britney spears

All posts tagged britney spears

Random Notes – 10-05-09

Posted by John on October 5, 2009
Posted in: giveaway, new releases, news, singles. Tagged: , , , , , . 4 Comments

Noisettes Banner– If you haven’t done so already, check out the contest to win one of three Noisettes CDs. The winners will be announced this weekend.

Alphabeat Spell– Current songs that sound really good on the radio: Alphabeat’s “The Spell”, which is up on Radio 1 in advance of its release on October 18th, and REALLY needs to see a US release; Britney’s “3”, which I heard coming out of David Guetta’s “Sexy Bitch”, making for a pretty impressive (and surprising) one-two punch; and Carrie Underwood’s “Cowboy Casanova”, which needs to see a pop radio push at some point in the near future. Even in its original form, it is incredibly catchy.

Crazy Frog Wal Mart– Who decided that Crazy Frog needed a new album, let alone one that’s an exclusive to Wal-Mart? And how disturbing is it that “Cha Cha Slide” is among the tracks covered? Or “Last Christmas”? Thankfully, there aren’t samples on the website, or I might be typing wounded right now.

– Idolator has some detail on FTC regulations going into effect in December which will require bloggers to disclose anything that they have received from a third party that was utilized for writing a post. Many of you may recognize the unfairness of this, as TV, radio and newspapers have received promotional materials for years and don’t have to disclose this information. Between this, and a current law rolling through Congress that defines a protected journalistic source as someone that works and receives a paycheck for what they do (hence, no indy bloggers), the old establishment is doing everything it can to tie new media’s hands behind their backs.

So for the record, how many bloggers even collect a paycheck for what they do, let alone get freebies from a record label? Personally, I can count on one hand the number of times I have received promotional material from a label, and even then, I let them know point blank that I will not promote anything that I do not believe in. I can see the potential for a class-action lawsuit against the FTC on this, but when was the last time you paid money into the music blog lobbying fund? Yeah…me either.

– The new Usher? Good, but not great, although it’s a definite return to Confessions-style slowjams.

Find Yourself a Gimmick

Posted by John on January 16, 2009
Posted in: commentary, singles. Tagged: , . 7 Comments

bbc-radio-1First off, big props to the BBC Radio 1 Chart Blog, which really does some terrific posts on the UK singles scene. I love reading their posts because, even though they’re part of a huge company, they seem like just another fellow blogger, not hindered by any agenda. That’s what this is all about, in my opinion.

Anyway, there’s a great post over there this week about Britney’s new single “If You Seek Amy”. For my money, I think this is all hype, and that the single will eventually get yanked in favor of something else. You know what they say about publicity…if it’s Britney, it’s gotta be a stunt! Musically, the song is pretty good, but the controversy surrounding the song is really a joke. I mean, if you speak English properly, and you enunciate, most people won’t hear the “hidden meaning”.

However, the more pressing matter is the continued puritanism of a large section of America. Seriously, we can get all up in arms about something that sounds like the “F” word, but what does that really mean in the grand scheme of life? I mean, a majority of my blogging compatriots talk like salty pirates every day, but I think most people do that in certain circumstances where they feel comfortable. Even my mom drops a curse every now and then, and she’s a saint.

Don’t.

britney_spears-starbucksAll I’m saying is that if we feed into the hype, it just gets bigger and beyond us. Sometimes the most powerful thing we can do is ignore the negativity, and put our own positive energy out there. While I’m happy that Britney seems to be doing so well, does she really need a controversy like this, given how much attention her life gets already? As the sage Rick Astley once said, “why dont I hear her cry for help? ” In this case, you can’t help but notice.

Chart Notables – 12/26/08

Posted by John on December 26, 2008
Posted in: charts, singles. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 3 Comments

jmraz-outdoorsFor the last set of charts we’ll see in 2008, let’s take a look at a few tracks that have had some serious longevity. For example, Jason Mraz holds at #12 this week with “I’m Yours”, currently enjoying its 36th week on the Hot 100. Also at week 36 is Ne-Yo’s “Closer”, which slips from 38 to 42. If you don’t know the chart longevity rules for the Hot 100, the magic number is 50. Any song that is below #50 after 20 weeks on the chart will be dropped completely. Two examples of this formula left the chart this week: Jennifer Hudson’s “Spotlight” falls off the chart in its 22nd week, after having been at #47 last week, and Savage’s “Swing” drops out at week 21, after lingering at #69 one week ago.

51z7mvejicl_sl160_Toward the bottom of the Hot 100, there are a couple of songs from folks in the Top 10 that they’re probably hoping will keep the two-songs-per-artist trend going: T.I. makes a big move from 99 to 83 with his Justin Timberlake duet “Dead and Gone”, Lady GaGa gets her second chart entry at #92 with “Poker Face”, and Beyonce charts single #3 from “I Am…” with Diva, coming in at 96. The top debut of the week, though, goes to Leona Lewis with her former UK #1 single “Run”, which arrives at #81 with almost zero airplay. Considering that the song debuted at #13 in Canada as well, I think it’s safe to say it’s going to be a big ol’ hit. You know there’s gotta be a Deluxe Edition of the CD that’s coming, too. Maybe it’ll have a few of the UK tracks that weren’t included on the original US version. That’s a lotta double-dipping, ain’t it?

[Oh…David Cook returns to the Top 40 at #40 with “Light On”. Just sayin’…]

greenlightSwitching to airplay, Britney Spears picks up her first #1 pop record since “Toxic” with “Womanizer”, but it looks to be a short stay, as “Live Your Life” is trending to retake the top spot next week. In the “eat my words” department, Ms GaGa may have the first new #1 of the New Year, as “Just Dance” creeps up to #3, and will probably be the top bulleted single next week. The two hottest records at Pop radio this week are (shock) Britney Spears’ “Circus” at 20 and Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” at 11. Both records pick up over 1000 more plays this week. The Killers make it into the Top 40 at #40 with “Human”, and in the “I can’t wait til next week” department, it looks like John Legend’s “Green Light” will FINALLY show itself on the Pop chart in 2009.

K Cole Different MeOver on the Billboard 200, Taylor Swift reaches 113 weeks with her self-titled debut, while her follow-up, “Fearless”, holds at the top of the chart with 330,000 units. For those of you who have been around the charts for a while, that is a depressingly low count for a CD to sell the week before Christmas. It barely holds off the debut of Keyshia Cole’s “A Different Me”, which debuts at #2 with 322,000 units sold. Other debuts this week included Jamie Foxx at 3, Anthony Hamilton at #12, Plies at 14, All-American Rejects at 15, Soulja Boy Tellem at a sophomore-slumpish #43 (awwwwww), and Dave Matthews Band at #97.

The Good and Bad of 2008

Posted by John on December 21, 2008
Posted in: commentary, music industry, year-end. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 5 Comments

gaga-micSo pop music in 2008 was a mixed bag of trends. Every time you thought that something good was in the air, another annoying development would pop up. Here’s a brief list of some trends that drove me batty or gave me a glimmer of hope over the past 12 months.

Good: The Viral Spread of Music – All it takes is a teenage boy dancing to Beyonce to make a hit, right? 2008 reinforce the idea that the Internet can sometimes do what record company promotions departments fail to do: make a record a hit. No other record this year proves that more than “Just Dance”. The blogosphere kept that record alive much longer than any record company could ever hope to, and when the record company had their setup in place, the track took off like fireworks up the Pop chart.

T SwiftBad: Flooding the Market with Singles – Taylor Swift, I’m coming for you, and I’m packing a CD case and a restraining order. iTunes had so much luck with the Jonas Brothers in advancing tracks to their fans prior to the full-length release of “A Little Bit Longer” that the formula was rolled out for the likes of Fall Out Boy, Kanye West, and Ms Swift. By the time “Fearless” was released in November, six of her singles had debuted in the top 20 of the Hot 100, breaking the Jonas Brothers’ record of five debuts in one calendar year.

So what’s my beef? Well, I always talk about pop trends occurring in a more organic way. I enjoy watching the charts as a superstar releases THAT CD, and starts releasing singles. Each top 40, or top 20, or top 10 brings that artist closer to pop chart history, and the chart dork in me revels in that. The purist in me has huge issues with a label releasing a song a week from a CD that folks obviously want. By the time the full-length comes out, it’s only a few dollars more for the consumer to buy with iTunes’ “Complete My Album” program. But if that’s the case, shouldn’t all of the “singles” purchased be converted to the full-length, and their chart points taken away? Easier said than done…most of Taylor’s pre-release singles only lasted on the chart for one week, and were long gone by the time the CD debuted, making the reversal of points impossible. The label gets the press as each single is released, and then converts those into full-length sales on the day of release.

[NB – I realize that I’m the guy that rails against the status quo of the industry, and how folks need to think outside of the box in order to save the business. But come on…something stinks here, and it’s not just some of Taylor’s music.]

L Lewis RunGood: The Quick Release of Hot Singles – Case in point, the new Leona Lewis single for “Run”, which is already up on iTunes, despite it being pretty clear that the record label here was going for at least one more single off the original US version of “Spirit”. Record companies have the flexibility to throw things up for public consumption with little lead time, and the consumer wins when that occurs. Think back to American Idol, and the demand for live versions of hot performances. By the following evening, those fans could have a professional-grade recording on their iPod, and I think everyone wins in that equation…

Bad: The Controlled Release of Hot Singles – …unless the record companies get greedy. My first post this year dealt with Kid Rock’s initial decision not to release any of his music digitally, and how that lead to copycat versions of “All Summer Long” getting as high as the top 20 on the Hot 100 and top 5 on iTunes. Estelle’s record company attempted to sell full-length CDs by yanking “American Boy” from iTunes, but the copycats struck again, and the CD treaded water the following week on the Billboard 200.

PSBGood: Pet Shop Boys Get Respect – If I had mentioned Girls Aloud and Pet Shop Boys working together six months ago, most of you would have laughed yourselves into epileptic fits. Flash forward to November ’08, and the one track on the new GA CD getting universal respect is “The Loving Kind”, co-written by…the Pet Shop Boys. Add to that their work with the Killers on this year’s Christmas track, and their recognition for Outstanding Contribution to Music in February from the Brit Awards, and you have what’s shaping up to be a banner year for PSB. Now, if we could just get another hit record out of them here in the States.

ti twinsBad: Too Much of Too Few – What do these names have in common: T.I., Beyonce, T-Pain, Britney Spears, Ne-Yo, Lil Wayne, and Kanye West. Why, all of these folks had multiple top 10 hits at the same time during some point of 2008. While it’s great to maximize your promotional investment with concurrent singles focused on different demographics (Beyonce, that’s got your weave strands all over it), is it really healthy in the long run? I mean, remember when an album with six singles meant a two-year run on the Billboard 200? Now, six singles come out before the album is released (see Taylor Swift, above). On top of that, you add in all of the incestuous team-ups and collaborations, and it makes for a pretty boring chart. For example, at #26 this week is Ludacris co-starring T-Pain, and at #27 is T-Pain and Ludacris. Do I really need to go further with this?

I know there are other trends, but these are a few that came to my mind. What were you all loving or loathing?

Random Notes – 10/15/08

Posted by John on October 15, 2008
Posted in: music industry, upcoming. Tagged: , , , , , , . 5 Comments

– As predicted, “Womanizer” sprints from #96 to #1, giving her the longest jump up the Hot 100 in history. It may be hard for her to repeat next week, though, given how iTunes, due to a “glitch”, dropped “Womanizer” from its site on Tuesday. The track has been re-upped, but the damage may have already been done for next week’s chart. In other Britney news, she’s going on tour next Spring, and she had a Starbucks Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate yesterday.

– PMN faves the Indigo Girls have a new CD ready to go sometime in the near future in two formats: with a full band, and just the two of them acoustic. Since they were dropped from Hollywood Records last year (“a real blessing”, says Amy Ray), the duo can pursue any option they want, but plan to stay independent for the foreseeable future. They do have their own label, so they know what they’re doing. BTW, Amy’s solo tour kicks off next week in Nashville.

– Nutty rocker Justin Hawkins, formerly of the Darkness, is out with a new group called Hot Leg. They’ll have a single out next week, and a CD out in January. After having heard his contribution for Eurovision, I’m surprised they let him record anything. The world will look up, yawn, and then go back to filing their nails.

– New releases this week include Keane, Keane and Keane. Does anything else matter? Well, there’s also a lot of Christmas crap getting released, along with Ray Montagne, Kenny Chesney, Ingrid Michaelson, Nikka Costa, and (’cause they need the money) Sixpence None the Richer. Speaking of Christmas, it’s like that for hip-hop fans, with new singles from Fitty, Ludacris, and T-Pain. Other singles of note include more Taylor Swift, John Legend and Fall Out Boy, as well as a pretty cool cover of “A Change Is Gonna Come” by Seal.

Dance Like There’s No Tomorrow

Posted by John on October 11, 2008
Posted in: commentary, personal, youtube. Tagged: , , , . 8 Comments

No, this won’t be a tribute to Ms Abdul, although wasn’t she supposed to have a record out right about now? If there was a good time for her to release some happy dance music, now would be the time to do so. In the face of hard economic times, there are two types of music that really seem to do well. Anything that reminds the listener of a better time (aka oldies) start popping up more, so expect an upswing in “80s and 90s weekends” on your local Adult Contemporary station. In addition, dance music seems to do better in these times, and I think that may be slowly working itself out.

Case in point: the dance opus “Blackout”. (Why does everything come back to Britney this week?) Yes, it’s the least successful Britney CD saleswise, and I’m sure that part of that has to do with leaks and downloads, but if you look at the single releases, they were collectively more successful than “In The Zone”. Britney’s only had one hit bigger than “Gimme More”, and that’s “Baby One More Time”, her only #1. What’s the common theme of the singles on “Blackout”? It’s dance music, bitch.

A month ago, I found myself at 3 am slightly intoxicated at Charlie’s in Chicago, hanging with a good friend who was on the make. After a year of living in Lansing, it was great to be in a big-city club playing big boy music, and I was just taking it in. The music was bangin’ all night, but when “Closer” came on, the place really lit up, and I found myself on the dancefloor by myself for the one and only time of the night. There was something so liberating about that 7 minutes or so of escapism through dance, and I reveled in it. Gone were the worries about the upcoming move, the pending unemployment, and the final cords being cut on a long-term relationship. In their place was joy, exhilaration, and celebration.

“And I just can’t bring myself away
But I don’t want to escape
I just can’t stop”

Dance music has power, and it’s that power that draws people to it in times of despair and crisis. The mental, emotional, and physical release can be healing.

Of course, I look at this as an American, where dance music seems to seep its way underground more often than not, but this is the same country that rallied behind “disco sucks” in the late 70s. I am often jealous of my counterparts in other countries who enjoy dance music in the mainstream on a regular basis. If all goes according to plan, though, the US will be experiencing a dance renaissance not seen since the mid 90s, when tracks from the likes of Real McCoy, C+C Music Factory, La Bouche, Haddaway, and Crystal Waters were ruling the airwaves. I leave you with a video that arguably represents that period better than any other.

Video Notables – Britney Times Two

Posted by John on October 10, 2008
Posted in: videos, youtube. Tagged: . 3 Comments

Tonight you get two Britney videos for the price of one. First off, here’s the director’s cut on the “Womanizer” video that premiered on 20/20. How many Britneys can you count?

This video puts every video from “Blackout” to shame, and really gives a lot of credence to the phrase “Britney’s back”. Dancing, special effects, skin…it’s got everything that you look for in a A-list music video. I would actually give the song another chance after watching this.

Video #2 is more unexpected, but man, it’s a riveting piece of video for a minute and a half. Check out the promo for Britney’s MTV reality show “For the Record”, due in November.

This clip is fascinating, if for no other reason than the quote at the end of the video. “What the hell was I thinking?” I haven’t been a big booster of the new song, but I really am rooting for her to make a comeback. The fact that she’s asking the question says a lot about her and how far she’s come. This is must-see TV, y’all!

Random Notes – 10/09/08

Posted by John on October 9, 2008
Posted in: charts, music industry, news. Tagged: , , , . 6 Comments

– Despite my prediction yesterday, Britney’s “Womanizer” debuts at #96 today on the Hot 100, strictly based on a week’s worth of airplay at Top 40 Radio. We may potentially be looking at history being made next week, depending on how strong the sales of the single are this week. T.I. broke the record for the highest jump to #1, leaping from #80 last week with “Live Your Life”. It’s an outside chance, but it’s definitely doable, that “Womanizer” may break that record, especially if she sees another spike in airplay this week.

– While we’re talking about “Live Your Life”, it’s actually interesting to note that Rihanna is now among the top 10 females when it comes to #1 hits. Even more impressive, her #1s were achieved with jumps from #3 (Disturbia), 34(SOS), 41(Umbrella), 53(Take A Bow), and 80(Live Your Life). She’s been described as a firecracker, but that’s some pretty impressive fire power!

– Buried in an article about the upcoming Black Eyed Peas release is something that we probably all suspected would come at some point, but this soon? Here’s will.i.am:

“For the last remaining stores that sell CDs, this is the last Christmas that CDs will be in stores,” he predicts. “It’s f*cking scary.”

I have transferred my entire CD collection over to digital, but I still like picking up CDs and holding them in my hands. Having said that, it’s a pretty archaic method of file transfer, given the more eco-friendly forms of delivery that are available now. While I will miss the idea of shopping through racks of CDs, I think this is something who’s time is overdue.

“I Call ’em Like I See ’em”

Posted by John on October 8, 2008
Posted in: commentary, songs. Tagged: . 2 Comments

It’s the talk of the blogosphere, so of course I’m going to jump on the bandwagon. Britney Spears…brilliant or batty? I mean, by all rights, “Womanizer” should be a no-brainer. Given her track record with men in the past five years, you would think this song would connect, and apparently it does for some folks. The track is Most Increased Plays at Pop Radio this week, debuting on the Top 40 Airplay chart all the way up at #26. That’s really impressive when you get right down to it. It almost grabbed Most Added again this week, if it hadn’t been for Knuckledrag coming out with their new “Gotta Be Somebody” also. And now it’s #1 at iTunes, ensuring a pretty high debut next week on the Hot 100. It should easily debut in the Top 10, instantly making it one of her biggest records of this decade. [Note: the song actually debuted this week at #96, based on airplay alone. More on that in the next entry.]

So what’s my beef? Well, frankly, I just don’t get it. The actual music is actually very good. Love the beat, and the clubbish sound is very current. On the lyric side, there are some pretty clever word choices that would normally add to the appeal of the track. It’s that damn chorus thing that knocks me off balance. We get it, he’s a Womanizer, but by the end of the song, shouldn’t you have sympathy for the “victim”? Personally, I think she probably deserves getting dumped, if this is the way that she communicates. “Dinner time, dinner time, come and get it, dinner time!” That would get on my nerves, too!

“Blackout” was a pretty brilliant record in several ways. While Britney’s discography is littered with catchy tunes, the caliber of material on her last record was more consistently high than any other release in her nearly 10-year-old career. So to lead off the follow-up with a song that’s as weak as this is seems like a miscalculation to me. But what do I know? It’s a hit no matter how you look at it. I just hope that the rest of the material on “Circus” avoids the lyrical aspects of “Womanizer”, and sticks with the solid dance/pop music that we’ve come to know and appreciate.

Random Notes – 10/07/08

Posted by John on October 6, 2008
Posted in: commentary, music industry, singles, songs. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

– Folks are buzzing about this week’s episode of Saturday Night Live, but it wasn’t necessarily a good buzz for the Killers. While the song “Human” is terrific as is, it just didn’t translate well to the small screen in a live setting. Brandon was all over the place energy-wise, and I really felt he had a weird David Byrne quality going on. “Spaceman”…now that was some weird ish.

– Oh, look! Kid Rock’s decided to go digital after all! He’s just signed a four-month exclusive with Rhapsody. That’s kind of like signing a vow of celibacy, and then becoming a Catholic priest. No one’s really taking you THAT seriously!

– Coldplay is releasing an EP on November 18th that features a re-recorded version of “Lost” with guest rap provided by Jay-Z. Six of the eight tracks are brand-new, with a remix of “Lovers In Japan” rounding out the set.

– T.I. now has two of the top 3 songs at iTunes, with his Rihanna duet “Live Your Life” at #1, and “Whatever You Like” at #3, along with three other songs in the Top 100. Sandwiched in between the top ones is P!nk, whose hit “So What’ has to be the number one song in the world at the moment. Right?

– New releases are a bit light this week, with Oasis, Jon McLaughlin, Sarah McLachlan (coincidence?), Michelle Williams, Bob Dylan, and Tim McGraw’s “Greatest Hits, Vol 12”. More single activity this week, with Fall Out Boy, Kenny Chesney, Akon, and the HIGHLY overrated “Womanizer” from Britney Spears.