Live Nation Press Release confirms: Rihanna's album out this week!

[JanPianoMusic 730]

She's not performing at "THE" Werchter festival, but the little sister festival 

[Didymus 34,380]

1 minute ago, StrawberryBlond said:

Gaga didn't cancel a planned BRITS promo slot. Gaga didn't release three singles and then disappear from the public eye despite not releasing the album. Gaga didn't unveil the album cover without a release date. Gaga didn't cancel a Victoria's Secret promo slot. Gaga didn't put her tour tickets on sale before the album was released. Gaga didn't make us wait just under A YEAR from the lead single's release to the album's release.

There was no sense of "surviving the era" in the sense of waiting (except for the DWUW video). It's not like she announced the release date of the album and then cancelled it. It's not like she released a lead single that didn't make the final cut and kept us waiting months for a re-worked album. No, out the blue, she announced the lead single name, release date, album name and release date in an official announcement. She released the lead single and then the album 3 months later, just like everyone else releases albums. She kept to her word. She maintained her true vision and didn't change it. Yes, we never got the DWUW video and the Australian promo got cancelled but it wasn't that it was poor planning, it was outside forces that forced those things to happen (change of management).

Rihanna's era has been a shambles. Her fans have been trying to believe for months that she just put her lead single out very early to keep them going but it's been painfully obvious for a long time that the delay was all because the singles were unexpectantly underperforming, nothing else. Rihanna was doing magazine interviews back in February talking about how the album was coming out real soon (and those interviews are actually conducted about 2 months before publication) back when she thought 45S was going to be a slow burning hit. So, she was saying it was almost done nearly a year ago. Her fans were ready for a March/April release that never came. And it only got worse from there. Rihanna has never made her fans wait this long for an album or delayed an album indefinitely, so this has massively shook up her fans. Most have given up on this album. This situation isn't even remotely close to how ARTPOP panned out.

I disagree, but you already knew that so honestly what the **** is the point of this? And no, I don't believe that underperforming bs. You'd have to be an IDIOT to believe that American Oxygen and BBHMM would be commercial hits. That and the minimal promo, I seriously don't believe she was even interested in delivering hits at all. If she was interested in that, she wouldn't even have bothered to try to come up with a fresh sound.

The cancellations are all explainable in context. The rest of your examples are ****ing retarded. Releasing an album cover without a release date, so ****ing what? Putting tour tickets on sale before an album release? So ****ing what? How does that even qualify as a disaster? How does that even qualify as irritation, is my question? Maybe people are too used to pop tactics, but I'm not, and I guess that's why I'm able to see this era in perspective. Rihanna's doing things on her own time now and that's how artists should do things. Big whoop she makes her fans wait, I'm a fan and I've been more satisfied with this era than any other of her, because the QUALITY far exceeds any of her previous endeavors.

So no, I'm horribly unimpressed by your argument.

[StrawberryBlond 14,900]

Just now, Didymus said:

I disagree, but you already knew that so honestly what the **** is the point of this? And no, I don't believe that underperforming bs. You'd have to be an IDIOT to believe that American Oxygen and BBHMM would be commercial hits. That and the minimal promo, I seriously don't believe she was even interested in delivering hits at all. If she was interested in that, she wouldn't even have bothered to try to come up with a fresh sound.

The cancellations are all explainable in context. The rest of your examples are ****ing retarded. Releasing an album cover without a release date, so ****ing what? Putting tour tickets on sale before an album release? So ****ing what? How does that even qualify as a disaster? How does that even qualify as irritation, is my question? Maybe people are too used to pop tactics, but I'm not, and I guess that's why I'm able to see this era in perspective. Rihanna's doing things on her own time now and that's how artists should do things. Big whoop she makes her fans wait, I'm a fan and I've been more satisfied with this era than any other of her, because the QUALITY far exceeds any of her previous endeavors.

So no, I'm horribly unimpressed by your argument.

It doesn't matter if they were commercial or not. She and her team clearly expected hits. Everything with Rihanna's name on it is expected to sell well, that's how cocky her team is. She released her lead single with 2 big names in the hopes of getting a hit. She released a very urban follow up because urban music's made a comeback and it could be a hit. She released a very political follow up because she thought the message would be inspiring and it would translate into a hit. Everything Rihanna and her team do is for hits, regardless of how commercial the songs are. Every artist wants a hit, especially one as successful as Rihanna (who boasts about her success as well, I might add). Face it, she just thought she would get success seeing as she's never had any problem with that and she's been around for a decade. But she didn't get it, so panic mode was enabled. The promo was minimal because she's on Roc Nation now and they don't have a clue about international promo. Ever since Beyonce took on Jay Z as her manager, she's been but abandoned UK promo apart from her 2011 Glastonbury appearance and her 2014 BRITS appearance - she doesn't do talk shows here and her last X Factor appearance was 5 years ago (weirdly, she's done the French and Australian version, but not the UK, even though it's the biggest one). Already, we can see that Jay's treating Rihanna's promo schedule the same as Beyonce's - major US slots, but nothing international. That's bad news for Rihanna seeing as her biggest market is Europe, especially regions like UK and France. If she doesn't perform on X Factor this year, it'll be her third consecutive absence from the programme, even though before that, she was on every year without fail (which is why she sells so well here - it's the best promo slot for her). Less people care about her here now because she's not promoting herself the way she used to. I've said it once and I'll say it again - Jay will ruin her career by making her so exclusively US based.

She released an album cover NINE MONTHS after the lead single with no release date. Her fans were so excited about this, thinking this was the perfect opportunity to finally get the date set in stone, because what better time to release it? Who unveils an album cover at an art gallery with so much build up with no release date despite the lead single being released nine months ago? There was basically no point to it other than damage control, to shut the fans up for a while and to prove to them that the album did exist. So, they were left disappointed and in the dark AGAIN. Yes, putting out the tickets before the album was a disaster because so many fans have been feeling mixed about the songs released thus far. So, a lot of them aren't interested in buying tickets until they get the album, so they can work out if it's worth it (which means initial ticket sales probably won't be high). It's so cheeky to make her fans wait for an album for nearly a year after the lead single and after all this time, expect them to hand over money for a concert featuring songs from the album they still haven't got. That's really bad form. She just wants to fleece you of your money before you can decide if the album's good enough to see live or not. It's a common industry tactic: if an album is bad or experimental or having mixed fan reception, the tickets get put on sale before the album's release. That way, the label makes the money from the fans even if they end up not liking the eventual product. If they didn't like the album, they wouldn't buy tickets, so less money would be made. Seeing as she's going to be doing stadiums, she's going to need all the help she can get to shift tickets seeing as the public have stopped caring and a lot of the fans have too.

Rihanna isn't doing things "her way" at all. Everything up until this point has been the result of panic due to flopping. Apparently, when it comes to Rihanna, doing things your way means delaying an album that you said was almost ready months ago for no explained reason, holidaying and clubbing when she should be working on the album, cancelling appearances for no reason and being utterly elusive during an album campaign. Artists don't do this when they're comfortable with their vision. They do this when they're worried about flopping.

[Hexxx 2,244]

omg. i am READY! 45Seconds and American Oxygen were outstanding  here for it Madame R

[LeoFameMonster 1,592]

Just like the S6 flopped I feel like this will too.

Where the singles at???

[Guest]

I wish my hype for the album still existed

Oh well I'll still listen when (if) it drops

[Psychedelic 1,098]

Finally!

[BLACKOUTbritney 22,359]

23 hours ago, Adelephant said:

Literally nobody cares about her anymore.

http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2015/12/rihanna-spotify-2015-most-streamed-female-artist

[Didymus 34,380]

11 hours ago, StrawberryBlond said:

It doesn't matter if they were commercial or not. She and her team clearly expected hits. Everything with Rihanna's name on it is expected to sell well, that's how cocky her team is. She released her lead single with 2 big names in the hopes of getting a hit. She released a very urban follow up because urban music's made a comeback and it could be a hit. She released a very political follow up because she thought the message would be inspiring and it would translate into a hit. Everything Rihanna and her team do is for hits, regardless of how commercial the songs are. Every artist wants a hit, especially one as successful as Rihanna (who boasts about her success as well, I might add). Face it, she just thought she would get success seeing as she's never had any problem with that and she's been around for a decade. But she didn't get it, so panic mode was enabled. The promo was minimal because she's on Roc Nation now and they don't have a clue about international promo. Ever since Beyonce took on Jay Z as her manager, she's been but abandoned UK promo apart from her 2011 Glastonbury appearance and her 2014 BRITS appearance - she doesn't do talk shows here and her last X Factor appearance was 5 years ago (weirdly, she's done the French and Australian version, but not the UK, even though it's the biggest one). Already, we can see that Jay's treating Rihanna's promo schedule the same as Beyonce's - major US slots, but nothing international. That's bad news for Rihanna seeing as her biggest market is Europe, especially regions like UK and France. If she doesn't perform on X Factor this year, it'll be her third consecutive absence from the programme, even though before that, she was on every year without fail (which is why she sells so well here - it's the best promo slot for her). Less people care about her here now because she's not promoting herself the way she used to. I've said it once and I'll say it again - Jay will ruin her career by making her so exclusively US based.

She released an album cover NINE MONTHS after the lead single with no release date. Her fans were so excited about this, thinking this was the perfect opportunity to finally get the date set in stone, because what better time to release it? Who unveils an album cover at an art gallery with so much build up with no release date despite the lead single being released nine months ago? There was basically no point to it other than damage control, to shut the fans up for a while and to prove to them that the album did exist. So, they were left disappointed and in the dark AGAIN. Yes, putting out the tickets before the album was a disaster because so many fans have been feeling mixed about the songs released thus far. So, a lot of them aren't interested in buying tickets until they get the album, so they can work out if it's worth it (which means initial ticket sales probably won't be high). It's so cheeky to make her fans wait for an album for nearly a year after the lead single and after all this time, expect them to hand over money for a concert featuring songs from the album they still haven't got. That's really bad form. She just wants to fleece you of your money before you can decide if the album's good enough to see live or not. It's a common industry tactic: if an album is bad or experimental or having mixed fan reception, the tickets get put on sale before the album's release. That way, the label makes the money from the fans even if they end up not liking the eventual product. If they didn't like the album, they wouldn't buy tickets, so less money would be made. Seeing as she's going to be doing stadiums, she's going to need all the help she can get to shift tickets seeing as the public have stopped caring and a lot of the fans have too.

Rihanna isn't doing things "her way" at all. Everything up until this point has been the result of panic due to flopping. Apparently, when it comes to Rihanna, doing things your way means delaying an album that you said was almost ready months ago for no explained reason, holidaying and clubbing when she should be working on the album, cancelling appearances for no reason and being utterly elusive during an album campaign. Artists don't do this when they're comfortable with their vision. They do this when they're worried about flopping.

I seriously don't believe in a universe in which anyone in an experienced team of sales would believe that American Oxygen and BBHMM would do as well as her previous hits, which were directly designed to be not just radio friendly but fanbase friendly. With the three songs she released (the two for Home excluded, which she didn't promote - that only supports my position) she basically alienated her own fans, like you said yourself, so where is the strategy in that? You can post it's "obvious" she's desperate for hits all you want but that's not an argument, especially since it's not obvious at all.

You say "everything with Rihanna's name on it is expected to sell well", but that does not shine through in her career. She's had more than a few singles that failed to impact radio or charts even in her peak era's. The songs that went on to sell millions were tailored for radio and mass appeal, the exact opposite of the songs she released for ANTI as of now. So no, I don't think it's obvious at all that she and/or her team expected these songs to smash. The idea alone is just out of this world to me, especially when you think of the visuals she surrounded her singles with. Again: not mass/fan/tv friendly at all.

It's clear to me that you will interpret literally everything Rihanna does based on a fundamentally cynical point of view (quite similar to how people criticize Gaga's "artistic" antics I might add - I'm sure you don't use that point of view to a--lyze her career, which is funny, especially when you look at the last three years). You talk about "panic" but this is not visible anywhere, only in obviously fake gossip sites.

The common industry tactic of touring is a weird argument to me too. So many artists do it, I don't see how it's a bad move on her part at all. She released five songs this year, a bunch of visuals to determine the era's aesthetic, I think that's better than what a lot of artists do, the most obvious recent example being Beyoncé who released absolutely nothing related to her new era before announcing (and going on) a new tour. But surprise: the tour was ****ing fantastic. So who cares about these tactics? If you're not convinced yet, you don't buy tickets, if you are, you buy them. That doesn't sound like some monstrous scheme to me.

Disagree completely about her not doing things her way too. She changed the entire sound of her album after leaving Def Jam (I mean, doesn't that say enough?). She later clarified that she made a commercially appealing album (obivously the Def Jam one) but she wanted to do something else that felt more like herself, 'cause she was tired of performing her old songs. I loved her more because of that, and even though I can understand that fans want edible hits more, that's their own ****ing problem and Rihanna obviously doesn't give a **** and I think that's awesome. A month ago we heard that she was in control of all the masters of ANTI and she was releasing them not just through Roc but also through her own label. That sounds like control to me.

I don't believe in the damage control artwork release either. The artwork was an artistic collaboration with a well-known Israeli artist and she didn't just release the cover, she also released inside album art as well, so I don't think it's right to say that she just released it without an album release date for no reason. To me it seems as simple as it might seem to anyone without an agenda to criticize her: she just wanted journalists to focus on what the art looked like and meant.

I mean, I get your points but I still don't think it's convincing to say that this era is a mess so far. The quality of her output has increased to the max and if she had wanted to smash commercially she would've just stayed with Def Jam and released her radio friendly album and that's it. But no, she took her time to create something that is obviously, based on all the reports, gonna be something completely fresh and exciting. Isn't that good? Like, honestly, what more do people want? Amazing visuals? Well, we got 'em, in magazines, in album art, in single covers, in promo material (I loved the simple BBHMM promo she did all over the world),... I'm perfectly satisfied. And anyone else who isn't, that's just their problem.

I just think it's vicious to make up this whole "panic", "desperate for hits" narrative when there's absolutely no proof of it. It makes you look at the era in a completely different way for sure, but there's no proper foundation for it. I listed everything that I think made this year satisfying on an artistic level and all you can tell me is that it's all just a pose for commercial success, even though her own output contradicts that. It's just a very transparent and unimpressive way to come at an artist. If Rihanna was worried about flopping, she wouldn't have done 90% of what she did for the last two years. Now that's "obvious" to me.

So whatever, I'm super excited for the album, I have been perfectly fine waiting for it with three brilliant singles and two other enjoyable songs, three killer music video's, absolutely stunning magazine shoots and interviews and her candids this year. If that's not enough for her fanbase, then they can go stan for someone else 'cause that's not normal.

[Dhipita 110]

23 hours ago, Son of ARTPOP said:

*Breathing heavily*

If this doesn't turn out to be true I'm officially done with the whole album. 

Last Friday I was mildly hyped and still got quite annoyed by the fact that nothing was even announced. If this Friday doesn't see the release of ANTI I will have a proper meltdown.  

Please be true! Rihanna, you dirty slutty motherfvcking piece of s-xiness, come back to me. 

Had to report you for changing a letter in a swear word so it didn't get censored. 

[Gianni Versace 2,987]

On 12/1/2015, 2:38:28, Adelephant said:

Literally nobody cares about her anymore.

i want you banned and this post deleted from MY site! @Admin

@ all the mutts who liked that **** post, let's fight!

[Gianni Versace 2,987]

On 12/1/2015, 7:51:59, Didymus said:

The Belgian articles say the album is expected this week.

Which basically means they got it from some pop forum & it means ****.

tell 'em, didy!

on topic: y'all haters can smoke a straight shooter!

[eifulien 2,969]

8 hours ago, Dhipita said:

Had to report you for changing a letter in a swear word so it didn't get censored. 

 

Why are you so evil? You vicious person! Now, do you realise I could receive a warning point? Not to mention the worst - being banned?!!?! 

Oh gosh, I'm feeling unwell. Take me to church and repent with me, traitor! 

Back on topic, gals, it's Wednesday, 2 days till the meltdown! 

[StrawberryBlond 14,900]

Just now, Didymus said:

I seriously don't believe in a universe in which anyone in an experienced team of sales would believe that American Oxygen and BBHMM would do as well as her previous hits, which were directly designed to be not just radio friendly but fanbase friendly. With the three songs she released (the two for Home excluded, which she didn't promote - that only supports my position) she basically alienated her own fans, like you said yourself, so where is the strategy in that? You can post it's "obvious" she's desperate for hits all you want but that's not an argument, especially since it's not obvious at all.

You say "everything with Rihanna's name on it is expected to sell well", but that does not shine through in her career. She's had more than a few singles that failed to impact radio or charts even in her peak era's. The songs that went on to sell millions were tailored for radio and mass appeal, the exact opposite of the songs she released for ANTI as of now. So no, I don't think it's obvious at all that she and/or her team expected these songs to smash. The idea alone is just out of this world to me, especially when you think of the visuals she surrounded her singles with. Again: not mass/fan/tv friendly at all.

It's clear to me that you will interpret literally everything Rihanna does based on a fundamentally cynical point of view (quite similar to how people criticize Gaga's "artistic" antics I might add - I'm sure you don't use that point of view to a--lyze her career, which is funny, especially when you look at the last three years). You talk about "panic" but this is not visible anywhere, only in obviously fake gossip sites.

The common industry tactic of touring is a weird argument to me too. So many artists do it, I don't see how it's a bad move on her part at all. She released five songs this year, a bunch of visuals to determine the era's aesthetic, I think that's better than what a lot of artists do, the most obvious recent example being Beyoncé who released absolutely nothing related to her new era before announcing (and going on) a new tour. But surprise: the tour was ****ing fantastic. So who cares about these tactics? If you're not convinced yet, you don't buy tickets, if you are, you buy them. That doesn't sound like some monstrous scheme to me.

Disagree completely about her not doing things her way too. She changed the entire sound of her album after leaving Def Jam (I mean, doesn't that say enough?). She later clarified that she made a commercially appealing album (obivously the Def Jam one) but she wanted to do something else that felt more like herself, 'cause she was tired of performing her old songs. I loved her more because of that, and even though I can understand that fans want edible hits more, that's their own ****ing problem and Rihanna obviously doesn't give a **** and I think that's awesome. A month ago we heard that she was in control of all the masters of ANTI and she was releasing them not just through Roc but also through her own label. That sounds like control to me.

I don't believe in the damage control artwork release either. The artwork was an artistic collaboration with a well-known Israeli artist and she didn't just release the cover, she also released inside album art as well, so I don't think it's right to say that she just released it without an album release date for no reason. To me it seems as simple as it might seem to anyone without an agenda to criticize her: she just wanted journalists to focus on what the art looked like and meant.

I mean, I get your points but I still don't think it's convincing to say that this era is a mess so far. The quality of her output has increased to the max and if she had wanted to smash commercially she would've just stayed with Def Jam and released her radio friendly album and that's it. But no, she took her time to create something that is obviously, based on all the reports, gonna be something completely fresh and exciting. Isn't that good? Like, honestly, what more do people want? Amazing visuals? Well, we got 'em, in magazines, in album art, in single covers, in promo material (I loved the simple BBHMM promo she did all over the world),... I'm perfectly satisfied. And anyone else who isn't, that's just their problem.

I just think it's vicious to make up this whole "panic", "desperate for hits" narrative when there's absolutely no proof of it. It makes you look at the era in a completely different way for sure, but there's no proper foundation for it. I listed everything that I think made this year satisfying on an artistic level and all you can tell me is that it's all just a pose for commercial success, even though her own output contradicts that. It's just a very transparent and unimpressive way to come at an artist. If Rihanna was worried about flopping, she wouldn't have done 90% of what she did for the last two years. Now that's "obvious" to me.

So whatever, I'm super excited for the album, I have been perfectly fine waiting for it with three brilliant singles and two other enjoyable songs, three killer music video's, absolutely stunning magazine shoots and interviews and her candids this year. If that's not enough for her fanbase, then they can go stan for someone else 'cause that's not normal.

Like I said, Rihanna and her team think she's different from other commercial stars, that she's untouchable. She's someone who could release something anti commercial but still sell it. I had doubts about We Found Love doing well because we weren't used to a EDM Rihanna...but it was one of her most successful singles of all time. I had doubts about Diamonds doing well because we weren't used to a serious ballad Rihanna (especially for a lead single)...and it was one of her most successful singles of all time. Even the super experimental Unapologetic sold well. I'm used to her doing something that it's "typical" for her and still doing well. It's one of the reasons why I dislike her a lot to be honest - even her experiments sell, unlike most other artists. And it doesn't matter how good or bad her songs are, people buy them. But nevertheless, I had doubts about 45S doing well...and for once, I was right. And I also had doubts about the follow ups being successful and I was also right. And this is the time when Rihanna makes her first ever album delay - when the songs aren't doing as well as they used to. I know she's trying to be more experimental this time but that doesn't mean that she doesn't still expect success even so. Back when it was revealed she had over 40 writers working for her, the article also talked about radio and how what's successful isn't what the public want, it's what's paid for. And that Def Jam had put millions into trying to make Man Down (one of her most experimental works) a hit. Why would they put all that money into it if they weren't bothered about commercial success? She's been nothing but a successmaker from the beginning - you really think she wants to give that up now? She's made experimental albums before this and had success with them, of course she still wants the success no matter what. But she needs to accept that she can't have it both ways. A commercial popstar like her simply can't have both.

I am cynical about Rihanna because I've got the facts to back it up. She's been nothing but a hit machine from day one. Everything she does is to appeal to a mass audience even when that's not what she wants you to think. In the case of ANTI, she believes that the experimentation is exactly what will draw people to her because they want an "artiste" these days (especially in the case of urban music - Beyonce, Jay, Drake, Kendrick, etc have all pulled out very mature albums that are different from most other stuff in the charts). She goes with whatever's hot at the moment and being artistic is currently where it's at. It's no wonder people have been saying: "She'll be back to creating generic bops every year once she's done pretending to be a credible artist." They see right through her as much as I do.

Maybe it doesn't bother some people, but putting up tickets before an album infuriates me. That's why I love Gaga - she doesn't do that money-grabbing s**t. She waits to see how the album's rexceieved and then works out a tour based on that, which is how it should be. That way, everyone who's bought a ticket wants to be there. Could you imagine doing a show where 75% of the audience don't like your new work but are only there because they bought the ticket pre-album release and couldn't resell it because no one wants to go to a concert playing songs from an awful album? 9 times out of 10, if tickets go on sale before an album, it means the album's going to be terrible. I saw it for Rihanna (Unapologetic), 1D (Take Me Home), Madonna (MDNA), Bon Jovi (What About Now) and many more. In the case of ANTI, I don't think it's a sign it's going to be bad, but it is a sign that the label are worried about the sales due to its mixed fan and public reception, so are at least trying to make top dollar from tour sales. And the people who do go may feel obliged to buy the album as well. It's a good way to sell an experimental album. But a dishonest one even so. Gaga could have done this for ARTPOP and she could have got her sales into $100million. But she didn't, she wanted to have genuine lovers of the album at that show. Respect.

She not doing things her way because she still isn't the primary writer behind her songs. As long as she continues to have songwriting camps and is on endless vacations while her team are working round the clock, she can never have full control. It's still other people's visions that are the basis of her music. She didn't make an anti commercial album, a team of writers did.

If you're revealing something like artwork in such a big way, you've got to have an album release date, otherwise, there's no climax. She could have stamped the date underneath or something. The whole build up was so pretentious (fans wore blindfolds, dipped their hands in ink and read braille), it was all meant to cover up that the album was still nowhere done yet, but if there was enough distraction surrounding the obvious, no one would notice.

If she wasn't worried about flopping, why did she delay the album for months? This is a classic sign of damage control (time for re-workings and new singles). There's no other explanation for why there was such a big gap between the lead single and the album's release. Why was she saying in interviews released in February (likely conducted in January) that the album was almost done but there was no sign of it until December? Why did she retreat from the public eye after 3 singles failed to become massive hits (a time when the album should have been due for release)? Step back for a moment and look at the truth of the situation.

Honestly, I'm as excited about the albums as you. I love BBHMM, AO and the snippets of Higher and Only If For A Night. I actually think this could be her best, if not the best, album. But my critique has nothing to do with artistry, it's all about how its been a COMMERCIAL disaster. It doesn't matter if you don't care, fact is, it's going to sell badly, further singles won't be successful, her tour likely isn't going to sell out and it puts the future of her career in question. The public just isn't talking about Rihanna anymore and if she loses them, she's done, as a lot of her sales come from casual listeners. It's a big blow for someone who was always on top. How does she go from amazing management keeping her successful and relevant to terrible management knocking her down the charts and making her irrelevant?

[Serendipity 7,821]

The essays 

 

OT: I want BBHMM