FFS is a "flop" song with almost 200,000,000 streams on spotify
Applause is a "hit" song with less than 100,000,000 streams on spotify, less VEVO views, etc. I mean
They're both hit songs, though. Neither were smash hits, but they were hits.
It depends on total sales WW. But from what's in the OP, it's FFS.
It's still much more of an underperformance for Rih considering she is more well-liked by the GP and came from an era that isn't weird and polarizing like Gaga.
It depends on total sales WW. But from what's in the OP, it's FFS.
It's still much more of an underperformance for Rih considering she is more well-liked by the GP and came from an era that isn't weird and polarizing like Gaga.
Gaga didn't do anything risky so yeah let's not use that excuse
Also why are monsters trying it with competition? Not only did FFS compete against much bigger hits than Applause, it was also not released with the intent of trying to come out on top, unlike Applause which was supposed to destroy Katy.
Well, we've already established the fact that Applause sold more here in the U.S., so let's check out airplay peaks:
Overall AI
Applause: #6, 132.7 million AI
FourFiveSeconds: #7, 112.3 million AI
So based on the sales and airplay numbers, Applause was bigger, though only slightly. But what about streaming? Let's check out each song's run on the Streaming Songs chart. Oh wait, we can't because Billboard is horrible at putting chart peaks and runs into a song's archive there.
Instead, we'll check out the stats of each song's Hot 100 run:
Hot 100
Applause: 14 weeks in the top 10, 23 weeks on the Hot 100
FourFiveSeconds: 9 weeks in the top 10, 20 weeks on the Hot 100
So looking at sales, airplay, and overall Hot 100 performance, Applause was a little bit bigger here. Of course, my analysis only pertains to the U.S., and it appears to me that FFS performed better worldwide.
