Conspicuously similar follow-ups to hit singles that became hits in their own right, but are now mostly forgotten because people only remember the first hit

It was a classic of the little-explored "pub synth" micro-genre.

Oh, for some reason I was humming that "I Believe" song by EMF, and thinking that it's not that song that goes "You're Unbelievable"

Animotion’s “I, Engineer” isn’t quite “Obsession” but mostly duplicates it (without anything as catchy as that synth riff).

oh damn I just remembered how "Tarzan and Jane" went and now I want to kill myself

Hey monkey! Get funky!

Oh, for some reason I was humming that "I Believe" song by EMF, and thinking that it's not that song that goes "You're Unbelievable"

look up what their final single was when they split up

I had a roommate who used to play World of Warcraft and listen to garbage Europop & Nightcore all day. like the same 5 songs over and over. "Tarzan and Jane" has permanently scarred me. if you're gonna go that route at least put on something respectable like Scooter!!! all I can think now is I AM JANE AND I LOVE TO RIDE AN ELEPHANT

WHY DO YOU KEEP IG NOR ING ME

Sometimes I think you're me, frogbs. I also had a roommate who would play Eurodance trash all the time: E-Rotic, Toybox, etc. At first, we'd laugh together about how dumb it was, but after the joke wore on me, he'd still be playing the shit out of it. He's an awesome dude and one of my best friends to this day but I think he's still very into that music

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gg5LOd_Zus

It's not a follow up but I happened to notice the other day that "Everything I Do Gonh Be Funky (From Now On)" by Lee Dorsey is a crafty re-write of "Working in a Coal Mine".
That's probably the most obvious one, but Toussaint and Sehorn recycled licks from "Coalmine" in several other Dorsey sides ("My Old Car" among others).

― a bevy of supermodels, musicians and Lena Dunham (C. Grisso/McCain), Monday, November 4, 2019 12:34 PM (six days ago) bookmarkflaglink

"sneaking sally thru the alley" comes to mind

Does anyone remember “Daisy Petal Pickin’” by Jimmy Gilmer & the Fireballs? Bcuz apparently that was a hit, although I’ve never heard it in the wild.

Nope.

Lee Dorsey example(s) seems good, never noticed before.

Back when Aqua was hitting with Barbie Girl this satire comedian made a sketch where they talked about how they really wanted to prove that they were more than a 'Barbie-band'. Cut to five years later and their next hit is 'Slime, I'm a can of slime, play with me, I'm a can of slime'. And now they really want to prove they are more than just that 'slime-band'. Five years later. 'Tetherbaaaaalllll! Teeeeeetherbaaaalllll!'

In the real world it only took Aqua three years to follow up the album Aquarium and the hit Barbie Girl, with the album Aquarius and the hit Cartoon Heroes...

I don't think there was ever any risk that they would develop into The Cardigans, their sound was too thin, and the split between the artists and the eye candy was too stark. René Dif was a punchline almost immediately.

Yeah, but "Turn back time"

YMCA / In The Navy...?

Israelites / It Mek...?

I'm pretty sure "In the Navy" isn't forgotten, it's probably the best known Village People single after "Y.M.C.A.".

Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel - Mr. Raffles

Tuomas otm.

"Prove Your Love" by Taylor Dayne was very similar to "Tell it to my Heart". Both singles peaked at number 7 on Billboard, but I think most people only remember the first hit. She did have other hits that I think are still played, like "Love Will Lead You Back" from her second album.

“Crossroads”/“1st Of Da Month”

“I Wish”/“Top Of The Stairs”

"René Dif was a punchline almost immediately."

Wikipedia's image of him is very orange:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9_Dif#/media/File:Ren%C3%A9DifGade.JPG

With the result that if I Google him, the internet believes that he looks like this:
https://i.imgur.com/gB94mJ0.jpg

Many years from now I will wonder why there was a screen grab of Rene Dif on my hard drive.

"Pure Shores"/"Black Coffee"

“Black Coffee” is hardly forgotten (and I might love it even more than “Pure Shores” these days).

COME PICK MY ROSES

forgotten by the general public I mean

I know it's beloved around these parts

“Crossroads”/“1st Of Da Month”
― Siegbran, Monday, November 11, 2019 8:09 AM

'tha crossroads' was the follow-up in this case. and it was stupid popular by comparison to 'first of tha month.'

also i thought 'top of the stairs' was the better song, but i was a teenage cornball. still am, afaict.

Baccara's "Sorry I'm A Lady", essentially a rewrite of "Yes Sir I Can Boogie", was top 10 in the UK and #1 across half of Europe and seems largely forgotten nowadays.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MgX84NR7x0

"Freed From Desire"/"Let A Boy Cry"
"Gypsy Woman"/"Makin' Happy"
"9 PM (Til I Come)"/"Summer"

Benny Benassi's three follow up hits to "Satisfaction" were suspiciously similar, but mostly forgotten: "Able To Love", "No Matter What You Do" and "Love Is Gonna Save Us".

Robert Palmer - "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On" (after "Addicted to Love")

I didn't actually know that Nightcrawlers had a follow-up hit to "Push the Feeling On"!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P06Xa80nd8g

Apparently they asked Marc Kinchen to produce this one right from the start after his remix of the previous one became so popular.

Yep, that's a similareeee

Back when Aqua was hitting with Barbie Girl this satire comedian made a sketch where they talked about how they really wanted to prove that they were more than a 'Barbie-band'. Cut to five years later and their next hit is 'Slime, I'm a can of slime, play with me, I'm a can of slime'. And now they really want to prove they are more than just that 'slime-band'. Five years later. 'Tetherbaaaaalllll! Teeeeeetherbaaaalllll!'

In the real world it only took Aqua three years to follow up the album Aquarium and the hit Barbie Girl, with the album Aquarius and the hit Cartoon Heroes...

I don't think there was ever any risk that they would develop into The Cardigans, their sound was too thin, and the split between the artists and the eye candy was too stark. René Dif was a punchline almost immediately.

― Frederik B, Sunday, November 10, 2019 6:47 PM (nine months ago) bookmarkflaglink

Is this the same Aqua who had two further UK number one hits with two very different singles, both excellent in their own way? The Aqua who anyone but the most blinkered rockist could tell were playing with the form of pop music and having fun with it? That Aqua?

Apparently they asked Marc Kinchen to produce this one right from the start after his remix of the previous one became so popular.

― Tuomas

Back when Aqua was hitting with Barbie Girl this satire comedian made a sketch where they talked about how they really wanted to prove that they were more than a 'Barbie-band'. Cut to five years later and their next hit is 'Slime, I'm a can of slime, play with me, I'm a can of slime'. And now they really want to prove they are more than just that 'slime-band'. Five years later. 'Tetherbaaaaalllll! Teeeeeetherbaaaalllll!'

In the real world it only took Aqua three years to follow up the album Aquarium and the hit Barbie Girl, with the album Aquarius and the hit Cartoon Heroes...

I don't think there was ever any risk that they would develop into The Cardigans, their sound was too thin, and the split between the artists and the eye candy was too stark. René Dif was a punchline almost immediately.

― Frederik B, Sunday, November 10, 2019 6:47 PM (nine months ago) bookmarkflaglink

Is this the same Aqua who had two further UK number one hits with two very different singles, both excellent in their own way? The Aqua who anyone but the most blinkered rockist could tell were playing with the form of pop music and having fun with it? That Aqua?

― Anti-Cop Ponceortium (Camaraderie at Arms Length), 3. syyskuuta 2020 12:46 bookmarkflaglink

I think they only had one hit in the US, with "Barbie Girl"? So maybe this sketch was from there?

Ann Peebles "I Can't Stand the Rain"..."Do I Need You"

It's not a follow up but I happened to notice the other day that "Everything I Do Gonh Be Funky (From Now On)" by Lee Dorsey is a crafty re-write of "Working in a Coal Mine".
That's probably the most obvious one, but Toussaint and Sehorn recycled licks from "Coalmine" in several other Dorsey sides ("My Old Car" among others).

― a bevy of supermodels, musicians and Lena Dunham (C. Grisso/McCain), Monday, November 4, 2019 12:34 PM (six days ago) bookmarkflaglink

"sneaking sally thru the alley" comes to mind

― budo jeru, Sunday, November 10, 2019 11:31 AM (four years ago) bookmarkflaglink

And "Bad Luck" by Betty Harris (which I just heard for the first time last night).

...and on a related tip, I always wondered why Toussaint & Sehorn didn't try recycle "Ride Your Pony" with Lee Dorsey the same way they did "Coal Mine"... except they did, on the rarely anthologized flop "Vista, Vista" in '67.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-GPrBin0LI

"panini" by lil nas x absolutely fits this bill

Edwyn Collins, "Girl Like You" > "Keep on Burning"

Panini is forgettable but doesn't sound much like Old Town Road.

Singles that sound exactly the same as the one previous...

true, i missed the conspicuously similar part

You take out the Funkadelic reference in the chorus and Gerardo's 'We Want the Funk' is basically 'Rico Suave'.

I'm now listening to more Lee Dorsey (always a good thing), and "Go-Go Girl" is kind of a "Ride Your Pony"/"Working In The Coalmine" hybrid.

lol, only just realized that Chubby Checker hasn't been invoked once itt. He pretty much made a career out of this.

He is mentioned in the other thread

I mean I don't think song titles like "Let's Twist Again" are exactly conspicuous like people aren't going "hmmm I wonder if this is similar to his first hit, The Twist"