Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/List of best-selling girl groups


 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was Keep   Yash  t  101   06:55, 8 May 2012 (UTC) (non-admin closure)

List of best-selling girl groups

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Like List of best-selling boy bands, this list is based heavily on OR. The talk page is stuffed with "Why is X on here?" "Why is Y not on here?" and edit wars aplenty exist over who should and should not be included. Some editors have spammed the article with subjective examples of a "girl group", and the article is based entirely on editors' opinions. To quote that article's nominator, "Omissions and arbitrary decisions therefore affect the rankings calculated and shown. Sources used to support the sales figures do not classify or rank any of the bands in this manner, so each resulting list is the product of original synthesis." Ten Pound Hammer • (What did I screw up now?) 01:55, 1 May 2012 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Music-related deletion discussions.  • Gene93k (talk) 02:59, 1 May 2012 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Lists-related deletion discussions.  • Gene93k (talk) 03:00, 1 May 2012 (UTC)


 * Keep None of these issues are insurmountable. The designation of a band as a "girl group" is commonly made in the media, and WP has other articles that use the term.  By focusing on album sales it achieves a degree of objectivity. The fact that the talk page is full of idiots has no relation to the merits of the article. --Colapeninsula (talk) 09:10, 1 May 2012 (UTC)
 * Keep If you don't like or agree with the rankings then try changing the format of the list. Warden (talk) 16:49, 1 May 2012 (UTC)
 * That's the problem though. No one can agree on the rankings, so no amount of changing will fix it. Ten Pound Hammer • (What did I screw up now?) 18:30, 1 May 2012 (UTC)
 * On Wikipedia, there's no end of pedants who can't agree on hyphenation or the spelling of yoghourt but this is no reason to delete everything. Perfect is the enemy of good. Warden (talk) 20:30, 2 May 2012 (UTC)


 * Keep However, a quick spot check reveals that the sourcing needs improvement, and existing cites should be verified. For example, I found one claim of 50 million albums sold, but the cited source said 45. — Preceding unsigned comment added by GabeMc (talk • contribs)
 * Comment ~ Clean up the sourcing, and you'll gain consensus more easily on rankings. I suggest using more Nielsen SoundScan ratings, and RIAA, where possible. — GabeMc (talk) 23:00, 1 May 2012 (UTC)
 * Not that consensus. The consensus on what a "girl group" is. This list arbitrarily includes and excludes many, with endless edit wars over said inclusions and exclusions. No one can seem to agree on what is and isn't a girl group. Ten Pound Hammer • (What did I screw up now?) 23:43, 1 May 2012 (UTC)
 * Okay, so you need to start by gaining consensus on how to define a "girl-group". Seems like common sense to me, especially since all the groups I see mentioned at the page consist of only female members. Did I miss one? Which group on the page is contentious and why? — GabeMc (talk) 23:47, 1 May 2012 (UTC)
 * Do you think consensus can be gathered? The talk page is overstuffed with people arguing back and forth about who should and shouldn't be on here, with nothing even remotely resembling a consensus. Ten Pound Hammer • (What did I screw up now?) 00:38, 2 May 2012 (UTC)
 * Yes of course, but it takes effort. I would start with the sourcing. Until you improve the overall sourcing of the article it will be easy to argue for errors. Start by double checking all citations. Then agree on which standards to apply. Have an RIAA column and its easily sourced online, global sales figures are more difficult to verify, but many of the article4s current sources are good, it just need to be tightened up. Not a silver-bullet I know, but its where I would start. — GabeMc (talk) 01:01, 2 May 2012 (UTC)
 * So fix the problem of "what is a girl group anyway?" with sources that only verify the numbers. Yeah, that makes sense... Not. Ten Pound Hammer • (What did I screw up now?) 01:05, 2 May 2012 (UTC)


 * Keep why has this been AfD'd? I assume good fatih, but the nominator's concerns can be addressed without deletion. What makes such a list eligible for deletion? Till I Go Home (talk) 11:45, 2 May 2012 (UTC)
 * I love how all of you are ignoring the fact that THERE. IS. NO. CONSENSUS. ON. WHAT. A. GIRL. GROUP. IS. Do I need to make it any clearer?!?! Ten Pound Hammer • (What did I screw up now?) 18:36, 2 May 2012 (UTC)
 * Well, first of all, please answer my above question, "which groups on the page are contentious", as far as I can tell, all the groups listed consist of all female members. Also, regardless of this contention, which does not make the article a candidate for deletion in and of itself, the sourcing is generally somewhat poor, and needs to be improved either way. — GabeMc (talk) 21:50, 2 May 2012 (UTC)
 * Nearly the whole damn list is contentious, if the talk page is anything to go by. Ten Pound Hammer • (What did I screw up now?) 06:57, 3 May 2012 (UTC)
 * Cleanup and adding sources are not grounds for deletion. And a girl group is a collection of female singers that harmonise together...I don't know how clearer that can be. Till I Go Home (talk) 08:02, 3 May 2012 (UTC)


 * Delete, per nomination. Also, there's no need for such an article like this. List of best-selling music artists is perfectly fine. We might as well also create List of best-selling male singers, List of best-selling female singers, List of best-selling rock bands. — Statυs  (talk) 21:03, 4 May 2012 (UTC)


 * Keep, This is a female equivalent of this List of best-selling boy bands and actually I think list of best selling rock bands, male and female singers etc is a good idea. Why lump everyone together in one big giant list? That's not practical. Krystaleen (talk) 01:14, 5 May 2012 (UTC)
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.