 30 October 2014 14:39 (nine years ago) link


You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.