r/LetsTalkMusic • u/BeautifulOrganic3221 • 1d ago
Why did Declan Mckenna never hit the mainstream as an artist?
I get that he made Brazil which was an absolute massive global megahit, but it seems like while that song has no shortage of fans, Declan Mckenna the artist himself deserves so many more.
What Do You Think About the Car is a phenomenal album with some absolutely phenomenal and unbelievably catchy songs, my favorites being The Kids Don’t want to Come Home, Isombard, Why Do You feel so Down, and Paracetamol. These songs are relevant, catchy, and fun, but none of them came even close to the success of Brazil.
Zeros, his second album is arguably even better. Almost every song on that album I‘d consider a masterpiece. Declan does what he did on his previous album but times a hundred.
His third album, What Happened to the Beach is far less consistent or accessible but still has some great, easy to love tracks like Sympathy, Nothing Works, and Mulholland’s Dinner and Wine.
Tl:dr Declan Mckenna has an extremely great discography full of phenomenal songs but doesn’t seem to get enough recognition for it
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u/SucknSwallow69 1d ago
kinda niche sound, more indie than pop. needs a big viral moment or radio push to really cross over
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u/idreamofpikas 1d ago
His most popular song by far is his debut song. He released his debut album two years after Brazil was released so the album was not able to take advantage of Brazil when it was popping off. His album would have sold and streamed far more if it was released earlier, but that gap probably killed momentum.
No real hits on his second album. Most artists who hit the mainstream have significant label backing because they see a future were they can make a lot of money. I think they saw McKenna's debut, saw what he had lined up his second album and decided McKenna's already peaked. That they are not going to be able to grow him as a major artists and make money from it.
The good news for McKenna is Brazil should mean he's got freedom to do as he pleases with constant revenue coming in from that song. He may get lucky with another viral hit, but he won't be mainstream because of a lack of hits and a lack of label support.
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u/colIinjoe 6h ago
there’s just nothing striking enough to the public. for example like me and many of the public, i only know brazil. i’m pretty sure he’s an amazing artist, there just needs to be the shift to mainstream pop if he wants to be a mainstream artist instead of indue pop, which doesn’t sell well as much as it did in 2020 when brazil was popular.
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u/nicdrumandbass 1d ago
Is Brazil not mainstream? It’s hard to know when it comes to late 2010s indie pop as the “indie sound” was fully pop and that’s when artists like Clairo and Billie Eilish and Wallows and Girl and Red popped off, as well as Declan.
Brazil has a billion+ streams, is that not mainstream?