Brits who flopped in America

Little Mix

Robbie Williams

All Saints

Atomic Kitten

Suede

Elizabeth Hurley The spice girls as solo artists Jarvis cocker Sienna miller Lily Allen The streets

La Roux

Girls Aloud/Cheryl

James Corden

These threads are always just "here are some British artists I've heard of".

Steps

Most of them fail.

R11 Most of them don't even try.

Emily Lloyd

Brits who didn't. The Beatles and like 80 percent of all the rock and roll we still listen to. David Frost. Ricky Gervais.

Robbie Williams is not a good barometer to use here.

Jamie Cullum

Prince Harry

Michelle Ryan.

Who?

EastEnders alum who was cast as the lead of NBC's 2007 Bionic Woman remake, only to be upstaged by Katee Sackhoff (as the leader of the fembots) and bomb out after eight episodes.

She's terrible. That failure was deserved.

I almost was on the plane to America and it was all taken away. Stupid tabs.

Alexa Chung

Jamie Oliver, eventually

[quote]Cheryl

I think we all know the reason for that.

Matt Monro? He was somewhat successful, but certainly never achieved the same level of success he had in the UK, not was he ever as popular as most of his US counterparts.

David Tennant, at least in "Gracepoint" (the US version of "Broadchurch.")

Graham Norton. Usually British humor is too subtle for Americans. In his case, it was too broad.

Tim Vincent.

UK presenter hottie who botched a bunch of US gigs, fell through the cracks of Access Hollywood, and went crawling back to Britain.

Now he's old.

Well, he's making a go of it as we type with his new novel, [italic]Frankie[/italic]. We'll see if he flops again.

Graham Norton hasn't really flopped in the US. He's mostly known to a small audience that watches BBC and he has made the rounds of the major late night talk shows. He also managed to book Obama as a guest. I'm not a big fan of his standup on his show, but he's a great host and understands how to make things work with having a group of guests.

r25 No British humor is just dumb.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor, sadly.

King George III

Isn’t Kylie Minogue essentially the blueprint for this? Globally, she’s on a level comparable to Madonna, yet in the states, she’s only gained significant traction in recent years thanks to the viral success of Padam Padam.

R14 The Rolling Stones are right behind The Beatles. I actually listen to The Stones now more than The Beatles. Let It Loose is probably my favorite song of theirs.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor, who I've been there for the entirety of the 21st century, who I have subjected every boyfriend to massive amounts of during said time, splits this with The Sugababes, as my Brits that shoulda clicked better here standard answers are trotted out for yet another variation of this question.

Kosheen were pretty big in the early 2000s but practically unheard of in America.

Steve Coogan

Shirley Bassey

S Club 7 and Steps released albums in the US, to dismal results.

Rita Ora

Tom Hardy

Music is kind of an exception. Almost all hit British music acts flop in America.

R34 Sugababes are probably my favorite modern girl group of all time but I can see how their sound wouldn’t have translated in the US. There’s something so intrinsically British about them. I don’t think they even tried.

R41 Umm hello. Adele, Ed Sheeran, Elton John

Jess Glynne is big in the UK and a virtual unknown here.

The British have an appreciation for female popstars that we seem to lack. They willed Diane’s Chain Reaction into a #1 hit long after the US had abandoned her. They also kept Belinda Carlisle’s lights on for a decade plus. She still tours all over Europe but doesn’t play shows here.

R45 I think it’s just cause we have so many of our own. If you truly think about it most of the Brit artists who breakthrough in America are kinda of like traditionally talented musicians. Play an instrument, singer songwriters or can sing like Whitney

Diana "Swinging" Dors

The British Troops.

Lowkey Madonna post 1999.

R19: Tulsa, tell me about your nightclub act.

I prefer Dallas.

Did Cheryl's fanny stink?

Harry Windsor

Oasis

All the One Direction soloists except for Harry Styles

I[QUOTE] Isn't Kylie Minogue the blueprint for this?

This thread is about Brits. She is Australian.

Duffy. Mercy was a huge hit everywhere except America (it flopped in Canada and Australia, too).

I guess they thought she would be big over here, like Amy Winehouse and Adele, but it never happened.

I feel like Mercy is one of those songs that was a hit in the states but didn’t chart high. It’s hard to explain.

Kate Bush

[quote]Isn’t Kylie Minogue essentially the blueprint for this? Globally, she’s on a level comparable to Madonna,

What a ridiculous claim R32! Madonna is the best selling female artist globally of all time and 6th highest selling artist of all time. Minogue isn't even in the top 100 best selling global artists and she is Australian - not British.

the Two Fat Ladies

Easy to say which ones didn't flop.

Coldplay

One Direction

Elton John

U2

Ed Sheeran

Harry Styles

Dua Lipa

Gemma Arterton. Dominic Cooper. Sophia Myles. Jim Sturgess. Romola Garai.

And countless others.......

Not sure if Marianne Faithful was a flop. I liked her voice but she was more famous for being Mick Jagger's woman. Freddy and The Dreamers were just awful. Herman's Hermits weren't much better. The Beatles and The Rolling Stones were talented and enduring.

^^Peter Noone was dreamy.

Blur - at first - when they were very big in Britain during the early albums. And I'd say generally too, but they did gain some traction eventually, but nothing like in Britain.

The first two Gorillaz albums - Damon Albarn's post-Blur project - sold significantly more in the US than any Blur album.

Kate Beckinsale's fucking whack job big bow ass

R55 So pedantic. Like Williams, she’s an example of someone who is wildly successful in the UK who flopped into oblivion in the US.

Billie Piper was considered Britain’s answer to Britney, enjoying several major hits in the UK, though none managed to break through stateside. Today, she’s a highly regarded actress, but like her music career, her success has remained largely centered in England.

I thought of Blur too R65. They hit in the UK the same time as grunge was big in the US as well as a saturated amount of perceived boy bands, so they didn’t really have a niche with their Brit Pop. They were also very UK in their style and themes which just wouldn’t translate. A reverse scenario would be something like let’s say Aerosmith which was too American to ever make it big here in the UK.

R69, I also thought of Def Leppard, only because they were MASSIVE in the US and in their Behind the Music (I think, or similar show), some of the members said that they just didn't translate as well in the UK. Though, given how huge they were, not being as big in the UK doesn't necessarily mean they were flops. That's why I didn't offer then up at first.

Sarah Lancashire, Julie Walters, David Tennant, McFly, Busted, JLS, The Saturdays, Cliff Richards, Martine McCutcheon, Victoria Wood, Craig David

Eternal/Louise

I heard a story about when they tried to break Kate Bush in the US. She had a fear of flying, so had to be sedated to get her on the plane. Then when she had to meet the record company executives, she sat under the boardroom table sucking her thumb. It just makes me love her more.

Kate Bush.

If I’m not mistaken, “Wuthering Heights”, “Running Up That Hill”, “This Woman’s Work” and the Peter Gabriel song were hits in the US.

But she wasn’t that well known as the songs.

She’s more famous in the US now today probably than she ever was.

OMG “This Woman’s Work” never even charted on Billboard. It’s such a famous song. Kevin Bacon’s face is tied to that song.

I’m really surprised.

Rik Mayall

I wonder how Ant & Dec would do in the US. They are the equivalent of Ryan Seacrest but not as processed. Americans seem cool with Brits as judges on their crap tv but probably not as hosts.

Julie Walters has had a pretty terrific career. Emily Lloyd’s career was derailed by crippling mental illness. MTV pushed Jamiroquai pretty heavily in the late 90s but they never caught on. MTV had the darkness glam/metal song “I believe in a thing called love” on heavy rotation around 2004 it was a catchy song but was rejected by American audiences.

Rachel Stevens’s Some Girls deserved to be #1 for ten weeks in the US. Sadly it was not to be.

Mis-Teeq had a minor hit in the US with Scandalous. Unfortunately it was used to promote Catwoman with Halle Berry, and we all know how that turned out. Alesha Dixon went on to have a successful solo career in the UK.

R40 I don't think you can say Tom Hardy flopped. his Venom movies were big hits.

Depeche Mode's another example of a band that did better in the US than in the UK.

I would nominate Rupert Everett. He had a hit in My Best Friend's Wedding in a supporting role but his lead in The Next Best Thing opposite Madonna was a disaster.

Many of the people and acts mentioned here flopped both in the UK and the US. Everett is one of them. He just puts a book out once in a while these days and has an agent who gets him on the interview circuit. He's not doing much otherwise, and has Daddy's money and his sexy Brazilian husband to comfort him.

Kylie did well in the US for three single releases: "Locomotion", "Can't Get You Out of My Head", and "Padam Padam".

Also sad to say that Erasure didn't make it in the US like they did in the UK, despite a strong cult following. The sing "A Little Respect" in stadiums in the UK, which would never happen anywhere in the US.

Rob Kazinsky. I know…who’s he?

R85 I thought of Kazinsky, but figured people would ask. who? .. lol. .. I just remember that when he exited EastEnders, the press seemed to be all over the idea that he was off to conquer America. and he'd soon be a household name in the States. I'm sure there are other British soap actors who exited their shows with the same plan.

Mister Bean

Mr Bean had 2 hit movies made so I dont think you can call that a flop.

Ruby Wax

[quote]Mister Bean

There are two types of British humor: the kind that's funny and the kind that isn't. I would put Mister Bean in the latter camp.

Kylie Minogue (who is not British) has had 14 number one hits on the US Dance (which is to say "Gay") chart - same as Whitney.

The Bay City Rollers

It's too bad America doesn't get the Jane McDonald they deserve.

[quote] Rob Kazinsky. I know…who’s he?

Here he is. (The shaved -headed one)

Has anyone mentioned Joss Stone?

She's gone low-profile in the UK, too.

Also: Duffy is another one like this. When she disappeared, she did globally, and the poor lass has been quite troubled.

[quote]In February 2011, she announced an indefinite hiatus from music. She briefly returned in 2015, appearing in the film Legend and later contributed three songs to its soundtrack. In 2020, Duffy explained her long-term absence from the music industry, saying that she had been recovering after being abducted and raped. According to Duffy's official website, she is currently signed to Polydor Records, which operates under Universal Music Group.

.........

Sindy.

[quote]Cilla Black, Cheryl, Russell Brand, Robbie Williams

Good. They're are all horrible people.

Bringing Cheryl Tweedy to America for the X-Factor - given her accent (to everyone outside the UK - ugly and incomprehensible) and history of beating up a nightclub attendant whilst yelling “you fucking black bitch” - was a choice.

Bay City Rollers did alright. 6 gold albums in the US and a handful of hits including a number one.

I wouldn't necessarily call Cliff Richard's appeal in the US a flop. He did manage 7 Top 40 hits in his career, 3 of them charted in the Top 10. But overall it was underwhelming.

Robbie Williams did surprisingly flop. He had at least 4-5 global hit singles which should have easily made their way to the US charts, and yet did not. Were US DJ's purposely blackballing him?

Paul O'Grady

Michael Parkinson

John Barrowman (in fairness, he's a Brit but grew up in Joliet, Illinois)

Dan Stevens

[Quote]Michael Parkinson

Cunt.

Harry Styles has done really well. Even won Album of the Year at the Grammys

Harry Styles has done really well. Even won Album of the Year at the Grammys

Piers Morgan

James Purefoy

Dan Stevens

Jeremy Northam

It's really hard to equal Hugh Grant's US leading man success, though God knows they keep trying.

Ioan Gruffudd.

[quote] Michael Parkinson

Misogynist.

Benny Hill.

[quote] Were US DJ's purposely blackballing him?

American women didn’t find him attractive, he was not butch enough for American men and his voice wasn’t pretty enough for the Latinos.

Pepsi and Shirley.

Maybe because of the name?

Liz Truss. Didn't she go to all those MAGA events last summer?

Was "The Ego Has Landed" in 1999 Williams's first attempt at North American exposure?

Billy Connolly is a legend in Europe but the attempts to make him a big star in the US didn’t take.

His wife Pamela Stephenson was on SNL for one season as well. She’s now a therapist and has had quite an interesting life post Showbiz.

I think North America is turned off by the accents.

r117 Wow, a rare husband-wife flop.

They live in Key West, apparently.

Michelle Dockery, best know as Lady Mary, on Downton Abbey. She had a TV show on TBS/TNT called Good Behavior that lasted one season. I tried to watch it and it was dreadful! She's been in some other stuff but, I can almost guarantee, most people know her better as Lady Mary.

R120 That's because she has RBF which worked for Lady Mary but not for the rest of her characters.

Anne Robinson when she went to US to host "The Weakest Link".

I think it was bad timing. The US version premiered on April 2001 and after 9/11 I guess what Americans wanted the least to see on TV was a middle aged British lady calling them ignorants for 30 minutes.

Actually, Good Behavior had two seasons and I kind of liked it.

R120 I loved Good Bahviour! She was great in it, even though she had a Drama School General American Accent and made no effort with the regional accent, unlike the rest of the cast.

R37 She didn’t flop in the States. She was selling out venues well into her 80’s. She still performs on occasion.

People get old. Fuck, she’s 88. Her Bond themes were huge.

I want to think that one important reason of why Robbie Williams failed to make it in the US market is because his public image and persona was not going to attain a solid fanbase among young American females, on that era in specific (late 90s, early-mid 2000s).

Back in the day they had Boybands, R&B and even Latin pop artists to fancy for. So, I guess American women from that era were never going to have interest on a weirdo British dude (that looks like he just got released from a mental institution) who strips off his skin, muscles and organs on a music video.

I feel like Feel hit most of the right notes, it’s my favourite of his songs.

I am Australian. The five straight British men I know and talk to regularly all went and dragged their girlfriends to his biopic.

I don’t think his level of Jolie Laide, cheeky chappie, neuroticism works as a straight pop singer for Americans. I think he would get away with it somewhat if he were a rocker or a R&B/soul singer. It’s like he’s too femme for the pop market and too woebegone and lightweight for the gay market.

Ben Chaplin

Rita Ora

Sadly, The Stone Roses (as well as Ian Brown as solo).

"F.E.A.R." is my favorite Ian Brown solo song.

[quote]Billie Piper was considered Britain’s answer to Britney

Put down the crack pipe.

The Little Britain guys.

Harry and by association, Markle.

[QUOTE] It’s like he’s too femme for the pop marke

Harry Styles is more femme than Robbie Williams and he is hugely popular in the US. His last album debuted with 521k sold and he did a 15 night residency at Madison Square Garden as part of his tour.

David Morrissey. Miscast in Basic Instinct 2 even though Sharon picked him. But then she couldn't find an American to star with her. Did 2 seasons of The Walking Dead in a supporting role.

[quote] Harry Styles is more femme than Robbie Williams and he is hugely popular in the US. His last album debuted with 521k sold and he did a 15 night residency at Madison Square Garden as part of his tour.

Apples and Oranges.

One Direction broke out and Harry became the most popular member of the biggest boy band in decades full 16 years after Robbie left Take That and Back For Good limped to number 7 on the Billboard charts.

Those are different worlds.

R112, Benny Hill was HUGE here in the 80s.

S Club 7 was a huge flop in the US. Tried with that shitty TV show too.

138 posts and no one has mentioned Rula Lenska!

[QUOTE] One Direction broke out and Harry became the most popular member of the biggest boy band in decades full 16 years after Robbie left Take That and Back For Good limped to number 7 on the Billboard charts.

1d broke the US because of Harry. As soloists, the other four have either flopped, (Louis and Zayn), had mediocre careers (Niall) or turned into gigantic drug queens and died (Liam).

It's kind sad that very talented pop/rock groups from the 90s and 2000s never managed to fully make it big in America like: The Stone Roses, Pulp, Suede, Travis, James, Blur, Kaiser Chiefs, etc. And yet, as of 2025, we have to deal with those bedwetters of Coldplay with his lead singer whiny voice and their bland, overplayed songs.

Dying King Tampon& Hag Consort

Does Britain have any black popular music artists? Half the people named here I've never heard of. I know Robbie Williams because all the members of Take That were very fuckable. What happened to the rest of them? Square jaws for days.

Sade, Seal, Labrinth, Michael Kiwunuka, RAYE, FKA Twigs, Laura Mvula, Tricky, Corinne Bailey Rae, Emeli Sand, Joan Armatrading.

Lots of key members of bands: Fine Young Cannibals, Prodigy, Skunk Anansie, Morcheeba, Bloc Party, M People.

Stormzy, for instance, I don’t think has a presence in America. But Grime is pretty much over.

R140, again, apples and oranges vis-à-vis Robbie.