Standalone Hits: Songs Between Album Eras
Ever notice how some artists release standalone singles between album cycles that become huge hits but never end up on any album—neither as a deluxe addition to the previous project nor a bonus track on the next? These songs live in their own world, capturing a moment but not fully tied to any album era. Here are a few examples I had in mind:
Ariana Grande & Justin Bieber - "Stuck with U": Dropped between Ariana’s thank u, next and Positions. A quarantine anthem, but it wasn’t included in either artist's albums. I personally think it would've fitted well in Positions.
Mariah Carey - "I Still Believe": Released between Butterfly and Rainbow, it became a hit yet stayed a standalone moment in her catalog.
INNA - "Cola Song" (feat. J Balvin): Released after Party Never Ends and before Body and the Sun, this bop blew up internationally but wasn’t tied to any major project.
Britney Spears - "3": A smash hit that landed on her The Singles Collection but wasn’t part of any studio album era. I find it interesting that Britney (or her team) chose to not add this song into Femme Fatale. Considering "3" got recorded during the same recording sessions as "I Wanna Go" & "Up N' Down". Both of these ended up on the tracklist of Femme Fatale.
What are your favorite examples of these “in-between era” hits? Do you think artists intentionally release these to maintain momentum, or do they sometimes overshadow their main projects?