[Ally_Bowie]

I was reading the recently posted Mika thread and it got me thinking, quite a lot of acts in recent years have seen their 2nd/3rd albums perform poorly, i.e Elastica, Klaxons, Glasvegas, Alexandra Burke, and many more.

Has anyone ever managed to come back from it with good results...or is it a case of that's all folks. It's something i have always been quietly curious about!

[Stube]

Beyonce.

She sold over a million copies of Dangerously In Love, then for her second album B Day to only sell under half of DOL's total. But then I Am...Sasha Fierce came out and also sold over a million copies and might have even out-performed her debut album. Plus it was in a weaker sales period for albums.

[Hav_mor91]

Actually IASF and B'day share the same WW sales tally and it came out during a period of lower sales and can't really be considered a sophmore slump in the true sense as it still performed well WW.

[VoodooChic]

We are British - what is this "Sophomore" nonsense

[robertaloud30]

I know this isnt the same but Kylie coming back after her deconstruction albums (none of them were 2nd or 3rd albums though) and going on to have massive successes with Light Years and Fever
I can't actually think of more?

[little-monster]

Mariah's second album was considered a sophomore slump. Her debut sold about 10 million but the second only did 4 million. She then did Music Box which has sold over 20 million copies and so did Fantasy which followed afterwards.

Nelly furtado had a second album flop with Folklore but bounced back bigger than ever with Loose. But has sadly not found any success with her Spirit indestructible era.

[Tejas]

Maroon 5 spring to mind - after 'Songs About Jane' their popularity went into gradual decline, but they've really bounced back in the last year or so!

[lovelife7292]

Originally Posted by Tejas

Maroon 5 spring to mind - after 'Songs About Jane' their popularity went into gradual decline, but they've really bounced back in the last year or so!

Agreed, also Alicia Keys has come back into the limelight after hitting the big time with 'Songs in a Minor' then struggling with her following albums until 'The Element of Freedom'.

Also Kelly Clarkson after 'My December' not performing well but her latest two albums being really successful

Others could be Eminem, P!nk, Britney, The Killers and Kasabian

[iseloid]

Alicia didn't 'struggle' with her albums at all. Just cause it flopped here cause radio didn't play her meant she slumped. The woman was massive WW.

[Mallaha]

Originally Posted by Ally_Bowie

I was reading the recently posted Mika thread and it got me thinking, quite a lot of acts in recent years have seen their 2nd/3rd albums perform poorly, i.e Elastica, Klaxons, Glasvegas, Alexandra Burke, and many more.

Elastica took too long to come up with a second album, which was mostly awful. Drugs were to blame.

Klaxons also took too long, and mucked their label/team around a lot. Like most of their "Nu Rave" peers, I doubt they had much inbuilt longevity anyway.

Glasvegas seemed to lose the support of the media at a critical time, possibly due to their own behaviour.

[rfonzo]

Originally Posted by little-monster

Mariah's second album was considered a sophomore slump. Her debut sold about 10 million but the second only did 4 million. She then did Music Box which has sold over 20 million copies and so did Fantasy which followed afterwards.

Nelly furtado had a second album flop with Folklore but bounced back bigger than ever with Loose. But has sadly not found any success with her Spirit indestructible era.

I remember Mariah's album Glitter in 2001 was awful as was the film itself. She won the Golden Raspberry award for worst actress. Also, this was the time when she also had personal struggles. But she managed to come back with the Emancipation of Mimi in 2007 which claimed critical as well as commercial success.

[Stephenmarra]

Hmmm ! U2's second Album was nowt but trite religious sanctimonious dribble. Any other record label other than Island would have dropped them and writ them off as an embarrassing mistake.

Alas Island stood by them and War was born and the rest is history

[RepublicOfYorks]

Originally Posted by VoodooChic

We are British - what is this "Sophomore" nonsense

Quite right, it's 'Difficult Second Album Syndrome'.

[Apollo Creed]

The Clash

[tortfeasor]

Originally Posted by iseloid

Alicia didn't 'struggle' with her albums at all. Just cause it flopped here cause radio didn't play her meant she slumped. The woman was massive WW.

That she was. I personally preferred 'The Diary of Alicia Keys' to 'Songs in A Minor' but the singles didn't get the radio attention they deserved. I think 'If I Ain't Got You' was played more frequently after it had been released but apart from Radio 1, I don't remember hearing 'You Don't Know My Name' on any other radio station. The video got airplay on stations like The Box as I remember. As for the other singles, I don't remember hearing them on the radio at all. A pity because it was one of the strongest songs at the end of 2003.

[tortfeasor]

I'd say Blur are a good example. The first album (Leisure) had sold rather well but 'Modern Life is Rubbish,' whilst being acclaimed, sold moderately well by comparison. However, 'Parklife' (album #3) debuted at No. 1 on the album charts and was nominated for the Mercury prize as well as helping Blur to win 4 Brit awards in 1995. I think it had been certified triple platinum by 1995 in the UK - now it's quadruple platinum.

Originally Posted by Apollo Creed

The Clash

Good example. I personally like 'Give 'Em Enough Rope' but the stories about the band's feelings, record company, Sandy Perlman and the recording sessions for 'Rope' are legendary. It reached number 2 on our album charts (which surprisingly beat the peak position for 'London Calling.') However, 'London Calling' sold very well in the US and it is (or has been) regarded as one of the best albums of all time whereas 'Rope' generally isn't. Still 'Rope' has a great album cover, gave us 'English Civil War,' 'Tommy Gun,' 'Stay Free,' 'Julie's Working for the Drug Squad' and 'Safe European Home.'

[mevilhoney]

Originally Posted by Ally_Bowie

I was reading the recently posted Mika thread and it got me thinking, quite a lot of acts in recent years have seen their 2nd/3rd albums perform poorly, i.e Elastica, Klaxons, Glasvegas, Alexandra Burke, and many more.

Has anyone ever managed to come back from it with good results...or is it a case of that's all folks. It's something i have always been quietly curious about!

You forgot `Duffy` whose career was pretty much totally obliterated by her second album. She`s a great recent-ish example, as her first album couldn`t have been more successful. Someone mentions Blur or U2 above but their first albums weren`t star-making turns. The difficult second albums affects every artist (a lifetime to write the debut,a year to write the follow-up) but I think here we`re talking about the debut being massive,and kind of out of nowhere,adding extra pressure to the second
Whitney Houston`s second album did okay commercially,but the critics dug into it,imo starting the problems that dogged her career.

[LandslideBrad]

Originally Posted by VoodooChic

We are British - what is this "Sophomore" nonsense

DigitalSpy Forums are avaliable worldwide, not everyone here is british. It's not hard to just google the definition.

[LandslideBrad]

I think Paramore, Rihanna and Taylor Swift did much better on their third albums than their second.

[k0213818]

One of the most obvious ones is Blur. Modern Life Is Rubbish sold very poorly compared to the group's debut album Leisure, selling 40,000 copies and peaking at number 15 in the charts. But the album was critically acclaimed and a lot of the pro-British agenda and Kinks-esque social commentary were retained for the group's next album. The result was Parklife, largely seen as one of the greatest albums of the 90's.

[Shadow2009]

Nelly Furtado is a great example.

Whoa Nelly! - 7 million worldwide
Folklore - 2 million worldwide
Loose - 12 million worldwide (including 2 US #1 singles and a UK #1)

Shame she's back to flopping again, though.

[Dion_Oldridge]

Originally Posted by LandslideBrad

I think Paramore, Rihanna and Taylor Swift did much better on their third albums than their second.

I seam to remember that Taylor's second album Fearless sold much more than Speak Now? I might be wrong, that's just what I thought.

[MTUK1]

Originally Posted by VoodooChic

We are British - what is this "Sophomore" nonsense

Actually it's a Greek word that the Americans use and it's quite correct.

[09beyoncefan]

Originally Posted by Dion_Oldridge

I seam to remember that Taylor's second album Fearless sold much more than Speak Now? I might be wrong, that's just what I thought.

Fearless has sold 9.4 million , Speak Now has sold 4.2 million in the US, I'd imagine it's about 10-11 million for Fearless and maybe 5 million for Speak Now WW.

[iseloid]

Originally Posted by tortfeasor

That she was. I personally preferred 'The Diary of Alicia Keys' to 'Songs in A Minor' but the singles didn't get the radio attention they deserved. I think 'If I Ain't Got You' was played more frequently after it had been released but apart from Radio 1, I don't remember hearing 'You Don't Know My Name' on any other radio station. The video got airplay on stations like The Box as I remember. As for the other singles, I don't remember hearing them on the radio at all. A pity because it was one of the strongest songs at the end of 2003.

True. I prefer it too.