History SleeperHit / Music

* '''Music/TallyHall''' did see some minor attention in the mid-2000s, as their song "Good Day" was performed by them on the Late, Late Show with Craig Furgeson, and was featured on an episode of {{Series/TheOC}}, as well as a simlish version being made for {{VideoGame/TheSims2}}. The video for their song "Banana Man" was also decently popular on {{Platform/NewGrounds}} at the time. In general, they received minor airplay on some alternative stations (mostly focused in their home city of Ann Arbor, Michigan) and some notability for their internet show. Then, by the end of the 2010s (years after they had broken up), some of their songs (such as "Turn the Lights On" and "Ruler of Everything") began being used in videos on {{Platform/YouTube}} and {{Platform/TikTok}}. During the pandemic, "Ruler of Everything" become a meme, and the listenership of them increased. In 2023, their songs "Hidden in the Sand" and "The Bidding" were both certified ''Gold'' by the RIAA, and as of 2024, they have over 4.8 million monthly listeners on Spotify.

* '''Music/{{TallyHall}}''' did see some minor attention in the mid-2000s, as their song "Good Day" was performed by them on the Late, Late Show with Craig Furgeson, and was featured on an episode of {{Series/TheOC}}, as well as a simlish version being made for {{VideoGame/TheSims2}}. The video for their song "Banana Man" was also decently popular on {{Platform/NewGrounds}} at the time. In general, they received minor airplay on some alternative stations (mostly focused in their home city of Ann Arbor, Michigan) and some notability for their internet show. Then, by the end of the 2010s (years after they had broken up), some of their songs (such as "Turn the Lights On" and "Ruler of Everything") began being used in videos on {{Platform/YouTube}} and {{Platform/TikTok}}. During the pandemic, "Ruler of Everything" become a meme, and the listenership of them increased. In 2023, their songs "Hidden in the Sand" and "The Bidding" were both certified ''Gold'' by the RIAA, and as of 2024, they have over 4.8 million monthly listeners on Spotify.

* Geffen Records' alternative rock imprint DGC expected that Music/{{Nirvana}}'s '''''Music/{{Nevermind}}''''' would sell about 250,000 units (roughly the same as Music/SonicYouth's ''Music/{{Goo}}'' did for the label) and that after "Smells Like Teen Spirit" built the band some buzz on alternative radio, they could attempt a pop crossover with "Come As You Are". Then the video for "Smells Like Teen Spirit" premiered on ''120 Minutes'' and the rest is history.

* Though Music/NineInchNails debut album, '''''Music/PrettyHateMachine''''', didn't sell at all well at first, it gradually managed to crawl its way up to 75 on the ''Billboard'' chart. This in spite of being a debut album in a genre ({{Industrial}} Music) that had previously had only a handful of relatively minor club hits to its name. The LONG tour and well-received Lollapalooza appearance in 1991 definitely helped- in 1992, it was certified Gold. Almost three years after its release. The next material NIN released (the ''Music/{{Broken}}'' EP in 1992 and ''Music/TheDownwardSpiral'' in 1994) was much more immediately successful, topping the charts very shortly after release.

** "Let It Go" is one that banked on the success of its source film ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen|2013}}'', which is a sleeper hit in itself - see the Animated Film category for the full story. Disney repeated this trick with "We Don't Talk About Bruno" from ''WesternAnimation/{{Encanto}}'', which became the first Disney song to top the Billboard Hot 100 in three decades (something even "Let It Go" couldn't accomplish).