There may be a thread for this but I had no idea what to search for. I just read that "Hide & Seek" by Imogen Heap was certified gold (four years after release) but only ever hit 91 on the Billboard pop chart. I'm curious: is this a common phenomenon and, if not, what other singles have gone gold or higher without cracking the top 40 (or possibly even the top 100) in the US?
― Slug Transplants (Old Lunch), Wednesday, 29 October 2014 15:54 (nine years ago) link
LMFAO and Lil Jon's "Shots" is double platinum, and peaked at #68
― some dude, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 16:06 (nine years ago) link
Jeff Buckley's "Hallelujah" is certified platinum and never charted on the Hot 100. (It was #1 on Hot Digital Songs in 2008!)
― jaymc, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 16:35 (nine years ago) link
Nothing to back this up, but maybe Van Halen's "Hot for Teacher," which stalled at #56? Searching for "hot for teacher certification" brings up a bunch of links about bikram yoga classes.
― Josefa, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 16:38 (nine years ago) link
Pearl Jam has two gold singles ("Jeremy," "Last Kiss") and one platinum single ("Just Breathe"). Of those three songs, "Last Kiss" is the only one that cracked the top 40 (#2). The double-sided single "Jeremy/Yellow Ledbetter" hit #79, and "Just Breathe" went to #78.
― jaymc, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 16:49 (nine years ago) link
One Direction's "Kiss You" was certified gold and topped out at #46.
― jaymc, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 16:55 (nine years ago) link
Ooh, here's a good one: Christian artist TobyMac (of D.C. Talk fame) has three certified-gold singles, none of which have charted on the Hot 100.
― jaymc, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 16:58 (nine years ago) link
Austin Mahone: "What About Love" hit #66, "Mmm Yeah" hit #49, both are gold.
― jaymc, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 17:06 (nine years ago) link
Toby Keith: "She Never Cried in Front of Me" (#42), "Beers Ago (#52), "Should've Been a Cowboy" (#93). All certified gold.
Suspect there are probably lots of country songs that fit here.
― jaymc, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 17:13 (nine years ago) link
Some early Who singles might qualify ("I Can't Explain" #93, "My Generation" #74, "Substitute" didn't chart), but I can't find accurate sales figures.
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Wednesday, 29 October 2014 17:15 (nine years ago) link
Modest Mouse, "Float On" (#68, gold)
― jaymc, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 17:19 (nine years ago) link
Franz Ferdinand, "Take Me Out" (#66, gold), "Do You Want To" (#83, gold)
― jaymc, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 17:20 (nine years ago) link
Peter Bjorn and John, "Young Folks" (did not chart; platinum)
― jaymc, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 17:22 (nine years ago) link
Looks like that was just certified platinum two weeks ago!
― jaymc, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 17:23 (nine years ago) link
The last several mentioned are more along the lines of what I expected to see. Ubiquitous songs that seeped into the public consciousness via less traditional means. But, yeah, I'm sure there are a ton of country and R&B songs I don't know that fit the bill.
― Slug Transplants (Old Lunch), Wednesday, 29 October 2014 17:31 (nine years ago) link
Switchfoot, "Stars" (#68, gold)Muse, "Starlight" (did not chart; gold), "Madness" (#45, platinum)
― jaymc, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 17:34 (nine years ago) link
Florence + the Machine, "Shake It Out" (#72; double platinum)
― jaymc, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 17:39 (nine years ago) link
The Killers, "Somebody Told Me" (#51, platinum), "All These Things I've Done" (#74, platinum)
― jaymc, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 17:42 (nine years ago) link
Lana del Rey, "Video Games" (#91, gold)
― jaymc, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 17:43 (nine years ago) link
(Aside: Pearl Jam apparently also had a #7 hit with "I Got Id", which I don't remember happening at all but discovered when I thought Merkin Ball might fit the thread criteria.)
― Slug Transplants (Old Lunch), Wednesday, 29 October 2014 17:44 (nine years ago) link
Phantom Planet, "California" (did not chart; gold)
― jaymc, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 17:50 (nine years ago) link
Regina Spektor, "Fidelity" (#51, gold)
― jaymc, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 17:52 (nine years ago) link
Death Cab for Cutie, "Soul Meets Body" (#60, gold), "I Will Follow You into the Dark" (did not chart; gold)
― jaymc, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 17:57 (nine years ago) link
Black Keys, "Tighten Up" (#87, gold), "Lonely Boy" (#64, platinum), "Gold on the Ceiling" (#94, gold)
― jaymc, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 18:01 (nine years ago) link
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros (did not chart; platinum)
― jaymc, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 18:02 (nine years ago) link
"Home," that is.
Kings of Leon, "Sex on Fire" (#56, platinum)
― jaymc, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 18:04 (nine years ago) link
Johnny Cash, "Hurt" (did not chart; gold)
― jaymc, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 18:09 (nine years ago) link
The Darkness, "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" (did not chart; gold)
― jaymc, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 18:10 (nine years ago) link
Bright Eyes, "First Day of My Life" (did not chart; gold)
― jaymc, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 18:12 (nine years ago) link
OK, that's enough from me.
― jaymc, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 18:14 (nine years ago) link
Wait, one more:
Fitz and the Tantrums, "Out of My League" (did not chart; gold), "The Walker" (#67, gold)
― jaymc, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 18:18 (nine years ago) link
No, this is great. I have no idea if a repository for this stuff exists anywhere else.
My research on the subject has mostly just revealed how many songs I had no idea had hit the top 40.
― Slug Transplants (Old Lunch), Wednesday, 29 October 2014 18:22 (nine years ago) link
Haha, I can't stop.
Passion Pit, "Take a Walk" (#84, gold)Vampire Weekend, "A-Punk" (did not chart; gold)Arctic Monkeys, "Do I Wanna Know" (#70, platinum)M83, "Midnight City" (#72, platinum)Phoenix, "1901" (#84, platinum), "Lisztomania" (did not chart; gold)
― jaymc, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 18:26 (nine years ago) link
Possibly a dumb question: do RIAA certifications only take US sales into account? I'm assuming so (judging by "Stairway To Heaven"'s lack of RIAA certification, if nothing else).
― Slug Transplants (Old Lunch), Wednesday, 29 October 2014 18:45 (nine years ago) link
xp Oh, and of course: MGMT, "Kids" (#91, platinum), "Electric Feel" (did not chart; gold), "Time to Pretend" (did not chart; gold)
― jaymc, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 18:46 (nine years ago) link
Yes, RIAA is U.S.-only, afaik.
Lily Allen, "Smile" (#49, gold)
― jaymc, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 18:48 (nine years ago) link
Also, I'm pretty sure labels have to ask (or allow) the RIAA to certify their sales. For a long time, I think up until the late 70s, Motown didn't use RIAA certification. So, while there were undoubtedly many 500,000-1,000,000-selling Motown records in the 60s and early 70s, none of them were officially "gold" (or "platinum," but I don't think platinum became a thing until the late 70s anyway).
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Wednesday, 29 October 2014 18:53 (nine years ago) link
Yup.
― jaymc, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 19:26 (nine years ago) link
OK, guys, JACK JOHNSON has 6 gold singles: "Upside Down" hit #38, "Sitting, Waiting, Wishing" hit #66, and the rest ("The News," "Good People," "Banana Pancakes," and "Better Together") did not chart on the Hot 100.
― jaymc, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 19:57 (nine years ago) link
i'm also pretty sure labels can't request certification of songs that weren't released or promoted as singles in the us. at least that's what i assume from the fact that there are many songs that have sold over a million digital downloads (single-track purchases, separate from the full albums on which they appear) that haven't even been certified gold despite more recent releases from the same artist having been certified.
there are indeed tons of singles from the past few years, when digital singles sales were quite healthy, that have scanned gold despite not charting in the top 40... in country especially. the cases i find more interesting are the ones where they didn't chart at all, or barely charted. for example kacey musgraves's "follow your arrow" is gold-certified despite only charting for one week (#60, following her grammys performance which gave a significant sales spike). ("merry go 'round" is platinum and peaked at #63, but it actually had a healthy 15-week chart run driven by airplay.)
now that singles sales are going to shit again due to the meteoric rise of streaming services, i doubt we'll be seeing so many low-peaking gold singles now. (although actually streaming is now factored into riaa certification of singles, so who knows.)
one particularly extreme example i noticed recently is israel kamakawiwo'ole's "over the rainbow/what a wonderful world," which has sold 4.2 million according to billboard (it hasn't been re-certified since 2010, when it was certified platinum). it never charted but has been featured in a million commercials and movies and such.
― dyl, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 20:07 (nine years ago) link
Paramore have several gold singles, 2 of them ("Crushcrushcrush" and "That's What You Get") missed the top 40.
― some dude, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 20:13 (nine years ago) link
I feel like there has to be more songs from commercials that fit this criteria.
― Slug Transplants (Old Lunch), Wednesday, 29 October 2014 20:14 (nine years ago) link
i'm sure there are but when i try to think of them i end up thinking of songs from commercials that actually ended up charting highly due to their ad syncs. amusingly there are songs that don't seem to have gone gold despite having charted in the top 10 due to apple commercials (feist's "1234," yael naim's "new soul").
― dyl, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 20:26 (nine years ago) link
oh here's a song that qualifies whose minor success was partly spurred by an ad: calabria 2007 (gold, #46)
― dyl, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 20:28 (nine years ago) link
israel kamakawiwo'ole's "over the rainbow/what a wonderful world"
Great example.
I was looking through lists of songs performed on American Idol to see if there were others like "Hallelujah."
― jaymc, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 20:29 (nine years ago) link
(...but I gave up after looking through two seasons.)
― jaymc, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 20:30 (nine years ago) link
Yeah, Yael Naim was one of the first I thought of. I saw she'd charted (way higher than I ever would've imagined) but I didn't notice that the song didn't go gold.
― Slug Transplants (Old Lunch), Wednesday, 29 October 2014 20:30 (nine years ago) link
Grouplove, "Tongue Tied" (#42, platinum)
― jaymc, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 20:33 (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
Ha. Stranger still is that he has three other songs with higher peaks than "U Can't Touch This."
― jaymc, Thursday, 30 October 2014 14:50 (nine years ago) link
These sorts of anomalies seem to crop up quite a bit when a band's breakthrough hit is followed by a bigger hit now that the band is known and radio jumps in on it at the same time, whereas the first hit had to slowly build up momentum and thus didn't chart as high. For example, Romeo Void's biggest hit was - no, not "Never Say Never", but rather "A Girl in Trouble (Is a Temporary Thing)". But which song does everyone remember?
― and in his absence, she (Lee626), Thursday, 30 October 2014 15:38 (nine years ago) link
both!
― guess that bundt gettin eaten (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 30 October 2014 15:38 (nine years ago) link
I prefer "A Girl" too.
― guess that bundt gettin eaten (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 30 October 2014 15:39 (nine years ago) link
actually "A Girl in Trouble" was their only top 40 hit.
― and in his absence, she (Lee626), Thursday, 30 October 2014 15:40 (nine years ago) link
I like them both too, but I'd venture "Never" is better known today
― and in his absence, she (Lee626), Thursday, 30 October 2014 15:41 (nine years ago) link
Neither!
― Mark G, Thursday, 30 October 2014 16:09 (nine years ago) link
Here's a case in point in the opposite way:
Pigbag's best known hit is "Papa's got a brand new Pigbag", which sold steadily over about a year without making the chart. Subsequent singles made the charts, but lower down.
So, the company withdrew the single from shops for about two months, rereleased it, and it made number three.
So, their best known song is, again, their biggest hit.
― Mark G, Thursday, 30 October 2014 16:12 (nine years ago) link
Washed Out "Feel It All Around" must have gone gold?
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Thursday, 30 October 2014 16:30 (nine years ago) link
xp Oh come on, "Never" is def known better. I assumed they were a one-hit.
― billstevejim, Thursday, 30 October 2014 16:33 (nine years ago) link
― jaymc, Thursday, October 30, 2014 7:50 AM Bookmark
This one has not just the factor that Lee626 mentions, but also the fact that the only single format "U Can't Touch This" was released on is 12" (it likely would have gone to #1 otherwise), whereas later Hammer singles were released on more conventional formats.
― I Love Makonnen: New Answers (The Reverend), Thursday, 30 October 2014 19:13 (nine years ago) link
You can pretty much add every 'Indie' popular songs in this category. I don't know if they don't chart since most of the labels they have are not affiliated to the RIAA.
― Moka, Thursday, 30 October 2014 22:29 (nine years ago) link
Back in the day, they were just sold in non-chart shops.
I think "Where's Captain Kirk" was one years' top indie seller, and would have come pretty high up a year-sales chart if such a thing could have been compiled.
― Mark G, Friday, 31 October 2014 12:03 (nine years ago) link
it's nielsen that compiles data for charts, not the riaa. the data they collect isn't obtained from labels, but from retailers and radio research. most popular 'indie' songs are not really selling that much.
don omar "danza kuduro" (#82, 5x platinum)
should be noted that it got all its 2-5x platinum certifications at the same time as soon as riaa decided to incorporate streaming numbers into certification for singles (may 9, 2013). a glance at its youtube numbers will make it pretty clear that it's an absolute monster in that regard, so it probably hasn't sold 5 million. but before that point it had already been certified gold and platinum, so evidently it has sold at least a million, which is pretty major for a song that only reached #82. (also it was certified under the standard 'digital' category, not the 'latin' category which has lower thresholds for certification.)
― dyl, Friday, 31 October 2014 15:02 (nine years ago) link
birdy's version of "skinny love" also didn't chart but went gold lol
― dyl, Saturday, 1 November 2014 00:24 (nine years ago) link
Old Crow Medicine Show's "Wagon Wheel" was certified platinum in 2012, before Darius Rucker covered it. The OCMS version didn't chart on the Hot 100 or country airplay chart, but Rucker's version hit #1 at country radio, #15 on the Hot 100, and won a Grammy.
― jon_oh, Saturday, 1 November 2014 22:25 (nine years ago) link
The song was never released as a single.
― EveningStar (Sund4r), Sunday, 2 November 2014 00:36 (nine years ago) link
That's intriguing. It can't be because of Community. Was this used in a prominent commercial or movie?
― EveningStar (Sund4r), Sunday, 2 November 2014 00:37 (nine years ago) link
As for all the modern rock songs upthread, is it just a matter of steady modern rock airplay?
― EveningStar (Sund4r), Sunday, 2 November 2014 00:40 (nine years ago) link
"Home" was in a couple ads too, iirc.
― Don A Henley And Get Over It (C. Grisso/McCain), Sunday, 2 November 2014 01:07 (nine years ago) link
maybe Community viewers buy music on iTunes en masse? Childish Gambino has never had a top 40 hit but two of his songs have gone gold. xp
― some dude, Sunday, 2 November 2014 01:16 (nine years ago) link
britt nicole "gold" (#83, gold)
― dyl, Sunday, 2 November 2014 01:21 (nine years ago) link
aaron carter "saturday night" (did not chart, gold)janet jackson "i want you" (#57, platinum)seether "fake it" (#56, platinum)goo goo dolls "stay with you" (#51, gold)green day "american idiot" (#61, gold)blink-182 "feeling this" (did not chart, gold); "i miss you" (#42, gold)eminem "space bound" (did not chart, gold)lifehouse "broken" (#83, platinum)nickelback "figured you out" (#65, gold)3 doors down "citizen/soldier" (#96, gold)o-zone "dragostea din tei" (did not chart, gold)ashley tisdale "he said, she said" (#58, gold)john legend "tonight (best you ever had)" (#79, platinum)ludacris "blueberry yum yum" (did not chart, gold)kanye west "diamonds from sierra leone" (#43, gold); "touch the sky" (#42, gold); "can't tell me nothing" (#41, platinum); "gotta have it" (#69, gold); "no church in the wild" (#72, gold)jay-z "dead presidents" (#50, gold); "gotta have it" and "no church in the wild" (see kanye)big & rich "save a horse (ride a cowboy)" (#56, gold)system of a down "chop suey" (#76, gold); "hypnotize" (#57, gold)fall out boy "alone together" (#71, gold)rihanna "cockiness (love it)" (did not chart, gold)
― dyl, Sunday, 2 November 2014 03:55 (nine years ago) link
taylor swift
"i'm only me when i'm with you" (did not chart, gold)"hey stephen" (#94, gold)"breathe" (#87, gold)"enchanted" (#75, gold)
― dyl, Sunday, 2 November 2014 04:35 (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, October 30, 2014 4:23 AM (6 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― I Love Makonnen: New Answers (The Reverend), Thursday, October 30, 2014 4:23 AM (6 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
Q: Does "Sweater Weather" by the Neighbourhood count?
― jaymc, Thursday, 6 November 2014 05:46 (nine years ago) link
(Not top 10, but top 20.)
ugh, safe and sound is the worst
― billstevejim, Monday, 10 November 2014 18:37 (nine years ago) link
xp not really. right audience, wrong style imo
― I Love Makonnen: New Answers (The Reverend), Wednesday, 12 November 2014 22:05 (nine years ago) link
Seriously. It makes me stabby.
― Johnny Fever, Wednesday, 12 November 2014 22:08 (nine years ago) link
drowning pool "bodies" (did not chart, gold)
― dyl, Thursday, 19 February 2015 22:04 (nine years ago) link
Just discovered this:
"Tempted" was the second single released from Squeeze's fourth album, East Side Story. Over the years it has become one of Squeeze's best-known songs, despite failing to crack the Top 40 in any country in which it was released (UK No. 41, Canada No. 45, US No. 49, Australia No. 90)
That completely blows my mind.
― Tarkus Aurelius (Old Lunch), Monday, 8 June 2015 17:25 (eight years ago) link
Paula Abdul - 'Knocked Out'. It peaked at 41!
― Meaty Mitts (Old Lunch), Friday, 24 July 2015 13:20 (eight years ago) link
DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince - 'Girls Ain't Nothing But Trouble'. It peaked at 57!!
― Party Your Body (Old Lunch), Friday, 24 July 2015 16:02 (eight years ago) link