what causes a sophomore slump?

what causes a band with a successful debut album to have what they call a 'sophomore slump'? why can a debut album sell a million copies easily but the next album doesn't do as well?

does the time between an album matter? if the debut and sophomore albums are two years apart, does the band risk losing copius amounts of 'original' fans who grew tired of waiting?

if it's not a time issue, is it the 'single' issue? do the singles a band picks for their second album affect your opinion of them? even if you LOVED their first album and you became a diehard fan...if the bands singles for their second album aren't as good would you still buy it?

how much does a REVIEW of an album affect your decision to buy it? if your favorite band got a negative review would you still buy their record?

how much does a 'change of sound/style' on the bands part affect your decision to stick with their music?

i also wonder sometimes if it's pure curiosity of a band that helps with their first album. i feel like the sophomore slump is due to the people who bought the first album because they were curious and no they are no longer interested in the band by the time they release their second album! i think that might cause a slump....?

im bringing myself to the panic at the disco pretty.odd. fiasco.* their first album sold incredibly well while pretty. odd. was basically a disappointment.



were the majority of panic fans influenced by negative reviews?
were the choices of singles really bad ones?
did fans grow tired of waiting for this new album and lose interest?
what happened to the million of you who were ECSTATIC to purchase 'a fever you can't sweat out'... did you lose faith in your boys when they changed their sound and their style?
after waiting all these years were you just simply disappointed with the new songs?
or does it come down to the simple fact that what they put on pretty odd was just NOT GOOD MUSIC?

i am really interested to know.



*i just used them as an example.

this post has nothing to do with panic at the disco!