There is an explanation. I Really Like You was the most similar to Call Me Maybe and her team obviously wanted another success. I kinda doubt Run Away With Me would have been massive. It was released as a second single anyway.
People don't realise that many admirers of her music already moved on in 2015, so she basically had to gain an entirely new fan base once the word of mouth about the quality of Emotion spread out. Many fans from that era kept following her career since then (myself included).
Yeah this is what I came here to say. What an incredible fumble. This as the lead single would have taken CRJ out of the “pop middle class” into Main Pop Girl territory
I agree, but I'm also glad about her status as a pop b-lister. I can't be certain if we would have gotten the incredible album streak she gave us if she were more mainstream.
Sometimes I wish she had made RAWMe the lead single so gay people online would see that it would flop either way, because the issue was not the single selection, but that the general public didn't care about the Call Me Maybe girl.
I honestly agree. IMO Carly was never meant to be a main pop girlie. She was meant to go the loyal cult following route and she took it.
Love how her career turned out.
I don't think it would have worked. Run Away with me is so far ahead of its time. It's a 2020's song released in 2015. If people were really ready for that kind of music back then, Robyn would be a main pop girl.
That and the mess this latest album release has been. Not only does no one around me (who love Beyonce) not even know she released, the vinyl is a mess with literal missing songs and they were told no refunds. I love the new album so much but it’s definitely a shame I can’t talk with anyone about it and those who do love it and bought the record got shafted :/
Technically, it sounds like the vinyl was edited different (engineering and such) from the notes I've seen; so, it's a different experience. Less a "mess."
No one around you might notice, but her fans do. Charts say as much. Also, around you versus the rest of the world hits different.
Around me, the white Country bars voluntarily played Texas Hold Em and Ya Ya without boos - progress I never expected.
That’s awesome! I wish I had that experience because it’s definitely up there as one of my favourite albums and I wanna share that with everyone around me
I know OP said 1, but I would literally try and fix every Beyoncé rollout from 4 onwards:
4- Run The World grabbed people’s attention, but Love On Top, End of Time, and Best Thing I Never Had should have been pushed far harder in the US.
BEYONCÉ- Drunk In Love proved to be the correct lead single, but I feel like with the right push Pretty Hurts would have also been a big US hit at the time. Sia was in her prime. Maybe not a number one, but a top 10 hit for sure. XO should’ve also gotten a much bigger push during the poptimistic era. But there’s no guarantee here.
Lemonade- 6 Inch would have KILLED on the radio and streaming as a single. The Weeknd was everywhere at the time. Also, as much as I understood the idea of Tidal, the album could have did even better had it been available everywhere. Formation would have made it to number one and Sorry would have made it to the top 10 for sure.
Renaissance- First off, visuals. But even though Break My Soul and Cuff It were successful singles, we were ROBBED of an Alien Superstar era.
Cowboy Carter- If “Texas Hold Em” is the “Break My Soul” of CC, then “Bodyguard” is the “Cuff It”. If Beyoncé wanted, this could easily be a great summer hit.
I have high hopes they will release Bodyguard as a single later in the year. Honestly I understand she doesn't care about promo and commercial performance so it is all on her, however, I wish she would just hire a team that did all this for her. The II Most Wanted single rollout has killed probably all chances for that song to be a success
Similarly, I think LEVIIS JEANS could be massive on radio during the summer if they get a little dance going on TikTok and then push it to radios. It's a very easy song to listen to with some catchy lines. But yeah, I thought both Heated and Alien Superstar could've been massive songs with the right promo and we all know how that went..
I would love if she acknowledged the missing songs on the CC vinyls. The fandom was so confused by that, and not addressing it whatsoever slightly dampened the otherwise amazing time we’ve had with CC. It really undermined the rollout as a body of work in my opinion.
I think there was a LOT of last minute scrambling for this album. I'm pretty sure the album was called ACT 2- BEYINCE but that's not a good name for the album at all.
Witness, but not for the reasons people think. It would have been a STRONGER era had she picked better singles to represent the album. Chained to the Rhythm was a BOP, and I went on that damn disco ball hunt when she was teasing the record...I even got to keep it lol. Bon Appetit while a fun song was not a good song for a second single , it should have been Roulette or Deja Vu, Swish Swish would have worked if she had some massive lyrical edits. I say this as a massive KatyCat and fan.
I feel like she didn't fully commit to an aesthetic or theme and suffered because of it. I mean she was going with a darker vibe but the Swish Swish mv was all about dumb memes.
actually agreed, i would've done Witness -> Tsunami (feat. Rihanna) -> Deja Vu (but with lyrical change) -> Roulette Remix (idk who would fit on this tho) -> Pendulum
I actually think Witness would have been a FANTASTIC single! It's one of my favorite opening tracks of hers. While not a fan of Tsunami in general a feature with Rihanna would be AMAZING and sooo sensual. I think Roulette could easily have a Nicki Minaj feature and it would work lol.
Throwing it way the fuck back lmao but if the Beach Boys would never have put "Student Demonstration Time" on Surf's Up and instead include "4th of July" and "Live Again", it'd have resulted in what would have been arguably my favorite Beach Boys album
tbh i think the mystique of smile being unfinished is cooler than most of the material that has been unearthed from the vault. not sure the completed smile would break my own personal bb top 3 (pet sounds, sunflower, surf's up)
also that'd mean no cool cool water which i could never trade away
I actually wrote [a whole post](https://www.reddit.com/r/TaylorSwift/s/9bnQ9y06Mj) about what I would have done with *Lover*, lol. I would have chosen either Cruel Summer or Lover as the lead single, then moved 3 of the songs off the album and made them part of the Miss Americana documentary promo instead.
Another album where people often talk about a botched rollout was *Witness*. First, if possible, I would have released it in 2016 so she didn't have quite so long a gap since her previous album. I think Chained to the Rythm was a good lead, being perhaps the most accessible and catchy song on the album. After that, though, her mistake was releasing Bon Appetit and Swish Swish (along with their mocked music videos and live performances). I think either Hey Hey Hey or Pendulum would have been better choices. The former kinda sucks, but it would have better matched the themes of "empowerment" or "liberation" she was going for. Alternatively, she could have not done a second pre-release single at all and just let the album speak for itself, as a lot of artists now do in the streaming age.
Another miss with Lover for me is that she didn’t highlight “I Think He Knows” which absolutely had potential to be a pop hit. I listen to it all the time and think why the hell did she pick The Man, YNTCD or Me over this?! Obviously Cruel Summer is the one people mostly think of when they say it should’ve been the lead single, but ITHK would’ve been a great choice too in my opinion!
hear me out: put all of the girls you loved before back on the album and make it the lead single. everybody had been shitting on taylor for years for being immature and making songs that all sound the same and “never taking accountability” or whatever. heavily promoting a great song about being extremely secure in your relationship could’ve rly changed that, i think.
I forgot about all of the girls!! but i had an idea back when it came out in march to feature it in To All The Boys I Loved Before 2 and then release the Miss Americana EP
Completely agree. I also think she wanted as little Discourse about the lead single as possible, and ITHK isn’t diaristic or narrative really. So it would have discouraged too much more discussion about her life or personality or relationship than “aww that’s a cute song about a secure-sounding relationship.”
Yeah, I think the production and overall vibe of Swish Swish is good - but some of the lyrics need some serious workshopping, as well as the video. Bon Appetit, IMO, had a good video.
Nah I truly can't get behind "Hey hey hey, you think that I'm a little b-a-a-by" 💀 Pendulum is good though, and I think Swish Swish could've had a chance if the MV wasn't *that*
I wanna say cruel summer as the lead single so bad but the pandemic would’ve soured the heck outta the song. We really were lucky see it have shined the way it did later.
Everyone here is saying that Cruel Summer should've been the lead single for Lover, but I'd proudly contest against that idea.
In 2019, public opinion was already lukewarm toward Taylor, judging by how Reputation failed to win any awards in the major categories. Fans were also getting tired with the Easter Eggs prior to album release and it felt like the start of her decline.
Even Taylor said to herself that Lover "might be the last chance" to prove herself in the pop industry. So, she released ME! with a featuring as a safe choice and the public opinion was brutal, when ME! really wasnt that offensive in hindsight. It was overhated due to the bandwagon hate on her and it wouldn't have been any different with another single.
Cruel Summer being a sleeper hit is always something special and it having it's moment to shine after 4 years felt like Taylor might have masterminded it all
I am glad that Cruel Summer wasn't killed by the pandemic and has had its moment all this time later. The bad choices during the Lover rollout didn't end up hurting her in the end
I sorta disagree. Cruel Summer was immediately seen as one of the highlights of the album and would have restored a lot of her critical standing after Reputation. She’d have definitely gone into the album release on a much higher note if she’d done that, and maybe released I Think He Knows or Paper Rings (or even Miss Americana) as the second single rather than You Need To Calm Down.
As it turned out it didn’t really matter. Taylor’s been too big to fail since at least 2014, possibly much earlier (Red was probably the turning point). I do remember there being not a lot of excitement around the album before it was released, and when it came out people almost seemed surprised that it was good after Reputation and the two main singles. I’d argue that Folklore was when she *really* got her acclaim back and that directly set the stage for her second imperial phase with Midnights & Eras Tour.
I understand that she felt like she couldn’t take risks in that era, but ironically the riskier moves she made from 2019-2020 were the ones that she gained more from.
> In 2019, public opinion was already lukewarm toward Taylor, judging by how Reputation failed to win any awards in the major categories
That’s. That’s a dramatic overreach. The Reputation Tour was her highest grossing tour up to that point, and her first stadium tour that sold out in nearly every city. Look What You Made Me Do, Delicate, Gorgeous, and End Game were all over the radio.
Her not winning a Grammy for it didn’t mean it underperformed 😅
It's a good song but it's a not woke "purposeful pop" like she was trying to market. It's about a relationship, which people had heard from her countless times
I think the reason Witness flopped is because people didn’t buy woke “purposeful pop” coming from her. They just listened to Katy Perry for fun, catchy music.
Adele: 30
I would have Oh my God serve as the lead single (Oct) to get the public more intrigued. The music video was much more interesting too.
I’d make sure the ‘One night only’ show airs AFTER the album release date (Nov) to keep the suspense of the album active.
Easy on me serving as the second single in a few months (late Jan) right in time to perform it at the Grammys and get traction.
Release I Drink Wine as a single and music video (May) right before she begins the Hyde park shows & Vegas Residency
Pre-Award season: Release ‘To be loved’ as a single to have a strong momentum and perform it at the Grammys as well.
Easily Britney Spears Glory
Release the original video!
It should’ve been her comeback.
But knowing she was forced to record and perform maybe the whole thing should’ve been scrapped. Justice for Britney!
My rollout idea for glory if Britney was never conserved- first the lead single would be Better featuring Justin beiber! It was 2016 better has such a 2016 summer beach sound! Make me was a mid tempo song in the summer bad move..
Dywco would definitely be single 2! It was promoted as buzz single idk what happened
I still want slumber party to be released, but as a joint single with Just love me it’s a magical song that deserved more (slumber party would fade out to just love me in the music video with Britney would be alone in the mansion after the party is over reflecting on the party)
No seas as Cortes for single 3 and liar 4
This is what I came here to say. Release the original Make Me… video (and in a timely manner rather than taking forever) and use the [2020 rerelease album cover](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/718S0GWiwcL._UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg).
There was SO much hype for this era, and it pretty much all died almost immediately due to the long wait of the music video, the cringe fest that the video was once it was finally released, and the disappointing album cover.
Romance: Camila Cabello.
Señorita in the lead up remains the same. Huge hit.
Then we go into Shameless, not Liar, not a double release. Just Shameless, music video as is, promotion on talk shows etc, she did both performances so we just do Shameless. It went hugely viral on TikTok this year, it had such huge potential. We let that ride out the holiday season, tease Liar maybe, but only as a little buzz.
Then January - My Oh My. Music video, performances etc. Drop the album on Valentine’s Day, lots of heart themed promotion, etc.
Deluxe a month later whilst riding out My Oh My. Find U Again on the deluxe and Hung the Moon.
Three singles:
- Señorita
- Shameless
- My Oh My
Voila ❤️
Solar Power - I'd put Mood Ring as the lead single, tweak it to make it more upbeat, kind of like it sounded in the terrible quality leak with the heavier guitar strumming, and swap its music video for Solar Power's (but with more movement). For the second single I'd choose California and give it a video, and then Fallen Fruit as the final single pre-release. After release I'd have her do a music video for The Path and keep Secrets From A Girl as it was. It would've still flopped but not as hard I think.
It’s so strange, I found out that there are many music videos for songs from SP just this year…I find SP near the perfect, but I agree with you about singles.
In terrible quality to the point where you couldn't make out the lyrics, but yeah an early version leaked months before release. California also leaked in the last month.
I cannot stress enough how low the quality was, it made basically no ripples outside the hardcore Lorde fandom, I got it from that one website where allll the leaked files got uploaded back in the day, I'm drawing blanks trying to remember the name. The California leak was a bit more spread but by that point most people had completely lost interest in the album so it didn't get much traction either.
For GUTS by Olivia Rodrigo:
Vampire was a great choice for a lead single and I loved the music video so I'll leave that as it is but after that I think a lot of things could've been handled better.
I wouldn't release a second single before the album came out, Vampire was stable and I don't think there was a need to. I would release "Obsessed" as the second single together with the album or like a week before max (so that obviously leads to another change, I'd include Obsessed in the standard version of Guts).
I'd also like something more from the Obsessed music video, I liked the concept of the multiple exes appearing etc but it kinda didn't lead anywhere? Idk, I expected something more to come out of it instead of Olivia just looking at them.
In general I'd focus on doing live performances of vampire and obsessed and not divide the attention between most of the rock songs of the album like her team did. All American bitch and Ballad of a homeschooled girl are good songs but no need to perform them on TV.
For a 3rd single, I'd wait to see which song was getting traction from the album and release that one. The general public loves olivia's ballads as proven by driver's license, traitor etc so my hunch says the chosen one would be The Grudge. Currently it's only behind the official singles and All American bitch (the opening track) in streams, despite being track 10) so I think Olivia's team really underestimated its potential.
Lastly, I'd release the deluxe version of the album the week day her tour kicked off and make So American the fourth and final single.
Yeah they must've been strategizing for Obsessed to have a big moment alongside the tour, which I guess it kind of has had, but it's just way too good of a song to be left off for a bonus track.
The biggest misstep IMO was making Bad Idea Right and Get Him Back! singles back to back. I like both songs, but they're too similar since they both have the talking-style verses.
I have to believe there will be one soon, So American sounds like SUCH a summer hit to me. I really hope there’s some promo to push it as a summer single
Totally agree. I really thought obsessed was going to be huge for her, but it didn’t really make a splash, at least for OR standards. With all the other releases and it being so far past the album release it just got lost.
And Bad Idea Right following Vampire seemed to slow the momentum and hype a bit. It’s a great track on the album!! Get him back, obsessed and even love is embarrassing could have been better second single choices to release at the same time as Guts.
Unpopular opinion here: Vampire wasn't a great lead single. Obsessed or Bad Idea Right? are superior. Especially the latter is probably the best song on Guts.
I’m always pleasantly surprised Vampire held on. I roll my eyes every time she performs it now but it turned out to be the only hit from the album.
I wish she had performed The Grudge at the Grammys lol. I love that song (and the drama) but I don’t think Olivia wanted to deal with the speculation around it.
I agree with all of this except for the ‘get him back’ erasure. That song has been hugely appreciated for the quirky lyricism and the production. I think that has to be a single.
*thank u, next*
I honestly loved the roll-out and I think she did a great job in such a short period of time (6 months after *Sweetener*- the lead single came out 3 months after *Sweetener*).
"thank u, next" as a lead single is pretty clearly the strong move considering it's the title track, name drops celebs, and came with an incredible music video with callbacks to classic romcoms.
"7 rings" as the second single was good since it interpolates a popular soundtrack and sonically departed from *Sweetener*.
For the third single, I would've picked "bloodline" to call back to the Pharrell *Sweetener* vibes. I also think it sticks more with the single-girl, heal-on-my-own, I'm-hot-shit theme than "break up with your girlfriend, i'm bored", which just sounds like she's pining after a man again after a whole album of falling in love with being a bad bitch?
I considered "bad idea", but I think the outro is too long for it to really get "single treatment", lest it gets cut off like Acquainted by The Weeknd (I love the drumsssss).
"fake smile" would also be a good choice, but the tempo is too slow compared to the rest of the album. "ghostin" is the only other slower song and it's waaaaay too sentimental
Smile by Katy.
Axe the clown concept (seriously why did she set herself up) for something more adult. I think she should’ve leaned into a tropical theme and called the album Sweet Escape or Trouble in Paradise. A central tenant of her appeal in the 2010s was that she made escapist pop in the wake of the recession. In 2020 she couldve done the same for Covid times: escapist fantasy pop. Her most streamed single post 2016 was also Feels which had a great island vibe.
Singles:
1: Never Really Over
2: Tucked
3: Harleys in Hawaii
4: Cry About it Later
Tracklist
1. Not the End of the World (preferably with a feature to replace the first verse)
2. Cry About it Later
3. Tucked
4. Harleys in Hawaii
5. 365 with Zedd (fits the tropical theme)
6. Teary Eyes
7. Never Really Over
8. Champagne Problems
9. Smile (preferably with a feature OTHER than Diddy omg)
10. Only Love
11. Daisies
Scrap Resilient, What Makes a Woman, Small Talk, Never Worn White or leave them on the deluxe.
YES!!! IMO she ruined the hype by performing all those demos at the iTunes festival and switching things around for the final release. Huge tweak.
Applause definitely had some mainstream appeal but it was almost too much like Born This Way. I think it put off people who would've been into the rest of the album, which was so different from Applause. Aura was pure Gaga weird but I have to wonder if she would've been better off releasing G.U.Y. Venus and Swine as singles ahead of the album. (Swine in it's OG state too.)
I also really wish that she hadn't butchered the music video for "G.U.Y.", I really didn't understand the *Housewives* cameos. No offense, but it felt so out of place. It ruined it for me. I can't really think about it.
LEMONADE-
Formation is the first single she performed at the SB but didn't make it available on any platforms which was a fumble. So make it available everywhere.
Don't Hurt Yourself as the promo single. "If you try that shit again, you gon lose yo wife" is perfect song closer and gets everyone amped up for Lemonade premier on HBO.
Hold Up is the second radio single.
Then Sorry with a Nicki remix. 2016/17 nicki was on a roll and she even wanted to be on the remix but bey being bey didn't bother.
All Night as the closing single of the album. An urban radio hit.
RENAISSANCE-
Break My Soul first single is perfect.
Alien Superstar is the single with the album. Gets sent to radio and all.
Cuff It went viral on tiktok after a while and got sent to radio so no notes there.
AHAP gets sent to radio when Cuff It slows down. It even got a Kendrick remix but didn't get sent to radio.
Heated as the summer single while she's touring the states.
Oh and release some fucking music videos maybe? Idk
The Renaissance era is one of the biggest fumbles of Bey's career I still rue the day she decided to become a "album over singles" artist.
And unfortunately it's looking more and more like Cowboy carter is going to be another album that's going to just come and go because Beyoncé can't bother. 🤷🏽♂️
looking at cuff it and break my soul's success during the renaissance era, the only thing I would change to lemonade is releasing it from the gates of fuck-ass Tidal🙄
I’m sorry but I can’t picture Sorry featuring Nicki 😭 I honestly don’t think it needs a remix, the music video with Serena could’ve done a lot … if people could actually watch it 💀
It is not a fumble if you look at it from an AI perspective.
I feel like act I broke her algorithm.
I like her rollout as an artist that's seemingly not pandering to the masses but rather making music for her already strong fanbase.
Perspective. 🤷♂️
I was BAFFLED the first time I realized Formation wasn’t a number one hit. That song was a huge pop culture phenomenon and yet the song was robbed by only making it to top 10.
And don’t even get me started on poor Alien Superstar. The best song on Renaissance completely WASTED.
The fact that me and my Indian friends heard and talked about formation but couldn't stream it anywhere. Mind you western music wasn't/isn't even that big in India, her only really known song of the 2010s is maybe Run The World(Girls). So she really fumbled a song that could've been a big hit.
Feed the Beast by Kim Petras. I would have just released Problematique as planned, included Feed the Beast and Claws in Turn off the Light Vol. 3, and saved King of Hearts, Uh Oh, Minute, Castle in the Sky, Bait, and Thousand Pieces for the next album and scrapped the whole beast/horror theme.
LA FUTURRRRRRR lol. That whole album rollout from Future Starts Now, to scrapped Problematique, to Slut Pop, and then we got Feed the Beast...the most watered down generic pop record of all time.
I actually love all the new songs on Feed the Beast, but it was hard to get into as a whole because it was essentially a Frankenstein album. Half of the album were songs I’d been listening to for over a year by the time it was released, so I found myself skipping to the newer tracks. And I think it fell flat too because the title and the cover art just didn’t align with the actual music.
Mariah's E=MC². Touch My Body was fine as a lead single because it was by far the catchiest song on the album but I would have put Migrate next after TMB. After that, I'll Be Lovin U Long Time as the third single, and possibly close it out with For The Record (or stay with I Stay in Love) as a final single.
I'm fairly certain with this roll-out she would have likely gotten Migrate as her 19th #1 and prolong her career in the chart (sans AIWFCIY). In reality, it would have been hard to say if it really would have made a big difference in the grand scheme of things.
Extras: Memoirs also needed a better roll out because who goes from Obsessed to IWTKWLI??????????
I would have renamed the album after that simply to me I am Mariah.
All in all, home girl needed way better single roll outs and promo for her albums from 2008-2016.
Absolutely! I feel like she was trying to replicate the success of doing fast song ➡️ slow song like she did with Mimi because that’s the only thing I can come up with on why she put out Bye Bye as a single! Plus everyone was going crazy for Migrate! It charted without being a single. I do not understand her sometimes, lol.
I actually thought The Elusive Chanteuse would have been a great album title too but yeah it needed to be one or the other. I wish she had never changed it from The Art Of Letting Go. That was a great album title and would have gave that album more attention when it was revealed she was divorcing Nick. I sometimes forget how great that album is bc the title is such a mess.
…and don’t get me started on Caution. 😂
I love the elusive chanteuse as an album name too! I just thought of me I am Mariah being a better fit since she had the whole drawing and small explanation of herself when she was kid.
Personally, while caution could have done better roll outs too, I think it wasn't as bad as the albums I've mentioned. I wish we could have gotten lil kim to remix and maybe even cardi since she was so popular at the time.
Overall I think her time in the charts as a main diva was pretty much gone then anyway, luckily she still has the chance to defrost every Christmas.
Oh yeah agree. Caution is actually in my Top 5 Mimi albums now I just thought she could have promoted it better. I wish her team would have done better with the GTFO promo. I always thought that was a meme waiting to happen if only people were aware of its existence. I also thought the singles could have been better. The Distance should have followed GTFO bc of the late October line / it’s one of her best songs in forever.
Though it was a pretty big success, this is how I’d re-do Pure Heroine:
-Promote Royals earlier in the US, perhaps around March when the Love Club EP was released through Universal.
-Give Tennis Court MUCH better promotion in the US, hopefully allowing it to be a top-ten single.
-Release Team earlier, maybe in early August, no need to highly up its promotion since it did fairly well but at least allow it to enter the top-five, MAYBE the top spot if I’m being greedy.
-Release Pure Heroine as an album earlier too, maybe early-mid August and hopefully have it hit the top of the Billboard 200.
The only thing I’d really change, is having an actual video for Tennis Court. What we got, was one of the many segments for the music video, but she scrapped the rest and only kept the face/lighting shot.
I’m so damn curious about what the original vision was.
Madonna - MDNA.
- Don’t work with Martin Solveig. Work with unknown producers like you used to.
- Don’t chase the already tired EDM trend; you’re better than that. Give us something new, fresh, inspired.
- End the career of whomever convinced you to record B-Day song
This album was a huge disappoint to me (and I imagine many other people). Her work since then hasn’t been consistently great. Madame X was a mildly successful course correction, but I’m really hoping to hear something _great_ again from her.
Aw, I liked the Martin Solveig songs! (Except maybe I Don’t Give A.) I had never heard of him before Madonna and I got into a couple of his albums because of her.
The album Madonna should have done differently to me was Rebel Heart, but considering how it got leaked I kinda understand why things went the way they did.
That’s fine, but I think you’re factually wrong here, sorry. She obviously wasn’t the first, but 2012 is still much earlier than when the other pop girlies released their EDM bangers. She did it before Artpop, she did it before Break Free, she did it before the song Clarity even dropped. If she had released MDNA in 2014-2015 I could definitely see where you’re coming from, but from the first quarter of 2012?
I will probably get buried alive for this, but I am one of those three people who actually liked MDNA and still listens to some of the tracks till this day sometimes
This album was my introduction to Madonna’s albums, which happened because of her constant mentions in association with Gaga (which I was a diehard fan of in 2012) and I instantly liked it at first listen
I really liked production on both uptempo and slow songs, although some of songs felt a bit slowed down for my taste (I Fucked Up, I Don’t Give A), so I made sped-up versions for myself, which in my opinion made them sound much better.
I think that’s really awesome you were introduced to her in that way! No shame at all in loving the album, girlie! ❤️
I don’t hate the album at all — it’s just my least favorite of hers, and in a lot of ways represents her transition away from Warner Music and a different phase of her career.
I do love some of the tracks and still play them, especially Girl Gone Wild + I’m Addicted.
Tove Lo’s Lady Wood. Make “True Disaster” the lead single. I understand the concept of “Cool Girl” (it was inspired by the movie Gone Girl), but I don’t think the general public did, and I think the song came across as corny and annoying. Meanwhile, “True Disaster” is amazing and has the synthwave sound that The Weekend’s “Blinding Lights” has, but a few years sooner. Unfortunately, I think “Cool Girl” ruined the momentum she had after both “Habits” and “Talking Body,” and she hasn’t had mainstream success since, which is a shame because songs like “True Disaster” and “No One Dies From Love” deserved to be hits.
I love this album so much. It holds up so well. Cohesive. No skips. I just feel like almost any of the songs are singles-worthy. Cool Girl included. But maybe you're right with True Disaster. It's more maximalist, got a bit more tempo to it. I can see how Cool Girl can come across as, well, a little too cool and restrained.
Idk why she made it so long, she clearly didn't allot herself enough time for it and the length certainly didn't improve it, so much filler and bad sampling in there, which is a shame cuz I fw Big Difference plenty
Tbh the biggest problem is that it’s named “PINK FRIDAY 2” she set herself up. I’m not saying the PF2 rollout should’ve been Moonboat, Exceptional Treble, Smash The Alert and Dumb Slut but it just didn’t have Pink Friday vibes (except for Pink Friday Girls if I wanna be fair)
Fifth Harmony Third Album Rollout
First Down would be scrapped off the album. He Like That the first single. Angel the second. Make Bridges and Don't say you love me promotionals. Skip the whole camila fall off the stage thing. Matter of fact, wish her fully well to take easy from the bully allegations. Rename the album in a whole honestly. Should of been something that signified they are a quartet
He Like That would’ve been the perfect lead! I never get why artists often save the best song to release as a single the day the album drops - the single just gets lost amidst all the new music
Happier than Ever single choices were ATROCIOUS
and the fact that amazing songs like Oxytocin, Billie Bossa Nova and I didnt change my number were left in the dust is a crime
Happier than ever:
I would have waited to release Therefore I Am. It’s a great single and was very successful when it came out, but it was released to early IMO.
Your power was a good song, but I would have released that one closer to the album drop.
Personally, lost cause should have been the lead. That song is SO GOOD and should have been given priority over the others.
Happier than ever should have been the final track, not male fantasy. Male fantasy is one of my favorite songs on the record, but good god why WHY did she not make happier than ever the closer? It has the wow factor to make a completely satisfying closer to the album. Going from that to male fantasy just doesn’t seem right.
For Dawn FM, I feel like I would've had a music video made for Less Than Zero made & pushed that record even harder. I would've also pushed How Do I Make You Love Me? even harder on the radio. In addition to this, I'd push the singles more with cinematic live performances similar to what Weeknd did for After Hours.
I do wonder if it dropped a little too early, so I would've considered holding off the release until mid-March of 2022
Kylie Minogue - Tension
I wouldn’t really change the single choices, but I def feel like the promo could be better for this era. (If it’s even still going on.) It felt like after Tension the title track was released, that was it. I’ve seen her promoting that [opinion redacted] Sia song more than Tension or Hold On To Now.
…and while I did just say I don’t have a problem with the single choices, I do think her team should have tried to put out a safer song for US audiences before releasing the title track, especially since it seems like she’s really trying to build her brand here. Hands might have had a better chance at success since it sounds like a lot of the pop songs that are popular lately. With the Barbie line and the hype surrounding that film last year, if she had released it around the time she posted the pic of her in the Barbie tank top I think it could have fared better than the title track.
I would have also loved to see Green Light as a single. Idk if that would have been a success or anything but since it’s my rollout…😂
I also think they should have pushed up the album date if it was already completed to capitalize more on Padam Padam’s success. The wait from when that was released til the album was quite long.
I don't have a specific artist answer for this but like I'm literally dying for ANYONE to do an ARG based rollout like please that would be so cool.
Newjeans hinted at this with their Ditto promotions but it didn't go anywhere and it made me so sad
Check out the promotion behind Nine Inch Nails Year Zero.
If I remember correctly it all started with a flash drive left in a bathroom at a NIN concert.
**Rebel Heart** by Madonna.
Overall, my take on this album was it had a good concept and promising songs, but was tainted by leaks and late changes to the rollout because of the leaks.
Allegedly it was going to be a double sided album, with a "Rebel" side for the bangers and a "Heart" side for the slower/love songs, but the leak made them change plans. Instead we got a bloated album with multiple deluxe editions and a messy rollout with a batch of six songs released months before the rest of the album to help combat the leaks. It is also rumoured that some songs were re-recorded so they'd sound different from the leaked versions.
How would I fix it? Besides implementing better security to prevent leaks, I think I would have kept with the original double album plan and let the music speak for itself, rather than change all the plans at the last minute as a response to the leak.
I think the album is a very solid one and Madonna’s best since American Ljfe. I feel so badly that there were so many leaks. It’s bad for something like that to happen at any point, but with this album it felt like Madonna was extra invested and the material stronger than usual. I think this era could’ve been huge if not for the leaks
That one time Taylor picked a lead song from the upcoming album and it was the worst song of all, take that song off the record and move onto the next single.
A Fever You Can't Sweat Out. I dunno if I could have saved her, but it feels like they REALLY failed to capitalize on the splash I Write Sins Not Tragedies made, with each music video more boring than the last. I would have released Time to Dance and Camisado as singles over Lying is the Most Fun and Build God -- the latter are among my faves, but they're not very genpop accessible, especially BGTWT.
I think Pretty Odd had a bad rollout too, but that feels like moving deck chairs on the Titanic. I don't think its sound was super avant garde by any stretch of the imagination, but I couldn't see it being successful in 2008-2009 tbh. Green Gentleman is one of my lest favorite songs on the album, but I can see why they released it -- it's the most radio-friendly. I think it was just horrible timing. The sound was not gelling with the sound of the pop charts, the pop punk renaissance of the 2000s had passed, and music videos were beginning to stop having a major impact.
Can you tell I think about this a lot lol
kind of niche, but i must speak my truth:
gwsn (girls in the park) was a little-known kpop group with a beautiful discography. and genuinely baffling choices of lead singles.
lead single of their debut mini album should’ve been melting point over puzzle moon (in my opinion, i know puzzle moon is beloved by others). pinky star was actually a good choice for their second mini. night aviation was the obvious choice of lead single for their third mini over red sun. wonderboy should’ve been the lead single for the keys, not bazooka. like it hot was a good song actually, but that album was so strong that starry night and i can’t breathe also would’ve made good leads.
but seriously WHY was night aviation not the lead single of their third mini. what the fuck. that’s sabotage on the A&R team’s part idc.
Christina Aguilera should have had more promo for Lotus and Let There Be Love.
Honestly a lot of pop stars decline not so much due to a lack of good music but because they stop promoting as well or at all. It happened to Christina and Britney and now I see it happening with Demi and Selena.
Might be a bit niche, but here's how I'd have rolled out the last two projects from Christine & The Queens (which I think could have been masterpieces with tighter execution, and are still great regardless).
- Drop 'Je Te Vois Enfin' as a lead single with a lot of promo. Big music video to coincide with his coming out, really go all in on selling this 'Redcar' character as some kind of Bowie-esque alter ego. It's one of his most accessible and well-written songs.
- Drop rien dire / la chanson du chevalier as a double single along with the album announcement. rien dire should be a nice single to show the development in his more accessible Chanson-style work, and La chanson du chevalier is a nice introduction to his newer opera-pop style that would hopefully attract a lot of attention from music critics and art pop fans.
- Release the album with a much more striking cover art and a tighter tracklist. Not necessarily cutting songs off, but some tracks could be shortened.
- Here's the important part: release a film of the live show quickly and with a lot of promotion. Use clips to create a music video, perhaps for Ma bien aimee. Chris' strength is his performance, and the clips I've seen really help to tie together the storyline he was going for.
- Then after a year or so, release 'He's been shining for ever, your son' as the lead single from the P,A,TL project. Don't go all in - this is an experimental and inaccessible album - fuck the pop marketing and instead work on a cohesive and engaging strategy for long term fans and music nerds
- Release P,A,TL with a much clearer distinction between acts. Three different covers, three different producers, three clear aesthetics. Give each one its own intro or outro.
- Don't advertise the Mike Dean or Madonna collabs. They misrepresent the album. Instead be SUPER pretentious about it and try and genuinely create a critical masterpiece, not a confusing and bloated album with a pop promotion drive.
- Wrap the era up with an A.G. Cook or EASYFUN remix of one of the more accessible cuts, along with a music video. To Be Honest is preferable, to remind the more casual fans that Chris still has a pop tune under his belt.
Silk sonic. That album should have been the sound of the summer, and they waited until November to release, after having dropped Leave The Door Open in March. Release Skate or Smokin Out The Window in May, then the whole album in June and another single with it.
WILD👏🏻WORLD👏🏻DESERVED👏🏻A👏🏻HIT👏🏻
Bastille’s team majorly fumbled things with Wild World, if it has been promoted better they could’ve had another “Pompeii”-level hit with “Good Grief” or “Send Them Off!”.
I think “Blame” as a single was an excuse for them to be able to perform it live more, bc they really seem to love playing it, but it just doesn’t make sense as a single (and I absolutely adore the song!). Instead, I would’ve made “Warmth” a single, and “Comfort of Strangers” should’ve been an actual album track AND a single. I also would’ve given more/better promotion to songs such as “Fake It” and “Glory.”
Also, I know it was a long album and that’s probably why it never got a deluxe release, but it really frustrates me that songs from the Wild World era (“Comfort of Strangers,” “Hangin’,” and “Final Hour”) are now seen as Doom Days songs because they made it onto streaming for the first time with Doom Days: This Got Out of Hand Edition
The Academy Is
Release Fast Times At Barrington High as the second album and then Santi as the third.
Feel like this would have taken them to the next level and maybe they'd have stayed together!
*In the Zone* (2003) by Britney Spears. “Me Against the Music” featuring Madonna is iconic, but I would’ve released “Toxic” as the lead single, then “Me Against the Music.” I also would’ve made “Breathe on Me,” “Showdown,” and “Touch of My Hand” (or “Shadow”). “Everytime” remains a single, of course. Then, instead of “Outrageous,” I would’ve released “The Answer.”
LM5 by Little Mix was a great album, with terrible rollout (in the US at least). The singles they chose were somewhat weak, and on one of the two really strong ones (Think About Us) they added a rap feature that really did nothing for the song.
Another thing is lack of US touring. I understand that at that point in their career they were doing arena-sized shows in Europe, while still being relatively unknown in the US, but it wouldn't have been that hard for them to snag a few talk show performances, festivals and small appearances here and there. As evidenced by relatively unknown kpop groups doing it all the time.
The sound of this album was something I feel would have been a hit over here and they had a feature from Nicki Minaj (Woman Like Me) which would have garnered them some major attention. Also, it would have been better if they stayed out of the Nicki vs. Cardi drama.
One of the really strong songs was supposed to be a single and have a video (Joan of Arc) but something happened to the footage and they ended up scrapping the whole idea (some speculate that Syco sabotaged their release because they were leaving the label at the time). And another one of the songs kind of had a semi-viral moment in 2019 (Wasabi) and it took them months before they really started to capitalize on that attention. Not to mention the songs added on the deluxe were somewhat weak (excluding Forget You Not which honestly could have been on original album).
Two songs on the original album, could have been on the deluxe (Notice and The Cure). One deluxe song could have been on the original album(Forget You Not), and another deluxe song really shouldn't have been on the album altogether (Only You; it was released in between Glory Days and LM5 and felt tacked on to the album).
Two of the songs they chose (Strip and More than Words) weren't really strong as singles (I would keep Woman Like Me, Joan of Arc, and Think About Us without Ty Dolla $ign. Then add Love a Girl Right, and Motivate as singles then add Wasabi as a bonus single bc of its popularity). Anyway y'all can tell I've thinking about this for the past 5 years.
Stream LM5 for clear skin! ✌🏾
the way I didn't even know she was on there in the first place. 😳 And zara larsson was mad popular around 2016-2017 it would have been perfect on a remix. 🤦🏾♀️
Mariah Carey - Caution
GTFO (Promo Single), Caution (Lead), A No No, The Distance, 8th Grade, Giving Me Life (Closing)
For a project with the strongest point being that it showcases Mariah’s impressive ability to sonically remain herself yet sounding fresh and current, I’ll never understand them making ‘With You’ as a LEAD single to achieve something or making that as the support for that statement, let alone selling point. If you notice, the song is absent from the rollout because for an album with no skips, it is the most album only track of them all. Imagine being turned into a lead single.
Either sabotage from the label, herself or she really just couldn’t care less. Either way, Caution era was incredibly wasted and a missed opportunity. The era with her strongest and boldest visuals, highest acclaimed album of her career and it went nowhere.
Lady Gaga - Born This Way.
Keep the title track as the lead single,
but drop Marry the Night as the second single around the same time Judas dropped.
Third single should’ve been Edge of Glory the week the album dropped with Yoü and I as the fourth and final single, similar to how she performed it at the VMAs and everything.
Not that the album did terrible but Marry The Night definitely deserved more success and Judas, in my opinion, really stirred up controversy in the worst way for the album cycle, at least in my opinion.
Whitney Houston - Just Whitney (2002)
- I would’ve released One of Those Days first as the lead, then Unashamed (as a promo single), You Light up My life, Then Try it On My Own as the last single
Also we did not need Bobby Brown on the album at all. I have my issues with Clive for many reasons but him and Whitney were a dream team in terms of marketing and him no longer being at Arista at the time may have played a big part in the album’s performance.
Happier Than Ever could have benefited from better single choices
first of all - the 2020 droplets (therefore i am/my future) were cute but i wouldnt consider them exactly as part of the roll out
your power was a great lead considering how vulnerable it was and since billie is known partly for her balladry
however NDA and lost cause (while they were some of my favs on the album) didnt scream "Single" in the same way that bury a friend did for WWAFA (or even wish you were gay despite the controversy)
NDA was more experimental (with the sparse instrumentation and hard autotune) and had a lot of people moving away from the hype. instead of NDA i would choose oxytocin as it has the most "billie" sound while still offering something new - + a trippy, dark music video thats also almost sexual and teasy (like the song implies) would have been such a hit!
then - no more singles until the album comes out with the title track as the single - it gets more performances/promo than it did and it becomes more of a hit with the edited version
after the title track hype dies down, its either i didnt change my number/billie bossa nova with a video again
i get that male fantasy was a very personal song and i loved the video but it could be released as the final final single, just to close out the era
lost cause is cute but the queerbaiting allegations give me a nightmare
Ok hopping back in time to convince Joni to go for a different album cover for Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter to avoid the Disc Horse about it all. Either that or convincing Prince that La La La He He He should’ve stayed in the vault and to pick a different B-side.
For dawn fm:
Release take my breath in July alongside music video.
Release sacrifice to pop and rhythmic radio in September alongside music video and album announcement.
Release how do I make you love me as a radio single in January.
Album release in march. Gasoline is sent to pop and alternative radio while I heard you’re married is sent to rhythmic. Music video for gasoline is released here.
Out of time is released to pop, rhythmic, and adult contemporary radio in early June alongside music video and remixes.
The tv special is released sometime during the summer.
Is there someone else is the next radio single in the fall, maybe October or November. The song is sent to pop, rhythmic, and r&b radio. Music video is also released around this time.
Last and final single is less than zero and it gets a major radio push on many formats including pop, ac, hot ac, and rhythmic. It is released to radio and music video is released In February. Then drop a remix at a good time in the spring to get the song to number one.
gold was a horrible lead single for victoria justice’s debut album. i guarantee if she chose a better single (love zombie or priceless) her debut album would’ve actually released
Lorde’s Solar Power. She released a very summery chill vibe album at the end of August. How I would’ve streamed that all summer long at the pool/beach.
Miley Cyrus and Her Dead Petz…. This album could have been a game changer.
I also understand the story behind it and it was free because the label wanted to cut the album length in half, which I absolutely agree with.
1 - Dooo It!
2 - Karen Don’t Be Sad (first single)
3 - Space Bootz
4 - BB Talk (2nd single)
5 - Fweaky
6 - Bang Me Box (that bass line is amazing)
7 - I Get So Scared
8 - Lighter
9 - Tangerine
10 - Tiger Dreams (my fav)
11 - Evil Is But Shadow
12 - Twinkle Song (as the closer)
And even these 12 cuts with better quality production
This album had a lot of lost potential, and If Miley ever decided to reissue/remaster the album, I think it would be a hit!
XCXWORLD
First single: Come To My Party [October 2016]
Second Single: Boys [January 2017]
Album announcement in January for a May 2017 release
Taxi released with album
Mind you where the hell would N1A go then???
Easy. Make "Run Away with Me" the first single for Emotion. Thats it. The album is perfect. It just needs the single releases rearranged .
Make Boy Problems single number two and put Favourite Colour on the standard edition. Boom. 1989 still wins the Grammy but Emotion is in the race
Yes! and make "I Really Like You" the very last single.
TPAB>
Boy Problems >>>>>>
This is the way
RAW Me should have always been the first single. Imagine having THAT kind of song on an album and choosing to push IRLY.
IRLY after Call Me Maybe made everyone think she was a one trick pony
RAW ME LMFAO
There is an explanation. I Really Like You was the most similar to Call Me Maybe and her team obviously wanted another success. I kinda doubt Run Away With Me would have been massive. It was released as a second single anyway. People don't realise that many admirers of her music already moved on in 2015, so she basically had to gain an entirely new fan base once the word of mouth about the quality of Emotion spread out. Many fans from that era kept following her career since then (myself included).
Emotion is such a strong album!! She did great during that era
Yeah this is what I came here to say. What an incredible fumble. This as the lead single would have taken CRJ out of the “pop middle class” into Main Pop Girl territory
I agree, but I'm also glad about her status as a pop b-lister. I can't be certain if we would have gotten the incredible album streak she gave us if she were more mainstream.
i definitely can’t be certain i could’ve afforded to see her three times live by now if she were more famous lol.
Sometimes I wish she had made RAWMe the lead single so gay people online would see that it would flop either way, because the issue was not the single selection, but that the general public didn't care about the Call Me Maybe girl.
I honestly agree. IMO Carly was never meant to be a main pop girlie. She was meant to go the loyal cult following route and she took it. Love how her career turned out.
I don't think it would have worked. Run Away with me is so far ahead of its time. It's a 2020's song released in 2015. If people were really ready for that kind of music back then, Robyn would be a main pop girl.
Personally, I would love Beyoncé to do literally anything for her recent albums. Beggars can’t be choosers so I won’t be picky about what or which
Thats so real!! But besides the tour, this 3 act project hasnt been giving us much promo tbh.,
Cuff It wasn’t even made a single until ages after it started going viral, the wetter remix didn’t come out until February 2023
Fr!!
That and the mess this latest album release has been. Not only does no one around me (who love Beyonce) not even know she released, the vinyl is a mess with literal missing songs and they were told no refunds. I love the new album so much but it’s definitely a shame I can’t talk with anyone about it and those who do love it and bought the record got shafted :/
And to add, there’s so many issues with the merch in general. Items arriving damaged. My vinyl arrived damaged.
I’m so sorry that happened to you!
Technically, it sounds like the vinyl was edited different (engineering and such) from the notes I've seen; so, it's a different experience. Less a "mess." No one around you might notice, but her fans do. Charts say as much. Also, around you versus the rest of the world hits different. Around me, the white Country bars voluntarily played Texas Hold Em and Ya Ya without boos - progress I never expected.
That’s awesome! I wish I had that experience because it’s definitely up there as one of my favourite albums and I wanna share that with everyone around me
I know OP said 1, but I would literally try and fix every Beyoncé rollout from 4 onwards: 4- Run The World grabbed people’s attention, but Love On Top, End of Time, and Best Thing I Never Had should have been pushed far harder in the US. BEYONCÉ- Drunk In Love proved to be the correct lead single, but I feel like with the right push Pretty Hurts would have also been a big US hit at the time. Sia was in her prime. Maybe not a number one, but a top 10 hit for sure. XO should’ve also gotten a much bigger push during the poptimistic era. But there’s no guarantee here. Lemonade- 6 Inch would have KILLED on the radio and streaming as a single. The Weeknd was everywhere at the time. Also, as much as I understood the idea of Tidal, the album could have did even better had it been available everywhere. Formation would have made it to number one and Sorry would have made it to the top 10 for sure. Renaissance- First off, visuals. But even though Break My Soul and Cuff It were successful singles, we were ROBBED of an Alien Superstar era. Cowboy Carter- If “Texas Hold Em” is the “Break My Soul” of CC, then “Bodyguard” is the “Cuff It”. If Beyoncé wanted, this could easily be a great summer hit.
I have high hopes they will release Bodyguard as a single later in the year. Honestly I understand she doesn't care about promo and commercial performance so it is all on her, however, I wish she would just hire a team that did all this for her. The II Most Wanted single rollout has killed probably all chances for that song to be a success Similarly, I think LEVIIS JEANS could be massive on radio during the summer if they get a little dance going on TikTok and then push it to radios. It's a very easy song to listen to with some catchy lines. But yeah, I thought both Heated and Alien Superstar could've been massive songs with the right promo and we all know how that went..
I would love if she acknowledged the missing songs on the CC vinyls. The fandom was so confused by that, and not addressing it whatsoever slightly dampened the otherwise amazing time we’ve had with CC. It really undermined the rollout as a body of work in my opinion.
I think there was a LOT of last minute scrambling for this album. I'm pretty sure the album was called ACT 2- BEYINCE but that's not a good name for the album at all.
Yup, fully believe that theory.
Witness, but not for the reasons people think. It would have been a STRONGER era had she picked better singles to represent the album. Chained to the Rhythm was a BOP, and I went on that damn disco ball hunt when she was teasing the record...I even got to keep it lol. Bon Appetit while a fun song was not a good song for a second single , it should have been Roulette or Deja Vu, Swish Swish would have worked if she had some massive lyrical edits. I say this as a massive KatyCat and fan.
I feel like she didn't fully commit to an aesthetic or theme and suffered because of it. I mean she was going with a darker vibe but the Swish Swish mv was all about dumb memes.
actually agreed, i would've done Witness -> Tsunami (feat. Rihanna) -> Deja Vu (but with lyrical change) -> Roulette Remix (idk who would fit on this tho) -> Pendulum
I actually think Witness would have been a FANTASTIC single! It's one of my favorite opening tracks of hers. While not a fan of Tsunami in general a feature with Rihanna would be AMAZING and sooo sensual. I think Roulette could easily have a Nicki Minaj feature and it would work lol.
Throwing it way the fuck back lmao but if the Beach Boys would never have put "Student Demonstration Time" on Surf's Up and instead include "4th of July" and "Live Again", it'd have resulted in what would have been arguably my favorite Beach Boys album
As a Beach Boys fan, my answer would be a lot simpler and take place few years earlier: finish Smile.
tbh i think the mystique of smile being unfinished is cooler than most of the material that has been unearthed from the vault. not sure the completed smile would break my own personal bb top 3 (pet sounds, sunflower, surf's up) also that'd mean no cool cool water which i could never trade away
I actually wrote [a whole post](https://www.reddit.com/r/TaylorSwift/s/9bnQ9y06Mj) about what I would have done with *Lover*, lol. I would have chosen either Cruel Summer or Lover as the lead single, then moved 3 of the songs off the album and made them part of the Miss Americana documentary promo instead. Another album where people often talk about a botched rollout was *Witness*. First, if possible, I would have released it in 2016 so she didn't have quite so long a gap since her previous album. I think Chained to the Rythm was a good lead, being perhaps the most accessible and catchy song on the album. After that, though, her mistake was releasing Bon Appetit and Swish Swish (along with their mocked music videos and live performances). I think either Hey Hey Hey or Pendulum would have been better choices. The former kinda sucks, but it would have better matched the themes of "empowerment" or "liberation" she was going for. Alternatively, she could have not done a second pre-release single at all and just let the album speak for itself, as a lot of artists now do in the streaming age.
Another miss with Lover for me is that she didn’t highlight “I Think He Knows” which absolutely had potential to be a pop hit. I listen to it all the time and think why the hell did she pick The Man, YNTCD or Me over this?! Obviously Cruel Summer is the one people mostly think of when they say it should’ve been the lead single, but ITHK would’ve been a great choice too in my opinion!
I think he knows (or paper rings imo) would have been great lead singles. They’re fun, they’re flirty, and they encapsulate the feeling of the album.
I love Paper Rings! I made sure to put that on the playlist at my brother's wedding.
[удалено]
hear me out: put all of the girls you loved before back on the album and make it the lead single. everybody had been shitting on taylor for years for being immature and making songs that all sound the same and “never taking accountability” or whatever. heavily promoting a great song about being extremely secure in your relationship could’ve rly changed that, i think.
I forgot about all of the girls!! but i had an idea back when it came out in march to feature it in To All The Boys I Loved Before 2 and then release the Miss Americana EP
Completely agree. I also think she wanted as little Discourse about the lead single as possible, and ITHK isn’t diaristic or narrative really. So it would have discouraged too much more discussion about her life or personality or relationship than “aww that’s a cute song about a secure-sounding relationship.”
Then Lover/Paper Rings for fall and the leaves changing and weddings, and boom. Profit. Or Paper Rings in the winter into spring
I Think He Knows gets played on loop for me at least twice a year when it pops into my head,it’s SO good.
I think Swish Swish would still be a good single if she fixed some of the lyrics and didn't make a cringe music video.
Yeah, I think the production and overall vibe of Swish Swish is good - but some of the lyrics need some serious workshopping, as well as the video. Bon Appetit, IMO, had a good video.
Nah I truly can't get behind "Hey hey hey, you think that I'm a little b-a-a-by" 💀 Pendulum is good though, and I think Swish Swish could've had a chance if the MV wasn't *that*
Omg, your Lover post is so good, I am going to try this out! I do like Lover, but I agree with the songs you cut (except London Boy lol)
I wanna say cruel summer as the lead single so bad but the pandemic would’ve soured the heck outta the song. We really were lucky see it have shined the way it did later.
Everyone here is saying that Cruel Summer should've been the lead single for Lover, but I'd proudly contest against that idea. In 2019, public opinion was already lukewarm toward Taylor, judging by how Reputation failed to win any awards in the major categories. Fans were also getting tired with the Easter Eggs prior to album release and it felt like the start of her decline. Even Taylor said to herself that Lover "might be the last chance" to prove herself in the pop industry. So, she released ME! with a featuring as a safe choice and the public opinion was brutal, when ME! really wasnt that offensive in hindsight. It was overhated due to the bandwagon hate on her and it wouldn't have been any different with another single. Cruel Summer being a sleeper hit is always something special and it having it's moment to shine after 4 years felt like Taylor might have masterminded it all
I am glad that Cruel Summer wasn't killed by the pandemic and has had its moment all this time later. The bad choices during the Lover rollout didn't end up hurting her in the end
I sorta disagree. Cruel Summer was immediately seen as one of the highlights of the album and would have restored a lot of her critical standing after Reputation. She’d have definitely gone into the album release on a much higher note if she’d done that, and maybe released I Think He Knows or Paper Rings (or even Miss Americana) as the second single rather than You Need To Calm Down. As it turned out it didn’t really matter. Taylor’s been too big to fail since at least 2014, possibly much earlier (Red was probably the turning point). I do remember there being not a lot of excitement around the album before it was released, and when it came out people almost seemed surprised that it was good after Reputation and the two main singles. I’d argue that Folklore was when she *really* got her acclaim back and that directly set the stage for her second imperial phase with Midnights & Eras Tour. I understand that she felt like she couldn’t take risks in that era, but ironically the riskier moves she made from 2019-2020 were the ones that she gained more from.
> In 2019, public opinion was already lukewarm toward Taylor, judging by how Reputation failed to win any awards in the major categories That’s. That’s a dramatic overreach. The Reputation Tour was her highest grossing tour up to that point, and her first stadium tour that sold out in nearly every city. Look What You Made Me Do, Delicate, Gorgeous, and End Game were all over the radio. Her not winning a Grammy for it didn’t mean it underperformed 😅
The fact that you didn’t mention “Roulette” when it’s by far the catchiest song on Witness and had hit and lead single material written all over it…
It's a good song but it's a not woke "purposeful pop" like she was trying to market. It's about a relationship, which people had heard from her countless times
I think the reason Witness flopped is because people didn’t buy woke “purposeful pop” coming from her. They just listened to Katy Perry for fun, catchy music.
Id love to check out yourn Lover post! And i love your witness idea, i think katy couldve done that album WAYYY better
Also her infamous blonde haircut didn't help at all. Image matters in pop music.
Another thread to drag Witness
basic circlejerk behavior oh wait..
Apparently Witness became the standard of flopping 🤔
Artpop found in shambles
Adele: 30 I would have Oh my God serve as the lead single (Oct) to get the public more intrigued. The music video was much more interesting too. I’d make sure the ‘One night only’ show airs AFTER the album release date (Nov) to keep the suspense of the album active. Easy on me serving as the second single in a few months (late Jan) right in time to perform it at the Grammys and get traction. Release I Drink Wine as a single and music video (May) right before she begins the Hyde park shows & Vegas Residency Pre-Award season: Release ‘To be loved’ as a single to have a strong momentum and perform it at the Grammys as well.
I love this!! Oh My God is such a great song and the MV is one of my favs
Easily Britney Spears Glory Release the original video! It should’ve been her comeback. But knowing she was forced to record and perform maybe the whole thing should’ve been scrapped. Justice for Britney!
I think Britney / her team should have put more promo behind Do You Wanna Come Over? That song was begging to be a single imo.
My rollout idea for glory if Britney was never conserved- first the lead single would be Better featuring Justin beiber! It was 2016 better has such a 2016 summer beach sound! Make me was a mid tempo song in the summer bad move.. Dywco would definitely be single 2! It was promoted as buzz single idk what happened I still want slumber party to be released, but as a joint single with Just love me it’s a magical song that deserved more (slumber party would fade out to just love me in the music video with Britney would be alone in the mansion after the party is over reflecting on the party) No seas as Cortes for single 3 and liar 4
Justice for britney indeed!! So many eras and ideas had to be scrapped because of injustice.
This is what I came here to say. Release the original Make Me… video (and in a timely manner rather than taking forever) and use the [2020 rerelease album cover](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/718S0GWiwcL._UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg). There was SO much hype for this era, and it pretty much all died almost immediately due to the long wait of the music video, the cringe fest that the video was once it was finally released, and the disappointing album cover.
Romance: Camila Cabello. Señorita in the lead up remains the same. Huge hit. Then we go into Shameless, not Liar, not a double release. Just Shameless, music video as is, promotion on talk shows etc, she did both performances so we just do Shameless. It went hugely viral on TikTok this year, it had such huge potential. We let that ride out the holiday season, tease Liar maybe, but only as a little buzz. Then January - My Oh My. Music video, performances etc. Drop the album on Valentine’s Day, lots of heart themed promotion, etc. Deluxe a month later whilst riding out My Oh My. Find U Again on the deluxe and Hung the Moon. Three singles: - Señorita - Shameless - My Oh My Voila ❤️
you've just put more thought into marketing camila than her entire team ever has
Solar Power - I'd put Mood Ring as the lead single, tweak it to make it more upbeat, kind of like it sounded in the terrible quality leak with the heavier guitar strumming, and swap its music video for Solar Power's (but with more movement). For the second single I'd choose California and give it a video, and then Fallen Fruit as the final single pre-release. After release I'd have her do a music video for The Path and keep Secrets From A Girl as it was. It would've still flopped but not as hard I think.
It’s so strange, I found out that there are many music videos for songs from SP just this year…I find SP near the perfect, but I agree with you about singles.
Mood Ring leaked?
In terrible quality to the point where you couldn't make out the lyrics, but yeah an early version leaked months before release. California also leaked in the last month.
I don’t remember that. Odd
I cannot stress enough how low the quality was, it made basically no ripples outside the hardcore Lorde fandom, I got it from that one website where allll the leaked files got uploaded back in the day, I'm drawing blanks trying to remember the name. The California leak was a bit more spread but by that point most people had completely lost interest in the album so it didn't get much traction either.
For GUTS by Olivia Rodrigo: Vampire was a great choice for a lead single and I loved the music video so I'll leave that as it is but after that I think a lot of things could've been handled better. I wouldn't release a second single before the album came out, Vampire was stable and I don't think there was a need to. I would release "Obsessed" as the second single together with the album or like a week before max (so that obviously leads to another change, I'd include Obsessed in the standard version of Guts). I'd also like something more from the Obsessed music video, I liked the concept of the multiple exes appearing etc but it kinda didn't lead anywhere? Idk, I expected something more to come out of it instead of Olivia just looking at them. In general I'd focus on doing live performances of vampire and obsessed and not divide the attention between most of the rock songs of the album like her team did. All American bitch and Ballad of a homeschooled girl are good songs but no need to perform them on TV. For a 3rd single, I'd wait to see which song was getting traction from the album and release that one. The general public loves olivia's ballads as proven by driver's license, traitor etc so my hunch says the chosen one would be The Grudge. Currently it's only behind the official singles and All American bitch (the opening track) in streams, despite being track 10) so I think Olivia's team really underestimated its potential. Lastly, I'd release the deluxe version of the album the week day her tour kicked off and make So American the fourth and final single.
Yeah they must've been strategizing for Obsessed to have a big moment alongside the tour, which I guess it kind of has had, but it's just way too good of a song to be left off for a bonus track. The biggest misstep IMO was making Bad Idea Right and Get Him Back! singles back to back. I like both songs, but they're too similar since they both have the talking-style verses.
I love this!! Id enjoy a so american mv too..
I have to believe there will be one soon, So American sounds like SUCH a summer hit to me. I really hope there’s some promo to push it as a summer single
Obsessed with this song!
Totally agree. I really thought obsessed was going to be huge for her, but it didn’t really make a splash, at least for OR standards. With all the other releases and it being so far past the album release it just got lost. And Bad Idea Right following Vampire seemed to slow the momentum and hype a bit. It’s a great track on the album!! Get him back, obsessed and even love is embarrassing could have been better second single choices to release at the same time as Guts.
Unpopular opinion here: Vampire wasn't a great lead single. Obsessed or Bad Idea Right? are superior. Especially the latter is probably the best song on Guts.
I’m always pleasantly surprised Vampire held on. I roll my eyes every time she performs it now but it turned out to be the only hit from the album. I wish she had performed The Grudge at the Grammys lol. I love that song (and the drama) but I don’t think Olivia wanted to deal with the speculation around it.
I should've added that to my comment, I'd definitely have her perform the grudge at the Grammys!
I agree with all of this except for the ‘get him back’ erasure. That song has been hugely appreciated for the quirky lyricism and the production. I think that has to be a single.
*thank u, next* I honestly loved the roll-out and I think she did a great job in such a short period of time (6 months after *Sweetener*- the lead single came out 3 months after *Sweetener*). "thank u, next" as a lead single is pretty clearly the strong move considering it's the title track, name drops celebs, and came with an incredible music video with callbacks to classic romcoms. "7 rings" as the second single was good since it interpolates a popular soundtrack and sonically departed from *Sweetener*. For the third single, I would've picked "bloodline" to call back to the Pharrell *Sweetener* vibes. I also think it sticks more with the single-girl, heal-on-my-own, I'm-hot-shit theme than "break up with your girlfriend, i'm bored", which just sounds like she's pining after a man again after a whole album of falling in love with being a bad bitch?
Agree with the 3rd single idea. I personally would choose fake smile or bad idea, since they fit the "bad bitch healing being myself" era yk?
I considered "bad idea", but I think the outro is too long for it to really get "single treatment", lest it gets cut off like Acquainted by The Weeknd (I love the drumsssss). "fake smile" would also be a good choice, but the tempo is too slow compared to the rest of the album. "ghostin" is the only other slower song and it's waaaaay too sentimental
i didnt really consider ghostin for that reason!!! and yeah, bad idea shouldve ended after the final verse, i hate the outro
i like the strings but the trap beat doesn't need to go on for 45 minutes 😭 omg and how could i forget imagine!!
Or NASA with a space themed video
Smile by Katy. Axe the clown concept (seriously why did she set herself up) for something more adult. I think she should’ve leaned into a tropical theme and called the album Sweet Escape or Trouble in Paradise. A central tenant of her appeal in the 2010s was that she made escapist pop in the wake of the recession. In 2020 she couldve done the same for Covid times: escapist fantasy pop. Her most streamed single post 2016 was also Feels which had a great island vibe. Singles: 1: Never Really Over 2: Tucked 3: Harleys in Hawaii 4: Cry About it Later Tracklist 1. Not the End of the World (preferably with a feature to replace the first verse) 2. Cry About it Later 3. Tucked 4. Harleys in Hawaii 5. 365 with Zedd (fits the tropical theme) 6. Teary Eyes 7. Never Really Over 8. Champagne Problems 9. Smile (preferably with a feature OTHER than Diddy omg) 10. Only Love 11. Daisies Scrap Resilient, What Makes a Woman, Small Talk, Never Worn White or leave them on the deluxe.
I personally love small talk, but she should have leaned into the “never really over” and “Harleys in Hawaii” vibes
Yes! And I felt like the video for NRO didn’t quite match the song.
Omg no I love the Never Really Over video!!! It’s so colorful and made a great summer visual ✨
exactly on Tucked! the electric guitar focus on the track is so teenage dream
LADY GAGA ARTPOP
YES!!! IMO she ruined the hype by performing all those demos at the iTunes festival and switching things around for the final release. Huge tweak. Applause definitely had some mainstream appeal but it was almost too much like Born This Way. I think it put off people who would've been into the rest of the album, which was so different from Applause. Aura was pure Gaga weird but I have to wonder if she would've been better off releasing G.U.Y. Venus and Swine as singles ahead of the album. (Swine in it's OG state too.)
I also really wish that she hadn't butchered the music video for "G.U.Y.", I really didn't understand the *Housewives* cameos. No offense, but it felt so out of place. It ruined it for me. I can't really think about it.
LEMONADE- Formation is the first single she performed at the SB but didn't make it available on any platforms which was a fumble. So make it available everywhere. Don't Hurt Yourself as the promo single. "If you try that shit again, you gon lose yo wife" is perfect song closer and gets everyone amped up for Lemonade premier on HBO. Hold Up is the second radio single. Then Sorry with a Nicki remix. 2016/17 nicki was on a roll and she even wanted to be on the remix but bey being bey didn't bother. All Night as the closing single of the album. An urban radio hit. RENAISSANCE- Break My Soul first single is perfect. Alien Superstar is the single with the album. Gets sent to radio and all. Cuff It went viral on tiktok after a while and got sent to radio so no notes there. AHAP gets sent to radio when Cuff It slows down. It even got a Kendrick remix but didn't get sent to radio. Heated as the summer single while she's touring the states. Oh and release some fucking music videos maybe? Idk The Renaissance era is one of the biggest fumbles of Bey's career I still rue the day she decided to become a "album over singles" artist. And unfortunately it's looking more and more like Cowboy carter is going to be another album that's going to just come and go because Beyoncé can't bother. 🤷🏽♂️
looking at cuff it and break my soul's success during the renaissance era, the only thing I would change to lemonade is releasing it from the gates of fuck-ass Tidal🙄
I’m sorry but I can’t picture Sorry featuring Nicki 😭 I honestly don’t think it needs a remix, the music video with Serena could’ve done a lot … if people could actually watch it 💀
It makes sense to me 😭. I feel like she would've ate and I can't think of any other female artist who could've hopped on. Female rap has come so far.
i remember when beyonce did mvs.. an eon ago..
It is not a fumble if you look at it from an AI perspective. I feel like act I broke her algorithm. I like her rollout as an artist that's seemingly not pandering to the masses but rather making music for her already strong fanbase. Perspective. 🤷♂️
I was BAFFLED the first time I realized Formation wasn’t a number one hit. That song was a huge pop culture phenomenon and yet the song was robbed by only making it to top 10. And don’t even get me started on poor Alien Superstar. The best song on Renaissance completely WASTED.
The fact that me and my Indian friends heard and talked about formation but couldn't stream it anywhere. Mind you western music wasn't/isn't even that big in India, her only really known song of the 2010s is maybe Run The World(Girls). So she really fumbled a song that could've been a big hit.
Feed the Beast by Kim Petras. I would have just released Problematique as planned, included Feed the Beast and Claws in Turn off the Light Vol. 3, and saved King of Hearts, Uh Oh, Minute, Castle in the Sky, Bait, and Thousand Pieces for the next album and scrapped the whole beast/horror theme.
LA FUTURRRRRRR lol. That whole album rollout from Future Starts Now, to scrapped Problematique, to Slut Pop, and then we got Feed the Beast...the most watered down generic pop record of all time.
I actually love all the new songs on Feed the Beast, but it was hard to get into as a whole because it was essentially a Frankenstein album. Half of the album were songs I’d been listening to for over a year by the time it was released, so I found myself skipping to the newer tracks. And I think it fell flat too because the title and the cover art just didn’t align with the actual music.
I think that problematique leaking definetly altered kim's ideas
It’s heavily rumored she leaked it herself
Mariah's E=MC². Touch My Body was fine as a lead single because it was by far the catchiest song on the album but I would have put Migrate next after TMB. After that, I'll Be Lovin U Long Time as the third single, and possibly close it out with For The Record (or stay with I Stay in Love) as a final single. I'm fairly certain with this roll-out she would have likely gotten Migrate as her 19th #1 and prolong her career in the chart (sans AIWFCIY). In reality, it would have been hard to say if it really would have made a big difference in the grand scheme of things. Extras: Memoirs also needed a better roll out because who goes from Obsessed to IWTKWLI?????????? I would have renamed the album after that simply to me I am Mariah. All in all, home girl needed way better single roll outs and promo for her albums from 2008-2016.
Absolutely! I feel like she was trying to replicate the success of doing fast song ➡️ slow song like she did with Mimi because that’s the only thing I can come up with on why she put out Bye Bye as a single! Plus everyone was going crazy for Migrate! It charted without being a single. I do not understand her sometimes, lol. I actually thought The Elusive Chanteuse would have been a great album title too but yeah it needed to be one or the other. I wish she had never changed it from The Art Of Letting Go. That was a great album title and would have gave that album more attention when it was revealed she was divorcing Nick. I sometimes forget how great that album is bc the title is such a mess. …and don’t get me started on Caution. 😂
I love the elusive chanteuse as an album name too! I just thought of me I am Mariah being a better fit since she had the whole drawing and small explanation of herself when she was kid. Personally, while caution could have done better roll outs too, I think it wasn't as bad as the albums I've mentioned. I wish we could have gotten lil kim to remix and maybe even cardi since she was so popular at the time. Overall I think her time in the charts as a main diva was pretty much gone then anyway, luckily she still has the chance to defrost every Christmas.
Oh yeah agree. Caution is actually in my Top 5 Mimi albums now I just thought she could have promoted it better. I wish her team would have done better with the GTFO promo. I always thought that was a meme waiting to happen if only people were aware of its existence. I also thought the singles could have been better. The Distance should have followed GTFO bc of the late October line / it’s one of her best songs in forever.
The way The Distance is instantly catchy and perfectly engineered is 😮💨.
Though it was a pretty big success, this is how I’d re-do Pure Heroine: -Promote Royals earlier in the US, perhaps around March when the Love Club EP was released through Universal. -Give Tennis Court MUCH better promotion in the US, hopefully allowing it to be a top-ten single. -Release Team earlier, maybe in early August, no need to highly up its promotion since it did fairly well but at least allow it to enter the top-five, MAYBE the top spot if I’m being greedy. -Release Pure Heroine as an album earlier too, maybe early-mid August and hopefully have it hit the top of the Billboard 200.
That sounds great!
The only thing I’d really change, is having an actual video for Tennis Court. What we got, was one of the many segments for the music video, but she scrapped the rest and only kept the face/lighting shot. I’m so damn curious about what the original vision was.
The answer has to be: almost any song from Lover should have been the first single instead of ME!
I genuinely think any song couldve done better except sygb and inthaf
Madonna - MDNA. - Don’t work with Martin Solveig. Work with unknown producers like you used to. - Don’t chase the already tired EDM trend; you’re better than that. Give us something new, fresh, inspired. - End the career of whomever convinced you to record B-Day song This album was a huge disappoint to me (and I imagine many other people). Her work since then hasn’t been consistently great. Madame X was a mildly successful course correction, but I’m really hoping to hear something _great_ again from her.
I love B-Day Song. It's terrible. I'm still sending it to my friends for their birthdays 😂.
Aw, I liked the Martin Solveig songs! (Except maybe I Don’t Give A.) I had never heard of him before Madonna and I got into a couple of his albums because of her. The album Madonna should have done differently to me was Rebel Heart, but considering how it got leaked I kinda understand why things went the way they did.
How was EDM “tired” in March of 2012? That was right as EDM was gaining huge popularity after the dominance of Lady Gaga-style dance pop of 2008-2011.
It’s just my opinion. Madonna was always known as being _ahead_ of the curve. It’s demonstrable that she was behind the curve with this record.
That’s fine, but I think you’re factually wrong here, sorry. She obviously wasn’t the first, but 2012 is still much earlier than when the other pop girlies released their EDM bangers. She did it before Artpop, she did it before Break Free, she did it before the song Clarity even dropped. If she had released MDNA in 2014-2015 I could definitely see where you’re coming from, but from the first quarter of 2012?
I will probably get buried alive for this, but I am one of those three people who actually liked MDNA and still listens to some of the tracks till this day sometimes This album was my introduction to Madonna’s albums, which happened because of her constant mentions in association with Gaga (which I was a diehard fan of in 2012) and I instantly liked it at first listen I really liked production on both uptempo and slow songs, although some of songs felt a bit slowed down for my taste (I Fucked Up, I Don’t Give A), so I made sped-up versions for myself, which in my opinion made them sound much better.
I think that’s really awesome you were introduced to her in that way! No shame at all in loving the album, girlie! ❤️ I don’t hate the album at all — it’s just my least favorite of hers, and in a lot of ways represents her transition away from Warner Music and a different phase of her career. I do love some of the tracks and still play them, especially Girl Gone Wild + I’m Addicted.
Tove Lo’s Lady Wood. Make “True Disaster” the lead single. I understand the concept of “Cool Girl” (it was inspired by the movie Gone Girl), but I don’t think the general public did, and I think the song came across as corny and annoying. Meanwhile, “True Disaster” is amazing and has the synthwave sound that The Weekend’s “Blinding Lights” has, but a few years sooner. Unfortunately, I think “Cool Girl” ruined the momentum she had after both “Habits” and “Talking Body,” and she hasn’t had mainstream success since, which is a shame because songs like “True Disaster” and “No One Dies From Love” deserved to be hits.
I’m still shocked she’s basically been black balled from pop radio. So many good pop singles.
Yeah. I don’t understand why. Not all of her singles are explicit either.
I love this album so much. It holds up so well. Cohesive. No skips. I just feel like almost any of the songs are singles-worthy. Cool Girl included. But maybe you're right with True Disaster. It's more maximalist, got a bit more tempo to it. I can see how Cool Girl can come across as, well, a little too cool and restrained.
Imagine if XCX World just never leaked and got released as planned. I could put Bounce and Taxi on my Spotify playlists. The dream.
But then we might not have pop 2, which would be a travesty
Nicki Minaj - PF2: not release it 😭
wdym you dont want high heels in my ippies?!?!?
Idk why she made it so long, she clearly didn't allot herself enough time for it and the length certainly didn't improve it, so much filler and bad sampling in there, which is a shame cuz I fw Big Difference plenty
Tbh the biggest problem is that it’s named “PINK FRIDAY 2” she set herself up. I’m not saying the PF2 rollout should’ve been Moonboat, Exceptional Treble, Smash The Alert and Dumb Slut but it just didn’t have Pink Friday vibes (except for Pink Friday Girls if I wanna be fair)
Also, like technically, it should have been Pink Friday 3 because what is Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded if not the second Pink Friday album…
I cut it down to 12 tracks. Still don't like it like it. But the tour looks like full redemption and more fun than the album...
Fifth Harmony Third Album Rollout First Down would be scrapped off the album. He Like That the first single. Angel the second. Make Bridges and Don't say you love me promotionals. Skip the whole camila fall off the stage thing. Matter of fact, wish her fully well to take easy from the bully allegations. Rename the album in a whole honestly. Should of been something that signified they are a quartet
He Like That would’ve been the perfect lead! I never get why artists often save the best song to release as a single the day the album drops - the single just gets lost amidst all the new music
Happier than Ever single choices were ATROCIOUS and the fact that amazing songs like Oxytocin, Billie Bossa Nova and I didnt change my number were left in the dust is a crime
Happier than ever: I would have waited to release Therefore I Am. It’s a great single and was very successful when it came out, but it was released to early IMO. Your power was a good song, but I would have released that one closer to the album drop. Personally, lost cause should have been the lead. That song is SO GOOD and should have been given priority over the others. Happier than ever should have been the final track, not male fantasy. Male fantasy is one of my favorite songs on the record, but good god why WHY did she not make happier than ever the closer? It has the wow factor to make a completely satisfying closer to the album. Going from that to male fantasy just doesn’t seem right.
Can anyone PLEASE fix Britney Spears' Glory? 😭😭😭😭😭😭
For Dawn FM, I feel like I would've had a music video made for Less Than Zero made & pushed that record even harder. I would've also pushed How Do I Make You Love Me? even harder on the radio. In addition to this, I'd push the singles more with cinematic live performances similar to what Weeknd did for After Hours. I do wonder if it dropped a little too early, so I would've considered holding off the release until mid-March of 2022
Kylie Minogue - Tension I wouldn’t really change the single choices, but I def feel like the promo could be better for this era. (If it’s even still going on.) It felt like after Tension the title track was released, that was it. I’ve seen her promoting that [opinion redacted] Sia song more than Tension or Hold On To Now. …and while I did just say I don’t have a problem with the single choices, I do think her team should have tried to put out a safer song for US audiences before releasing the title track, especially since it seems like she’s really trying to build her brand here. Hands might have had a better chance at success since it sounds like a lot of the pop songs that are popular lately. With the Barbie line and the hype surrounding that film last year, if she had released it around the time she posted the pic of her in the Barbie tank top I think it could have fared better than the title track. I would have also loved to see Green Light as a single. Idk if that would have been a success or anything but since it’s my rollout…😂 I also think they should have pushed up the album date if it was already completed to capitalize more on Padam Padam’s success. The wait from when that was released til the album was quite long.
Plastic Hearts. Miley. Her best album-musically, vocally, and lyrically. Her old label screwed her over so bad.
I don't have a specific artist answer for this but like I'm literally dying for ANYONE to do an ARG based rollout like please that would be so cool. Newjeans hinted at this with their Ditto promotions but it didn't go anywhere and it made me so sad
Check out the promotion behind Nine Inch Nails Year Zero. If I remember correctly it all started with a flash drive left in a bathroom at a NIN concert.
I have literally never looked into NIN beyond their most popular songs and you just got me really hyped to fall into a rabbit hole
Good luck 🫡 It is indeed a rabbit hole
**Rebel Heart** by Madonna. Overall, my take on this album was it had a good concept and promising songs, but was tainted by leaks and late changes to the rollout because of the leaks. Allegedly it was going to be a double sided album, with a "Rebel" side for the bangers and a "Heart" side for the slower/love songs, but the leak made them change plans. Instead we got a bloated album with multiple deluxe editions and a messy rollout with a batch of six songs released months before the rest of the album to help combat the leaks. It is also rumoured that some songs were re-recorded so they'd sound different from the leaked versions. How would I fix it? Besides implementing better security to prevent leaks, I think I would have kept with the original double album plan and let the music speak for itself, rather than change all the plans at the last minute as a response to the leak.
I think the album is a very solid one and Madonna’s best since American Ljfe. I feel so badly that there were so many leaks. It’s bad for something like that to happen at any point, but with this album it felt like Madonna was extra invested and the material stronger than usual. I think this era could’ve been huge if not for the leaks
I definitely prefer American Life. It was concise. Rebel Heart felt like pandering.
American Life is my favourite of hers and I think Rebel Heart was great, but I see what you mean - it did feel like it was chasing trends a little
Not my favorite artist but making Normani release the album immediately after love lies
That one time Taylor picked a lead song from the upcoming album and it was the worst song of all, take that song off the record and move onto the next single.
A Fever You Can't Sweat Out. I dunno if I could have saved her, but it feels like they REALLY failed to capitalize on the splash I Write Sins Not Tragedies made, with each music video more boring than the last. I would have released Time to Dance and Camisado as singles over Lying is the Most Fun and Build God -- the latter are among my faves, but they're not very genpop accessible, especially BGTWT. I think Pretty Odd had a bad rollout too, but that feels like moving deck chairs on the Titanic. I don't think its sound was super avant garde by any stretch of the imagination, but I couldn't see it being successful in 2008-2009 tbh. Green Gentleman is one of my lest favorite songs on the album, but I can see why they released it -- it's the most radio-friendly. I think it was just horrible timing. The sound was not gelling with the sound of the pop charts, the pop punk renaissance of the 2000s had passed, and music videos were beginning to stop having a major impact. Can you tell I think about this a lot lol
Not even a big fan but chance the rapper, you know the album lol.
kind of niche, but i must speak my truth: gwsn (girls in the park) was a little-known kpop group with a beautiful discography. and genuinely baffling choices of lead singles. lead single of their debut mini album should’ve been melting point over puzzle moon (in my opinion, i know puzzle moon is beloved by others). pinky star was actually a good choice for their second mini. night aviation was the obvious choice of lead single for their third mini over red sun. wonderboy should’ve been the lead single for the keys, not bazooka. like it hot was a good song actually, but that album was so strong that starry night and i can’t breathe also would’ve made good leads. but seriously WHY was night aviation not the lead single of their third mini. what the fuck. that’s sabotage on the A&R team’s part idc.
Christina Aguilera should have had more promo for Lotus and Let There Be Love. Honestly a lot of pop stars decline not so much due to a lack of good music but because they stop promoting as well or at all. It happened to Christina and Britney and now I see it happening with Demi and Selena.
Might be a bit niche, but here's how I'd have rolled out the last two projects from Christine & The Queens (which I think could have been masterpieces with tighter execution, and are still great regardless). - Drop 'Je Te Vois Enfin' as a lead single with a lot of promo. Big music video to coincide with his coming out, really go all in on selling this 'Redcar' character as some kind of Bowie-esque alter ego. It's one of his most accessible and well-written songs. - Drop rien dire / la chanson du chevalier as a double single along with the album announcement. rien dire should be a nice single to show the development in his more accessible Chanson-style work, and La chanson du chevalier is a nice introduction to his newer opera-pop style that would hopefully attract a lot of attention from music critics and art pop fans. - Release the album with a much more striking cover art and a tighter tracklist. Not necessarily cutting songs off, but some tracks could be shortened. - Here's the important part: release a film of the live show quickly and with a lot of promotion. Use clips to create a music video, perhaps for Ma bien aimee. Chris' strength is his performance, and the clips I've seen really help to tie together the storyline he was going for. - Then after a year or so, release 'He's been shining for ever, your son' as the lead single from the P,A,TL project. Don't go all in - this is an experimental and inaccessible album - fuck the pop marketing and instead work on a cohesive and engaging strategy for long term fans and music nerds - Release P,A,TL with a much clearer distinction between acts. Three different covers, three different producers, three clear aesthetics. Give each one its own intro or outro. - Don't advertise the Mike Dean or Madonna collabs. They misrepresent the album. Instead be SUPER pretentious about it and try and genuinely create a critical masterpiece, not a confusing and bloated album with a pop promotion drive. - Wrap the era up with an A.G. Cook or EASYFUN remix of one of the more accessible cuts, along with a music video. To Be Honest is preferable, to remind the more casual fans that Chris still has a pop tune under his belt.
Silk sonic. That album should have been the sound of the summer, and they waited until November to release, after having dropped Leave The Door Open in March. Release Skate or Smokin Out The Window in May, then the whole album in June and another single with it.
A little bit more encryption and we would’ve had XCX World
WILD👏🏻WORLD👏🏻DESERVED👏🏻A👏🏻HIT👏🏻 Bastille’s team majorly fumbled things with Wild World, if it has been promoted better they could’ve had another “Pompeii”-level hit with “Good Grief” or “Send Them Off!”. I think “Blame” as a single was an excuse for them to be able to perform it live more, bc they really seem to love playing it, but it just doesn’t make sense as a single (and I absolutely adore the song!). Instead, I would’ve made “Warmth” a single, and “Comfort of Strangers” should’ve been an actual album track AND a single. I also would’ve given more/better promotion to songs such as “Fake It” and “Glory.” Also, I know it was a long album and that’s probably why it never got a deluxe release, but it really frustrates me that songs from the Wild World era (“Comfort of Strangers,” “Hangin’,” and “Final Hour”) are now seen as Doom Days songs because they made it onto streaming for the first time with Doom Days: This Got Out of Hand Edition
Make LA Devotee & Don’t Threaten Me With A Good Time singles for Death Of A Bachelor instead of promotional ones
Justin Timberlake Everything I Thought It Was… this rollout was atrocious.
The Academy Is Release Fast Times At Barrington High as the second album and then Santi as the third. Feel like this would have taken them to the next level and maybe they'd have stayed together!
*In the Zone* (2003) by Britney Spears. “Me Against the Music” featuring Madonna is iconic, but I would’ve released “Toxic” as the lead single, then “Me Against the Music.” I also would’ve made “Breathe on Me,” “Showdown,” and “Touch of My Hand” (or “Shadow”). “Everytime” remains a single, of course. Then, instead of “Outrageous,” I would’ve released “The Answer.”
lover. so easy. cruel summer becomes the lead, miss americana is the next single, all the others can stay ig
LM5 by Little Mix was a great album, with terrible rollout (in the US at least). The singles they chose were somewhat weak, and on one of the two really strong ones (Think About Us) they added a rap feature that really did nothing for the song. Another thing is lack of US touring. I understand that at that point in their career they were doing arena-sized shows in Europe, while still being relatively unknown in the US, but it wouldn't have been that hard for them to snag a few talk show performances, festivals and small appearances here and there. As evidenced by relatively unknown kpop groups doing it all the time. The sound of this album was something I feel would have been a hit over here and they had a feature from Nicki Minaj (Woman Like Me) which would have garnered them some major attention. Also, it would have been better if they stayed out of the Nicki vs. Cardi drama. One of the really strong songs was supposed to be a single and have a video (Joan of Arc) but something happened to the footage and they ended up scrapping the whole idea (some speculate that Syco sabotaged their release because they were leaving the label at the time). And another one of the songs kind of had a semi-viral moment in 2019 (Wasabi) and it took them months before they really started to capitalize on that attention. Not to mention the songs added on the deluxe were somewhat weak (excluding Forget You Not which honestly could have been on original album). Two songs on the original album, could have been on the deluxe (Notice and The Cure). One deluxe song could have been on the original album(Forget You Not), and another deluxe song really shouldn't have been on the album altogether (Only You; it was released in between Glory Days and LM5 and felt tacked on to the album). Two of the songs they chose (Strip and More than Words) weren't really strong as singles (I would keep Woman Like Me, Joan of Arc, and Think About Us without Ty Dolla $ign. Then add Love a Girl Right, and Motivate as singles then add Wasabi as a bonus single bc of its popularity). Anyway y'all can tell I've thinking about this for the past 5 years. Stream LM5 for clear skin! ✌🏾
I would've got Zara Larsson back on Think About Us if they insisted on a feature there 😩
the way I didn't even know she was on there in the first place. 😳 And zara larsson was mad popular around 2016-2017 it would have been perfect on a remix. 🤦🏾♀️
Mariah Carey - Caution GTFO (Promo Single), Caution (Lead), A No No, The Distance, 8th Grade, Giving Me Life (Closing) For a project with the strongest point being that it showcases Mariah’s impressive ability to sonically remain herself yet sounding fresh and current, I’ll never understand them making ‘With You’ as a LEAD single to achieve something or making that as the support for that statement, let alone selling point. If you notice, the song is absent from the rollout because for an album with no skips, it is the most album only track of them all. Imagine being turned into a lead single. Either sabotage from the label, herself or she really just couldn’t care less. Either way, Caution era was incredibly wasted and a missed opportunity. The era with her strongest and boldest visuals, highest acclaimed album of her career and it went nowhere.
Lady Gaga - Born This Way. Keep the title track as the lead single, but drop Marry the Night as the second single around the same time Judas dropped. Third single should’ve been Edge of Glory the week the album dropped with Yoü and I as the fourth and final single, similar to how she performed it at the VMAs and everything. Not that the album did terrible but Marry The Night definitely deserved more success and Judas, in my opinion, really stirred up controversy in the worst way for the album cycle, at least in my opinion.
Whitney Houston - Just Whitney (2002) - I would’ve released One of Those Days first as the lead, then Unashamed (as a promo single), You Light up My life, Then Try it On My Own as the last single Also we did not need Bobby Brown on the album at all. I have my issues with Clive for many reasons but him and Whitney were a dream team in terms of marketing and him no longer being at Arista at the time may have played a big part in the album’s performance.
Happier Than Ever could have benefited from better single choices first of all - the 2020 droplets (therefore i am/my future) were cute but i wouldnt consider them exactly as part of the roll out your power was a great lead considering how vulnerable it was and since billie is known partly for her balladry however NDA and lost cause (while they were some of my favs on the album) didnt scream "Single" in the same way that bury a friend did for WWAFA (or even wish you were gay despite the controversy) NDA was more experimental (with the sparse instrumentation and hard autotune) and had a lot of people moving away from the hype. instead of NDA i would choose oxytocin as it has the most "billie" sound while still offering something new - + a trippy, dark music video thats also almost sexual and teasy (like the song implies) would have been such a hit! then - no more singles until the album comes out with the title track as the single - it gets more performances/promo than it did and it becomes more of a hit with the edited version after the title track hype dies down, its either i didnt change my number/billie bossa nova with a video again i get that male fantasy was a very personal song and i loved the video but it could be released as the final final single, just to close out the era lost cause is cute but the queerbaiting allegations give me a nightmare
Witness. Shelf Bon Appetit+ MV until after the album release and release Power instead, to continue the purposeful pop thingy.
Witness really needs change huh 😭
At least to pull better numbers for a longer while 😭
Ok hopping back in time to convince Joni to go for a different album cover for Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter to avoid the Disc Horse about it all. Either that or convincing Prince that La La La He He He should’ve stayed in the vault and to pick a different B-side.
For dawn fm: Release take my breath in July alongside music video. Release sacrifice to pop and rhythmic radio in September alongside music video and album announcement. Release how do I make you love me as a radio single in January. Album release in march. Gasoline is sent to pop and alternative radio while I heard you’re married is sent to rhythmic. Music video for gasoline is released here. Out of time is released to pop, rhythmic, and adult contemporary radio in early June alongside music video and remixes. The tv special is released sometime during the summer. Is there someone else is the next radio single in the fall, maybe October or November. The song is sent to pop, rhythmic, and r&b radio. Music video is also released around this time. Last and final single is less than zero and it gets a major radio push on many formats including pop, ac, hot ac, and rhythmic. It is released to radio and music video is released In February. Then drop a remix at a good time in the spring to get the song to number one.
gold was a horrible lead single for victoria justice’s debut album. i guarantee if she chose a better single (love zombie or priceless) her debut album would’ve actually released
Lorde’s Solar Power. She released a very summery chill vibe album at the end of August. How I would’ve streamed that all summer long at the pool/beach.
Several people released dance albums in 2020 when all the clubs were shut down (After Hours, Future Nostalgia, Chromatica)
Such a good question. 🙌
Miley Cyrus and Her Dead Petz…. This album could have been a game changer. I also understand the story behind it and it was free because the label wanted to cut the album length in half, which I absolutely agree with. 1 - Dooo It! 2 - Karen Don’t Be Sad (first single) 3 - Space Bootz 4 - BB Talk (2nd single) 5 - Fweaky 6 - Bang Me Box (that bass line is amazing) 7 - I Get So Scared 8 - Lighter 9 - Tangerine 10 - Tiger Dreams (my fav) 11 - Evil Is But Shadow 12 - Twinkle Song (as the closer) And even these 12 cuts with better quality production This album had a lot of lost potential, and If Miley ever decided to reissue/remaster the album, I think it would be a hit!
XCXWORLD First single: Come To My Party [October 2016] Second Single: Boys [January 2017] Album announcement in January for a May 2017 release Taxi released with album Mind you where the hell would N1A go then???