If you’re an avid pop music fan, whenever our favorite artists release an album, we tend to plan out the chronology of the era in terms of singles. We may have great ideas, but labels often release the wrong songs, don’t release the right songs, or stop releasing singles prematurely. Many artists would be better off if their fans with their best interests at heart chose what singles to release as opposed to corrupt music labels with perhaps a different vision for said artist. Thus, artists on independent labels and/or labels that the artists they themselves own don’t have this problem and they know what to do and no one gets in their ways. Here’s a list of six songs that didn’t capitalize on their immense potential because they were not released as singles (at least in the U.S.).
Te Amo. Rihanna has so many hit singles, but she could have so many more if she released all the right singles. “Te Amo” is from Rihanna’s fourth album Rated R, and the song was actually released everywhere except the U.S. The song, which leaked the summer preceding the album release but was obviously too good to not include on the album (the other leaked songs weren’t included on the album), has always been a fan favorite. Either version of the song could have been released as a single in the U.S., the album version or the slightly more upbeat dancehall-lite version. The song was quite successful internationally, among one of Rihanna’s most mature and innovative songs that wouldn’t get lost among generic faces on the radio, but the mediocre “Rockstar 101” was released in the U.S. instead, and it rightfully underperformed. This was a missed opportunity to impress the American public and to earn another hit somewhere in between as successful as “Hard” and “Rude Boy”. Other honorable mentions for Rihanna songs that should have been singles in the U.S. include “Jump”, “Breakin’ Dishes”, and “Drunk on Love” and “Lost in Paradise”, “Fire Bomb”, and “Let Me” to a lesser extent.
Dance in the Dark. Lady Gaga was definitely on top of her game in her debut era The Fame/The Fame Monster, all of the singles going top six and multi-platinum in sales. However, one of the best songs in her discography, “Dance in the Dark”, got ignored. The song either should have been released instead of “Alejandro”, which is nothing next-level, or released right after “Alejandro”. It was actually planned to be released instead of “Alejandro” actually, but was changed at the last minute. “Dance in the Dark” is the epitome of the The Fame Monster vibe/sound, a better version of the genre “art pop” than her album of the same name Artpop. The song, which was released as a single in Australia, France, and Belgium did quite well, especially considering it had no music video unlike Gaga’s worldwide singles; it even got nominated for a Grammy, which is impressive for a non-single in the U.S. “Dance in the Dark” is captivating synthy dance pop, reminiscent to “Vogue” in terms of its homage to various legends (more so in a talking voice, low pitch at that, than in a melodical or singing voice). Its complex structure and production are commendable. The song even charted at #122 in the U.S., impressive for a non-single. Quite a missed opportunity that would have generated more respect for Gaga as an artist than “Alejandro”. Another honorable mention is the urban electro-pop song “Starstruck” featuring Flo Rida, which charted at #107 on the Billboard Hot 100, selling almost 1 million copies in the U.S. The song was originally planned to be a single as well, like “Dance in the Dark”. Looks like the original gut instinct is always right, and it’s best to not second guess it.
Turning Tables. Adele’s 21 was one of the biggest albums of all time and, I believe, the biggest album of the new millennium (although her subsequent album 25 might be coming for that achievement), selling over thirty million albums worldwide, closely followed by Norah Jones’ 2002 album Come Away with Me, which sold over twenty-five million albums worldwide. Considering 21 was released in the digital era - in 2011 - its sales are even more impressive, as album sales have drastically decreased this decade compared to 2002, but Adele is an anomaly; the rules don’t apply to her. Anyway, the album would have been even more successful if she didn’t abandon the era after just four singles, the last two of which didn’t even receive music videos. “Turning Tables”, one of Adele’s best ballads, hearkening back to her early excellence in songs from 19 like “Chasing Pavements” and “Hometown Glory”, is a dark piano ballad, juxtaposed with the lighter “Someone Like You”, with beautiful emotions, an immediate gem that floors the listener upon first listen. The song was released as the fifth single - again, without a music video - in select countries like Italy, where it went top ten. Thanks to the power of Adele, it is one of the highest selling non-singles in the U.S. along with the aforementioned “Starstruck” by Lady Gaga and “Peacock” by Katy Perry, selling almost one million digital copies in the U.S.. It would have been the perfect follow-up to “Set Fire to the Rain”; “Rumour Has It”, despite its excellence, ended up like a non sequitur.
My Blood. “My Blood” is one of Ellie Goulding’s best songs, a track on her best album Halcyon. Ellie’s label Interscope is unfortunately a bit “messy” with her single releases, however, ever since her 4x-platinum in sales smash in the U.S. “Lights”. Although it has gotten a bit better with her current era Delirium, Ellie’s label in the Halcyon only released one single per release, and usually doesn’t release songs that demonstrate Ellie’s talent and artistry to the public, such as “My Blood”, which was replaced as a single with her feature with Calvin Harris, “I Need Your Love”, which isn’t even technically from her album Halcyon - it’s from Calvin’s album 18 Months, and the two songs could have been released simultaneously like Rihanna does all the time, like “Rude Boy” and “Love the Way You Lie”. “My Blood” is a perfect song in that it is radio friendly and innovative, a label’s dream if it realizes. The song is a euphonious piano midtempo with a powerful chorus that beautifully features Ellie’s range, her resonant lows and her signature belts with her original tone. When you hear an Ellie song, you know it’s her, especially when one of her not generic songs like “My Blood”. It is in a similar vein to the lead single “Anything Could Happen”, but even more immediate and radio friendly. Other songs that the U.S. deserved to hear more so than her generic dance-pop songs like “Burn” and “I Need Your Love” include the downtempo dubstep “Figure 8” and the pop perfection “Starry Eyed”, which was Ellie’s breakout in the U.K.
Expensive. Tori Kelly is a very interesting case. She is one of the best and most talented young female vocalists of our generation, along with JoJo and Demi Lovato. As of her debut album, her singles have failed to deliver and resonate with the public, despite ample promotion through Capitol Records. However, I believe that she could finally break out with the song “Expensive” because the three light, acoustic-pop singles she successively released haven’t been cutting it because they are, despite being good, faceless and missing something. “Expensive” actually puts Tori’s personality front and center along with her stellar voice. It is urban-influenced pop anthem with loud instrumental production (particularly brass instruments) and a catchy rap verse. Tori doesn’t keep her voice in a box with this song at all, and it’s her strongest song to date that could undoubtedly expand her audience among the general public.
Legendary Lovers. The Prism era was another interesting case. It followed the amazingly executed era with eight top three singles including six #1 singles Teenage Dream, Katy Perry’s second album, and I guess there’s nowhere to go from the top of the best executed eras of all time list but down, and Prism evidently shows that. The release of “Roar” was excellent, and everything went downhill from there. Katy insisting to release her favorite song “Unconditionally” despite the public obviously wanting “Dark Horse”, which performed better than “Unconditionally” on iTunes even before “Dark Horse” was a single. So after the underperformance of “Unconditionally”, Katy was forced to release “Dark Horse”, a song of which she is supposedly not fond and wasn’t even originally planned to be a single, which went #1. And then after promising to release the excellent, innovative song “Legendary Lovers”, she released two average generic pop fluff songs which both underperformed for Katy’s standards, “Birthday” and “This Is How We Do”. Sometimes it’s better to take a risk than release a predictable song that’s derivative of past releases. “Legendary Lovers”, much like “Dark Horse”, has production unprecedented for Katy, and thus refreshing. It has eastern influences, in particular Egyptian and Indian inspired musical elements, like a bhangra beat, tablas, and sitars. Katy describes the song as having "a little bit of curry in it". The song would have been a success for Katy, something different that the public would want to hear from her still featuring her signature breathy vocals. “Legendary Lovers” as a non-single even charted similarly to two singles from Prism in Netherlands, just one sign of many of a missed opportunity.
The Ellie cover and the Katy cover are from Coverlandia, from users “ThirteenWishes” and “Roar it snogard” respectively.