Wait until you hear HITnRUN Phase Two. You're gonna flip out. It's that good! Plectrumelectrum and HITnRUN Phase One aren't anything to get excited over. I'd say they're both worth skipping. Tbh.
I think we're disagreeing on the same edge of a dime in a way. I know that radio isn't going to necessarily push an older act (Payola & Payoffs aside of course) but as naive as it is, i always root for a song that's an earpuller like that one. It had moderate success from what i've seen looking at Billboard. Even on the Adult R&B Songs chart it didn't catch fire, maybe fallout from the whole Warners fiasco. but in the end, we're only talking about popularity, and as far as that goes, i'll quote another Minnesotan out of lyrical context about popularity: "But i feel nothing for their game/where beauty goes unrecognized" -Bob Dylan
this thread is showing no signs of slowing down after a full week...our man would approve from the purple clouds above. Question : does anyone have a list of songs Prince has written for other artists POST-2000 ?? i use to have lot of fun chasing down all those albums with Prince penned tracks on it. i would say i have about 90% (still missing that Ren Woods LP ~) but that's all pre-millenium cuz i left the team purple around there.... it would be fun to start over again so...any help would be greatly appreciated.
Why is that? Why are older artists blacklisted from radio? As soon as I heard that song I instantly recognized the hit quality material it was. I didn't care that it was sung by a 48 year old man. Good music doesn't have a expiration date.
I don't know if they are "blacklisted", per se. But it's certainly a higher bar for them to get on the playlists. For one thing, they don't have the automatic slot in rotation that the new Katy Perry single is going to have. And then they have an even higher bar than an unknown artist in many ways because the programmers have to consider "will our audiences want to hear a Prince record, or will they change the station before they even hear it just because it's an old name?" It's not any different than it has ever been. That's just the way Top 40 radio works. It's not impossible for an older artist to have a hit. But it takes more than just a good song, that's for sure.
That "old name" would be new to many of the younger listeners because chances are they never heard it before.
Perhaps, but you're still not likely to get a radio programmer to take a chance on it. Maybe if it's a duet with a younger artists or somewhat of a novelty song or maybe something associated with a big movie, but otherwise? It rarely happens.
Hopefully that changes in the future. I can see it happening, especially with the way streaming is affecting charts and radio.
The thing that got me with BBGW as the lead single was "Why"? Prince was likely in a very happy place when he recorded Emancipation. Newly married, free from WBs and one of the songs even using the heartbeat of his unborn child as a rhythm track. I remember though when he was doing press for the release - the Oprah interview comes to mind - and the air was out of the celebration ballon. Likely because of their by then newborn quickly passing away from a brain condition. I honestly think Prince lost the drive to really support the album the way he could have. So many other candidates for lead single than the somewhat obscure (at least to his fan base) cover. Call it fate, destiny, bad luck or part of a divine master plan but Prince and Mayte sure were dealt a mighty blow. I hope Prince and his boy are together now.
Hey! Ya' know what else is also great about that Prince @ R'nR HoF performance? Beatles Yeah, I said it. Thanks Prince Thanks George Thanks Eric
Why? Is it important that Prince, or any other older artist, have hit singles? He had plenty of 'em in his time. Now it's others' time. It's no measure of anything except hit singles.
Is it? Not sure. You'd have to ask them. It would benefit their album sales though, which is a positive thing.
Yeah, I really enjoy HnR2 too, but that doesn't necessarily negate the idea that AOA is the last 'true' album, since HnR2 is a grab bag of songs from a few years previous, about half of which had already seen release (before AOA). Two great albums, however you cut it.
I guess. There's only so many spots on the charts. CHR is for young people and young artists. Let them have their music. They will have ways to discover Prince if its to be. It doesn't have to be with forcing the music of 50 year olds upon them. Hey...now you're starting to sound like one of "those" people....lol
I'm sure I'll enjoy those other two at least a little...but I dig the enthusiasm for HnR Phase Two. CD is due to hit my mailbox tomorrow, unless Amazon's lying to me!
I'm not making this a old artist vs. new artist argument. You're viewing it that way for whatever reason. I guess it's the Beyonce thread that caused that. I just think that it's unfair that a song with major potential to be a smash hit never got a chance due to ageism.
I just read that the baby had passed on by the time the interview was being done. Very sad. That's why Prince and Mayte seemed a bit "off" during the parts when they were asked about the child.
I guess. I just understand how the world works. The radio world works like this: they've got 30 slots in the rotation. Most of them are going to automatically be filled with the latest singles by all the you-know-whos. And then you've got the labels beating down the doors trying to get their new artist played in some of the other slots. Where is there going to be room for a new Prince single? What's the upside for the label to push it hard? He's not an artist they are hoping to get a 10 year career out of. IF it broke through, it'd be a one-off. It just isn't going to be the best use of their marketing and promotional resources to expend much effort trying to work a new Prince single to CHR. There are other formats he should be targeting if he wants a single to help sell a new album.
It's still difficult to listen to "Let's Have a Baby" after discovering the tragic death of their baby. R.I.P. Gregory.
