I'm interested to know how a song like Save Your Tears from a year old album suddenly gets this interest (and same can be said for Harry and Dua). Am I right in thinking that these songs that are hits 6-12 months later from "old" albums are songs that are being picked up and hammered by radio which then has a domino effect on the streams? So it's like you have the old platform and the new sort of co-existing? Or are they literally just being added to the right Spotify playlists? I dunno.
The right buzzy video at the right time is 95% of it I think? ("Levitating" feels like an outlier in that it's more testament to how persistently it's been promoted combined with Dua having a very reliable Spotify and radio presence.) Also January is the quietest chart month so more low-key (/post album) hits can get their chance to shine if their different metrics align.
I think the death of the post-album single really is just to do with the tension between the glacial pace at which US radio moves, and the listener A.D.D that the streaming era has created. It's hard to reconcile a format that takes 9 months for a song to peak then die-out, with listeners who demand something new every week. Creating buzzworthy videos has seemed to really work for the campaigns being mentioned, but also just the sheer commitment from their teams to actually give the project legs, rather than letting it die out.
The issue with post-album singles is Spotify’s resistance to add them to playlists, a Spotify user isn’t going to care if a song on Hot Hits UK is released pre or post-album. With post-album releases Spotify want to see it gaining traction on its own before they will commit and add it to big playlists, this was the case with Save Your Tears, Golden and Watermelon Sugar. So basically if you are not big on streaming you have no chance. But anyway, Save Your Tears success is so deserved and this is all before the Super Bowl!
Yeah, "Save Your Tears" had been gaining momentum on its own via streaming, really since the album dropped, but it finally got to the point where nobody could ignore it was a huge smash in waiting.
I’m so excited for his Super Bowl performance. I genuinely can’t even imagine what he’ll do. Will he keep it straightforward or go full on spectacle? And he practically has free reign as far as material goes because his entire catalogue is so popular.
Spending 100s of dollars on something that won't happen when I can just spend those 100s of dollars closer to the event is a lot more appealing right now...when I have thousands of dollars/pounds tied up in shows that have been slowly canceled/postponed since March. There's plenty to look forward to in "2022" (that's what I thought about 2021)
Also re: Save Your Tears smashing, I think Blinding Lights finally slowing down is a major factor, and is also the main reason why In Your Eyes didn't smash.
Save Your Tears is sitting at #16 in the U.S and up to #18 on the Global Spotify chart today; Blinding Lights is #17 in the U.S and #4 (!) Global. If that isn't a testament to the strength of this era, I don't know what is.