In the entertainment industry, sleeper hit refers to a film, television series, music release, video game, or other entertainment product that was unpromising on release but became a surprise success. A sleeper hit may have little promotion or lack a successful launch but gradually develops a fandom following media attention, which in turn increases its public exposure and public interest in the product. As Variety puts it, "A 'sleeper hit' can be defined as the kind of show that catches us by surprise—programs whose popularity grows over time and can ultimately outshine the preordained hits." A sleeper hit often lacks star performers or high production values, but prevails, at times against its own makers' expectations, on the strength of such qualities as narrative, approach, or novelty, as well as market accidents. Sleeper hit films benefit theater owners because the owners keep a larger percentage of money from ticket sales.
Anthony Burrows is an English pop singer and recording artist. As a prolific session musician, Burrows was involved in several transatlantic hit singles throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s, most of which were one-hit wonders, including "Love Grows " by Edison Lighthouse, "United We Stand" by Brotherhood of Man, "My Baby Loves Lovin'" by White Plains, "Gimme Dat Ding" by The Pipkins and "Beach Baby" by The First Class. During 1970, four singles by four different acts with whom he performed all charted at or near the top of the UK Singles Chart and additionally reached the top 20 in the United States.
Edison Lighthouse are an English pop band, formed in London in 1969. The band was best known for their 1970 hit single "Love Grows " recorded in late 1969.
John Barry Mason was an English singer and songwriter. A leading songwriter of the 1960s, he wrote the bulk of his most successful songs in partnership with Les Reed. Mason gained many gold and platinum awards for his work including five Ivor Novello Awards, the most recent of them in 1998.
"Put Your Head on My Shoulder" is a song written by Canadian-born singer-songwriter Paul Anka. Anka's version was recorded in August 1958 at Bell Sound Studios in New York City, three weeks before he recorded his no. 1 hit "Lonely Boy", and was released as a single on August 17, 1959, by ABC-Paramount as catalog number 4510040. It was arranged and conducted by Don Costa. The B-side was "Don't Ever Leave Me". "Put Your Head on My Shoulder" became very successful, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was his third top five hit of 1959. In Canada the song reached No. 4 on the CHUM Charts.
"Dreams" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, written by singer Stevie Nicks for the band's eleventh studio album, Rumours (1977). In the United States, "Dreams" was released as the second single from Rumours in March 1977, while in the United Kingdom, the song was released as the third single in June 1977. A stage performance of "Dreams" was used as the promotional music video.
"Break My Stride" is a song performed by American recording artist Matthew Wilder. It was released in August 1983 as the lead single from his debut album, I Don't Speak the Language, and became a major worldwide hit single for him in late 1983 and spring 1984, reaching number five on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the Cash Box Top 100.
"It's My Party" is a song by American singer-songwriter Lesley Gore from her debut studio album I'll Cry If I Want To (1963). It was released as the lead single from the album on April 5, 1963, by Mercury Records. The song was collectively written by Herb Wiener, John Gluck Jr., and Wally Gold, while production was helmed by Quincy Jones.
"United We Stand" is a song written by Tony Hiller and Peter Simons. It was first released in 1970 by the Brotherhood of Man in their original, pre-Eurovision line-up, consisting of Goodison, Tony Burrows, Roger Greenaway, Sue Glover and Sunny Leslie. It became the band's first hit, peaking at #13 in the U.S., #9 in Canada, and #10 in the U.K. The song spent 15 weeks on the charts, and is ranked as the 64th biggest U.S. hit of 1970. It also reached #8 in Australia.
"The Worrying Kind" is a rock song performed by the Ark, written and composed by Ola Salo. It was released as the second single from their fourth album, Prayer for the Weekend. On 10 March 2007 the song won Melodifestivalen 2007, becoming Sweden's Eurovision Song Contest 2007 entry. The song won both the jury and public vote.
"What You Won't Do for Love" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bobby Caldwell. It was released in September 1978 as the lead single from his eponymous debut album. It was written by Caldwell and Alfons Kettner, and produced by Ann Holloway. The song has been covered and sampled numerous times, including by Tupac Shakur in the posthumous 1998 hit "Do for Love".
"Tik Tok" is the debut single by American singer Kesha, who co-wrote the song with its producers Dr. Luke and Benny Blanco. It was released on August 7, 2009, as the lead single from her debut studio album, Animal (2010). The opening line of the song came from an experience where Kesha woke up surrounded by beautiful women, to which she imagined P. Diddy being in a similar scenario. The experience prompted the writing of the song which she later brought to her producer, Dr. Luke, who was then contacted by P. Diddy in hopes of a collaboration; he came to the studio the same day and recorded his lines, and the song was completed. The official remix features American rapper Pitbull.
Already is the debut album by British band Edison Lighthouse, released in 1971. It features three singles: both "Love Grows " and "It's Up to You Petula" became chart hits in the UK, US, Canada and New Zealand, while the third, "What's Happening", became a regional hit in Australia.
"It's Up to You Petula" is a song by English band Edison Lighthouse. It was released as a non-album single, but was included on their 1971 debut release, Already.
"Melanie Makes Me Smile" is a 1970 song written by United Kingdom songwriters Barry Mason and Tony Macaulay. United States singer, Tony Burrows issued his version in April 1970, which reached No. 87 in the US. Macaulay also produced Burrows' single. Burrows had previously recorded Mason and Macauley's "Love Grows " as lead singer of Edison Lighthouse. "Melanie Makes Me Smile" was released by Australian pop group the Strangers as a cover version in June 1970; it became a top 10 hit there in September.
"No Idea" is a song by American rapper and singer Don Toliver. It was released by Cactus Jack Records, Atlantic Records, and We Run It Entertainment on May 29, 2019, as the lead single from Toliver's debut studio album, Heaven or Hell (2020). It was produced by WondaGurl and Cubeatz. The song gained popularity in December 2019 after going viral on video sharing app TikTok.
"Savage Love ", originally known as "Savage Love", is a song by New Zealand music producer Jawsh 685 and American singer Jason Derulo. The song was officially released on 11 June 2020, following the resolution of sample clearance issues between the two artists.
Lauren Spencer-Smith is a British-born Canadian singer-songwriter from Port Alberni in British Columbia.
Jacob Dodge Lawson, known professionally as Jvke, is an American singer-songwriter, producer, and social media personality. During the COVID-19 lockdowns, he started creating TikTok videos for his songs, one of which, "Upside Down", went viral in 2021 with it being used in over 14 million TikTok videos. His debut album, This Is What ____ Feels Like (2022), peaked at number 40 on the Billboard 200, while the song "Golden Hour" peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100.
