Quick Links

• Queen: Hot Space (1982)

• Christina Aguilera: Bionic (2010)

• U2: Songs of Innocence (2014)

• Shania Twain: Now (2018)

• Britney Spears: Britney Jean (2013)

• Mariah Carey: Me. I Am Mariah... The Elusive Chanteuse (2014)

• Elton John: Victim Of Love (1979)

• Katy Perry: Smile (2020)

Highlights

• Best-selling musicians every so often experience album flops; adverse opinions and deficient gross sales do not all the time reflect their total luck.
• Queen's Hot Space and Katy Perry's Smile had been extremely expected albums that failed to satisfy gross sales expectations.
• Factors like experimental kinds, arguable distribution strategies, and private demanding situations can contribute to disappointing album performances for well-liked musicians.

Music is a divine thing, and to reach divinity, the best-selling musicians undertaking to create it exactly, so as to hit the correct notes and enchant the audience.

Despite years of striving and in depth enjoy delighting fanatics, even the most well liked musicians every now and then fail miserably ... but their reputation and skill to enrapture the crowd are a saving grace.

There are many examples where, despite negative evaluations and poor vital scores, a best-selling musician's album gained hundreds of thousands in gross sales.

By the identical token, there are some rare cases when mythical musicians failed miserably, and even their biggest lovers couldn't save you an album from turning into a big monetary failure, or "flop."

Let’s discover cases the place wildly in style and acclaimed musicians unusually fell short of expectancies, releasing albums that fell flat on the charts, unable to regulate really extensive sales.

8 Queen: Hot Space (1982)

More than 8 hundred thousand devices bought is a vital achievement for rising artists, but this is Queen, one in all the biggest bands in the history of rock.

One yr ahead of Hot Space used to be issued, Queen launched compilations in their hit songs album beneath the name Greatest Hits, which bought 25 million copies.

Additionally, their album, The Game (1980) garnered twelve million copies offered.

Queen has bought Three hundred million albums, and the overall internet price of Queen contributors is $635 million.

The internet worth of John Deacon is $170 million, Roger Taylor has accumulated $2 hundred million, Brian May has collected $2 hundred million, and the legendary musician Freddie Mercury was once ready to acquire $55 million.

Sadly, Freddie Mercury left the international in 1991, at the rather younger age of 45.

In 1970, Queen started their career, however by means of the early Eighties, they were invincible, organising themselves as the biggest rock band in the world.

In their high, they were selling thousands and thousands, however an surprising event happened.

Hot Space could not promote one million copies, turning into the maximum disappointing album in Queen's occupation.

The tenth studio album from this great band used to be a type of experimental album, and folks rejected their pop dance model of the album.

7 Christina Aguilera: Bionic (2010)

Dazzling five-time Grammy Award winner Christina Aguilera's starting was no longer simple; her street to popularity started when she was simply 11 years old.

Aguilera used to participate actually presentations, aiming to achieve the repute she deserved.

10 Ways Christina Aguilera Earns And Spends Her Millions

Her rightful reputation arrived when she was once 19 years old in 1999, with the unencumber of the tune "Genie In A Bottle," and it seemed like the real genie in a bottle used to be gratifying all her wishes.

Her first track crowned the Billboard Hot One hundred for five consecutive weeks and turned into the second best-selling single of 1999.

Christina Aguilera's web worth is $One hundred sixty million, with the majority of her wealth acquired via her music occupation.

Christina Aguilera was heralded as the "The Voice Of A Generation" after her first hit (due to "her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes"), and she didn’t glance again.

Her first album, Christina Aguilera, offered a whopping 14 million copies, and her 2002 album Stripped offered ten million.

Everything was going well for the New York-born singer, however her Bionic album dropped and, in spite of hundreds of thousands of fans, she couldn’t promote thousands and thousands, which was once a uniquely unsightly experience for the chart-topping songstress.

According to the Washington Post, Bionicdidn't live up to expectations; with recognize to the album's reception, critics surmised that Aguilera tried too onerous to be leading edge.

Some songs on the album stood out as specifically unpopular, equivalent to "Sex for Breakfast," even though some critics praised her for a daring new manner.

6 U2: Songs of Innocence (2014)

Irish rock band U2 is among the largest and maximum acclaimed trendy bands in the international.

U2 was shaped long ago in 1976, and continues to be intact after just about half a century.

U2 has sold One hundred seventy five million copies worldwide, accounting for all in their releases. Their albums are recognized to create havoc in the musical international, and are normally met with keen anticipation.

The album Joshua Tree sold 25 million copies, whilst Achtung Baby and All That You Can't Leave Behind offered 18 and twelve million copies respectively.

The collective net value of U2 is set $1.Eighty five billion.

Larry Mullen Jr. has a web value of $350 million, while Adam Clayton and the Edge every have an estimated web worth of $four hundred million.

U2's mononymous lead singer Bono has a web price of $seven hundred million.

U2 robotically bought hundreds of thousands of albums, then they launched Songs Of Innocence; U2 made up our minds to check out one thing new after they teamed up with Apple to advertise their album.

Famously, Apple released Songs Of Innocence via iTunes, in what would unfortunately come to be known as the "U2 iTunes controversy."

In past due 2022, Bono once more apologized for the manner in which the album was distributed.

Variety described the center of the controversy – that U2's Songs Of Innocence used to be added to the iTunes libraries of all customers – and quoted Bono as he appeared back on the disastrous incident:

What ensued in a while after was once a controversy that many iTunes customers can recall, with shoppers finding the album on their phone, with no rationalization as to how they’d won it.

"As one social media wisecracker put it, ‘Woke up this morning to find Bono in my kitchen, drinking my coffee, wearing my dressing gown, reading my paper.’ Or, less kind, ‘The free U2 album is overpriced.'

"Mea Culpa," Bono said of the reaction at the time. “If just getting our music to people who like our music was the idea, that was a good idea. But if the idea was getting our music to people who might not have had a remote interest in our music, maybe there might be some pushback.

"At first I thought this was once simply an web squall, but temporarily learned we’d ran into a significant dialogue about large tech ... I take full duty. Not Guy O, no longer Edge, not Adam, not Larry, now not Tim Cook, not Eddy Cue. I’d idea if shall we just put our track inside achieve of other folks, they may select to succeed in out towards it. Not slightly."

Despite some well liked songs, fans felt that Songs Of Innocence was forced upon half a billion people, and they quickly turned their ire toward the album itself, the band, and Apple.

Music pundits ultimately believed U2's Songs Of Innocence flopped because of Apple's unorthodox means of distributing it.

5 Shania Twain: Now (2018)

The top-selling feminine artist in nation music, Shania Twain, released her self-titled album and sold more than a million copies.

However, her second album The Woman In Me led to her superstar status, by attracting 20 million album buyers.

Major success occurred when her album Come On Over broke all records and became the eighth highest-selling album of all time, selling an astonishing 40 million copies.

Shania Twain's net worth is a whopping $400 million, earned through her music and television appearances.

Shania Twain was enjoying her blockbuster career, but unfortunately, she contracted Lyme disease caused by a tick bite, leading to a temporary loss of her voice.

To regain her vocal range, she underwent several surgeries, but feared the possibility she would "by no means have the ability to sing once more."

This warrior came back after 15 years with the album Now, but a 15-year break and her bout with Lyme disease represented massive roadblocks.

Her Now album failed in terms of sales (and listeners noticed a change in her voice) but Shania Twain is determined to reclaim her position at the top of the charts.

4 Britney Spears: Britney Jean (2013)

The princess of pop, Britney Spears, is one of the greatest pop singers of the 1990s and 2000s, managing to stand out in what was a golden age in the genre.

With more than 175 million sales, from 1999 to 2003, she created four albums and sold 60 million copies.

Forbescrowned Spears as the "Most Powerful Celebrity" in 2002.

Total Units Sold	280,000
Album’s Release Year Ranking	89
Overall Ranking	8734
Britney Spears All-Time Album Sales	175 Million
Britney Spears's Total Studio Albums	9

Britney Spears' net worth is estimated at a scant $60 million, whereas her fellow singers have amassed way more than that.

She couldn't increase her net worth because, from 2008 through 2021, her father controlled her finances and life due to a controversial conservatorship.

Unfortunately, Britney Spears' rapidly ascendant musical career took an abrupt downturn after she shaved her head and appeared to have a high-profile breakdown in the mid-2000s.

A conservatorship controversy arose after her father filed a petition to seize control of her career, citing her alleged instability.

Against her will, her father Jamie Spears and an attorney became her conservators, gaining legal control over every aspect of her life for 13 years.

Over time, fans began investigating, and Spears' plight became more well known, leading to what was known as the "Free Britney Movement," a collective effort to draw attention to and end the strict conservatorship.

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Through those challenging times, Britney continued making music and earned millions; she was famously granted just $2,000 per week through her conservators for the duration of the arrangement.

In 2007, 2008, and 2011, she released albums, each reaping a million or more in sales.

However, in 2013, her fans witnessed a significant decline in her music, perhaps a result of the hardships she was facing.

The Guardian gave Britney Jean just two stars, but praised some songs that were effective, and the album received mixed reviews from the public.

3 Mariah Carey: Me. I Am Mariah... The Elusive Chanteuse (2014)

Mariah Carey is the highest-certified female musician and the tenth highest-certified person worldwide.

Mariah has sold an estimated 220 million copies throughout her musical career.

The five-time Grammy Award winner was the most in-demand singer in the 1990s, and sold 127 million copies of her albums in the last decade of the twentieth century.

Total Units Sold	122,000
Album’s Release Year Ranking	736
Overall Ranking	50,680
Mariah Carey All-Time Album Sales	220 Million
Mariah Carey's Total Studio Albums	15

Mariah Carey's staggering net worth is approaching $350 million.

The New York-born music superstar earned her most wealth through her incredible musical talent.

No album by Mariah Carey has garnered fewer than a million buyers, but when Me. I Am Mariah. The Elusive Chanteuse was released, it disappointed both record labels and Mariah herself, as it only managed to sell 58,000 copies.

Mariah was hopeful that her album would pick up the pace, but it vanished from the market and charts instantly.

Her fourteenth studio album became the most disappointing album of her life.

2 Elton John: Victim Of Love (1979)

One extra stunning access from a legend and best-selling musician is on this "album flops" list.

The failure of Victim Of Love was a shock to everyone, because the 1970s were a golden era for Elton John.

Elton sold Goodbye Yellow Brick Road 31 million times in 1973, and two albums from his Greatest Hits sold more than 23 million times in the same decade.

Total Units Sold	70,000
Album’s Release Year Ranking	457
Overall Ranking	42437
Elton John's Time Album Sales	300 Million
Elton John's Total Studio Albums	31

Elton John's net worth is estimated at around $550 million, primarily amassed through his music and acting career.

In the late '70s, Elton John released Victim Of Love, and the album quickly became the victim of public disapproval.

Fans completely rejected this album, and critics were equally harsh.

Elton John also eventually rejected this work; he didn't include any songs from this album on his greatest hits or career highlight releases.

1 Katy Perry: Smile (2020)

The trendy musical wizardess, the Queen of Camp, Katy Perry, faced disappointment in the relatively recent year of 2020.

People anticipated that the singer of the song "Roar" would easily sell a million copies in a week.

Her album dropped after three years of waiting, with fans eagerly awaiting her new album.

Total Units Sold	67000
Album’s Release Year Rank	406
Overall Rank	34491
Katy Perry All-Time Album Sales	48 Million
Katy Perry's Total Studio Albums	6

Katy Perry is one of the highest-earning entertainers in the world, with an estimated net worth of $340 million.

In September 2023, Forbes decreed her the richest "self-made lady" in America.

The pop superstar charged $25 million for judging one season of American Idol .

Katy Perry released her album Smile in 2020, and in the first week, she only managed to sell 50,000 copies.

Moreover, out of those 50,000 sales, 35,000 sales were attributed to merchandise bundles – in other words, if anyone bought anything from Katy Perry's website, they received a copy of the album for free.

Critics and fans completely rejected her sixth studio album, rendering harsh criticism, such as "nonsensical lyrics" or "vulgar songs."

Despite this, fans continue to support her – but by many metrics, it appears Katy Perry's musical popularity is declining.

Some have speculated Perry's political activism has adversely impacted her career, while others steered she misplaced passion in song because she is so engrossed in getting cash via her TV appearances.

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Finally, a gentle reminder: Despite having millions of followers worldwide and numerous chart-topping songs in their collection, even the world's best-selling musicians can fail.

Musicians strive hard. Sometimes their efforts enchant the world, but at other times, they face disappointment, poor sales, and harsh criticism.

There is no certain formula or secret behind best-selling musicians' hits, as the finicky public has rejected albums for being too ambitious as well as for innovating too little.

However, the best-selling musicians tend to overcome an album flop, soon returning to make people dance and be inspired through their talent and art, as all of the above have done.

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