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Confessions on a Dance Floor: The most spectacular comeback?


MP3

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"Ray of Light" = 16 Million

"Private Dancer" = 12 Million

"Believe" = 11 Million

"The Emancipation of Mimi" 11 Million

"Confessions on a Dancefloor" = 11 Million

 

I went deeper in to it and discovered the two options listed by the OP are in joint 3rd place (along with Cher's "Believe" album, not mentioned by the OP) as all three albums sold 11 million worldwide, which makes all three of those too close to call in context of position as runners up after "Private Dancer".

 

These rankings will feel skewed to you dependent upon your geographic location. From an objective worldwide perspective:


The RnB stylings of Mariah's EOMM found more favor in the North American Market than worldwide.

 

The Pop/ Dance stylings of Madonna and Cher found more favor in the international market than the North American Market.

 

Madonna's "Ray of Light" was her true comeback moment (not COADF). ROL's 16 million worldwide sales were double that of its predecessor "Bedtime Stories" which sold 8 million worldwide.

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Not the Lambs having a full blown meltown over Madonna again. :rip:

 

I don't think the answer is either Madonna or Mariah, I'd say it was Tina. Her career was pretty much in tatters after she left Ike up to Private Dancer. Cher comes very close, but she was still enjoying a bit of success with a few singles here and there. Hardly anything to shout about, but still. 

 

Moving on, I sincerely hope those trying to make a point about the US being the biggest market realize all the other countries in the global market are far greater combined. Are we supposed to ignore them (as a collective) to appease the Lambs?:rip:

 

Everyone in their right mind knows the first single from Mimi didnt really perform that well, but WBT was a monster smash in a few places, and that's why the album sold decently.

 

Why is Sorry being brushed aside as if it was nothing? That song was a far bigger global hit than the majority of singles on Mimi, and Lambs using "Don't Forget About Us" to score points when it wasn't part of the original tracklist will always be a kii. Hung Up, Sorry, Get Together and Jump were always part of the original tracklist, two of those were #1's, and the other two were top 10 hits. 

 

What people forget (or in this case, ignore) is the fact Madonna has always had the world's attention in her grasp because she was a far bigger artist and talking point worldwide, which is why the American Life era was blown up out of proportion and seen as a huge failure compared to Music and Ray of Light. Whatever Madonna does always sets tongues wagging, whether it be a new single, album, tour, boyfriends or her face. Mariah doesn't generate the same interest and never will. The majority of the world didn't care or know about Mariah flopping with Glitter and Charmbracelet, let alone know about all that stuff going on with Tommy Motola, ect, so let's not pretend the world cares about them equally.

 

and if the success of Hung Up was all "...thanks to Abba" (which haters love to say), then why did the album sell as much as it did? Why was the tour a success

Why did the following album "Hard Candy" go to #1 all over the world? Why did Sticky and Sweet become the top grossing tour by a female artist? Why did Madonna's success grow and Mariah fall off a cliff with her next album, E=MC²?

 

So many questions that many can't answer (at least not with sense and facts anyway).

 

Edited by Charmed Life
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Woah, the battles in here-

I feel COAD and TEOM are equally big eras, though COAD may enjoy a slight edge globally. Still, if we are talking about comebacks, I'd consider the gap between Mariah's flops and her comeback wider than Madonna's.

Madonna was still all over the media after the Music era and was still highly relevant. People really thought it was wrapped up for Mariah with the underperformance of her soundtrack and Charmbracelet, records that ended her streak of hits in the 1990s. She was also a victim of the intense scrutiny of the nosey, ruthless, and exploitative media of the 2000s before Britney, Paris, Lindsay, etc and was being brandished as completely over. Nobody was exactly calling Madonna "over".

Personally, I think it's between Mimi and Tina Turner. Both had such impressive comebacks. 

 

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Plus, COAD is not even Madonna's biggest comeback pls. Ray of Light renewed her image in front of the world and media that viewed her as a washed-up popstar of the 1980s (she was already being considered "old' during the Blonde Ambition Tour and that was literally within her prime). Yes, I may sound a bit hyperbolic because she did enjoy a lot of success in the early 90s but the commercial fall was still steep and drastic:

 

1984- 20-25 million albums sold

1986- 25-30 million albums sold

1989- 15-20 million albums sold

1990- 30 million albums sold

1992- 6 million

1994- 8 million 

 

I mean :rip: Yes those sales put her on the level of her peers but it also ended that era of her enjoying unparalleled sales that put her in the league of Michael Jackson. Suddenly, she was competing with the female vocalists of the 90s sans Celine, Whitney, and Mariah who heavily popularized adult contemporary music amongst female singers after the pop wave of the previous decade. Ray of Light brought her back in full force and Frozen is still one of her biggest classics. It also had the highest first-week sales for a female artist until Britney broke it in 2000, and earned Madonna international recognition as an artist rather than the "pop star" and "entertainer" label that she sported in her peak. I consider this a way bigger return to success. 

Edited by Blackout2006
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yes

 

this is the best madonna album. a front to back masterpiece even though it's not my favorite. the reinvention. the tour.

everything was spectacular apart from get together/jump videos.

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3 hours ago, Charmed Life said:

Mariah doesn't generate the same interest and never will. The majority of the world didn't care or know about Mariah flopping with Glitter and Charmbracelet, let alone know about all that stuff going on with Tommy Motola, ect, so let's not pretend the world cares about them equally.

 

and if the success of Hung Up was all "...thanks to Abba" (which haters love to say), then why did the album sell as much as it did? Why was the tour a success

Why did the following album "Hard Candy" go to #1 all over the world? Why did Sticky and Sweet become the top grossing tour by a female artist? Why did Madonna's success grow and Mariah fall off a cliff with her next album, E=MC²?

 

So many questions that many can't answer (at least not with sense and facts anyway).

 

1.

True. Glitter and Charm smashed in some markets. Between 2001 - 2003, Miss Carey sold 1,5 million albums Japan. So that base was secured.

 

2. 

Circumstance. Mariah tried to explore the same roll-out with E=MC² as she did with TEOM: poppier tune for single 1, ballad for single 2 and this time it backfired...She then got married 2 weeks into the album campaign, vanished for 2 months and then returned, suffered a miscarriage and susequently ended the era.

 

I think a complete focus shift happened between 2008-2010. 

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Spinning Around is.

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WW: COADF

US: Mimi

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One of them. I mean just watch the HU performance at the EMA... For a 47 yo popstar, more than 2 decades into her career to have that kind of slayage is something so unique. Not to mention the Confessions Tour which became a new landmark in live performances for her. The drive and ambition she had that era was amazing to witness.

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11 hours ago, Mandalay said:

It is Mariah Carey's TEOM. You would know it if you lived through those eras.

Here in Canada it was all about COADF

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Not the biggest of all time, but COADF was bigger than TEOM. Mimi is still unknown in most of Latam countries outside Christmas.

 

Hung Up and Sorry were inescapable at the time.

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18 minutes ago, Xtripped said:

Not the biggest of all time, but COADF was bigger than TEOM. Mimi is still unknown in most of Latam countries outside Christmas.

 

Hung Up and Sorry were inescapable at the time.

Maybe outside of America but Sorry was nowhere to be found here.

It wasn't even a top 40 hit in the states.

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American Life was not that big of that flop tbh and she had a very succesful tour in 2004.

 

I would say Tina's and Cher's comebacks are more impressive

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18 hours ago, nightowl said:

That flopping chartmaster lmao:fan:

Hes a big mj stan but a madonna hater.

He keeps inflating mj and Mariah stats but deflates his hated artists such as Madonna. 

Her whole sales just stopped in 2016 according to that mess.

Lmao. Yeah right. Make me believe he's the new riaa and sales measure police now.

Sorry.  no official source at all.

 

but quoting his delu but asking me about the guinness record report. 

Lmao

:fan:

exactly

 

you dont have to be a fan of anyone to see that CM is biased af

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3 hours ago, Jamie Starr said:

Maybe outside of America but Sorry was nowhere to be found here.

It wasn't even a top 40 hit in the states.

Crazy how in the US it was #58 while just north in Canada it was a Top 5

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9 hours ago, Blackout2006 said:

Plus, COAD is not even Madonna's biggest comeback pls. Ray of Light renewed her image in front of the world and media that viewed her as a washed-up popstar of the 1980s (she was already being considered "old' during the Blonde Ambition Tour and that was literally within her prime). Yes, I may sound a bit hyperbolic because she did enjoy a lot of success in the early 90s but the commercial fall was still steep and drastic:

 

1984- 20-25 million albums sold

1986- 25-30 million albums sold

1989- 15-20 million albums sold

1990- 30 million albums sold

1992- 6 million

1994- 8 million 

 

I mean :rip: Yes those sales put her on the level of her peers but it also ended that era of her enjoying unparalleled sales that put her in the league of Michael Jackson. Suddenly, she was competing with the female vocalists of the 90s sans Celine, Whitney, and Mariah who heavily popularized adult contemporary music amongst female singers after the pop wave of the previous decade. Ray of Light brought her back in full force and Frozen is still one of her biggest classics. It also had the highest first-week sales for a female artist until Britney broke it in 2000, and earned Madonna international recognition as an artist rather than the "pop star" and "entertainer" label that she sported in her peak. I consider this a way bigger return to success. 

For sure Ray of Light was a huge comeback, especially after two relative underperforming albums, but was it as spectacular as COADF? Smashing the world with a 41 #1 hit at 47 years old, I don't think there is any equivalent in the history of music 

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20 hours ago, MP3 said:

Charts say otherwise

only one has survived the test of time
 

TEOM 496,543
COADF 340,750

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2 minutes ago, Poncho Barlliams said:

only one has survived the test of time
 

TEOM 496,543
COADF 340,750

:bibliahh:As if the number of streams is a reflection of an album "standing the test of time".

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19 hours ago, The7thStranger said:

Nobody will ever top Tina Turner's comeback, but it's cute that people in this thread are talking about Madonna and Mariah.

 

Tina_Turner_Private_Dancer_US_CD_cover_a

 

She was abused, on food stamps, and cleaning people's houses. Then she went her butt off performing in hotels and guesting on Hollywood Squares to claw her way back to the top.

:clap3:

 

Tina Turner & 'Private Dancer' are the definition of comebacks.

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18 minutes ago, Poncho Barlliams said:

only one has survived the test of time
 

TEOM 496,543
COADF 340,750

Curious to see the % of those streams that come from the US

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3 hours ago, Jamie Starr said:

Maybe outside of America but Sorry was nowhere to be found here.

It wasn't even a top 40 hit in the states.

The world doesn't revolve around the US.

 

The US is mainly into (c)rap and R+B. Not dance music from a (then) 46 year old woman.

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The best thing about this comeback was how organic it was. It wasn't some kind of label masterplan. There were no radio payolas. There were no streaming payolas. No bought reviews.  

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20 hours ago, Mamamo said:

Yes, only the queen of pop. :clap3:

 

People saying Emancipation when that album was extremely local from an outsider perspective, i love Mariah but lbr. Huge, but local huge. 

TEOM was a huge success in Brazil, Shake it Off and It's Like That were a huge success, and there's the fact that 'WBT' has been charting on Spotify in South Africa for over 400 days.

 

Global is not just about being successful in Slovenia or any other irrelevant country in Europe

 

I'm sorry that these European countries nowadays don't listen to COADF on streaming platforms

 

 

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12 minutes ago, Poncho Barlliams said:

TEOM was a huge success in Brazil, Shake it Off and It's Like That were a huge success, and there's the fact that 'WBT' has been charting on Spotify in South Africa for over 400 days.

 

Global is not just about being successful in Slovenia or any other irrelevant country in Europe

 

I'm sorry that these European countries nowadays don't listen to COADF on streaming platforms

 

TEOM sold around 7 million copies in the US and the album sold 10 million WW (70%)

COADF sold around 2 million copies in the US and the album sold also 10 million copies WW (20%)

 

The point is that : Mariah's 2005 success was very mostly in the US while Madonna's one was global

No one is dimishing Mariah's success in the US, it's a well known fact, but globally COADF was a far bigger hit

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20 hours ago, Kimi said:

it's like

 

Believe - 20.1M 

CODAF - 13.6M

Mimi - 12.8M

 

not even close 

it's like

 

Spotify:
WBT 626 million
Hung Up 443 million 

 

YouTube:
WBT 661 million
Hung Up 486 million 

 

Sales
WBT 6.6 million (UK + US only)
Hung Up 4.9 million (all markets)

 

Awards
WBT: 2 Grammys 
Hung Up: 0 Grammys

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