History AmericansHateTingle / Music

* Music/{{Kent}} are wildly successful in their native Sweden, but not known that much elsewhere outside of Europe. They attempted to break into the American market with English versions of ''Isola'' and ''Hagnesta Hill'', but these sadly failed to bring them any attention and the band returned to their native language for the rest of their career.

** A particular genre that’s had a lousy time getting traction outside of Japan and South Korea is “Kawaii Metal,” which is a blend of JapanesePopMusic or KoreanPopMusic with HeavyMetal elements. Think Music/BabyMetal, Music/{{Dreamcatcher}}, and Broken By The Scream. In addition to the aforementioned issues, the pop elements of the music are a turn off to metal heads, and the metal elements are off putting to non-metal listeners. Not helping is many artists playing the style having to come after [=BABYMetal=]’s international success, [[ToughActToFollow and being compared unfavorably to them.]] The only band besides [=BABYMetal=] to have any sort of international interest is Hanabie, who went viral on Website/TikTok and Website/YouTube with their song “Osaki ni Shitsureishimasu/Pardon Me, I Have To Go Now.”

** He is not well-liked amongst American and European rhythm game communities either due to his outspoken interest in shotacon fiction and art (which is a far more touchy subject in the West than in East Asia), including making an album called ''Shota Paradise''. That said, the backlash isn't as strong as it is with Chinese gamers, and one American-produced rhythm game, ''VideoGame/{{NOISZ}}'', does feature his songs.

** He is absolutely hated in mainland China due to the song "Telegraph : 1344 7609 2575", [[https://www.reddit.com/r/Cytus/comments/htb6ar/ice_left_rayark_after_chinese_players_found_morse/ which was discovered to contain a "free Hong Kong" message in Morse Code]][[note]]The politics around Hong Kong's status with China are extremely messy, especially due to the Chinese government attempting to exert more and more control over Hong Kong in spite of the "one country, two systems" promise made as part of the 1997 handoff of Hong Kong from the UK to China; China was supposed to allow Hong Kong to maintain its existing systems for 50 years (until 2047)[[/note]], and "Hong Kong should secede from China" is regarded by mainland Chinese folks as an extremely toxic opinion. Despite the song not being made for any rhythm game, the damage was enough that [[RoleEndingMisdemeanor Ice resigned from Rayark]], and some of his songs were removed from the Chinese version of ''VideoGame/CytusII'', making him literally BannedInChina. This opinion is generally not shared by the rest of the Asian rhythm game community, where he and his music are positively-received.

** He is not well-liked amongst American and European rhythm game communities either due to his outspoken interest in shotacon fiction and art (which is a far more touchy subject in the West than in East Asia), including making an album called ''Shota Paradise''.

** He is not well-liked amongst American and European rhythm game communities either (but not to the same extent as in China) due to his outspoken interest in shotacon fiction and art (which is a far more touchy subject in the West than in East Asia), including making an album called ''Shota Paradise''.

** He is absolutely hated in mainland China due to the song "Telegraph : 1344 7609 2575", [[https://www.reddit.com/r/Cytus/comments/htb6ar/ice_left_rayark_after_chinese_players_found_morse/ which was discovered to contain a "free Hong Kong" message in Morse Code]][[note]]The politics around Hong Kong's status with China are extremely messy, especially due to the Chinese government attempting to exert more and more control over Hong Kong in spite of the "one country, two systems" promise made as part of the 1997 handoff of Hong Kong from the UK to China; China was supposed to allow Hong Kong to maintain its existing systems for 50 years (until 2047)[[/note]], and "Hong Kong should secede from China" is regarded by mainland Chinese folks as an extremely toxic opinion. Despite the song not being made for any rhythm game, the damage was enough that Ice resigned from Rayark, and some of his songs were removed from the Chinese version of ''VideoGame/CytusII'', making him literally BannedInChina. This opinion is generally not shared by the rest of the Asian rhythm game community, where he and his music are positively-received.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/c/IceOfficialChannel Ice]] (a.k.a. Iceloki), a Hongkonger in Taiwan who was employed with Rayark (of ''VideoGame/{{Cytus}}'' fame) and made songs for them and some other {{Rhythm Game}}s, is absolutely hated in mainland China due to the song "Telegraph : 1344 7609 2575", [[https://www.reddit.com/r/Cytus/comments/htb6ar/ice_left_rayark_after_chinese_players_found_morse/ which was discovered to contain a "free Hong Kong" message in Morse Code]][[note]]The politics around Hong Kong's status with China are extremely messy, especially due to the Chinese government attempting to exert more and more control over Hong Kong in spite of the "one country, two systems" promise made as part of the 1997 handoff of Hong Kong from the UK to China; China was supposed to allow Hong Kong to maintain its existing systems for 50 years (until 2047)[[/note]], and "Hong Kong should secede from China" is regarded by mainland Chinese folks as an extremely toxic opinion. Despite the song not being made for any rhythm game, the damage was enough that Ice resigned from Rayark, and some of his songs were removed from the Chinese version of ''VideoGame/CytusII'', making him literally BannedInChina. This opinion is generally not shared by the rest of the global rhythm game community, where he and his music are positively-received.

* Ice, a Hongkonger-Taiwanese RhythmGame-focused musician:
** He is not well-liked amongst American and European rhythm game communities due to his outspoken interest in shotacon fiction and art (which is a far more touchy subject in the West than in East Asia), including making an album called ''Shota Paradise''.
** He's outright hated in and {{banned|InChina}} in mainland China, ever since he published a song with a "Free Hong Kong" message in Morse code. The backlash caused his songs to be pulled from the Chinese builds of ''VideoGame/CytusII'' and ''VideoGame/{{maimai}}'' and him to [[RoleEndingMisdemeanor resign]] from Creator/RayarkGames to [[TakingTheHeat take the heat off of them]].

** He is not well-liked amongst American and European rhythm game communities due to his outspoken interest in shotacon fiction and art, including making an album called ''Shota Paradise''.

** He's outright hated in and {{banned|InChina}} in mainland China, ever since he published a song with a "Free Hong Kong" message in Morse code. The backlash caused his songs to be pulled from the Chinese builds of ''VideoGame/CytusII'' and ''VideoGame/{{maimai}}''.

** He's outright hated in and {{banned|InChina}} in mainland China, ever since he published a song with a "Free Hong Kong" message in Morse code.

* Although GlamRock bands had a lot of success in their native UK, the genre struggled in America, for a variety of reasons (many Americans just found their looks much too effeminate, while their rock sound was a bit too heavy for mainstream Top 40 radio, but considered a bit lightweight by album rock fans). [[Music/MarcBolan T.Rex]] managed to have a hit with "Bang a Gong (Get it On)", and Music/DavidBowie and Music/RoxyMusic also had a couple of hits in the US later in TheSeventies (and even then that only happened once they shifted away from glam rock, though Roxy Music started to garner commercial attention in America during the tail end of their glam rock phase), and Music/{{Sweet}} had a few big hits (though they'd evolved into proto-HairMetal by that time). Americans at the time generally preferred more macho British hard rock acts like Music/LedZeppelin, Music/DeepPurple, Music/BlackSabbath, and Music/TheWho. Glam had a following on the East Coast, particularly New York City, as reflected by native artists like Music/LouReed, the Music/NewYorkDolls, and Wayne (later Jayne) County, plus cult followings of the British artists. It didn't get much traction out West, although Los Angeles did produce Music/{{Sparks}}. The American bands naturally [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff were much more popular in Europe]]. Music/{{Queen|Band}} managed to break through on the strength of their hard rock sound to massive success in America. San Francisco's The Tubes had glam tendencies but were too late and too out-of-the-loop to capitalize. The movement did serve as an inspiration for HairMetal.

* MAGIC!. In their native Canada, they're consistent hit-makers who aren't going away anytime soon. Everywhere else? Their song "Rude" has become one of the biggest examples of a OneHitWonder in TheNewTens, with none of their other songs even scraping the bottom of any American chart. Ironically, "Rude" itself was actually bigger internationally than it was back home.

* Extending from the above, in the United States, {{Ambient}} music artists such as Music/TangerineDream, Music/JeanMichelJarre, and Jan Hammer are frequently known only for their contribution to TV and movie soundtracks during TheEighties. In Europe, these artists are recognized for regular studio album releases and productions as well as concert performances, along with influencing several different genres and artists. Americans often associate the style of these ambient artists with NewAge or "Space Music"; both are terms that occasionally have derogatory connotations, especially among the mainstream audience. ProgressiveRock, such as Music/{{Yes}}, has a similar reputation in the States and one stereotype seems to be that it does not appeal to girls. There may be an element of truth to this conception as Prog Rock focuses on the music instead of the artists' stage presence or charisma, while in America, a performer's swagger is part of the attraction and female groupies are part of the culture. Prog Rock bands, in comparison, generally maintain low key personas both on and offstage and are not known for freewheeling lifestyles. Also, along with extended instrumental segments, Prog Rock lyrics are more abstract, cerebral, and conceptual. Americans perceive Prog Rock and Ambient music as taking themselves too seriously and appealing more to introverts. Another reason is yet another cultural difference between the U.S. and Europe. At the time, musicians' unions enforced restrictions on "needle time," or the amount of records they could play on public stations like those of Creator/TheBBC at a time when governments operated them as monopolies on broadcasting, making clubs the place to hear new music. U.S. commercial rock radio stations had no such restrictions and a different pattern emerged: fans would buy records and go to shows based on what they heard on the radio. With FM stations transitioning from freeform into tightly-formatted "album-oriented rock" stations over the course of the '70s, there was less tolerance among radio programmers for experimental music. This made prog's base of support the U.K. and continental Europe rather than the U.S. For these reasons, the more popular prog acts in the States like Music/PinkFloyd, Music/{{Yes}} and Music/RushBand, had a more conventional rock element to their sound.

* German {{Europop}}/disco/reggae act Music/BoneyM [[note]]yes, there's officially a period after the M[[/note]] ranks as the one of the biggest selling acts all-time worldwide, with over 150 million albums sold. They were big in Britain even at their peak in TheSeventies, with nine consecutive Top 10 hits. In America, they had just one Top 40 hit, "Rivers of Babylon", which peaked at #30. This actually played a role in the scandal involving Boney M. mastermind Frank Farian's next big project: Music/MilliVanilli. People in Europe were already familiar with Farian's Boney M. methodology of recording studio tracks and then having a "group" lip-sync the songs live, but Americans weren't.

* The quirky GenreRoulette-laden PowerPop stylings of Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich made them a reliable favorite in their native UK in TheSixties, scoring eight Top 10 UK hits in the 1966-68 period, with much of that success translating well to the rest of Europe, especially Germany. But they had trouble in other countries that were usually receptive to British acts at the time. They only managed two Top 10s in Australia (while on the other side of the Tasman Sea they were huge in New Zealand). In the US their only ''Billboard'' Hot 100 hit was "Zabadak!", which stalled at #52. In Canada they were a TwoHitWonder, with "Zabadak!" reaching #1 and "The Legend of Xanadu" (their biggest UK hit) peaking at #10, while most of their other singles flopped.

* Music/TheMove was beloved in the UK, notching seven Top 10 hits, but never developed much beyond a cult following in America, with "Do Ya" (which in the UK was just the BSide of "California Man") being their only single to chart in ''Billboard'', peaking at a mere #93. Which made Music/ElectricLightOrchestra becoming [[MorePopularSpinoff a reliable FM rock]] favorite [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff in the US a genuine surprise]]. Even more surprising: ELO's version "Do Ya" became a hit in 1977, reaching #24 on the ''Billboard'' charts.

* Music/{{Kent}} are wildly successful in their native Sweden, but not known that much elsewhere outside of Europe. They attempted to break into the American market with English versions of ''Isola'' and ''Hagnesta Hill'', but these sadly failed to bring them any attention and the band returned to their native langauge for the rest of their career.

* Music/Maroon5 was a [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff phenomenon in Chile]] for many years and they were loved in past concerts there and having a massive fandom. That, until 2020 version of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viña_del_Mar_International_Song_Festival Viña del Mar International Song Festival]], one of the biggest Latin American music festivals of the world, where they were invited as the only Anglo band. Their poor performance and a reluctant Adam Levine, who also threw up shitty comments after the show, were object of a big polemic [[https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-51675873 even covered by BBC]]. Since then, and despite the apologies Levine gave ([[LateToTheTragedy various weeks]]) after the show, all that fandom was gone and now the band is ''completely'' hated in Chile, at the point every certain time Adam's been trolled in Twitter by Chileans. Even more, when Americans ask questions about countries, one of the most seen in Google is "[[https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/questions-americans-ask-about-other-countries Why does Chile hate Maroon 5?]]"

* Even though if you're a fan of the national anthem of Algeria, it's wise not to play it in France because of its link with the algerian independence war and its anti-french content: the fact that one of its verses has been brought back, during june 2023, doesn't help at all as this has caused an outrage in France.

* Songs sung in languages other than English are a tough sell in the US. Even singing in English with a recognizable accent, such as Music/{{ABBA}}, is enough to get a backlash. British acts tend to sing in an American accent (though plenty of UK-based singers do this naturally without any thought of making it across UsefulNotes/ThePond). There is some room for novelty hits, such as Music/{{PSY}}'s "Music/GangnamStyle". It wasn't until Music/{{Rammstein}} finally cracking the code. The occasional exception to this is Spanish-language acts due to the USA's sizable Hispanic population. English-language media, however, [[PopCultureIsolation prefers to ignore it if they can]]. Every once in a while, though, a Spanish-language song – often from Puerto Rico but sometimes from Mexico or a Hispanophone enclave within the States – will become an unexpected crossover hit. A good example is Los del Rio's OneHitWonder "Macarena", the only Spanish language song to hit #1 in the US mainstream charts - until 2017 when "Despacito" took over, and the success of that song may well be due to Music/JustinBieber collaborating on a partially English version. Plus, both of its artists, Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee, are also from Puerto Rico, which the song mentions half a dozen times.

* The pop band Moranbong Bang is widely popular in North Korea (if not for rather nefarious reasons), while in South Korea, their music is banned, due to propaganda.

* Songs sung in languages other than English are a tough sell in the US. Even singing in English with a recognizable accent, such as Music/{{ABBA}}, is enough to get a backlash. British acts tend to sing in an American accent (though plenty of UK-based singers do this naturally without any thought of making it across UsefulNotes/ThePond). There is some room for novelty hits, such as Music/{{PSY}}'s "Music/GangnamStyle". The occasional exception to this is Spanish-language acts due to the USA's sizable Hispanic population. English-language media, however, [[PopCultureIsolation prefers to ignore it if they can]]. Every once in a while, though, a Spanish-language song – often from Puerto Rico but sometimes from Mexico or a Hispanophone enclave within the States – will become an unexpected crossover hit. A good example is Los del Rio's OneHitWonder "Macarena", the only Spanish language song to hit #1 in the US mainstream charts - until 2017 when "Despacito" took over, and the success of that song may well be due to Music/JustinBieber collaborating on a partially English version. Plus, both of its artists, Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee, are also from Puerto Rico, which the song mentions half a dozen times.

Much of this divide has to do with the different ways the US and UK punk scenes developed. Bands on both sides of UsefulNotes/ThePond drew influences from the same bands -- the big American {{protopunk}} acts (Music/TheStooges, Music/VelvetUnderground, Music/NewYorkDolls, Music/MC5, The Dictators, etc.) were widely respected in both the US and the UK, while Music/TheRamones, an American band and firm believers in ThreeChordsAndTheTruth, played a major role in [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff launching the British scene]]. Despite their shared inspirations, however, American and British punks came from [[SlobsVersusSnobs very different backgrounds]]. The American scene was more [[BourgeoisBohemian artsy, middle-class, and bohemian]], the '70s version of {{hipster}}s, while the British scene was predominantly working-class. The breaking point between the American and British punk scenes was when [[Music/JohnLydon Johnny Rotten]] openly mocked Music/PattiSmith's 1976 performance in London as pretentious, a feeling that Smith reciprocated by claiming that the Sex Pistols had no talent. (By contrast, the more equally working class but more sophisticated Music/TheClash managed to score hits across the Pond.) Despite the development of punk scenes across the country and the cult followings of British punk bands, punk never had the same impact on American culture that it did in the U.K. It would have to wait until the rise of {{Grunge}} in the '90s to do that.

* Even though if you're a fan of the national anthem of Algeria, it's wise not to play it in France because of its link with the algerian independence war and its anti-french content: the fact that one of its verses has been brought back doesn't help at all as this has caused an outrage in France.

* Even though if you're a fan of the national anthem of Algeria, it's wise not to play it in France because of its link with the algerian independence war and its anti-french content: [[https://newsinfrance.com/the-day-has-come-when-you-have-to-be-accountable-algeria-reintroduces-an-anti-france-verse-in-its-anthem/ the fact that one of its verses has been brought back doesn't help at all as this has caused controversies in France.]]

This dissonance may be explained by how, while Europe remained friendly to pop through the early 1990s (the years when Minogue's career was just starting to take off), the US flat-out revolted against it during the same time period. When she first hit the scene in 1987, Minogue was merely a manufactured bubblegum pop artist in a market over-saturated with such. With ''Rhythm of Love'' in 1990 and ''Let's Get to It'' in 1991, she took creative control of her career and image, broke from the Stock Aitken Waterman team, and redeemed herself as a mature, credible artist while most of her peers fell into obscurity. However, ''Rhythm of Love'' suffered the worst possible timing: it was released on November 12, 1990, just two days before Music/MilliVanilli's manager/producer Frank Farian admitted that the duo never sang the music on their records. This created a ''huge'' backlash against bubblegum pop in America that fueled the rise of {{Grunge}}, HipHop, RAndB, and adult alternative, and killed the careers of just about every American pop artist who wasn't playing a more R&B-inflected sound like Music/MariahCarey or Michael and Music/JanetJackson (save for the "Queen of Pop" Madonna, and even she went through an AudienceAlienatingEra around this time). By the time the backlash subsided in the late '90s, Minogue's {{disco}} and SynthPop-flavored style had diverged far from the new wave of American pop, which was influenced by R&B and soft rock. Even after the internet exposed Minogue to a wider American audience, she's still seen as more of a niche artist popular among [[LGBTFanbase gay men]] rather than an international juggernaut. After "Can't Get You Out of My Head," it took '''21 years''' for Minogue to have another major hit in the US with 2023's "Padam Padam."

* In the United States (but nowhere else), purely [[{{Instrumentals}} instrumental music]] has not been popular in the mainstream since the '70s. From the '80s to the '90s, the vast majority of instrumentals that cracked the Top 20 have been theme songs to movies and TV shows, such as "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNqumMYBhX4 Axel F.]]" (aka the ''Film/BeverlyHillsCop'' theme). The only exceptions are a few {{one hit wonder}}s and Music/KennyG, who performed the last instrumental to be a major hit in the US: a rendition of "Auld Lang Syne" (aka "The New Year's Song") released in December 1999. But even that included audio clips of major events from the 20th century, meaning the song relied on more than just the instruments to be successful. A lot of this can be chalked up to the intertwined rise of the music video, which lends itself better to songs with lyrics, and the fragmentation of American radio into different genres. In the days when Top 40 radio was dominant and more eclectic, it was easier for an instrumental get exposure. Another element may well be the rise of synthesizers in pop music, which aren't vehicles for virtuoso performance and melody hooks in the same way traditional instruments are. And, in general, modern American music fans seem more into lyrical content, regardless of subject matter.

This dissonance may be explained by how, while Europe remained friendly to pop through the early 1990s (the years when Minogue's career was just starting to take off), the US flat-out revolted against it during the same time period. When she first hit the scene in 1987, Minogue was merely a manufactured bubblegum pop artist in a market over-saturated with such. With ''Rhythm of Love'' in 1990 and ''Let's Get to It'' in 1991, she took creative control of her career and image, broke from the Stock Aitken Waterman team, and redeemed herself as a mature, credible artist while most of her peers fell into obscurity. However, ''Rhythm of Love'' suffered the worst possible timing: it was released on November 12, 1990, just two days before Music/MilliVanilli's manager/producer Frank Farian admitted that the duo never sang the music on their records. This created a ''huge'' backlash against bubblegum pop in America that fueled the rise of {{Grunge}}, HipHop, RAndB, and adult alternative, and killed the careers of just about every American pop artist who wasn't playing a more R&B-inflected sound like Music/MariahCarey or Michael and Music/JanetJackson (save for the "Queen of Pop" Madonna, and even she went through an AudienceAlienatingEra around this time). By the time the backlash subsided in the late '90s, Minogue's {{disco}} and SynthPop-flavored style had diverged far from the new wave of American pop, which was influenced by R&B and hip-hop. Even after the internet exposed Minogue to a wider American audience, she's still seen as more of a niche artist popular among [[LGBTFanbase gay men]] rather than an international juggernaut. She's probably better known for her roles in SoBadItsGood films like ''Film/StreetFighter'', ''Film/BioDome'', and ''[[WesternAnimation/TheMagicRoundabout2005 Doogal]]'' than she is for singing among Americans.

* A specific song example would be 2002's "The Ketchup Song (Asereje)" from the Spanish pop trio Las Ketchup. The song's [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ketchup_Song_(Aserej%C3%A9)#Charts chart performance on Wikipedia]] says it all, a nearly unbroken string of #1's across nearly two dozen countries (and a top 10 standing in Croatia,) until you reach ''Billboard'''s Hot 100 in the United States, where it fizzled out at #54, despite being released in the middle of a TurnOfTheMillennium "Latin Boom" in American culture when audiences were particularly receptive to Spanish-language music (Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, and Shakira all had their big breakthroughs into the American music around this time.) Theories for why this happened vary, ranging from the US simply not yet letting go of the previous "song with accompanying dance routine" fad in the Macarena to (no joke) MoralGuardians trying to claim the songs lyrics encouraged blasphemy [[note]]Their logic being that the opening line of the chorus, "Asereje..." could be translated to "a ser hereje..." or "to be heretical." According to Las Ketchup themselves, the lyrics are a Spanglish transliteration of the opening lines of The Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" (with "Asereje..." being the opening "I said a hip-hop...") and are effectively gibberish.[[/note]] However, the most likely culprit could simply be HypeBacklash. Commericals promoting the single had a scrolling list of the aforementioned previous countries where it had already reached #1, implying it was inevitable it would eventually top the US charts as well, and Americans... long known to be something of a stubborn group that don't really take to being told what to do... might have simply revolted against the song out of spite.

* A specific song example would be 2002's "The Ketchup Song (Asereje)" from the Spanish pop trio Las Ketchup. The song's [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ketchup_Song_(Aserej%C3%A9)#Charts chart performance on Wikipedia]] says it all, a nearly unbroken string of #1's across nearly two dozen countries (and a top 10 standing in Croatia,) until you reach ''Billboard'''s Hot 100 in the United States, where it fizzled out at #54, despite being released in the middle of a TurnOfTheMillennium "Latin Boom" in American culture when audiences were particularly receptive to Spanish-language music (Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, and Shakira all had their big breaks in music around this time.) Theories for why this happened vary, ranging from the US simply not yet letting go of the previous "song with accompanying dance routine" fad in the Macarena to (no joke) MoralGuardians trying to claim the songs lyrics encouraged blasphemy [[note]]Their logic being that the opening line of the chorus, "Asereje..." could be translated to "a ser hereje..." or "to be heretical." According to Las Ketchup themselves, the lyrics are a Spanglish transliteration of the opening lines of The Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" (with "Asereje..." being the opening "I said a hip-hop...") and are effectively gibberish.[[/note]] However, the most likely culprit could simply be HypeBacklash. Commericals promoting the single had a scrolling list of the aforementioned previous countries where it had already reached #1, implying it was inevitable it would eventually top the US charts as well, and Americans... long known to be something of a stubborn group that don't really take to being told what to do... might have simply revolted against the song out of spite.

* One British boy band that warrants particular mention is Blue. In 2001, they traveled to New York City to film a music video just in time to witness the September 11th terrorist attacks. A month later, the boys were interviewed by a British newspaper and bandmember Lee Ryan was quoted saying that the "New York thing" was being blown out of proportion and that the world should focus on other matters. To the other members' credit, they ''tried'' getting him to shut up, but the damage was done, and the group faced considerable backlash that led to them losing their distribution deal in the US, blowing to hell what little chance they had of being successful stateside.