Plus An Honorable (Film) Mention
As 2015 comes to an end and the music industry begins to tally the year's best-selling albums, it is clear that Justin Bieber's "Purpose" will end up high on that list. Scooter Braun and his team worked hard in repairing Justin Bieber's tarnished image and mobilizing his fans to help Justin achieve the biggest debut of the year, before he was quickly dethroned by Adele the following week. Just like Justin, Ariana Grande, another Scooter Braun-managed act, also had a successful year with two Top 15 singles on the Hot 100, and her next album is one of 2016's most anticipated music releases.
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Although Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande were two of the most-talked about and well-received artists Scooter Braun manages, Scooter wasn't able to duplicate that level of success with a lot of other artists he's currently managing. You might recall seeing these artists inexplicably snag prime promotional slots at award shows and late night shows, without ever once hearing their songs on the radio. This list looks at the Scooter Braun-managed acts that made you ask a very important question this year: "Who is this person and why are they here?"
Cody Simpson
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Did you know that Cody Simpson released an album this year? Do you even care? Probably not, as his independently-released album "Free" peaked at #128 on the Billboard 200. Cody Simpson made bigger headlines for briefly dating model Gigi Hadid and featuring her in his music videos "Surfboard" and "Flower" than he did for the music he released this year. He performed on ABC's Good Morning America and NBC's Today show, but neither of those two morning TV show slots could help him sell records.
Rixton
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Next up on our list are English pop rockers Rixton. Rixton released their debut album "Let The Road" earlier this year following the success of their 2014 #1 single "Me And My Broken Heart" in the UK, which peaked at #14 in the US. They performed "Me And My Broken Heart" on The Ellen Show and the Teen Choice Awards in 2014. Sadly, the general public forgot about them, as they released their album a year after their single debuted at #1: their album peaked at #19 in the UK and #32 in the US.
Sheppard
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Australian indie pop band Sheppard released their debut studio album "Bombs Away" in Australia last year following the success of their #1 single "Geronimo." They then toured North America as Meghan Trainor's opening act, and even got a chance to perform "Geronimo" on Disney Channel's "Girls Meets World." While the album peaked at #2 on the ARIA Albums Chart, it only made it to #31 in the US. "Geronimo" failed to match the success it achieved Down Under, peaking at #53 stateside.
Who Is Fancy
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Although the reveal of his identity was supposed to be a huge event, many people didn't care and they find themselves still asking that very same question: Who Is Fancy? Who Is Fancy is singer-songwriter Jake Hagood. Jake's label set up a big PR campaign centered around his reveal, which happened back in April on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, where he performed his debut single "Goodbye." The reveal didn't help much, as his single peaked at #98 after people found out who he was. Last month, Who Is Fancy released his second single "Boys Like You" featuring Ariana Grande and Meghan Trainor, and they performed the song on Dancing With The Stars. Not even a performance with two of the biggest names in pop could help Who Is Fancy: the single has yet to make an appearance on the Hot 100.
Carly Rae Jepsen
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Canadian pop sensation and singer-songwriter Carly Rae Jepsen released her critically acclaimed album "E•MO•TION" this year, but she wasn't able to match the success of her #6-peaking album "Kiss.""E•MO•TION" debuted at #16 on the Billboard 200, and the only single which managed to chart on the Hot 100 was "I Really Like You." Carly Rae Jepsen released "I Really Like You" back in March with a heavily-publicized music video featuring appearances from Tom Hanks and Justin Bieber. Despite performing the song on Good Morning America, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Saturday Night Live, Dancing With The Stars, and the Ellen Show, it only achieved a peak of #39, becoming her third top 40 hit after "Call Me Maybe" and "Good Time" with Owl City charted at #1 and #8 respectively. Carly performed her next single "Run Away With You" on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and The Today Show to coincide with the August release of her album in the US, but the song failed to chart on the Hot 100.
Tori Kelly
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Last on our list is singer and songwriter Tori Kelly. Tori Kelly released "Nobody Love" as the lead single from her debut album "Unbreakable Smile" in February, but the song only managed to peak at #60 on the Hot 100. Tori Kelly's next single, "Should've Been Us," fared a little better, peaking at #51. Preceded by two flop singles, Tori's album debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200, and she even performed at the Billboard Music Awards and the MTV Video Music Awards. What's even more baffling is that Tori Kelly performed at the MTV Europe Music Awards with Andrea Bocelli despite having no charting songs in Europe. Her album peaked at #110 on the Belgian Albums chart, #75 on the Dutch Albums chart, #94 on the Irish Albums chart, #52 on the Scottish Albums chart, and #32 in the UK. Tori Kelly just released the single "Hollow," which will be the lead single from the upcoming re-release of her album.
Jem And The Holograms
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Did you get a chance to see the Scooter Braun co-produced film "Jem And The Holograms?" Probably not, since Universal pulled it out of theaters two weeks after it premiered, a move unheard of for a film in wide release. The film is reported to have had the worst wide release opening of 2015 with $1.4 million, and the fourth worst opening ever. The $5 million-film only made $2.8 million during its very limited run.
Sources: 12345678
As 2015 comes to an end and the music industry begins to tally the year's best-selling albums, it is clear that Justin Bieber's "Purpose" will end up high on that list. Scooter Braun and his team worked hard in repairing Justin Bieber's tarnished image and mobilizing his fans to help Justin achieve the biggest debut of the year, before he was quickly dethroned by Adele the following week. Just like Justin, Ariana Grande, another Scooter Braun-managed act, also had a successful year with two Top 15 singles on the Hot 100, and her next album is one of 2016's most anticipated music releases.
Although Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande were two of the most-talked about and well-received artists Scooter Braun manages, Scooter wasn't able to duplicate that level of success with a lot of other artists he's currently managing. You might recall seeing these artists inexplicably snag prime promotional slots at award shows and late night shows, without ever once hearing their songs on the radio. This list looks at the Scooter Braun-managed acts that made you ask a very important question this year: "Who is this person and why are they here?"
Did you know that Cody Simpson released an album this year? Do you even care? Probably not, as his independently-released album "Free" peaked at #128 on the Billboard 200. Cody Simpson made bigger headlines for briefly dating model Gigi Hadid and featuring her in his music videos "Surfboard" and "Flower" than he did for the music he released this year. He performed on ABC's Good Morning America and NBC's Today show, but neither of those two morning TV show slots could help him sell records.
Rixton
Next up on our list are English pop rockers Rixton. Rixton released their debut album "Let The Road" earlier this year following the success of their 2014 #1 single "Me And My Broken Heart" in the UK, which peaked at #14 in the US. They performed "Me And My Broken Heart" on The Ellen Show and the Teen Choice Awards in 2014. Sadly, the general public forgot about them, as they released their album a year after their single debuted at #1: their album peaked at #19 in the UK and #32 in the US.
Sheppard
Australian indie pop band Sheppard released their debut studio album "Bombs Away" in Australia last year following the success of their #1 single "Geronimo." They then toured North America as Meghan Trainor's opening act, and even got a chance to perform "Geronimo" on Disney Channel's "Girls Meets World." While the album peaked at #2 on the ARIA Albums Chart, it only made it to #31 in the US. "Geronimo" failed to match the success it achieved Down Under, peaking at #53 stateside.
Who Is Fancy
Although the reveal of his identity was supposed to be a huge event, many people didn't care and they find themselves still asking that very same question: Who Is Fancy? Who Is Fancy is singer-songwriter Jake Hagood. Jake's label set up a big PR campaign centered around his reveal, which happened back in April on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, where he performed his debut single "Goodbye." The reveal didn't help much, as his single peaked at #98 after people found out who he was. Last month, Who Is Fancy released his second single "Boys Like You" featuring Ariana Grande and Meghan Trainor, and they performed the song on Dancing With The Stars. Not even a performance with two of the biggest names in pop could help Who Is Fancy: the single has yet to make an appearance on the Hot 100.
Carly Rae Jepsen
Canadian pop sensation and singer-songwriter Carly Rae Jepsen released her critically acclaimed album "E•MO•TION" this year, but she wasn't able to match the success of her #6-peaking album "Kiss.""E•MO•TION" debuted at #16 on the Billboard 200, and the only single which managed to chart on the Hot 100 was "I Really Like You." Carly Rae Jepsen released "I Really Like You" back in March with a heavily-publicized music video featuring appearances from Tom Hanks and Justin Bieber. Despite performing the song on Good Morning America, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Saturday Night Live, Dancing With The Stars, and the Ellen Show, it only achieved a peak of #39, becoming her third top 40 hit after "Call Me Maybe" and "Good Time" with Owl City charted at #1 and #8 respectively. Carly performed her next single "Run Away With You" on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and The Today Show to coincide with the August release of her album in the US, but the song failed to chart on the Hot 100.
Tori Kelly
Last on our list is singer and songwriter Tori Kelly. Tori Kelly released "Nobody Love" as the lead single from her debut album "Unbreakable Smile" in February, but the song only managed to peak at #60 on the Hot 100. Tori Kelly's next single, "Should've Been Us," fared a little better, peaking at #51. Preceded by two flop singles, Tori's album debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200, and she even performed at the Billboard Music Awards and the MTV Video Music Awards. What's even more baffling is that Tori Kelly performed at the MTV Europe Music Awards with Andrea Bocelli despite having no charting songs in Europe. Her album peaked at #110 on the Belgian Albums chart, #75 on the Dutch Albums chart, #94 on the Irish Albums chart, #52 on the Scottish Albums chart, and #32 in the UK. Tori Kelly just released the single "Hollow," which will be the lead single from the upcoming re-release of her album.
Jem And The Holograms
Did you get a chance to see the Scooter Braun co-produced film "Jem And The Holograms?" Probably not, since Universal pulled it out of theaters two weeks after it premiered, a move unheard of for a film in wide release. The film is reported to have had the worst wide release opening of 2015 with $1.4 million, and the fourth worst opening ever. The $5 million-film only made $2.8 million during its very limited run.
Sources: 12345678