Pop Talk - General Music Discussion

[Goldmoney]

beredy, sis, which of these iconik chocolate anthems was a bigger hit in your hole?

[Wayne]

Joss Stone - one of the most underrated talents of 2000s.

Spoiled is a stunning song.

[Hejira]

Justin doesn't owe Janet an apology, simple as that.

And you tell people here they deserve....something.
You should take a look in the mirror sometime.

[JSparksFan]

I can't imagine Janet and her team would plan something like that, but the public reaction was absolutely ridiculous and unwarranted either way.

[spiritboy]

Justin doesn't owe Janet an apology, simple as that.

[beredy]

Of course not. That's a narrative people like to plug to fit their own 'beliefs'.
She NEVER implied in any way that it was planned.

She never addressed it properly to begin with, instead opted for vague explanations and even now, so many years later, when asked about it she laments how hard that time was for her (not saying it wasn't, but it's a cute way of changing the optics from - what happened to "poor me" to gain sympathy). But there are enough of behind the scenes people that went on record (and it's officially noted in the investigation reports) saying how MTV producers (who produced the show) and Janet's team all prepared something "special" and told people that they should watch the performance for a surprise. Once they saw the backlash, they all decided it's best to keep their mouth shut and wait for it all to blow off. But they didn't think it would derail her whole career.

[Wayne]

Classic from M People - Heather, a UKMIX legend.

[Hejira]

Has Janet said something about it being planned? Genuine question, I didn't grow up with Western Pop music at that time so I wasn't completely aware of what happened. What I got from the media was that Justin was supposed to rip off some other part of the outfits instead but he ripped the wrong part.

Of course not. That's a narrative people like to plug to fit their own 'beliefs'.
She NEVER implied in any way that it was planned.

[Goldmoney]

I don't think we will ever know who came up with it. But it's obvious it was approved by Janet and her team and planned. Wardrobe malfunction my ass. But she has a tendency to pretend she's clueless about the awkward/negative stuff around her. She never addresses things like that head on, instead toes around and gives vague explanations.

I say JD because there was an interview right before the event (that I can’t find) where he was boasting saying 'we got a surprise for y'all' but who knows?

[abi]

Has Janet said something about it being planned? Genuine question, I didn't grow up with Western Pop music at that time so I wasn't completely aware of what happened. What I got from the media was that Justin was supposed to rip off some other part of the outfits instead but he ripped the wrong part.

[beredy]

I think JD (Jeanette’s b/f at the time) came up with the idea of that stunt tbh.

I don't think we will ever know who came up with it. But it's obvious it was approved by Janet and her team and planned. Wardrobe malfunction my ass. But she has a tendency to pretend she's clueless about the awkward/negative stuff around her. She never addresses things like that head on, instead toes around and gives vague explanations.

[Goldmoney]

I think JD (Jeanette’s b/f at the time) came up with the idea of that stunt tbh.

He repented a year later with GOAT tho.

[beredy]

Excuse me but his career didn't suffer at all (although his music sure did) while she was dragged through hell. She needs not apologize for anything anymore.

True, his career didn't take a hit, but the public correctly assumed and pointed it was Janet and her team behind it. Justin went with it. It wasn't his idea, it wasn't his show. Expecting them to take the same blame is hilarious honestly and I can't at stans still pushing this narrative. Sorry, to tell you but they (Janet & her team) should've owned it and apologize for it. Instead they went with the whole "I don't know what happened." BS story. Honestly, if she owned it I think the whole fallout would be much softer.

[Hejira]

He should only do a joint apology with her when Janet owns the fact it was planned by herself and her own team and they misjudged how the whole thing will play out and blow up in their faces. It was staged, Justin didn't come up with that stunt by himself, he was directed to do it and he agreed to do it (and he did apologize for that). There's reason for him to apologize to Janet.

That being said, I do want to highlight that how America reacted was so crazy, but that's Murica for you.

Excuse me but his career didn't suffer at all (although his music sure did) while she was dragged through hell. She needs not apologize for anything anymore.

[beredy]

Plus he still needs to apologize to Janet. In public.

He should only do a joint apology with her when Janet owns the fact it was planned by herself and her own team and they misjudged how the whole thing will play out and blow up in their faces. It was staged, Justin didn't come up with that stunt by himself, he was directed to do it and he agreed to do it (and he did apologize for that). There's reason for him to apologize to Janet.

That being said, I do want to highlight that how America reacted was so crazy, but that's Murica for you.

[Goldmoney]

Justin is terrible. I never could stand his whiny voice and his faux r&b. Plus he still needs to apologize to Janet. In public.

This is disgusting:

[Hejira]

Justin is terrible. I never could stand his whiny voice and his faux r&b. Plus he still needs to apologize to Janet. In public.

[Goldmoney]

Goldmoney

[beredy]

The sooner you all face the fact this is how it will be going forward, the better.

The streaming has changed the game, because for mainstream acts it's virtually impossible to push singles once the album drops. People don't care or focus on what's supposed to be a single. They just play what they want because they can.

From now on, expect future releases to be in two parts (something indie acts have been doing for a while, like TR/ST with two part album released half a year apart or Moses Sumney, also releasing his album in two parts) or the road Robyn once took with 3 EPs, something Miley Cyrus went for (but for some reason no further EPs or an album happened despite them being announced). The reason for this is that this is the only way for artists to have more than 2-3 singles in an era and have longer eras (which effectively die for 99% of them when an album drops). You don't need to look any further than Taylor Swift - despite being able to push singles with longevity in all of her eras pre-Lover, she has completely stumbled with her singles after Lover dropped. And both Lover and The Man had a good reception from fans and public. But they didn't work as singles.

So just putting it in numbers.

If you release an album with 15 tracks (which seems like the usual norm these days) - at best you can do 2 singles before the album release and drop one with the album release. That's 3 singles for a 15 track album. No life span for the era in terms of visuals/singles once album drops. Even if they make videos and try for singles, they usually have hard time charting and are basically ignored.

If you release an album in 2 parts of 8-10 songs, you double that. So you get an era with 16-20 songs, 6 singles. The release of the second part might reignite and push the streams for the first part too which is a nice bonus.

If you release an album in 3 parts (EPs) with 5-6 songs, you might go with 1 single before EP drops, 1 with the EP drop. So you end up with 15-18 song era, 6 singles (or even more singles). And whenever a new EP drops it might reignite interest in older ones thus give a push for them on streaming.

In a couple of years streaming will be where most of the money on albums can be mad. And something like this is a way to get the most back from the platform. It's no different than having regular, deluxe, super-deluxe editions of a physical album (often with different covers to further interest fans in collecting). It's just that the approach has to be modified for streaming.

[JeremySpears]

Are re-releases still a thing? Would be very counterintuitive / bad management for Dua to have one in 2020, imo.

Actually I feel like there’s a re-releases revival happening at the moment. Billie Eilish, Shawn Mendes, Dua's debut, Tori Kelly, Mariah's "Merry Christmas"...

[spiritboy]

Are re-releases still a thing? Would be very counterintuitive / bad management for Dua to have one in 2020, imo.

She's holding back some songs, including Normani collab for the re-release planned for later.

[Rihab]

Are re-releases still a thing? Would be very counterintuitive / bad management for Dua to have one in 2020, imo.

[theMathematician]

How did Dua lost #1 spot in UK? aRat must be having a nervous breakdown.

There are worse things than not debuting at No. 1 in the UK. I'm sure some people also held back buying the record and wait for the re-release like it happened with Ellie Goulding's 'Halcyon' back then.

[Rihab]

It's official guys. I married Donald Glover. He is my new husband. so seethe.

This is your what.. 48th relationship in 6 months?

[spiritboy]

How did Dua lost #1 spot in UK? aRat must be having a nervous breakdown.