Sam Smith’s ‘Hazel Eyes’ to miss Billboard 200, debuts at #21 in the UK

[TaylorSwift 163,044]

 

  Their all previous albums debuted in the top 10:

 

 

UK

Brit Sam Smith earns a fifth UK Top 40 album with Hazel Eyes at Number 21 with 4,470.  x
Their 3 previous albums debuted at No. 1 (Love Goes debuted at #2)

the album had multiple vinyl variants

Edited 1 hour ago by TaylorSwift

[Sepsami 21,039]

Did he alienate his OG fanbase too much and then also lost the gheys when he changed image again after Unholy? He used to be a massive star 

[Bling 31,690]

6 minutes ago, Sepsami said:

Did he alienate his OG fanbase too much and then also lost the gheys when he changed image again after Unholy? He used to be a massive star 

Possibly. But also the promo for this era has been miniscule. I had no idea this was even out...

[Sneaky Oliver 23,030]

No shade but who’s buying Sam smith vinyl variants? 

[Sepsami 21,039]

6 minutes ago, Bling said:

Possibly. But also the promo for this era has been miniscule. I had no idea this was even out...

Same 

[RAMROD 117,667]

Glad they changed it up every time. But not exactly surprising the country inspired  direction from a pop star always underwhelming on charts. That kind of cross over rarely works, unlike the other way around.

Edited 1 hour ago by RAMROD

[Future Lovers 7,747]

It’s a really a shame what happened to them in America. 

Politicians were attacking them left and right and their own community, fellow queer people, stepped aside and let it happen. Hell, even joined in the ridicule! 

All because Sam had the audacity to be plus size and not ashamed of it. 

If Sam had been skinny or built and made the exact same music they were, the community would have defended them from those attacks. 

Instead they let them get destroyed, leaving them totally abandoned in the US. And I really hate that for them. 

[27monster27 15,992]

2 minutes ago, Future Lovers said:

It’s a really a shame what happened to them in America. 

Politicians were attacking them left and right and their own community, fellow queer people, stepped aside and let it happen. Hell, even joined in the ridicule! 

All because Sam had the audacity to be plus size and not ashamed of it. 

If Sam had been skinny or built and made the exact same music they were, the community would have defended them from those attacks. 

Instead they let them get destroyed, leaving them totally abandoned in the US. And I really hate that for them. 

Stand your ground. 

[huttont 6,030]

Reminder that Sam goes by they/them

[Blackout19 16,000]

please next album work with bloodpop 

[Bronco 26,853]

40 minutes ago, Sepsami said:

Did he alienate his OG fanbase too much and then also lost the gheys when he changed image again after Unholy? He used to be a massive star 

All of their success came from being GP-friendly adult contemporary slop.

The image change during Gloria and all the stunts combined with the sound shifting slightly really destroyed that very very casual fanbase they'd built.

And the gays never really committed to them either because of the image flip flops. 

[whoresup 3,430]

I feel like because of the adult contemporary vibe of their first two albums, their fanbase was mostly soccer moms and grandmas. And then the change in image (which I think was great btw) maybe alienated them. 

[TheFrenchGuy 5,822]

53 minutes ago, Bronco said:

because of the image flip flops. 

is it because of that, or because they are plus size, nb and femme ? 

I mean pop stars get praised left and right for being shape shifters, It feels a lot more pointed to me tbh

[Bronco 26,853]

4 minutes ago, TheFrenchGuy said:

is it because of that, or because they are plus size, nb and femme ? 

I mean pop stars get praised left and right for being shape shifters, It feels a lot more pointed to me tbh

I mean they had successful albums as a fat femme gay (they came out May 2014 the same month their debut dropped).  They had successful albums as non-binary (they came out in October 2017), they had successful albums after switching to non-binary pronouns (which they did in 2019). 

There is no denying Sam was a victim of transphobic bigotry. But that's not the sole reason for their decline. 

The simple fact is that Sam got successful through building an image as a relatable crooner in the adult contemporary genre. The fanbase Sam built was never a true fanbase, it was a **** tonne of casuals who liked the ballads that Sam put out. The second Sam dropped the incredibly safe and innocuous branding, they were pouring petrol on and throwing a match at the fan base they had because it was never a secured loyal fan base. 

These types of acts always peak quickly and burn out from there (look at Ed Sheeran in recent years, the straight cis Sam of the same debut era). 

Image shifts get praises when artists do them, because they have loyal fan bases who are invested in the artistry. Sam was just a generic act prior to Gloria with a fanbase interested in the vibe only. 

The gay community absolutely was guilty in some sections of horrendous bigotry towards them. And it still pops up occasionally now (like the met gala threads this year). 

But equally, many of us who knew of them from 2014 onwards and the image & brand that they had built found the whole image shift in Gloria to be disingenuous stunts. 

Like I'm part of the kink community, and I always found Sam's sudden shift from mopey loner crooner to "kinky wildchild making watersports references" fake as ****. And I personally think using fetishes as a stunt with no real connection to the kink world is just dangerous to the kink community and wider queer community. 

[TheFrenchGuy 5,822]

1 minute ago, Bronco said:

Like I'm part of the kink community, and I always found Sam's sudden shift from mopey loner crooner to "kinky wildchild making watersports references" fake as ****. And I personally think using fetishes as a stunt with no real connection to the kink world is just dangerous to the kink community and wider queer community. 

I can understand that. To me it felt more like watching someone who'd been stuck behind a fake mask their whole life finally get to express themselves in a way that felt liberating. Having a slutty phase after coming out is pretty common in the queer experience, because losing that feeling of repression opens a lot of doors at once. And if you happen to have a platform and money, I guess it amplifies the urge to make a big statement and throw up a middle finger. It didn't feel fake to me, it felt sincere but also very awkward. The kink appropriation angle is a different question though, and you'd know better than me on that one. Sincere doesn't automatically mean well handled. But I do agree with you on the core fanbase point