In the entertainment industry, a sleeper hit refers to a film, television series, music release, video game, or other entertainment product that was unpromising on release but eventually 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.
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.
"Dreams" is a song by the British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, written and sung by 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.
Tony Macaulay is an English author, composer for musical theatre, and songwriter. He has won the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors Award twice as 'Songwriter of the Year'. He is a nine time Ivor Novello Awards winning songwriter. In 2007, he became the only British person to win the Edwin Forrest Award for outstanding contribution to the American theatre. Macaulay's best-known songs include "Baby Now That I've Found You" and "Build Me Up Buttercup" with The Foundations, "(Last Night) I Didn't Get to Sleep at All," as well as "Love Grows " and "Don't Give Up on Us".
"Remember (Walking in the Sand)", also known as "Remember", is a song written by George "Shadow" Morton. It originally was recorded by the girl group the Shangri-Las, who had a top five hit with it in 1964. A remake by Aerosmith in 1979 was a minor hit. There have been many other versions of the song as well.
"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.
Les Fradkin is an American MIDI guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, composer, and record producer. He is best known for being a member of the original cast of the hit Broadway show Beatlemania. In addition to playing MIDI guitar, he plays 12 string guitar, the Starr Labs Ztar, guitar synthesizer, SynthAxe, Hammond organ, Mellotron, piano, bass guitar, and Moog synthesizer.
"My Baby Loves Lovin'" was first released by the British pop group White Plains. The song was written and produced by Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway, recorded on 26 October 1969, and released on 2 January 1970 on the Decca Records imprint, Deram Records. It is a world-wide chart success and the top selling single for White Plains. It peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of 27 June 1970.
"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 (1978). 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 a 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 and debut single from her debut studio album, Animal (2010).
Surf Curse is an American indie surf rock band formed in 2012 in Reno, Nevada, and now based in Los Angeles. The band was formed by Nick Rattigan and Jacob Rubeck (guitars), and now also includes Henry Dillon and Noah Kholl. The band achieved mainstream success after their song "Freaks", written in 2011 and released in 2013, became popular on the short-form video platform TikTok in 2020. In 2024, their 2019 song "Disco" would also go viral on TikTok, topping the TikTok Billboard Top 50 chart in September 2024.
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. British 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.
Familia is the third studio album by American singer Camila Cabello. It was released on April 8, 2022, through Epic Records. Cabello wrote the album during the COVID-19 pandemic between 2020 and 2021 with producers such as Mike Sabath, Ricky Reed, Edgar Barrera and Cheche Alara. The album was inspired by the "manifest collective joy" Cabello felt with her family during the pandemic and is about connecting with the singer's Latin American roots. Familia features guest vocals from Ed Sheeran, Willow, María Becerra and Yotuel. It was Cabello's last album with Epic Records as she departed months after the album's release and signed with Interscope Records.
