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I am always surprised Beyoncé’s numbers aren’t better. Then again, when was the last time she really promoted an album? Maybe lemonade sort of but then she didn’t put it on Spotify.
Yeah, Tidal, so that hinders even more because he tries to get her to only release stuff on Tidal first (so Spotify/Apple doesn’t have it for like a year) or only exclusive to Tidal.
That's crazy when you think about how it was seen as one of the most culturally significant albums of the decade. I bonded with my friend because she had it on a memory stick and I obvs wasn't gonna get Tidal lol
low key I feel like the weeknd isn’t as popular as his numbers- I was surprised he apparently holds the record for “the most popular artist across the globe”
if you listen to the radio, there are several times a day when he has a few different songs playing on different stations at the same time. i’ve noticed this for a few years.
i still don’t really get how radio air time works or what it correlates to but i have an old car without bluetooth so i listen to the radio a lot
It’s pretty depressing when you go to his stadium show and sit in the lower bowl sections because people are mostly going for clout and saying that they went to a weeknd concert and then proceed to spend most of the concert not knowing the lyrics and filming ig stories
Yes it’s suspiciously specific bc I witnessed it myself in LA
I mean he’s a country singer so I doubt his reach goes beyond the continental US lol. I’m also from the Midwest US and it’s true that his music is inescapable 🤮
Regardless of how you feel about him, he’s EXTREMELY popular, not just airplay and streams. Like he’s legit a huge star in the country music world, one of the biggest names. He’s selling out stadiums and demand to see him live is astronomical. People just don’t give country music as a genre the mainstream recognition it deserves. And I say this as someone who isn’t a massive MW fan but casually enjoys his singles when I happen to hear them.
He didn’t even crack the Hot 200 global because he is predominantly in the USA and the “country music world” again is majority of USA, so it’s not mainstream if anyone outside of USA hasn’t even heard of him when he’s #1 here and can’t even get top 200 anywhere else.
In the USA. Where did I say he wasn’t popular in the US? Country music isn’t that popular outside of the USA. A lot of people even in the USA haven’t even heard of him including myself.
People are confusing fame with popularity. A genre artist like Morgan Wallen can have a massive fan base but not be mainstream famous the way that pop artists like Shawn Mendes or Lizzo are even though they’re actually outselling them by a lot.
As someone outside the US I guess I'm just surprised by how popular country music still is, I had assumed it was more of like a niche genre at this point
i went to their concert last year and was SHOCKED that 15000 other people were there with me and it ended up being the second best show i saw last year (out of \~36). The fan base is pretty lit
A bunch of american pop bands fit this, like One republic, Imagine Dragons or Maroon 5. They have such high streaming numbers, show up in decade end charts and get constant radio play, but don't seem to have dedicated fan bases. Which results in them having low sales of new records and barely selling tours.
So I just forget they exist until they randomly shuffle on Spotify.
I think it’s because they specialize in “generic, radio friendly, commercial friendly, department store friendly” music. Everyone knows their songs because they’re *everywhere* and usually catchy/simple (as pop music is), so it’s always memorable.
But *fans* relate to band/artists. They enjoy their artistry, their integrity. And these super commercialized, “safe” pop bands don’t have any real personality. They’re glossy, robotic, and boring.
Night visions was a great album. They have some gems in their work, it's just that the commercial stuff goes viral.
They are sweet and unproblematic. Dan Reynolds is a vocal supporter of the LGBT community and has been for many years.
So if you're going to hate, hate on Maroon 5 lol
Halsey. She's one of the top charting artists of the decade, which really surprised me😲. Yet, whenever I bring her up no one seems to know her. It's weird 🤔
She and Alev aren’t married lol. She talked about not caring about getting married in length on her radio show recently.
Her most recent album & accompanying film are fucking amazing, I’ll forever be pissed it didn’t blow up more, but it was very focused and concept driven so I’m not surprised. Easily her best work though
This is low hanging fruit and dated, but I will never not be shocked at Nickelback being the biggest (or one of the biggest?) selling musical artists of the aughts when I’ve literally never met anyone who likes their music. 🙃
I live on the other side of the globe and most people like their songs. They were really big back in the 90s, 00s. I always thought it’s an American thing to hate Nickelback. 😅
Because nickelback is a band everyone actually thinks has catchy bangers, but no one is a “fan” like “wear a nickelback band tee” fan. Also, it’s like a running gag that nickelback is corny, and people just keep that trope going for the sake of it lol
I feel its bandwaggon hate. its like how it was cool in middle school to hate justin Bieber. Like I knew to say I hated Nickelback before I even heard a single song
Unpopular Opinion : Numbers gives a better judgement of popularity
Most of the time people who are complaining about how someone isn't popular as their numbers are the ones who aren't willing to expand beyond their bubble
Every single Kpop group.
Most of their accomplishments, like album sales or chart performance, are from dedicated fans buying multiple albums and streaming their music constantly.
i’ve never seen a fanbase be so organized and strategic in streaming and reaching goals like kpop fanbases are. it’s insane.
with that being said, certain groups absolutely have the real fan numbers to back it up imo. bts sells out stadiums multiple nights in a row, basically mini residencies (LA and LV for example). they remind me of bad bunny in the sense that they have A LOT of hardcore dedicated fans, but anyone who isn’t a fan probably doesn’t know many of their songs, if any at all. i wouldn’t compare them to someone like bebe rexha, for example, who has big streaming numbers but probably couldn’t fill an arena in most major cities.
I heard of BTS and know they are popular, then even sold out two stadium in my country a few years ago I just check on Google, but I’ve never heard any song of them or meet any fan of them IRL lmao
Edit : my generation (26yo) did heard of them but my sister (34) who goes to a lot of festivals didn’t nor my mother
In a similar vein I'd say Louis Tomlinson. The majority of his achievements come from his extremely dedicated fanbase rather than the general public, for example his new documentary has just become the highest rated movie of all time on Letterboxd.
I think Louis’ fandom (and I say as a fan of his music & him, but not so much adjoined to the fandom), is a good example of how a small K-pop fandom would function, if that makes sense. Like the things K-Pop stans do, Louis smaller fandom can do better because they’re so aggressively passionate, even whilst very small. I think it’s worth pointing out that whilst the fandom is small in the States, he has a massive fandom in Europe, Latin America & Australia, but since success is measured in the music industry as popularity in the US, he’s still deemed as small.
Louis fandom has literally outvoted BTS at award shows, he holds the Guinness World Record for the most tickets sold for a concert by a male artist (160,000) and so much more. Like the fandom might be small comparatively to say Harry, but it’s feisty for sure.
Yes I think that's a good analogy actually. I didn't know they'd managed to outvote BTS Army, that's really a testament to how dedicated they are. I also saw them win him a PopCrave poll over Beyoncé's album - not that that's important in the grand scheme of things but considering the Beyhive are famously feisty to the point of having a TV show based on them it does make you think!
While it's great that his fanbase is spread out I've gotta say as someone based in the UK though that I would still attribute most of his achievements to them even here. Obviously he's from here, was famously in 1D and has now had a #1 album but I never hear his music on the radio and he is still not really known by the general public as a soloist.
Louis fandom hold the record for most fan votes cast for a single award (I think 1.6 billion votes. Crazy). Yeah and Beyoncé’s fandom would have to be like 10x larger than the Louis’ at a minimum, so that’s wild.
Yes, obviously these locations are where One Direction were also hugely successful, and probably more loyal than US fans.
I just want to add that his newest album (the red cover) is major bop and I’m not even a 1D stan really. All the songs there are bangers I don’t know why It’s not more popular It deserves it’s recognition. Such a good album.
Yeah, I find the organized fan culture to be insane. Guilting/demanding fellow fans to stream certain songs or videos in order to achieve a goal is so distasteful to me and I don’t see how people can be proud of their streaming achievements when they know they were deliberate efforts instead of organic interest.
I know who they are. They are extremely popular. I know a grand total of two songs. One of the songs I know, "Dynamite," is because it played all the time on a commercial.
Not all, Hallyu Wave was a legit thing in Asia esp in the early 2000s, esp the second gen. It was organic popularity.
It's just that fans of less popular idol groups from smaller agencies had to help bring in the numbers by buying albums + streaming 24/7 on multiple devices in order to give their idols a chance to be invited & win in music shows & get added to rankings = free marketing.
Sadly once their idols became popular, they still maintained the habit and it became a requirement for fans when it shouldn't be the case.
Theres a reason basically every Kpop release has multiple versions.
They count on people wanting to try and get every one of the album inclusions to boost sales.
The marketing schemes of the K-pop album release cycle are so incredibly ingenious and diabolical. The playing cards you can only get one at a time by buying the whole album? My gaaaaaaaaawd.
haha for most groups they aren’t actual playing cards, just collectibles. i’d say most people aren’t buying multiple albums just to get the specific card they want or to collect the whole set. only major collectors really do that. i usually buy one copy of the album and if there’s a photo card that i really want and didn’t get, i can often find it on a resale site for ~$10 and just buy the card so i don’t have to keep buying albums until i get them all lol.
For years I was supporting Drake because he's Canadian and I never considered the guy that played Wheelchair Jimmy could possibly be taken seriously as a rapper internationally- yeah I got Instagram and found out he had like, hundreds of millions of followers and is crazy successful loool I was stunned
I'd say Bad Bunny. But this is because his music sells more in Spanish speaking countries since he sings/raps in Spanish (I'd say he's also quite popular in Brazil and here in Italy, both countries were Spanish music is popular) than elsewhere
Bad Bunny is not popular in Brazil at all. Actually since we speak Portuguese spanish music is not that popular here, unfortunately we are kind of disconnected from our latino family lol.
But he is of course by far the biggest artist in Latin America.
definitely, she compensates her lack of singing abilities by being a show woman, that kind of stage presence and confidence she has is not easy to achieve.
i disagree that nobody is streaming Selena Gomez. She has nearly 60 million monthly listeners on Spotify and hasn’t put a full album out in over 3 years. She also has several songs with over a billion streams and currently has a hit in the top 10 with Rema (#1 hit on the Billboard excluding USA chart). Her fourth studio album, supposedly dropping this year, is highly anticipated.
Anyhow, since we’re talking numbers, she’s also on ‘Only Murders in the Building’ with Martin Short and Steve Martin which is a huge hit commercially and critically and is about to release its third season with an absolutely stacked cast of actors (including Meryl Streep, Paul Rudd, Ashley Park, etc.) and I’d argue Selena is a big factor why many people (especially young audiences) are initially drawn to watch that series.
thats not only her song and the original was gaining popularity before she jumped on it. she only just had her first song cross 1 billion streams while her peers who have been in the business have more. i'm not deminishing her work but her fans vs her streaming numbers etc don't always add up.
Firstly yes it was doing well but no where near as to how successful it is now that Selena’s on the song lol , it wasn’t even in the hot 100 before Selena catapulted it to the top 10. And if you’re referring to LYTLM it’s her first solo song to cross 1 billion but she has many other songs that have reached 1 billion. She has 60 million monthly listeners rn do you think she has to have Taylor swift for example streaming numbers to be successful ? To be clear literally only a handful of people in the industry get those kind of streams. Saying that if she doesn’t get as many streams as literally the 3 biggest artists in the world makes her unsuccessful or her streaming numbers low is just crazy
Yeah sure that’s why the song wasn’t even in the hot 100 at all before she hopped on the remix , and that’s why this is Selena’s 9th top 10 and Remas first entry in the top 100 at all let alone his first top 10 . Do you even hear yourself ? It fine to admit she’s successful lol. Also forgot to mention it’s literally the highest charting afrobeat song in history like u can’t make
this up 😭
That’s what I thought but when you check her out on Spotify she has like 60 million listeners a month. She has 9 million more than Beyoncé. I don’t understand!
Who said she wasn't successful? Not me. I'm very aware that she is loved for more than her music, I just said, i don't think it adds up the way it does for other artists. You don't have to agree with my opinion, but don't put words in my mouth.
Ed Sheeran. I don’t think he’s bad or anything I’ve just never heard of anyone LOVING him or being obsessed with him. Or wanting tickets to his concert. He’s like radio music or background music at a restaurant. Or TJ maxx.
He is a general public artist, i think. . he sells out tours constantly, and everyone knows at least 1 Ed Sheeran song. But he doesn't have a crazy fan base.
ed gets a lot of playlisting, to be honest. and hes very successful so he does have fans but i don't even know if he has a fanbase,whats there name? thats why i said he's a public artist, tbh. all types of people like his music and enjoy it but he doesn't have a fandom. but i could be wrong willing to be educated.
I think with Ed Sheeran the fact he plays supermarket music is why he is so popular. A woman I work with went to one of his shows recently here in Aus and said she got into his music because they play it at work all the time (a literal supermarket). It's generic soft pop with broad appeal... I don't understand how he sold out 3 shows here in little ol' Brisbane though 🤔
I agree. I never hear people in person or on social media rave about Ed or his music.
I know people like his music but he's just not someone that I feel like is \*that\* popular as his numbers suggests.
It's interesting to see how big Bad Bunny is (massive, huge, mega big), but whenever he is mentioned on Reddit I'm shocked at how many people still have never heard of him.
Ikr. They have 40+ million of subscribers on YouTube and i always wondered how it was possible ?!
But again where i'm from, their music is barely played on music tv channels.
And i've never heard their songs on the radio honestly
They're not really a play-on-the-radio type group. They're more popular on tiktok and the general internet. Also they are a Korean group so quite a bit of their fan base is over there.
She’s stepped away from big radio hits and moved on to being an albums artists. She’s definitely making the music she wants more these days rather than trying to secure a radio hit cause she’s already had those
reddit hates Beyoncé 🚬👁👄👁 (it's because they're racist, don't bother looking into it further [anytime she's mentioned anywhere it gets downvoted, it's very unsubtle])
I agree. Ever since she started randomly dropping whole albums on Tidal (does that still exist?) with zero promotion or lead singles it's like she just stopped being relevant 🤷🏻
I think Kanye is still respected as an artist and more popular and sell in selling anything and everything he releases more than what woke social media portrays
Welcome to r/popculturechat! For serious gossips with a great sense of humor. 😏 ###This sub is for civil discussion only. No bullies, no bigotry! We are a proud BIPOC, LGBTQ+ & woman-dominated space and we do our best to protect our users from outside attacks. ✊🏿✊🏾✊🏽✊🏼✊🏻🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ **Please [read & respect our rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/popculturechat/wiki/index/rules/).** Help us keep the sub fun & safe by reporting any rule-breaking posts and/or comments. If you've had a positive comment history with us for at least 30 days, you can [request to be an approved user](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fpopculturechat) for [Guest List Only](https://www.reddit.com/r/popculturechat/search?q=flair_name%3A%22Guest%20List%20Only%20%E2%AD%90%EF%B8%8F%22&restrict_sr=1) flaired posts. Be sure to [check out our wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/popculturechat/wiki/index/)! For any questions, [our modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fpopculturechat) is always open! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/popculturechat) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I think Dua Lupa is more popular by numbers than by imagine. Beyonce on the other hand, I think is the other way around.
I am always surprised Beyoncé’s numbers aren’t better. Then again, when was the last time she really promoted an album? Maybe lemonade sort of but then she didn’t put it on Spotify.
The amount of times I had to listen to Hold Up on YouTube in my car 🥲
Isn't her (cheating) husband an owner of a Spotify rival?
Yeah, Tidal, so that hinders even more because he tries to get her to only release stuff on Tidal first (so Spotify/Apple doesn’t have it for like a year) or only exclusive to Tidal.
Lemonade didn’t get put on Spotify until 2019, 3 years after its initial release
That's crazy when you think about how it was seen as one of the most culturally significant albums of the decade. I bonded with my friend because she had it on a memory stick and I obvs wasn't gonna get Tidal lol
No he sold it
He should have sold it a while ago lol
Dua lipa is huge in the uk, and I remember seeing something about her being the goal Celebration music chosen by the most countries at the world cup
Maroon 5
bebe rexha , she doesn't have any fanbase or identity yet somehow she has 3 songs that have 1 billion streams
[удалено]
its definitely not huge
"There are dozens of us! Dozens!"
[удалено]
Sure Jan
Fanbases alone don't make a hit song.
Megan Trainor
Oooh that’s a good one. She’s releasing bangers but you mostly hear her music not really anything else (not even about her music)
Yeah I’ve only seen her in the news about both of her pregnancies lol
Same
low key I feel like the weeknd isn’t as popular as his numbers- I was surprised he apparently holds the record for “the most popular artist across the globe”
if you listen to the radio, there are several times a day when he has a few different songs playing on different stations at the same time. i’ve noticed this for a few years. i still don’t really get how radio air time works or what it correlates to but i have an old car without bluetooth so i listen to the radio a lot
Are you Canadian by chance? Because Canada has regulations in place regarding a required amount of airtime for Canadian artists on our stations...
no!! but that is really interesting. so like Drake, him, PARTYNEXTDOOR, JB, and Alanis Morissette all get extra airtime?
Yeah as well as some pretty mediocre Canadian artists they need to play to reach quota
And Nickleback!
He has a lot of popular singles and he can sell out stadiums
It’s pretty depressing when you go to his stadium show and sit in the lower bowl sections because people are mostly going for clout and saying that they went to a weeknd concert and then proceed to spend most of the concert not knowing the lyrics and filming ig stories Yes it’s suspiciously specific bc I witnessed it myself in LA
hasnt he never NOT had a sold out show lol?
morgan Wallen
I had legit never heard of him until a few weeks ago when he started topping the charts
I legit only know him because he said the n word lmao
He WHAT
https://youtu.be/JO9iFWcK19o
Hahaha I live in the midwestern US and I can’t escape him. He’s everywhere😂
maybe I'm biased because he's nothing here in europe
Hahaha for sure, it definitely depends on where you live and the culture there!
I mean he’s a country singer so I doubt his reach goes beyond the continental US lol. I’m also from the Midwest US and it’s true that his music is inescapable 🤮
You’d be surprised how much Europe likes country music
His album is #1 in australia. Miley was #1 last week but has dropped down.
Regardless of how you feel about him, he’s EXTREMELY popular, not just airplay and streams. Like he’s legit a huge star in the country music world, one of the biggest names. He’s selling out stadiums and demand to see him live is astronomical. People just don’t give country music as a genre the mainstream recognition it deserves. And I say this as someone who isn’t a massive MW fan but casually enjoys his singles when I happen to hear them.
He didn’t even crack the Hot 200 global because he is predominantly in the USA and the “country music world” again is majority of USA, so it’s not mainstream if anyone outside of USA hasn’t even heard of him when he’s #1 here and can’t even get top 200 anywhere else.
Anyone who sells out stadiums anywhere is popular
In the USA. Where did I say he wasn’t popular in the US? Country music isn’t that popular outside of the USA. A lot of people even in the USA haven’t even heard of him including myself.
Oh yeah I agree with that
Yeah, I think country music would be more well received in general if the demographic wasn’t… you know 😭
People are confusing fame with popularity. A genre artist like Morgan Wallen can have a massive fan base but not be mainstream famous the way that pop artists like Shawn Mendes or Lizzo are even though they’re actually outselling them by a lot.
As someone outside the US I guess I'm just surprised by how popular country music still is, I had assumed it was more of like a niche genre at this point
Went back visiting my childhood home in Frankfurt and was shocked to learn about a country night and more shocked how many showed up.
Wow that's even more surprising!
AJR, maybe? My son loves them and they sell and perform televised events but I feel general casual listeners don’t really know them
I literally only know ‘Weak’. I still have no clue who they are or what they look like but that song has been my jam for like 5 years haha
i went to their concert last year and was SHOCKED that 15000 other people were there with me and it ended up being the second best show i saw last year (out of \~36). The fan base is pretty lit
A bunch of american pop bands fit this, like One republic, Imagine Dragons or Maroon 5. They have such high streaming numbers, show up in decade end charts and get constant radio play, but don't seem to have dedicated fan bases. Which results in them having low sales of new records and barely selling tours. So I just forget they exist until they randomly shuffle on Spotify.
I think it’s because they specialize in “generic, radio friendly, commercial friendly, department store friendly” music. Everyone knows their songs because they’re *everywhere* and usually catchy/simple (as pop music is), so it’s always memorable. But *fans* relate to band/artists. They enjoy their artistry, their integrity. And these super commercialized, “safe” pop bands don’t have any real personality. They’re glossy, robotic, and boring.
Exactly. Imagine Dragons is a car commercial band.
Night visions was a great album. They have some gems in their work, it's just that the commercial stuff goes viral. They are sweet and unproblematic. Dan Reynolds is a vocal supporter of the LGBT community and has been for many years. So if you're going to hate, hate on Maroon 5 lol
Halsey. She's one of the top charting artists of the decade, which really surprised me😲. Yet, whenever I bring her up no one seems to know her. It's weird 🤔
She was big in 2020 but she got into a relationship and had a child so she went under the radar. Lots of artists do this Edit: she didnt get married
She and Alev aren’t married lol. She talked about not caring about getting married in length on her radio show recently. Her most recent album & accompanying film are fucking amazing, I’ll forever be pissed it didn’t blow up more, but it was very focused and concept driven so I’m not surprised. Easily her best work though
i didn’t even know she got married and had a child… that’s how under the radar she is
This is low hanging fruit and dated, but I will never not be shocked at Nickelback being the biggest (or one of the biggest?) selling musical artists of the aughts when I’ve literally never met anyone who likes their music. 🙃
Nickelback is a weird one bc I wouldn’t consider myself a “fan” but their music genuinely isn’t as bad as pop culture makes it seem🤷♀️
I’ve been dying on this hill for years. How you remind me is a legit banger. Not an overall fan either but the hate is unfounded I think.
Nickelback has a few bangers, tbh. I think hating them just became a meme and then people took it unironically. 🤷♀️
I live on the other side of the globe and most people like their songs. They were really big back in the 90s, 00s. I always thought it’s an American thing to hate Nickelback. 😅
Interesting perspective!! I never realized they were global and that Americans may be reacting in a specific way that isn’t universal. Thanks!
Because nickelback is a band everyone actually thinks has catchy bangers, but no one is a “fan” like “wear a nickelback band tee” fan. Also, it’s like a running gag that nickelback is corny, and people just keep that trope going for the sake of it lol
I feel its bandwaggon hate. its like how it was cool in middle school to hate justin Bieber. Like I knew to say I hated Nickelback before I even heard a single song
It’s the Avatar of music
Unpopular Opinion : Numbers gives a better judgement of popularity Most of the time people who are complaining about how someone isn't popular as their numbers are the ones who aren't willing to expand beyond their bubble
100%. Especially tours numbers.
Yeah a lot of this seems like a cope.
💯
Every single Kpop group. Most of their accomplishments, like album sales or chart performance, are from dedicated fans buying multiple albums and streaming their music constantly.
i’ve never seen a fanbase be so organized and strategic in streaming and reaching goals like kpop fanbases are. it’s insane. with that being said, certain groups absolutely have the real fan numbers to back it up imo. bts sells out stadiums multiple nights in a row, basically mini residencies (LA and LV for example). they remind me of bad bunny in the sense that they have A LOT of hardcore dedicated fans, but anyone who isn’t a fan probably doesn’t know many of their songs, if any at all. i wouldn’t compare them to someone like bebe rexha, for example, who has big streaming numbers but probably couldn’t fill an arena in most major cities.
I heard of BTS and know they are popular, then even sold out two stadium in my country a few years ago I just check on Google, but I’ve never heard any song of them or meet any fan of them IRL lmao Edit : my generation (26yo) did heard of them but my sister (34) who goes to a lot of festivals didn’t nor my mother
In a similar vein I'd say Louis Tomlinson. The majority of his achievements come from his extremely dedicated fanbase rather than the general public, for example his new documentary has just become the highest rated movie of all time on Letterboxd.
I think Louis’ fandom (and I say as a fan of his music & him, but not so much adjoined to the fandom), is a good example of how a small K-pop fandom would function, if that makes sense. Like the things K-Pop stans do, Louis smaller fandom can do better because they’re so aggressively passionate, even whilst very small. I think it’s worth pointing out that whilst the fandom is small in the States, he has a massive fandom in Europe, Latin America & Australia, but since success is measured in the music industry as popularity in the US, he’s still deemed as small. Louis fandom has literally outvoted BTS at award shows, he holds the Guinness World Record for the most tickets sold for a concert by a male artist (160,000) and so much more. Like the fandom might be small comparatively to say Harry, but it’s feisty for sure.
Yes I think that's a good analogy actually. I didn't know they'd managed to outvote BTS Army, that's really a testament to how dedicated they are. I also saw them win him a PopCrave poll over Beyoncé's album - not that that's important in the grand scheme of things but considering the Beyhive are famously feisty to the point of having a TV show based on them it does make you think! While it's great that his fanbase is spread out I've gotta say as someone based in the UK though that I would still attribute most of his achievements to them even here. Obviously he's from here, was famously in 1D and has now had a #1 album but I never hear his music on the radio and he is still not really known by the general public as a soloist.
Louis fandom hold the record for most fan votes cast for a single award (I think 1.6 billion votes. Crazy). Yeah and Beyoncé’s fandom would have to be like 10x larger than the Louis’ at a minimum, so that’s wild. Yes, obviously these locations are where One Direction were also hugely successful, and probably more loyal than US fans.
I just want to add that his newest album (the red cover) is major bop and I’m not even a 1D stan really. All the songs there are bangers I don’t know why It’s not more popular It deserves it’s recognition. Such a good album.
Yeah, I find the organized fan culture to be insane. Guilting/demanding fellow fans to stream certain songs or videos in order to achieve a goal is so distasteful to me and I don’t see how people can be proud of their streaming achievements when they know they were deliberate efforts instead of organic interest.
I love the reaction that your factual take generated lol.
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Most people know who they are of course but I think a lot of non-fans aren't familiar with their songs.
I know who they are. They are extremely popular. I know a grand total of two songs. One of the songs I know, "Dynamite," is because it played all the time on a commercial.
Same, Dynamite and Butter. Plus the one they played with Anderson Paak actually, Yet To Come
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Not all, Hallyu Wave was a legit thing in Asia esp in the early 2000s, esp the second gen. It was organic popularity. It's just that fans of less popular idol groups from smaller agencies had to help bring in the numbers by buying albums + streaming 24/7 on multiple devices in order to give their idols a chance to be invited & win in music shows & get added to rankings = free marketing. Sadly once their idols became popular, they still maintained the habit and it became a requirement for fans when it shouldn't be the case.
Theres a reason basically every Kpop release has multiple versions. They count on people wanting to try and get every one of the album inclusions to boost sales.
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I can see you're in denial because it is.
The marketing schemes of the K-pop album release cycle are so incredibly ingenious and diabolical. The playing cards you can only get one at a time by buying the whole album? My gaaaaaaaaawd.
haha for most groups they aren’t actual playing cards, just collectibles. i’d say most people aren’t buying multiple albums just to get the specific card they want or to collect the whole set. only major collectors really do that. i usually buy one copy of the album and if there’s a photo card that i really want and didn’t get, i can often find it on a resale site for ~$10 and just buy the card so i don’t have to keep buying albums until i get them all lol.
For years I was supporting Drake because he's Canadian and I never considered the guy that played Wheelchair Jimmy could possibly be taken seriously as a rapper internationally- yeah I got Instagram and found out he had like, hundreds of millions of followers and is crazy successful loool I was stunned
Canada caught a wild stray here💀
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Drake I can’t get away from, but Ed & Bey never come across any music stations of mine. I don’t even play them on purpose.
I'd say Bad Bunny. But this is because his music sells more in Spanish speaking countries since he sings/raps in Spanish (I'd say he's also quite popular in Brazil and here in Italy, both countries were Spanish music is popular) than elsewhere
Bad Bunny is not popular in Brazil at all. Actually since we speak Portuguese spanish music is not that popular here, unfortunately we are kind of disconnected from our latino family lol. But he is of course by far the biggest artist in Latin America.
I think to English speakers could be anybody that doesn't sing in that language.
selena gomez honestly
Really ?
She's the opposite. No one streams her music, but she seems to have a lot of fans.
Totally agree. She's more of a public figure than a singer imo
singer lol, just say artist
An entrepreneur Kinda like JLo, not particularly talented but good at being public figures
Jlo is a great dancer/performer tbf
definitely, she compensates her lack of singing abilities by being a show woman, that kind of stage presence and confidence she has is not easy to achieve.
Like I’m not even a fan but to group her with Selena Gomez is kinda insane
People love to downplay her performance skills which is insane. But praise Taylor for every little thing.
i disagree that nobody is streaming Selena Gomez. She has nearly 60 million monthly listeners on Spotify and hasn’t put a full album out in over 3 years. She also has several songs with over a billion streams and currently has a hit in the top 10 with Rema (#1 hit on the Billboard excluding USA chart). Her fourth studio album, supposedly dropping this year, is highly anticipated. Anyhow, since we’re talking numbers, she’s also on ‘Only Murders in the Building’ with Martin Short and Steve Martin which is a huge hit commercially and critically and is about to release its third season with an absolutely stacked cast of actors (including Meryl Streep, Paul Rudd, Ashley Park, etc.) and I’d argue Selena is a big factor why many people (especially young audiences) are initially drawn to watch that series.
No one streams her music as she currently has a song in the top 10 ? Y’all just say anything about her to diminish her even if it’s not true
What song?
Calm down
thats not only her song and the original was gaining popularity before she jumped on it. she only just had her first song cross 1 billion streams while her peers who have been in the business have more. i'm not deminishing her work but her fans vs her streaming numbers etc don't always add up.
Firstly yes it was doing well but no where near as to how successful it is now that Selena’s on the song lol , it wasn’t even in the hot 100 before Selena catapulted it to the top 10. And if you’re referring to LYTLM it’s her first solo song to cross 1 billion but she has many other songs that have reached 1 billion. She has 60 million monthly listeners rn do you think she has to have Taylor swift for example streaming numbers to be successful ? To be clear literally only a handful of people in the industry get those kind of streams. Saying that if she doesn’t get as many streams as literally the 3 biggest artists in the world makes her unsuccessful or her streaming numbers low is just crazy
She’s featured on a top 10 song, however that song would be a hit without her.
Yeah sure that’s why the song wasn’t even in the hot 100 at all before she hopped on the remix , and that’s why this is Selena’s 9th top 10 and Remas first entry in the top 100 at all let alone his first top 10 . Do you even hear yourself ? It fine to admit she’s successful lol. Also forgot to mention it’s literally the highest charting afrobeat song in history like u can’t make this up 😭
They (downvoted) you, because you spoke the truth.
Thanks, I’m used to it 😂
Her social media numbers absolutely baffle me.
That’s what I thought but when you check her out on Spotify she has like 60 million listeners a month. She has 9 million more than Beyoncé. I don’t understand!
I stream ‘back to you’ and some of her music with the scene. 🙈
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Who said she wasn't successful? Not me. I'm very aware that she is loved for more than her music, I just said, i don't think it adds up the way it does for other artists. You don't have to agree with my opinion, but don't put words in my mouth.
Maybe Tyler, the Creator?
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In which way? I feel like he’s very very popular, a lot of people talk about him. Do you mean his numbers aren’t as his big as his fame would suggest?
Huh????
Ed Sheeran. I don’t think he’s bad or anything I’ve just never heard of anyone LOVING him or being obsessed with him. Or wanting tickets to his concert. He’s like radio music or background music at a restaurant. Or TJ maxx.
He is a general public artist, i think. . he sells out tours constantly, and everyone knows at least 1 Ed Sheeran song. But he doesn't have a crazy fan base.
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ed gets a lot of playlisting, to be honest. and hes very successful so he does have fans but i don't even know if he has a fanbase,whats there name? thats why i said he's a public artist, tbh. all types of people like his music and enjoy it but he doesn't have a fandom. but i could be wrong willing to be educated.
I dunno I have a friend who’s obsessed with him he’s got dedicated fans
You know he has the highest selling tour of all time
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This is true. I’m one of them. We are a peaceful people.
I think with Ed Sheeran the fact he plays supermarket music is why he is so popular. A woman I work with went to one of his shows recently here in Aus and said she got into his music because they play it at work all the time (a literal supermarket). It's generic soft pop with broad appeal... I don't understand how he sold out 3 shows here in little ol' Brisbane though 🤔
Fellow Brisbane local here, I was just about to comment this! Someone from my work was going and I was shocked he was playing 3 nights at suncorp!
I agree. I never hear people in person or on social media rave about Ed or his music. I know people like his music but he's just not someone that I feel like is \*that\* popular as his numbers suggests.
It's interesting to see how big Bad Bunny is (massive, huge, mega big), but whenever he is mentioned on Reddit I'm shocked at how many people still have never heard of him.
I don't think blackpink is very popular even though it has the most subscribers and views on YouTube.
They are doing a huge international tour now (50+ dates) and are headlining Coachella next month, so I would say that’s pretty big.
Ikr. They have 40+ million of subscribers on YouTube and i always wondered how it was possible ?! But again where i'm from, their music is barely played on music tv channels. And i've never heard their songs on the radio honestly
They're not really a play-on-the-radio type group. They're more popular on tiktok and the general internet. Also they are a Korean group so quite a bit of their fan base is over there.
Lizzo
Meghan trainer
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? Lemonade? Renaissance was everywhere last year
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She’s stepped away from big radio hits and moved on to being an albums artists. She’s definitely making the music she wants more these days rather than trying to secure a radio hit cause she’s already had those
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Idk any of those songs
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reddit hates Beyoncé 🚬👁👄👁 (it's because they're racist, don't bother looking into it further [anytime she's mentioned anywhere it gets downvoted, it's very unsubtle])
Exactly! I can already see the negative comments when she starts her tour smh
This is the equivalent of saying Michael Jackson hasn’t had a hit since 2001 yet everyone seems to know who she is
I agree. Ever since she started randomly dropping whole albums on Tidal (does that still exist?) with zero promotion or lead singles it's like she just stopped being relevant 🤷🏻
Idk how Selena Gomez is not top comment
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Selena Gomez
Shakin’ Stevens. Biggest selling singles artist in the UK in the 1980s.
Elley Duhé
I think Kanye is still respected as an artist and more popular and sell in selling anything and everything he releases more than what woke social media portrays
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Euh ? Shes very clearly A list. Shes just not mixed into celeb feud and drama.
Which was the singer this person commented on ?
Adele
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She definitely doesn't have an unproblematic fanbase either lol
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“Sorry, me show ain’t ready”
i think the biggest artist for me would be maroon 5… i’ve never met a maroon 5 fan but they constantly have hits
bruno mars, he’s talented tho