The news of Robin Thicke's latest album selling a dismal 54 copies in Australia must be very embarrassing for him, but there are some artists who are so massively famous that even going multi-platinum can be considered a huge disappointment. Here are eight multi-platinum albums that sold less than half of their predecessors.
1. Fleetwood Mac - Tusk (1979)
Fleetwood Mac's 1977 classic Rumours is easily among the top 10 best-selling albums in history with 40 million copies sold. However, the band's double LP follow-up Tusk, sold just 4 million, largely due to the album's difficult sound and high retail price. Despite its relatively poor sales, Tusk is still considered among Fleetwood Mac's best albums.
2. AC/DC - For Those About To Rock We Salute You (1981)
On par with Rumours in terms of sales is AC/DC's triumphant classic Back in Black, the biggest-selling hard rock album of all time. The band's 1981 follow-up For Those About To Rock We Salute You was the first AC/DC album to reach number one, but despite its chart success, the album never broke the ten million mark.
3. The Eagles - The Long Run (1979)
The Long Run was the Eagles' attempt to follow the massively successful Hotel California, which has sold 32 million copies worldwide since its 1976 release. Though The Long Run went seven times platinum is the US, it got a poor critical reception and never approached the sales of its predecessor.
4. Pink Floyd - The Final Cut (1983)
By the early '80s, Pink Floyd was on the verge of collapse, with constant tensions brewing between bassist Roger Waters and guitarist David Gilmour. Because of these tensions, 1983's The Final Cut was essentially a Roger Waters' solo album, and though it went double platinum, it became Pink Floyd's lowest-selling album in over ten years, which was made even more disappointing by the fact that the album's predecessor The Wall has gone more than 23 times platinum in the U.S. alone.
5. Oasis - Be Here Now (1997)
In the mid-90s, Oasis was the world's biggest band, with its debut Definitely Maybe being the U.K.'s fastest selling debut, and its follow-up (What's the Story) Morning Glory? selling 22 million copies worldwide. Though the band's third album Be Here Now became the fastest-selling in U.K. history, it got poor reviews and stalled at eight million copies -- equal to Definitely Maybe, but nonetheless a disappointment.
6. Prince - Around the World in a Day (1985)
Though Purple Rain was one of 1984's top selling albums, the notoriously eccentric Prince released its follow-up Around the World in a Day the following year with almost no publicity. The album still managed to sell two million copies in the US, but that's just a fraction of Purple Rain's 20 million in sales.
7. Dire Straits - On Every Street (1991)
One of the more confounding members of the "Top Selling Artists of All-Time" club is Dire Straits. It's not that Dire Straits sucks, I just find it hard to fathom that Brothers In Arms sold 30 million copies worldwide, even though MTV played its "Money for Nothing" video to death. The band took six years to follow up Brothers In Arms with On Every Street, which went platinum but never came close to 30 million.
8. Alanis Morissette - Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie (1998)
For many people, the sound of the mid-90s is Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill, which has sold over 30 million copies. Though Morissette's follow-up Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie earned her the record for highest one-week sales by a female artist, the album has never sold more than 10 million.
What other albums didn't sell nearly as well as their predecessors? Let us know in the comments section!
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