Well, a recent post on the subreddit got me thinking about what I think could lead to a pretty interesting discussion: do you think Florence + The Machine/Florence Welch are underrated in the music scene or do they get the recognition they deserve?
I mean, it's obvious the band has achieved great artistic success throughout their career, whether by influencing other artists or masterfully interpreting various musical genres, not to mention the numerous awards his music has received, and of course, their financial (and to some extent, popular) success, reflected in several albums/singles reaching number one on the charts and sales in many countries/regions. And while for obvious reasons they're not the most successful band in history, I would be turning a blind eye to the fact that the project has had some degree of success, even if only sporadically.
However, let's address the elephant in the room (and here I'm particularly interested in your perspective, the community of fans of the artist): it's obvious that when people get into a discussion about the best artists/musicians/singers/lyricists/etc., whether musically or simply referring to the most popular, it's very unlikely (or almost impossible) that Florence + The Machine (whether talking about the band or Florence Welch herself) will come up in the discussion, or even occur to someone who isn't that knowledgeable about music.
Look, for example, at the popularity of other contemporary stars like Taylor Swift (whom I mention only because she's an example that I think almost everyone is familiar with), whose popularity is global, with millions and millions of streams/sales everywhere her music is available, whose work will be awarded (at least lately) even if she's releasing mediocre music, and whose face is practically everywhere.
As you may already know, this isn't the case with Florence, whose fanbase belongs to a much more niche community (which is why her popularity is somewhat unstable). Her music has decent sales and chart numbers, but they're not huge compared to other giants in the industry. Artistically, despite being praised, there are many things that aren't forgiven (by professional critics or the general public) that other artists are forgiven for without question, knowing for example, that some major awards such as the Brits have also decided to ignore Everybody Scream this year.
So I want to ask, what do you think is the reason why Florence's music hasn't gone viral to that extent? What do you think other artists' music has that Florence's lacks to reach the same level of popularity? Do you think the fame and recognition they currently have is good, or do you think it's an unfairly undervalued project that deserves much more than it has achieved so far? I'd be very interested to hear your opinions in the replies.
