Sophomore slump

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A sophomore slump or sophomore jinx refers to an instance in which a second, or sophomore, effort fails to live up to the standards of the first effort. It is commonly used to refer to the apathy of students (second year of college or university) the performance of athletes (second season of play), bands (sophomore album), television shows (second seasons) and movies (sequels/prequels).

Causes

There are many factors that can contribute to the sophomore slump, including:

• The second album syndrome: A band may craft their first album over a period of years by writing dozens of songs, trying them out before audiences, and choosing the ten most crowd-pleasing songs to record once they get a contract; once this album is successful, however, the record company will demand that the next album be completed in about a year, giving little opportunity to play the material for an audience—and the band may record songs that wouldn't have made the cut for their first album. Alternatively, bands committed to the integrity of their work may take many years to complete the second album, losing fans in the interim.
• A musician's record label may wish to capitalize on the success of hit songs from the first album by forcing the band to produce superficially similar-sounding material for the second. If the band does not comply, the label may threaten to refuse the band's first attempt at a second album. This stifles the band's artistic growth, and fans eager for new material may find the familiar-sounding second album disappointing. A notable example was the mega-hit band Boston, who were rushed to complete a 2nd, less successful and less critically acclaimed album after their auspicious first.
• Regression toward the mean: Even though the first result was remarkable, it may have been attained in part through sheer luck. Future results may be less impressive, simply because they are likely to be close to average. This is often cited as the reason why many Rookie of the Year athletes go on to have subsequently unremarkable careers.
• Second-system effect in computing, a tendency to "upgrade" a compact system into one burdened with too many needless features
• When a particular aspect of a television show or movie is well received, producers often overemphasize that aspect in the second season or sequel and cut back on supporting aspects that bring the show together.
• In Performing Arts, Second Night Slump refers to the feeling that opening night, the excitement going among the performers is so great that it causes them to perform much greater on opening night. The Second Night, the excitement is much less, having already performed once, and common mistakes are then made.
• People with high performance in the past may rest on their laurels.
• In sports, nobody would know much about a rookie player. But in the second year, after a stellar first year, the opposition will know all of his strengths and weaknesses (commonly described as having "a book on him").
• A first year athlete feels little pressure to win, because not much is expected of him. But after a successful season, there is much more pressure.

Cultural references

• The Hip Hop group The Visionaries named their second album, released in 1999, 'Sophomore Jinx'
• The band Grandaddy in a play of words named their second studio album, released in 2000, The Sophtware Slump
• The band Fall Out Boy named one of their songs included in From Under the Cork Tree, released in 2005, "Sophomore Slump or Comeback of the Year".
• Singer-songwriter Jason Mraz's second album contains the line "The sophomore slump is an uphill battle" on the song "Wordplay".

See also

• Second season syndrome

References