Singles with huge potential that failed to chart high due to unfortunate circumstances

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by JohnnyQuest, Nov 24, 2014.

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  1. JohnnyQuest

    JohnnyQuest Forum Resident Thread Starter

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    It initially achieved high audience impressions, becoming "the most-played track on radio" and garnering "sizeable" digital downloads. Following her controversial Super Bowl incident, Jackson's singles and music videos were blacklisted on many radio formats and music channels worldwide, affecting the song's performance. Media conglomerates such as Viacom and CBS, and subsidiaries including MTV and Clear Channel Communications, had enforced the boycott upon being heavily fined and censored by the FCC. The song quickly reached the top twenty in airplay before prevented from further rotation within its first two weeks of release. "Just a Little While" received positive reviews from critics, who praised its contrast from Jackson's general style. It was predicted to be "another immediate radio hit" by numerous publications prior to blacklisting. Due to the controversy surrounding Jackson, its music video was released exclusively in international territories.

    How Sad. :cry:
     
  2. jupiter8

    jupiter8 Forum Resident

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    NJ, USA
    It's sad Janet Jackson's career paid for the Super Bowl debacle yet Justin Timberlake's career proceeded unscathed.
     
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  3. Well, if he had dropped his pants to reveal a gold codpiece he may well have been doing dinner theatre in Poughkeepsie by now.
     
  4. JohnnyQuest

    JohnnyQuest Forum Resident Thread Starter

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    The media did the best they could to wipe her from history. It's like her chart records and musical accolades have been completely overshadowed by the Superbowl Incident.
    It's truly sad. :sigh:
     
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  5. jupiter8

    jupiter8 Forum Resident

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    NJ, USA
    Timberlake "ripped" Jackson's top off. She didn't drop her top.
     
  6. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

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    Sure, but it was contrived and done with her approval/permission, obviously. It's not like she didn't know it was gonna happen.

    We've debated this before, but I remain convinced the biggest reason Janet's career sputtered was because the music wasn't very good. I've been a fan since "Control" and couldn't have cared less about the "wardrobe malfunction" but I still hardly played her last few albums. They simply weren't very good, IMO.

    I think Janet was already starting a creative decline with "All For You", and that drop just got worse over time. If Janet had put out material as good as her 80s/90s stuff, any hangover from the Super Bowl would've been gone quickly, IMO...
     
  7. JohnnyQuest

    JohnnyQuest Forum Resident Thread Starter

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    Dude every one of her lead singles from her last 3 albums had potential to at least be a top 10 hit. "Just a Little While","I Want You","Call on Me","Feedback" & "Rock With U" all were smash hit quality records.
     
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  8. drivingfrog

    drivingfrog Calm down, have some dip.

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    Kirsty MacColl's They Don't Know didn't sell when it should've due to a distributors strike.
     
  9. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

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    In your opinion. In my opinion? Not so much...
     
  10. jupiter8

    jupiter8 Forum Resident

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    Hence, "ripped" with quotation marks....
     
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  11. PaulKTF

    PaulKTF Senior Member

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    Agreed. I was just about to type the same thing.

    The Velvet Rope is the last Janet album I really liked.
     
  12. JohnnyQuest

    JohnnyQuest Forum Resident Thread Starter

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    "Call on Me" had a music video with a production cost of over a million dollars. It also featured a collaboration from Nelly (Who was the hottest commercial rapper at the time.) and it still failed to chart top 10.
    It doesn't matter how great or bad her music was, as long as she was blacklisted it wasn't going to be a chart/commercial success.


    But one of her greatest hit singles was released on All For You.
     
  13. bare trees

    bare trees Senior Member

    In the Summer of 1981, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers released "A Woman In Love (It's Not Me)" as the followup to the "The Waiting". A little over a week later, Stevie Nicks's label released "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around", a duet with Petty that featured the Heartbreakers as well. As a result, "A Woman In Love" stalled at #79. (It was successful on rock radio, however.)
     
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  14. JohnnyQuest

    JohnnyQuest Forum Resident Thread Starter

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    In February 2011, Virgin/EMI label executives asked European radio stations to remove "Who's That Chick?" from their playlists because of how Rihanna had multiple songs on the chart. Due to how Rihanna's Loud was released at the same time as Guetta's album, label executives asked radio stations to favor her work instead. In an interview for the Daily Star, Guetta addressed the song being removed from European radio stations playlists, saying "My record label sent letters to all the radio stations asking them to stop playing Who's That Chick as Rihanna's album was out at the same time. It was strange because normally record labels ask radio stations to play your music."

     
  15. Danby Delight

    Danby Delight Forum Resident

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    The Monroes' "What Do All The People Know" was getting massive radio play in early 1983, but the label, Alfa Records, abruptly shut down its US office just as the single was starting to hit the charts.
     
  16. trebori

    trebori Forum Resident

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    Rochester, NY
    OK this one is slightly obscure but interesting.

    The Raindrops (Brill Building songwriters Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry) were formed when one of their demos was released as a single and became a top 40 hit in spring 1963. Their second single was even bigger (almost top 10) during the summer. So in late fall they released a single called That Boy John. Was getting a lot of airplay when it was first released. I remember my upstate NY small town radio station was playing it a lot. But then the Kennedy assassination occurred and it was yanked from the radio because it was thought it might be considered disrespectful to JFK. Anyway, it was on its way to being a hit when this happened. It's actually a pretty cool girl group song.

    But Greenwich and Barry had far greater things ahead.
     
  17. JohnnyQuest

    JohnnyQuest Forum Resident Thread Starter

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    The ballad "Heavenly", sung by Richard Street and Damon Harris, was caught in the center of a disc jockey boycott against Motown. A Motown executive did not thank the United States' DJs while accepting an award for the Temptations at the 1974 American Music Awards, and, as a result, the DJs refused to play "Heavenly".
     
  18. LandHorses

    LandHorses I contain multitudes

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    Also maybe not huge potential, but....................

    "Diddy Wah Diddy" - Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
    Barry & The Remains released their version of the same song roughly around the same time, and theirs was more successful.
    A&M Records ended up dumping Beefheart as being too "uncommercial." Maybe he would've gone down a completely different path if this was a big seller........guess I'm glad if flopped.

    I like both recordings.
     
  19. JohnnyQuest

    JohnnyQuest Forum Resident Thread Starter

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    "All I Really Want to Do" was rush-released by the band's record label, Columbia Records, when it became known that Cher was about to issue a rival cover version of the song on the Imperial label (see below). However, the Byrds and their management were largely unconcerned about Cher's imminent release, feeling that there was enough room in the charts for both versions. In fact, the Byrds were reluctant to release another Dylan-penned single at all, feeling that it was somewhat formulaic. However, Columbia were insistent, believing that in the wake of the Byrds' debut single, "Mr. Tambourine Man", another Dylan cover equaled an instant hit. A chart battle ensued, largely instigated by the music press and Columbia (who were determined to bury Cher's release), but ultimately the single stalled at #40 on the U.S. charts, while Cher's cover reached #15.

     
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  20. chodad

    chodad Hodad

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    Although this has to do with their albums I'm sure it affected their singles too.

    "Big Star released their first album, #1 RECORD, in 1972 on the Ardent label. Despite critical acclaim, distribution problems prevented the album from reaching a wide audience. Bell got disillusioned and left the group, but Big Star returned to the studio in 1974 as a three-piece (occasionally joined by Bell) to record RADIO CITY. Again, problems with distribution arose and the album vanished."
     
  21. Glenpwood

    Glenpwood Hyperactive!

    Diana Ross - I Thought It Took A Little Time (But Today I Fell In Love) #46
    Killed by Motown just barely into it's chart run to rush out "Love Hangover" since the 5th Dimension was releasing a cover of it.

    Diana Ross- Gettin' Ready For Love
    Motown released the album from which this came, "Baby It's Me," a month before releasing this single. With no focus to get the album rolling, radio stations picked their own single, playlisting this and two other cuts ("You're Love Is So Good For Me" and "Top Of the World") from it, diluting the impact of "Gettin" and effectively killing the album overall in the long run as it plunged off the chart after GRFL peaked at #27.

    Donna Summer - Cold Love #31
    Geffen Records pulled any promotion from this and "Who Do You Think You're Foolin'" when the album didn't go straight to the top as expected following the massive success of past three Casablanca doubles. They also focused all their energy with keeping up with the demand for John Lennon singles from "Double Fantasy" after his tragic demise.
     
    Last edited: Nov 24, 2014
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  22. bRETT

    bRETT Senior Member

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    Dwight Twilley Band's "Shark". Supposed to be the followup to "I'm on Fire," but the label scuttled it because of "Jaws" and the fear that it would be received as a cash-in novelty. So there was no followup at all, and the track was shelved for years. Incredibly dumb move that all but killed Twilley's career as a hitmaker.
     
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  23. "River Deep, Mountain High" by Ike and Tina Turner stiffed in the US despite being a sizable hit in the UK; I don't recall the exact story here, but IIRC its failure in the US had something to do with DJs boycotting Phil Spector product.
     
  24. Glenpwood

    Glenpwood Hyperactive!

    Olivia Newton John - Making A Good Thing Better #87

    While I don't think it was a number one by any means, MCA punished her for delivering the album late by not promoting the single or the same titled album. (She had signed a 2 LP's a year deal back in 75. Same reason why we had so many Elton John records in the same period.) ONJ retailiated by suing the label to leave for RSO so the whole project went down the dumper, snapping a string of Gold albums in the process. Once, she exploded back to the A list thanks to Grease, MCA settled their differences with her and she enjoyed another 6 years of hits with the label. Until.....

    Olivia Newton John- Soul Kiss #20

    Again, the label punished her for not delivering the album on time and also for becoming pregnant. The latter probably had more to due with the fact that she was putting out (by ONJ standards) a sexually frank album with songs about oral pleasure (see the title track, although many fans insist that isn't the lyrical intent) and having a polyamorus relationship with two men (Culture Shock). MCA didn't know how to sell the Neutron Bomb image with a pregnant star so it was thrown out there with little promotion beyond an HBO mini special spotlighting the few videos shot before she became too large to complete the rest. The follow up single, Toughen Up, never charted (and I never even knew they bothered releasing it until years later) and the album plunged off the chart right after the title track single completed it's chart run. The Soul Kiss album was certified gold for shipments but was a cut out bin staple in LP's and Cassettes for years so I doubt it originally sold that well.
     
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  25. BluesOvertookMe

    BluesOvertookMe Forum Resident

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    I really liked A Woman In Love (It's Not Me), but I'm not shocked that it didn't have major mass appeal.
     
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