Big songs by big stars that you won't believe weren't bigger hits

Getting to Number 1 is no guarantee a song will be remember for ever, and some of pop's most-loved tracks never even made the Top 10.

You'd think big stars would be assured of a smash every time they release a single, but a 100% hit rate isn't as easy to maintain as you might think. We look back at some huge songs that you'd think would've been, well, y'know… a bit huger.

Mariah Carey – Obsessed

This sassy, confident and sickest of burns was said to be a diss track about none other than Eminem, who had, according to rumours on the celebrity circuit, briefly dated Mimi and had been saying some, erm, less than complimentary things about our favourite elusive chanteuse. Mariah wasn't taking any of this lying down and fired off Obsessed. It may have zinged with the power of 100 lemons, but it had much less bite on the chart – despite going Top 10 in the US, it reached Number 52 here. A travesty.

Madonna – Take A Bow

Madge does like to take a breather every now and again and bang out a ballad, and Take A Bow, off her 1994 album Bedtime Stories, has become a fan favourite. It was her longest reigning Number 1 in the States, but in the UK, everyone was perhaps a bit puzzled that the usually saucy Madonna had gone a bit more squeaky clean. You know how us Brits like thing a bit racy. Sadly, the song took its bow at Number 16 and got no higher.

Beyoncé

Quite a few of Queen B's signature songs haven't quite done as well as you might expect from a global superstar. Given that Bey is prone to slinging out an album without a word of warning, focus on Beyoncé material tends to lean away from the singles. Perhaps one of the most surprising misses of Beyoncé's back catalogue was the banging Why Don't You Love Me, which was an all-new song, is a staple of her tours and, let's face it, the video's incred. Its peak? 51? How could you?

MORE: See all Beyoncé's UK hit singles and albums

Janet Jackson

JJ was riding high after her first Top 10 in 1986 with What Have You Done For Me Lately, yet its follow-up, the empowering, brilliantly aggressive Nasty only grazed the Top 20, stalling at number 19. Another big track of Janet's to do less well than you'd expect was the title track to her 1989 album Rhythm Nation – it only got to 24. "People of the world today, are you looking for a better way of life?" sang Janet. "Not really, no," was the record buying public's reply. (It did very well in the US, though.)

MORE: Janet Jackson's big ones are in her Official Chart archive

Sia – Alive

Coming as the first big release off Sia's This Is Acting album, Alive had plenty of buzz behind it thanks to its backstory of being a reject off Adele's abandoned third album. While it was a radio fave, ad even got an X Factor performance from the lady herself, its peak was Number 30.

MORE: Check out all Sia's big hits in the UK

Michael Bublé – Cry Me A River

The Canadian crooner is known more for him album successes than slaying on the Official Singles Chart but his dramatic reworking of Cry me A River – not the Justin Timberlake song FYI – has become one of his signature tracks. He even performed it on The X Factor, but despite its high profile, Michael's cover reached just Number 39.

Take That – I Found Heaven

Robbie made his debut on lead vocals in 1992 and what happens? Take That miss the Top 20. We bet Gary had something to say about that. I Found Heaven stalled at 15, but Robbie soon redeemed himself. Hos next stint on lead vocals, on the band's cover of Could It Be Magic, gave the band their first Top 3.

MORE: Take That's full archive of UK hit singles and albums

Christina Aguilera – Candyman

He had cherries popping all over the place and doing unspeakable things to Christina's undergarments, yet the Candyman didn't manage to charm his way into the Top 10, landing instead at Number 17. It's remained a favourite thanks to its vintage feel, and featured in The X Factor when it was performed by Alexandra Burke, who'd go on to win the 2008 series, and then in an audition in 2012, when teen Curtis Golden gave a very stripped back version.

Britney Spears – Till The World Ends

The follow-up to Britney's big dance banger/dubstep reinvention Hold It Against Me, which had gone Top 10, hopes were high for Till The World Ends. Because record companies were still experimenting with putting songs on sale as soon as they were played to the public and sent to radio, some punters didn't realise it was available and so it stalled at 22. Not the end of the world, thankfully – there were plenty of hits to come.

Lady Gaga – LoveGame

Beats that are sick, disco sticks – what's not to love about this little number from Gaga's first album The Fame? Sadly, everyone was still a bit preoccupied with the three Top 5s that came before it, so LoveGame was stretchered off at Number 15. And it took its ball home with it – the next single was an all-new track that did end up being a bit more famous, to be fair. (It was Bad Romance.)

MORE: Lady Gaga's huge hits in her Official Chart archive

Justin Timberlake – Senorita

It certainly did "feel like something's heating up" with this track from JT's solo debut Justified. However, the UK actually turned down the heat a notch, and while his previous singles all went to Number 2, Senorita landed at Number 13. Unlucky for some. But mainly Justin.

Kanye – All Of The Lights

One of Kanye's more popular battlecries, boasting some big VIP guests in Drake and Rihanna and yet, somehow, the velvet rope to the Top 10 did not fall to one side for All of The Lights. it had to settle for Number 15, staying there for two weeks.

MORE: Shine a light on Kanye's hit singles and albums

Taylor Swift – Style

She had that red lip classic thing we liked, but somehow, inexplicably, unbelievably, this solid gold banger from 1989 did not come up with the Top 20 goods for Tay-Tay. Why? Well, quite a few people had already got their hands on the song thanks to 1989's success, plus Blank Space was still hogging the radio. Also, the video… well. The most interesting thing about it was that the hunky model cast as Taylor's love interest had heterochromia.

Katy Perry – Unconditionally

Coming off the back of the Number 1 and million-seller Roar, ballad Unconditionally was supposed to be Katy Perry's Someone Like You moment. As lovely a song as it was, once the public – and it really is all about them, let's be real –got wind of trippy trap track Dark Horse, that's the one they wanted. Unconditionally got left out in the cold, hitting 25.

MORE: See all Katy Perry's hits

Rihanna – Bitch Better Have My Money

A non-album single! A mega-expensive video dripping in controversy! Rihanna looking 💯 on the artwork! A fanbase crying out for new RiRi material! All present and correct, but maybe BBHMM was a little too salty for the Brits, or perhaps its surprise release caught everyone unawares, but it stalled at Number 27. This is why we can't have nice things.

Carly Rae Jepsen – Run Away With Me

It may have inspired a million memes, but Jeppo's second single from E.MO.TION struggled to find a place in the Top 40. A song everybody knows, yes, but it only peaked at Number 50. Is there no justice in the world? No. There is none.