Are underwhelming first singles the new trend?

[sexy 3,100]

I think it's the way streaming has changed album releases. Because post-album singles perform significantly worse than they used to, artists are sneaking in weaker songs BEFORE the album to squeeze out as many hits as possible.

I personally love Positions, but it does sound like it would've been a 3rd or 4th single in the pre-streaming era.

The pure hype of a lead single will carry the song's weight. She'll probably release an undeniable bop as the 2nd single which, because it's an undeniable bop, can carry its own weight (versus the other way around – it's better to set lower expectations and then blow them away, rather than start off with the album's highs, only to disappoint by following up with a low)

tl;dr – i think it's strategy to play the charts (which is ultimately what singles are, the whole point is to market the album)

also, the thing with TF/TFM is literally all 7 singles are undeniable bops, so it really didn't matter what order she released them in

[HotLikeMexico 3,950]

8 minutes ago, swooning said:

Wait, what is experimental about Chromatica?

It’s not. “Experimental” is tossed around and used loosely here.

[Mesmer92 92]

39 minutes ago, bluemonkey said:

I disagree, Rain On Me was an instant hit with people, even with me who tried to resist it but it’s a far superior song than Stupid Love and got great reception even my sister that don’t like Ariana, learned to tolerate her because the song is that good. 
 

Stupid Love songs like a B track or a demo that didn’t make the cut. It’s not a bad song but it’s also forgettable. 

I think you misunderstood what I was trying to say. What I meant is that I don't think ROM would have had the appeal it had if it was released in February. When it dropped in May, we had been dealing with the travesty of covid for weeks and the message of surviving in spite of the bad resonated better then. I love ROM, its one of my favorite songs LG has ever done, I apologize my meaning wasn't obvious. 

[GreenDiamond 6,286]

17 minutes ago, swooning said:

Wait, what is experimental about Chromatica?

I would not call her experiemental but its defo not the sounds that is a popular right now, it is risky in a way that its 100% dance house pop which is not popular as of rn such is hiphop, trap, rnB

[PsychoMaxcara 814]

14 minutes ago, swooning said:

Wait, what is experimental about Chromatica?

For me, I'd say the orchestral interludes, Gaga blending Pop with K-pop on Sour Candy in the context of Chromatica which is unapologetically house as far as genre is concerned, which leads me to songs like Alice or Replay and the beat drop in Sine from Above which are all completely different from anything artists are doing these days. 

13 minutes ago, HotLikeMexico said:

It’s not. “Experimental” is tossed around and used loosely here.

 Lol 

19 minutes ago, Indyl said:

I think it's the way streaming has changed album releases. Because post-album singles perform significantly worse than they used to, artists are sneaking in weaker songs BEFORE the album to squeeze out as many hits as possible.

I personally love Positions, but it does sound like it would've been a 3rd or 4th single in the pre-streaming era.

The pure hype of a lead single will carry the song's weight. She'll probably release an undeniable bop as the 2nd single which, because it's an undeniable bop, can carry its own weight (versus the other way around – it's better to set lower expectations and then blow them away, rather than start off with the album's highs, only to disappoint by following up with a low)

tl;dr – i think it's strategy to play the charts (which is ultimately what singles are, the whole point is to market the album)

also, the thing with TF/TFM is literally all 7 singles are undeniable bops, so it really didn't matter what order she released them in

Loved your explanation! So it seems streaming is to blame for the shift in lead single choices.

Btw -- I can lowkey imagine 2020Ga putting out Summerboy as the lead from The Fame. 

[bluemonkey 635]

7 minutes ago, Mesmer92 said:

I think you misunderstood what I was trying to say. What I meant is that I don't think ROM would have had the appeal it had if it was released in February. When it dropped in May, we had been dealing with the travesty of covid for weeks and the message of surviving in spite of the bad resonated better then. I love ROM, its one of my favorite songs LG has ever done, I apologize my meaning wasn't obvious. 

No, I still think it would be fine. A good song is a good song. Especially with Covid, a good song would still be successful because many people were listening to music while in quarantine to lift their spirits up. It just seems SL didn’t took off because it’s just a weak song and got okay reception. If it was released as a buzz single, I wouldn’t think too much of it. 

[swooning 424]

3 minutes ago, PsychoMaxcara said:

For me, I'd say the orchestral interludes, Gaga blending Pop with K-pop on Sour Candy in the context of Chromatica which is unapologetically house as far as genre is concerned, which leads me to songs like Alice or Replay and the beat drop in Sine from Above which are all completely different from anything artists are doing these days. 

Oh, you think that is experimenting?

[Mesmer92 92]

2 minutes ago, bluemonkey said:

No, I still think it would be fine. A good song is a good song. Especially with Covid, a good song would still be successful because many people were listening to music while in quarantine to lift their spirits up. It just seems SL didn’t took off because it’s just a weak song and got okay reception. If it was released as a buzz single, I wouldn’t think too much of it. 

I can't take you seriously because you think Stupid Love is weak so im just gonna bow out of this conversation. 

[Mesmer92 92]

2 minutes ago, swooning said:

Oh, you think that is experimenting?

Just admit you hate this album. Chromatica is a masterpiece and literally no one else on earth could have made it except for Genius Gaga 

[bluemonkey 635]

Just now, Mesmer92 said:

I can't take you seriously because you think Stupid Love is weak so im just gonna bow out of this conversation. 

It’s my opinion, just because you and some others like it doesn’t mean I have to. Very immature of you to not respect others opinions when I didn’t clown on yours.

[Mesmer92 92]

2 minutes ago, bluemonkey said:

It’s my opinion, just because you and some others like it doesn’t mean I have to. Very immature of you to not respect others opinions when I didn’t clown on yours.

I'm not clowning my friend. I just can't have a genuine, unbiased, discussion about Stupid Love because I think it's one of her best songs. Our conversation would just go in circles 

[HotLikeMexico 3,950]

11 minutes ago, PsychoMaxcara said:

For me, I'd say the orchestral interludes, Gaga blending Pop with K-pop on Sour Candy in the context of Chromatica which is unapologetically house as far as genre is concerned, which leads me to songs like Alice or Replay and the beat drop in Sine from Above which are all completely different from anything artists are doing these days. 

 Lol 

Loved your explanation! So it seems streaming is to blame for the shift in lead single choices.

Btw -- I can lowkey imagine 2020Ga putting out Summerboy as the lead from The Fame. 

Someone else already said it perfectly. Chromatica isn't "experimental," it's all been done before. All the songs are inspired by 90's House Music.The Sine From Above outro seems to reference a similar sound that Bowie and Nine Inch Nails explored in their work as well. Lot's of artist the past couple of years have been inspired and referencing 90's music.

[StrawberryBlond 13,286]

I agree so much. Maybe it's to make sure that there's a big hit released just before the album, meaning strong first week sales or something. But I think different. If a lead single doesn't hit me between the eyes immediately, it really dulls my hype. Yes, a better follow-up raises it again but the initial single always kicks off your perception and never really lets go until you hear the full thing. You make a good point that maybe an underwhelming lead is to make way for a much better album so people are more thrilled with the end result than they would've been had 2 amazing singles preceded it. It's better in a way if the worse songs are out of the way as singles so you hear nothing but bops when you hear the full album. I see this commonly with some of my favourite singers - they tend to put out the worst song on there as the lead because it's usually the most generic and therefore the highest chance of being a hit. But I know the rest will be much better, which is comforting. But for casual listeners, I don't know if there's any real benefit.

I strongly believe that your singles should represent your album well. If you're only releasing the most generic songs as singles but the rest of your album is very experimental, it might disappoint fans of mainstream music. I have a funny feeling that's sorta what happened with BTW. Not that I think those singles were generic but out of the whole album, those were probably the safest choices she could've possibly made instead of really weird/controversial ones like Government Hooker, Americano and Bloody Mary. It could've been why sales went right down after the initial massive hype and promo campaign. I think that album freaked out so many Gaga fans who were into her mainstream work. I know that's when she lost so many fans and it set the tone for her downfall with AP. People officially saw her as too weird now and someone who makes almost a bait and switch when it comes to single vs album content.

[HotLikeMexico 3,950]

11 minutes ago, Mesmer92 said:

Just admit you hate this album. Chromatica is a masterpiece and literally no one else on earth could have made it except for Genius Gaga 

I don't think saying the album is not experimental automatically mean that person hates the album. I love Chromatica, it's been played alot on my music since it's been released, but I just don't see it as an experimental album.

[vyniildisk 12,689]

Don't stop now pretty much changed the game and the overall entire industry and it was the first single.