Rick Rubin has a musical mindset which is shared by artists all around the world, and it’s essentially that the process is more important than the output.
This isn’t a mindset that I’m necessarily against. The idea is that a perfect piece of art doesn’t, nor will it ever, exist. Therefore, an artist should simply focus on creating things rather than on what they are actually creating. By entering this throwaway flow state, artists eventually come across something which looks like a finished product, and that can then be moulded into something ready for public consumption.
At least if you tap into what you know is an authentic and true part of yourself, you will be able to find pride in what you put out to the world. There’s truly no better feeling than that, and therefore, you’ll find a lot of artists who don’t remotely pay attention to commercial sales and instead focus more predominantly on the quality, authenticity, and honesty of what they’re putting out.
This is very noble; however, there is no escaping the fact that commercial success would also be nice. You get money, fame, and comfort in knowing that people connected with what you released. Some of the most popular songs ever released claim such a spotlight because they strike a nerve with the public that could only ever be done through the power of great music.
You can hear that in a lot of the songs which have sold over 20 million copies. Take Elton John’s ‘Candle in the Wind’ for instance, which sold 33m. It was originally written about Madonna, and it was a great song then, but years later, when the song was re-released in the wake of Princess Dianna’s death, through music and lyrics, John managed to capture the hearts of a grieving nation. People connected profoundly with that song, and the sales figures prove it.
“As regards that remake, I’m not really sure what to make of it. I did it because [Elton John] asked me to and I felt good enough,” said songwriter Bernie Taupin when discussing the re-release, “I don’t know why it seems to bend a lot of people out of shape, which is rather peculiar, if you consider the outcome. I mean, it’s a bit uncharitable.”
Of course, while a lot of songs that cleared 20m copies are somewhat justified in their success, there are others which seem to take off merely by luck and word of mouth. These are those annoying pop numbers which bury themselves inside your head and only leave after overexposure. The figures on these tracks are more representative of a song’s addictive nature, rather than the actual quality of the song.
So, what is the worst song to ever sell over 20m copies?
There is obviously an element of subjectivity to this, but the fact remains, there are some things that we can all globally agree are pretty darn terrible.
These include nails on a chalkboard, stubbing your toe, washing a spoon and the water going everywhere, and, of course, any songs which are credited to The Chainsmokers and Coldplay. And yet, despite that terrifying preface, the song managed to sell over 22million copies.
Perhaps two of the most terrifyingly terrible names in music came together and produced a song that spread in a way when they released the painstakingly catchy ‘Something Just Like This’. Chances are, if you’ve heard the song before and are reading this, you’ve already caught yourself humming the tune.
This is an example of one of those songs that sells a great deal because of its addictive nature, as opposed to being a reflection of any kind of quality. The artists involved set out to write a hit, and in the process, came up with something devoid of integrity but filled to the brim with earworms. It’s not a good song, and shame on us for listening so much.
