This is not a late April Fool's Day joke. Ashanti, who I believe once scored a hit somewhere in the early noughties, is rumoured to be touring Australia soon. In all fairness, Nelly's girlfriend was a pretty big name (about 10 years ago) and has some good songs. "Foolish" is a classic and I still love her Ja Rule collaboration "Always On Time" but this has to be the most random flop to tour Australia since Blu Cantrell. The strangest thing is - I'm dying to go! I secretly think it's hilarious she's conned her way on to the bill and there's no doubt in my mind that her #96 smash "The Way That I Love You" will bring the house down. I'm particularly interested to see if the 30-year-old performs any new material. Hasn't she been threatening to release a new album since "The Declaration" went three times plastic in 2008? Only time will tell. But to get you into the mood for the return of a true R&B legend, here is her last Australian hit "Body On Me". Source URL: https://popmusicrecords.blogspot.com/search/label/Flops Visit pop music records for Daily Updated Hairstyles Collection
Daniel Bedingfield's incredibly annoying horse-faced sister is gearing up to relaunch her mega-flop 4th album in Europe. "Strip Me" must rank as one of the biggest chart disasters in recent history. It peaked at a not-so-lofty 103 in America - exactly 100 places below its predecessor! The album might have been chart poison but it's the first NB opus I can listen to from beginning to end without wanting to retch, so I'm kind of glad she's giving it another push. Now called "Strip Me Away" - it's basically the same album with her 2008 top 5 US hit "Pocketful Of Sunshine" tacked on for good measure. Somewhat surprisingly, they're also going with that as the lead single. I don't know what it says about the state of your career when your record company promotes a three year old track ahead of new material but fuck it - "Pocketful Of Sunshine" is actually a decent song and it seems to be working. At least in Germany, where it's a top 50 hit. Here's the tracklist in case you're one of the 10 still interested in this increasingly sympathetic nobody.
Disc 1
1. Pocketful Of Sunshine 2. Little Too Much 3. All I Need 4. Strip Me 5. Neon Lights 6. Weightless 7. Can't Fall Down 8. Try 9. Touch 10. Run Run Run 11. Break Thru 12. No Mozart 13. Recover 14. Weightless (Less is More Version) 15. Put Your Arms Around Me 16. Unexpected Hero
Disc 2
1. Strip Me (live video) 2. Weightless (live video) 3. Can t Fall Down (live video) 4. Run Run Run (live video) 5. Pocketful of Sunshine (music video) 6. Strip Me (music video) Source URL: https://popmusicrecords.blogspot.com/search/label/Flops Visit pop music records for Daily Updated Hairstyles Collection
"All The Lovers" debuted at #14 in Australia this week, becoming the second lowest charting lead single of Kylie's career. In fact, only "Some Kind Of Bliss" performed worse (landing at #27 in 1997) and that was released at the absolute nadir of her popularity. It's a bit depressing but hardly unexpected. I reviewed the song a month ago and wrote the following:
As much as I adore the song, I do have some criticisms. Well, one big one. I really hope I'm wrong but I don't think "All The Lovers" is a particularly smart lead single from a commercial standpoint. Kylie needed to steal her sister's crown as the undisputed Queen of Clubs instead of returning with what is essentially an electronic Mother's Day anthem. Fans have likened the song to "I Believe In You" and "The One" but neither of those set the charts on fire outside of England.
Sometimes I hate being right. The Kylie faithful will tell you that "All The Lovers" is a grower and will get a boost with the release of the physical single (in stores Friday) but I doubt it. The song has fallen out of the top 20 on iTunes and has stalled on radio. Strangely, I'm not that bothered. If the album is half as good as the "Aphrodite" megamix suggests, then Dannii's much older sister will be spoilt for choice when it comes to picking future singles and she can take heart from the song's top 5 debut in the UK and top 10 position in Germany. However - given that "All The Lovers" has received almost universal praise from fans and critics - what the fuck went wrong in this country?
Some militant Al Kylieda members have blamed the song leaking a couple of weeks in advance but I think that's ridiculous. More people legally downloaded "Your Love Is My Drug" last week and that's the third single from an album that's being doing the rounds online since January. Then there's the usual chant of "no promotion", which is slightly more valid. Australia hasn't really been a priority for Kylie since she exploded internationally in 2001 and the remote control approach to what is traditionally her second biggest market has been slowly backfiring ever since. However, Kylie did just as little promotion for "Slow" and "2 Hearts" and they both reached #1.
In my opinion, the problem lies with the dud remix package (Dada Life and XXXChange just don't cut it over here) and the fact that she went with another mid-tempo tune. Kylie really needed to come back with a dancefloor anthem that appealed to the half a million or so people that spent $20 on "Fever". As pretty and dreamy and perfect as it is, "All The Lovers" is too subtle and way too European for a market currently ruled by Katy Perry and Ke$ha.
Fortunately, every song on that "Aphrodite" megamix sounds more instant and radio friendly than the lead single. I honestly have such a good feeling about this album and think it has the potential to be absolutely massive. Kylie HQ just needs to be a bit smarter about single choices and make sure they are tailoring them for different markets. Particularly when it comes to the clubs. Get TV Rock or Hook N Sling to remix "Get Outta My Way" so it will actually be played in an Australian club outside of Oxford Street. Go with a different song if the UK's choice won't work over here. If an act as big as Pink can be bothered with Australia only singles, why can't Kylie?
Anyway, here are the living legend's 11 lead singles and their chart position from 1987 - 2010. A top 15 hit 23 years into a career is actually a pretty amazing achievement. I just think we all have so much affection for Kylie, we can't help but want more for her.
1987 Locomotion - #1 1994 Confide In Me - #1 1989 Hand On Your Hand - #4 1990 Better The Devil You Know - #4 1991 Word Is Out - #10 1997 Some Kind Of Bliss - #27 2000 Spinning Around - #1 2001 Can't Get You Out Of My Head - #1 2003 Slow - #1 2007 2 Hearts - #1 2010 All The Lovers - #14
On the bright side, at least Kylie's not as big a flop as Robyn, Kelly Rowland or Christina Aguilera! And she's the only person who can fall flat on her fanny and still look fabulous in the process. For video evidence watch this iconic moment below!
In my own little universe Mini Viva's "I Wish", or more specifically the gorgeous Cahill radio edit (below), is a multi-platinum #1 smash hit. I love everything about the poptastic duo's second single. There's an unusual softness to the wistful lyrics, which are perfectly cradled by a lush symphony of synths before exploding into the kind of joyous chorus not heard since the disco era. Just when you thought Xenomania's creative well had run drier than Susan Boyle's ladybits, the producers serve up their best song since Kylie's "Made Of Glass" - only to see it stall at a floptastic #73 on the UK charts. What the fuck? The track is infinitely superior to "Left My Heart In Tokyo" and that landed safely in the top 10. I know "I Wish" was released during the hectic Christmas period but did everyone with taste flee Great Britain in its week of release? If nothing else, Mini Viva's stunning flop makes me less apprehensive about Kylie's rumoured collaboration with Xenomania on her next album. Something along the lines of "I Wish" would suit her perfectly - even if it is chart poison! Hopefully, the girls bounce back with single number three. They put The Saturdays and Girls Aloud to shame.
This is not a late April Fool's Day joke. Ashanti, who I believe once scored a hit somewhere in the early noughties, is rumoured to be touring Australia soon. In all fairness, Nelly's girlfriend was a pretty big name (about 10 years ago) and has some good songs. "Foolish" is a classic and I still love her Ja Rule collaboration "Always On Time" but this has to be the most random flop to tour Australia since Blu Cantrell. The strangest thing is - I'm dying to go! I secretly think it's hilarious she's conned her way on to the bill and there's no doubt in my mind that her #96 smash "The Way That I Love You" will bring the house down. I'm particularly interested to see if the 30-year-old performs any new material. Hasn't she been threatening to release a new album since "The Declaration" went three times plastic in 2008? Only time will tell. But to get you into the mood for the return of a true R&B legend, here is her last Australian hit "Body On Me".
