Plaything Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 I believe she will pick the right first single this time. I can feel it. She definitely has a chance to score a top 10 hit because people love to hate Madonna but they also love to love her back if the music is great. Even though we are living in an ageist society and Madonna has been declared a granny 15 years ago, she can and will bounce back and connect with her songs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iasonas Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 The timing is great I think. The only other female I can think of releasing music in August-September-October is Adele. Most females released in 2013 and first half of 2014 and most of them flopped hard. I love the fact that she is coming right after Gaga and Mariah have flopped so hard! I just want longevity. At least 3 proper singles. She's gonna dominate the world! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindystime Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 You guys are nuts to think there wasn't a MAJOR backlash against American Life at the time. It was about politics. Madonna was hated because she "didn't support our troops" and didn't support George W. Bush. Clear Channel CLEARLY had stations avoid her songs. Anybody who denies this is trying to change history. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iasonas Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 Whatever! In my area there were 3-4 pop stations back in 2003 that could play a new Madonna single. One of them owned by Clear Channel and the rest by CBS, Citadel (which is Cumulus today) and Greater Media. Guess what? The Clear Channel showed the most support. The rest almost didn't even bother. For about ten days they played the song a lot. Then the first call out scores arrived and the song was dropped. The song was getting the worst call out scores than any other song charting at the time on Mediabase's call out surveys. Only like 30% positive responses. A radio station has to be crazy to play a song that's so disliked by the public. Radio is a business, they don't want people to change the channel. You can see it yourself if you click the link. Go to April 27th of 2003 for example. Especially young people, hated it. http://www.mmr247.com/mmrweb/call/index.asp In the meantime, Music and Don't Tell Me were getting insane re-current airplay until at least mid 2004. And I am not talking about AC channels. Our pop stations played both of them for at least 3-4 years In 2003 and 2004, Music, Don't Tell Me and all her 80s hits were EVERYHWERE on radio. Same when Hung Up was released. Flop boycott. Show receipts please before spreading inaccuracies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simo9jo Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 I can say that 2003 was a crazy time, people were getting death threats (Susan Sarandon) just for saying peace. I lived in Florida and after American Life there were radio stations actually saying they were not going to play Madonna and playing the ending of Take A Bow...Say Goodbye. It was an incredibly hostile and irrational time. There was a backlash at radio (I'm not sure about an all out boycott), and after that I think it was just her age that made radio reluctant to start playing her again in the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick00 Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 I believe she will pick the right first single this time. I can feel it. She definitely has a chance to score a top 10 hit because people love to hate Madonna but they also love to love her back if the music is great. Even though we are living in an ageist society and Madonna has been declared a granny 15 years ago, she can and will bounce back and connect with her songs. It would be special to have an awesome lead off single again & she can definitely hit top ten another time…..keeping fingers crossed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johndvd25 Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 There was no backlash. There was only an indifference from the consuming public. The lead single was not catchy enough to click with the radio listeners at that time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plaything Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 My Gosh, American Life (the song) was not some obscure piece of experimental music without any kind of melody. It was an unusual choice for a first single, yes, but the chorus is pretty damn catchy and very instant. I never understood why everybody screamed "WRONG CHOICE FOR A SINGLE!!!!!!!!!!!!". It was no more electronic or unusal at that time than Die Another Day for example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rachelle of London Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 American Life was a hit here. Was played frequently as well. All they'd do is skip the rap. I think it's failure in the States was to do with politics. Nothing more and nothing less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larkspur Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 I can say that 2003 was a crazy time, people were getting death threats (Susan Sarandon) just for saying peace. I lived in Florida and after American Life there were radio stations actually saying they were not going to play Madonna and playing the ending of Take A Bow...Say Goodbye. It was an incredibly hostile and irrational time. There was a backlash at radio (I'm not sure about an all out boycott), and after that I think it was just her age that made radio reluctant to start playing her again in the US. It was a crazy time and all the people that would embrace an examination of our country were stunned and hurt and then there are the ones who automatically think that any criticism of America means your anti American. There was a backlash and I remember I did talk to another fan awhile after the album came out and I believe she said that people didn't give American Life a chance because they thought she was being anti American. I think people don't remember a backlash because for many it was a silent one. I think what the woman said who I was talking to was right. Many didn't give it a chance. Another factor I think is that Madonna didn't stand by her video. Which for me personally was disappointing. I said it before, an artist has to stand by their work. It can influence the public's perception. I believe Madonna really wanted to make a statement about America and also about facing personal realities. American Life is a great album and I have read of it's praise from non fans as well as fans on the internet and in person. I think it came out when people were still not thinking clearly. More people started voicing their disapproval of American politics as the years went by but even now still feel like they are running into a brick wall that others have been building for years. They have woken up to a country divided. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starman Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 Age is huge factor See Mariah who was a radio darling 5 years ago and now strugles to get a song on the hot100 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt420 Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 My Gosh, American Life (the song) was not some obscure piece of experimental music without any kind of melody. It was an unusual choice for a first single, yes, but the chorus is pretty damn catchy and very instant. I never understood why everybody screamed "WRONG CHOICE FOR A SINGLE!!!!!!!!!!!!". It was no more electronic or unusal at that time than Die Another Day for example. In hindsight it's easy to say that, but AL was not single material at all in 2003 in the US. The chorus may be catchy but everything around it was somewhat abrasive, some may even say annoying. I remember a radio station had listeners call in to state their opinion and one woman said it sounded like a car alarm. She rode the line with the Music singles/DAD......they were just the right mix of "weird" and catchy. The scale tipped more toward the "weird" side of things with AL. Another thing is the lyrics.....AL's lyrics are completely unrelatable to most people. The rap was the nail in the coffin, all of it was just too much. Personally, I like AL and think that it took some pretty big balls to release that as a lead single. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vocalism Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 The timing is great I think. The only other female I can think of releasing music in August-September-October is Adele. Most females released in 2013 and first half of 2014 and most of them flopped hard. I love the fact that she is coming right after Gaga and Mariah have flopped so hard! I just want longevity. At least 3 proper singles. She's gonna dominate the world! Whatever! In my area there were 3-4 pop stations back in 2003 that could play a new Madonna single. One of them owned by Clear Channel and the rest by CBS, Citadel (which is Cumulus today) and Greater Media. Guess what? The Clear Channel showed the most support. The rest almost didn't even bother. For about ten days they played the song a lot. Then the first call out scores arrived and the song was dropped. The song was getting the worst call out scores than any other song charting at the time on Mediabase's call out surveys. Only like 30% positive responses. A radio station has to be crazy to play a song that's so disliked by the public. Radio is a business, they don't want people to change the channel. You can see it yourself if you click the link. Go to April 27th of 2003 for example. Especially young people, hated it. http://www.mmr247.com/mmrweb/call/index.asp In the meantime, Music and Don't Tell Me were getting insane re-current airplay until at least mid 2004. And I am not talking about AC channels. Our pop stations played both of them for at least 3-4 years In 2003 and 2004, Music, Don't Tell Me and all her 80s hits were EVERYHWERE on radio. Same when Hung Up was released. Flop boycott. Show receipts please before spreading inaccuracies. THIS. I can say that 2003 was a crazy time, people were getting death threats (Susan Sarandon) just for saying peace. I lived in Florida and after American Life there were radio stations actually saying they were not going to play Madonna and playing the ending of Take A Bow...Say Goodbye. It was an incredibly hostile and irrational time. There was a backlash at radio (I'm not sure about an all out boycott), and after that I think it was just her age that made radio reluctant to start playing her again in the US. As I said in a previous post, people were lukewarm to DAD. The only reason it did as well as it did (which is just so-so) is because she was Madonna. No lead single had ever flopped before...until AL. The sound was nothing new, the song wasn't very good, people made fun of her for the rap, and then on top of it, promo was badly damaged because there was no proper video and the one they released was crap. Of course, politics played a part as well, but if the song was GREAT and Madonna was YOUNGER, she could have survived that. It was a perfect storm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimos Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 Age is huge factor See Mariah who was a radio darling 5 years ago and now strugles to get a song on the hot100 But has Mariah released anything worthy of being a hit in the past five years? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starman Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 But has Mariah released anything worthy of being a hit in the past five years? Its the same shit she released for the last 10 years lol before it worked Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnino Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 Whatever! In my area there were 3-4 pop stations back in 2003 that could play a new Madonna single. One of them owned by Clear Channel and the rest by CBS, Citadel (which is Cumulus today) and Greater Media. Guess what? The Clear Channel showed the most support. The rest almost didn't even bother. For about ten days they played the song a lot. Then the first call out scores arrived and the song was dropped. The song was getting the worst call out scores than any other song charting at the time on Mediabase's call out surveys. Only like 30% positive responses. A radio station has to be crazy to play a song that's so disliked by the public. Radio is a business, they don't want people to change the channel. You can see it yourself if you click the link. Go to April 27th of 2003 for example. Especially young people, hated it. http://www.mmr247.com/mmrweb/call/index.asp In the meantime, Music and Don't Tell Me were getting insane re-current airplay until at least mid 2004. And I am not talking about AC channels. Our pop stations played both of them for at least 3-4 years In 2003 and 2004, Music, Don't Tell Me and all her 80s hits were EVERYHWERE on radio. Same when Hung Up was released. Flop boycott. Show receipts please before spreading inaccuracies. Jasonakos 1 x 0 Conspiracy Theorists Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loomer Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 # 1 no, top 10 yes. Cheating/streaming and iTunes sales could easily bring it there. Who knows. Would we want the oldest woman to go to #1 record?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loomer Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 In hindsight it's easy to say that, but AL was not single material at all in 2003 in the US. The chorus may be catchy but everything around it was somewhat abrasive, some may even say annoying. I remember a radio station had listeners call in to state their opinion and one woman said it sounded like a car alarm. She rode the line with the Music singles/DAD......they were just the right mix of "weird" and catchy. The scale tipped more toward the "weird" side of things with AL. Another thing is the lyrics.....AL's lyrics are completely unrelatable to most people. The rap was the nail in the coffin, all of it was just too much. Personally, I like AL and think that it took some pretty big balls to release that as a lead single. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flip The Switch Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katypatra Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 American Life was a hit here. Was played frequently as well. All they'd do is skip the rap. I think it's failure in the States was to do with politics. Nothing more and nothing less. Exactly! It's annoying when Madonna fans don't see the truth the way it is. Yes the damn Clear Channel pretty much own all of the pop music radio stations. And yes Madonna was banned from them all for 8 years. She felt betrayed by her own country. Madonna was hurt beyond imaginable. She has always spoken out through her music and for US to take offence because of AL and shut her up like that was ludicrous! That's why she got her head so immersed in England. She even developed an English accent. People want receipts? Fuck off and get your head out of the sand! Try to look at things as they really are not as they seem! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt420 Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 Exactly! It's annoying when Madonna fans don't see the truth the way it is. Yes the damn Clear Channel pretty much own all of the pop music radio stations. And yes Madonna was banned from them all for 8 years. She felt betrayed by her own country. Madonna was hurt beyond imaginable. She has always spoken out through her music and for US to take offence because of AL and shut her up like that was ludicrous! That's why she got her head so immersed in England. She even developed an English accent. People want receipts? Fuck off and get your head out of the sand! Try to look at things as they really are not as they seem! At that time US radio would've embraced a song by Madonna that connected with listeners, AL didn't. I don't see how anyone can listen to AL and think it's radio friendly, easily digestible pop for the masses. It's no Music or DTM with universal lyrics. Madonnas diehard fans at the time were even divided about the song and album. Personally, I don't think there were any surefire hit singles on AL, but even if there were, once a lead single flops it's gonna be hard to gain momentum back. Add the mediocre reviews, madonnas age and the public indifference toward the song/album and it was pretty much doomed from that point. As vocalism pointed out, it was pretty much the perfect storm because of a number of factors. And Madonna already had her British accent by the time AL was released. She didn't adopt the accent as some sort of protest. She had already been with Guy and spending most of her time in England for 3-4 years by that point. Many people pick up accents when they move other places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vocalism Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 ^ Just give up Kurt. I learned a long time ago there's no convincing people their conspiracy theories are false. In fact, by default the definition of a conspiracy theory means it can never be disprove because the tin-hat-wearing believers will fit all of the facts you give them to suit the theory. They've made up their minds that the only explanation for Madonna flopping is that there must be some broad conspiracy against her. It couldn't possibly have been the music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horn Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 To be honest, I was prepared to watch her first single flops during MDNA era. The radio will not play her new song and her download alone will not help her much. There was no way she could score another top 10. But she surprised me with the CC promo and made it to top 10. All I can say is, keep your expectation low. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MPowered Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 American Life was a hit here. Was played frequently as well. All they'd do is skip the rap. I think it's failure in the States was to do with politics. Nothing more and nothing less. This tbh. Here in Germany they played AL and Hollywood a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnino Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Exactly! It's annoying when Madonna fans don't see the truth the way it is. Yes the damn Clear Channel pretty much own all of the pop music radio stations. And yes Madonna was banned from them all for 8 years. She felt betrayed by her own country. Madonna was hurt beyond imaginable. She has always spoken out through her music and for US to take offence because of AL and shut her up like that was ludicrous! That's why she got her head so immersed in England. She even developed an English accent. People want receipts? Fuck off and get your head out of the sand! Try to look at things as they really are not as they seem! "Travelling... leaving logic and reason..." P.S.: AL is loved/hated by fans to this day. So, noooooo, it wasn't about the music at all.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5iVe Elements Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 The shameful thing about AL was how it was ignored both on CD and DVD of Celebration! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icykiller Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 ^so true! I hope she includes an AL track on the next tour, a Love Profusion performance is way overdue! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Music Posted May 17, 2014 Share Posted May 17, 2014 You guys are nuts to think there wasn't a MAJOR backlash against American Life at the time. It was about politics. Madonna was hated because she "didn't support our troops" and didn't support George W. Bush. Clear Channel CLEARLY had stations avoid her songs. Anybody who denies this is trying to change history. Thank you ! The fact that AL did'nt connect is one thing, but she was rejected for being anti-american in her own country at that time... This tbh. Here in Germany they played AL and Hollywood a lot. In France, Love Profusion did well and was really played, in the top 20 airplay charts that year... and the song is still played nowadays... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MPowered Posted May 17, 2014 Share Posted May 17, 2014 Thank you ! The fact that AL did'nt connect is one thing, but she was rejected for being anti-american in her own country at that time... In France, Love Profusion did well and was really played, in the top 20 airplay charts that year... and the song is still played nowadays... That's interesting! Didn't all American Life singles do pretty well in France overall? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sambassile Posted May 17, 2014 Share Posted May 17, 2014 weren't the AL singles hits all over bar america? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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