(March 13, 2021). Even if at first you DO succeed…try, try again!
An artist’s sophomore album can make or break a career. It sometimes follows a highly successful debut album and has the unenviable task of meeting or exceeding the expectations set by the first, or it can be the release that finally establishes an artist after an initial album fails to provide that spark.
The tone for that second LP is often set by the first single released from it. It’s the one that often lets us know that an artist’s first album was no fluke, or that we completely missed out the first time around.
It is with that in mind that djrobblog thought it would be fun to celebrate those first singles from second albums – those songs that, in most cases, let us know that an artist was no fly-by-night, no flash in the pan. It let us know that his or her (or their) 15 minutes of fame would be much longer than just 15 minutes.
What follows is a special multi-genre ranking of the 75 greatest, most iconic first singles from sophomore albums from the past six decades. I’ve combed through more than a hundred such songs and miraculously narrowed it down to the top 75.
This list ranks songs based on chart performance, critical acclaim, awards received, career impact, and endurance over time. Personal preference of the list’s creator may or may not have influenced some of the rankings.
The eligibility for being included was simple: the song had to be widely acknowledged as the first single released from an artist’s second album issued in the United States.
Millennial alert: with the advent of mixtapes, promo singles (between album cycles), featured credits and other music industry changes over time, fewer artists and albums from recent years are represented on this list, as it was often more difficult to discern which releases were indeed second albums or which songs were the first releases from them.
Regardless, newer acts aren’t totally excluded and, when possible, cases are explained where either the album’s or a song’s release sequence is in doubt.
Understandably, some people will possibly disagree with the rankings or the inclusion of some of these songs. I invite readers to discuss their views in either the comment section below or on any of the social media feeds where this article is posted.
So, without further delay, here is djrobblog’s countdown of the most iconic first singles from second albums, ranked from No. 75 to No. 1 (along with a Spotify playlist that follows). If you don’t have time to read them all now, come back and finish some later.
Enjoy!
Don’t forget to scroll through the whole list of 75, and leave comments below!
DJRob
DJRob is a freelance music blogger from somewhere on the East Coast who covers R&B, hip-hop, pop and rock genres – plus lots of music news and current stuff! You can follow him on Twitter at @djrobblog.
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Great list, my friend! You’ve captured a wide range of music — must have taken you a long time to put this together. Well done.
Thanks, Curt! I started putting it together months ago (and worked on it on and off). Hope all is well with you!