What Makes An Album A Hit?

[Bruce the Duck]

I've thought a lot about exactly what makes an Al song a hit and I've come to a conclusion which I think is the most valid explanation of why and album succeeds or fails. In this analysis, I shall examine the many reasons that people give for why certain songs are popular and others are not. And I shall attempt to explain why I think most of those explanations are faulty and what I think truly determines the success of an album.

First, I need to make clear a few key things right away. Without making clear these few things, the rest of my analysis may not make as much sense. There are three things which we need to agree upon before proceeding with the analysis.

1) Lead Single = Album. Throughout my essay, I will refer to albums and their respective lead singles interchangeably. This is because I feel that the success of the album hinges almost exclusively on the success of the lead single. We have seen this time and again as the lead singe leads to album sales. If the lead single is not as successful, the album is not as successful. So, please accept that I will be using the album title and the lead singles interchangeably.

2) Debut Album is not a part of this analysis. When talking about successful vs. unsuccessful albums, it's not really fair or accurate to include the debut album in the discussion. The debut album was very successful in relation to other novelty albums/songs that were released in that time period. However, compared to Al's later success, the album would be considered a flop. So, it's not really fair to even include the album in a discussion of what makes an album successful.

3) The Big Six - The six, big songs are the ones that have been popular BEYOND THE FANBASE, and have attracted much media attention. They're albums that have received praise, award nominations, and high record sales. When discussing what makes a BIG HIT, these are the songs I am referring to: "Eat It," "Like a Surgeon," "Fat," "Smells Like Nirvana," "Amish Paradise," "White & Nerdy."

Now that those things are cleared up, let's move on with the analysis, beginning with why I think certain albums have not been successful. Following that, I will look at each of the main reasons that people give for an album being successful, and explain why I think those reasons are faulty. Finally, I will explain why I think some albums are successful while others are not.

Why Albums Fail

Polka Party!

The main reason I think this album failed actually had nothing to do with the lead single, but rather the very poor decision to name the album "Polka Party!" and illustrate it with a polka-styled cover. Al had had some major success the previous two years, but he wasn't well-established enough to take such a major risk. I actually do think this would have done better if he had chosen a different album name and cover.

UHF

This was tied to an unsuccessful movie. That was part of its downfall. The other part was that Al wasn't really promoting it as an album, since he was busy trying to promote the movie.

But even if there was no association with the movie, this album, I believe still would have flopped. You may notice that Al has never had a hit album with a TV show or movie-themed lead single. Never! It is not a good idea to start an album with this kind of parody. Especially one like MFN/BH where there weren't even any jokes.

Alapalooza and Running with Scissors

A classic rock song mixed with a blockbuster movie? Sounds like a decent idea, but neither of them got much attention from the public. Why? Because people don't care about parodies of worn-out songs. And they care even less about parodies about movies. Don't get me wrong! I love the songs, personally. But these are not the kind of songs that will sell albums. It's been thoroughly proven, which is why I think Al wised up and moved "Ode to a Superhero" to its rightful spot on "Poodle Hat."

I actually think BOTH of these albums could have been huge hits, with just ONE minor alteration. I'll get to that later.

Poodle Hat

It is widely accepted around these parts that the reason "Poodle Hat" failed was because of the fact that there was no video to support it.

I submit to you that this idea is wrong. While all of the successful songs have had videos, I don't believe that is what makes them successful, as I will explain later.

I think the biggest reason PH failed was because of the fact that the CONTENT of "Couch Potato" was something nobody cared about. Again, songs about popular culture are largely unsuccessful. Al has never had a huge hit based on TV shows or movies. Ever!

This leads me to the next part of this analysis, which will discuss what DOES make an album a success.

Why Albums Succeed

The Early Hits

Before I examine the reasons that people give for an album being a hit, I need to look specifically at the first few HITS, "Eat It" and "Like a Surgeon." I believe these songs are special in the Al catalogue. They are popular for reasons that the other songs are not. Al was a novelty back in the early 80s. Nobody had seen anyone do anything like that before, and it was popular because of its uniqueness.

That, in conjunction with the emerging popularity of MTV and the incredible popularity of Michael Jackson and Madonna propelled those songs to unimaginable heights. A few years later, however, as the "Weird Al" novelty wore off, it was up to Al to come up with more clever parodies in order to maintain the same level of success. This is why songs like "Couch Potato" and MFN/BH failed.

I firmly believe that had Al gone ahead with "Snack All Night," "Off the Deep End" would have bombed! Without the novelty factor, a song about food or television has no chance of being a hit.

So, for this reason, I believe that "Eat It" and "Like a Surgeon" are kind of flukes. They were immensely popular, but I don't think they would even make a dent nowadays.

And now let's look at the two biggest reasons people give for Al's songs being hits.

Reason 1: Big Name Artists

While those big names certainly helped out in the early days - there's no question about that, the big names clearly aren't what MAKE or BREAK an album.

James Brown and Eminem were just as popular and successful as Michael Jackson, Madonna, and Nirvana. But the success of Eminem certainly didn't help "Couch Potato." Now, some of you will say that's because of the lack of video. But I disagree. Even with a video, I seriously doubt that the song would have been a big hit.

Conversely, neither Coolio nor Chamillionaire were even CLOSE to as popular as Michael Jackson, Madonna, Eminem, and Nirvana. But the parodies of their songs are among Al's biggest hits ever!

So, I don't think that the popularity of the original artist has much to do with the success of the lead single. Certainly, it has to be a parody of a RELATIVELY successful song and artist, yes. That's one of the reasons why "Alapalooza" failed. Nobody in the MTV generation knew what "McArthur Park" was! But being a parody of a HUGE name like Nirvana is not the sole deciding factor on whether a song is popular or not.

Reason 2: Gotta Have a Video

The biggest excuse that people around here give for the failure of "Couch Potato" is the lack of a video. Well, I don't but it! I don't think the lack of video is what hurt the album sales.

There have been plenty of songs that have had videos but have still been flops. "Polka Party!" "UHF," "Alapalooza," and "Running With Scissors" all had excellent videos. But none of them were hits. Clearly, having a video is not what makes a song successful.

Besides, "Couch Potato" initially got a ton of publicity from the fact that it DIDN'T have a video! Clearly, not even publicity sells albums for Al.

I can't point to any examples of lead singles that have been popular WITHOUT a video. Though, this is because there are no other lead singles without videos. However, songs like "Yoda," "You're Pitiful," and "Addicted to Spuds" were moderately successful without videos.

So, clearly having a video is not a key factor in why an album is successful.

This leads me to my final point. The one KEY factor in making an album successful is (are you taking notes, Al?):

Making Fun of People

Every one of the big hits AFTER the initial boom of popularity that he had in the early 80s shared this one feature. "Fat" made fun of fat people, AP made fun of Amish people, W&N made fun of nerds, and SLN made fun of Nirvana (and grunge bands in general).

If you look around at popular comedy, what is most successful is comedy at the expense of somebody else. We could get into a whole discussion of what that means about us as a society, but that's not the point. The point is that people love comedy that makes fun. Whether it's the characters on "Friends" constantly taking shots at each other. Whether it's successful comedians from George Carlin to Carlos Mencia making fun of people in their acts. Whether it's "South Park" making fun of EVERYBODY! Comedy that mocks other people is successful. Plain and simple.

Al is generally pretty KIND in his comedy. But when he takes a chance of possibly offending someone and goes for the kind of humor that makes fun of others, it's a slam dunk!

I firmly believe that if he had started "Alapalooza" and "Running with Scissors," with "Achy Breaky Song" and "Pretty Fly for a Rabbi" respectively, BOTH albums would have been huge hits! People hated Billy Ray Cyrus (especially in the MTV crowd). They would have LOVED to see Al burn him in his version of the song. And religion is so often viewed as being "untouchable" that people would have eaten up Al's take on Rabbis.

So, in conclusion, I think that while music videos and big name artists may contribute to the success of an album, the single best thing that Al can do to ensure his albums are hits is to MAKE FUN OF SOMEONE! Songs about food, TV, and movies may have been hilarious to people back in the 80s, but now that the novelty of "Weird Al" is long gone, those simplistic ideas for parodies won't work.

So, Al, when you're releasing all of these songs on iTunes, go ahead and release whatever you like (no pun intended). But when you're figuring out what to do for the lead single, forget about movies, TV, and food. Think about what group of people you can make fun of for your next album! Will it be Muslims? Christians? Latinos? Midgets? Goth kids? Disney artists? It doesn't really matter WHO you make fun of! Just pick somebody and let's have another smash hit single!

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Your thoughts?

[ludovica64]

Sorry for giving a rather facetious answer, but I really think you encapsulated the whole matter in this sentence
"The six, big songs are the ones that have been popular BEYOND THE FANBASE"

... This is what makes the album a hit... More people bought those ones.


Poodle Hat would possibly have been a huge success if EBay had been made the lead single. It is still currently one of Al's most popular songs ..especially in Europe where it outsells just about everything else he's ever done. I don't think people care all that much what the song is about (certainly not in Europe where so few of Als songs make any sense at all).. the big draw of Couch Potato was spoofing the sacred cow of Eminem, and undoubtedly a video would have made a huge difference. so yes I agree making fun of individuals does prove to be a big draw.

Largely however the point remains that, successful or otherwise, Poodle Hat and Running With Scissors represent (for me, certainly) the ultra high water mark of Al's musical creativity and are unquestionably his finest work. Success is nice of course, but lots of stuff that is crap is "successful"
To me PH and RWS represent so much more in terms of achievement than anything that can be measured in terms of dollars and cents; pounds and pence

[Well, Well, Well]

Yeah, I'm not reading all that.

[TMBJon]

Jeremy, I think you were dead on with a lot of this analysis, but I do think that if he had a video for Couch Potato it would have had the potential to be a big hit - precisely BECAUSE he would be making fun of Eminem, Ozzy Ozbourne, Survivor, etc.
I don't think any of the Big Six would have been such big hits without their accompanying music videos.

[Al's Homeboy]

Album sales of course....

J/K...I think it all depends on what songs are on the CD!

[weirdojace]

That's a valid point.

One thing's for sure: Weird Al is always going to be popular with kids. See, kids are fascinated by parodies, no matter the subject matter. Most people I know who own copies of Poodle Hat or Running with Scissors are adolescents. This is why people are always taking shots at Al by saying things like "his music is for 12 year olds."

It's rare that Al comes out with something that goes beyond that spectrum and is actually a hit in the eyes of the music business. Smells Like Nirvana, Amish Paradise, and White & Nerdy did just that. And your point about the songs making fun of people is valid. Although "eBay" was mentioned... that one could have been a hit with the proper promotion, in my opinion. But we'll never know for sure.

Also, this is no longer the 80s. And Al, if you're reading this, say it with me.... songs about food and television don't work anymore. This is why Couch Potato didn't catch on. Nobody cares. Half of the lyrics in "Whatever You Like" are about food. Again, nobody cares.

Also, aside from White & Nerdy, do we remember what other song from SOL was popular enough to hit the charts, despite not having a video? Canadian Idiot. And what does that song do? It makes fun of Canadians.

In short: I agree.

[weirdalfan1000000]

I totally agree too.

Al should have made a deal with eBay to have the song play on their site, or on a commercial.

[Orthography Enthusiast]

I'm having considerable trouble with any argument that relies on Running With Scissors (platinum album!) being classified as a flop. Or even Alapalooza, for that matter, since it went gold, and double platinum in Canada.

I don't think it's necessary for successful humor to make fun of people, per se. It just has to depend on an accurate vision of human nature. White & Nerdy is extremely popular with nerds, and it's not because they're all saying, "Wow, Al sure gave us a wedgie with that one!" It's more like "Wow, Al sure knows us!" To this meat of the matter, I'd say season with pop culture (like the Halo II reference in "You're Pitiful") but don't make the seasoning the whole meal. I agree with your analysis of Couch Potato. The subject matter was just too ephemeral.

[Bruce the Duck]

Jeremy, I think you were dead on with a lot of this analysis, but I do think that if he had a video for Couch Potato it would have had the potential to be a big hit - precisely BECAUSE he would be making fun of Eminem, Ozzy Ozbourne, Survivor, etc.

Yes, but it wouldn't be the same. The point of the song isn't to mock Ozzy or Eminem. Even with a video, I highly doubt it would get even close to the attention of other songs like "Amish Paradise."

I don't think any of the Big Six would have been such big hits without their accompanying music videos.

Well, of course it's impossible to tell for sure, since they all HAVE music videos. But I'll tell you that I first learned about Al in 1988, not from SEEING the music video, but from hearing kids at school singing the song. Jace's point about adolescents is very true. They do drive a lot of Al's success.

Also, this is no longer the 80s. And Al, if you're reading this, say it with me.... songs about food and television don't work anymore. This is why Couch Potato didn't catch on. Nobody cares. Half of the lyrics in "Whatever You Like" are about food. Again, nobody cares.

Exactly! Video or not, neither song has caught on. Meanwhile, "You're Pitiful" managed to get quite a bit of attention. Albeit, much of that was driven by the Atlantic controversy.

Also, aside from White & Nerdy, do we remember what other song from SOL was popular enough to hit the charts, despite not having a video? Canadian Idiot. And what does that song do? It makes fun of Canadians.

BINGO! I didn't even think to mention that! But that's great evidence that a video IS NOT what makes a song popular and that mocking people IS!

I'm having considerable trouble with any argument that relies on Running With Scissors (platinum album!) being classified as a flop. Or even Alapalooza, for that matter, since it went gold, and double platinum in Canada. 

When I classify them as unsuccessful, I am talking about their overall, general appeal, BEYOND THE FANBASE, and relative to the success of other albums. "Running with Scissors" was MODERATELY successful. But relative to its predecessor, "Bad Hair Day," it was not a HIT. Same can be said about "Alapalooza" in relation to "Off the Deep End." You can't HONESTLY compare the success of "Jurassic Park" and "The Saga Begins" with the likes of "Fat," "Smells Like Nirvana," and "Amish Paradise." That would be like comparing the success of Keanu Reeves's "Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey" to "The Matrix."

Largely however the point remains that, successful or otherwise, Poodle Hat and Running With Scissors represent (for me, certainly) the ultra high water mark of Al's musical creativity and are unquestionably his finest work. Success is nice of course, but lots of stuff that is crap is "successful"
To me PH and RWS represent so much more in terms of achievement than anything that can be measured in terms of dollars and cents; pounds and pence

I think you're missing the point of my argument. I'm not talking about what makes an album GOOD or BAD. I'm not arguing that the successful albums are BETTER than the unsuccessful ones. I'm talking about WHAT MAKES AN ALBUM SUCCESSFUL. And I'm defining successful as being the level of attention, praise, sales, and recognition received by the general public.

[ludovica64]

I think that if you look at the songs that do best internationally, they tend to be the ones with a more global flavour of humour

Everyone can relate to the Computer and Technology nerd type songs, no matter where you are from. I take the point about Food and TV, they are very USA-centric. (I had no idea what a Twinky was 12 months ago for instance, or any of that stuff, nor had I heard of Drew Carey or Johnny Carson or HBO etc etc)
If you limit the audience right from the start that cant be a good thing HOWEVER everyone in Europe would have loved to see someone poke fun at Eminem.. had that been made possible. sigh...
All the same EBay is HUGE over here and most of my daughters friends have that on their iPods and phones. If he had promoted that more fully he could have made the big breakthrough in the UK I feel