Missy Elliott on sophomore albums: “If u play safe you will be BOXED in“

[holy scheisse 22,254]

One of the biggest concerns in a young artist’s career is the “sophomore slump,” which refers to the follow-up to their debut effort not meeting their expectations or the expectations of critics and their fanbase.

Since Missy Elliott has a wealth of experience, she decided to share advice to up-and-coming acts about the importance of their second studio project.
 

“Sophomore Albums are a very PIVOTAL time for artist! Here is a gem from MISSY!Your sophomore album be stressful but it’s the BEST ALBUM to EXPERIMENT on!” the rap legend wrote on Twitter. “Don’t be AFRAID! Becuz If u play safe you will be BOXED in & its hard to get out because your fans get used to that 1 sound💯.”

Missy went on to add that artists should trust their intuition when it comes to the music they want to release and worry about what the critics will think later.

https://www.complex.com/music/missy-elliott-shares-advice-for-artists-working-on-sophomore-albums?d_id=4231825&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&utm_campaign=complexmag&fbclid=IwAR1ClMR5AKDDJpKO7We2Ww3_TBRqOJlduxdbAz0bn2VAnGH0wzoer8vpl_Q

 

 

so, who do you think played it safe and suffered for it? Who took risks and benefited??

[holy scheisse 22,254]

I think Kesha played it safe and suffered for it 

 

I think dua lipa obviously did not play it safe and helped usher in a new mainstream sound 

[Teletubby 148,779]

Charlie is outside of the box

[ANVEEROY 61,188]

Meghan Trainor 

[mattbri 1,369]

25 minutes ago, Teletubby said:

Charlie is outside of the box

[Ziggy 11,761]

I’d agree. With Gaga, it’s a weird one because she basically dropped music consistently through BTW so she never really had a huge “sophomore” album that’s clearly define apart from TFM. BUT if you wanna say TFM is the second album in that case, look at how people wish that Gaga was back still after all these years (a Gaga which morphed but was still decently present on BTW, for sure). Sonically, Gaga didn’t really have a big deviation until C2C. She very much had a “song structure” from the fame through ARTPOP that became familiar.

[Bling 31,346]

1 hour ago, Teletubby said:

Charlie is outside of the closet

[Bling 31,346]

The second album is almost harder than the first because at least with your debut you can do whatever you want, with the second you have to carry a sound that fans of your first album will love, but also (hopefully) introduce something new. 

I think Britney did an awesome job of maintaining bubblegum pop but slowly becoming more sensual and mature, all leading up to In The Zone 

Xtina also def surpassed her debut because Stripped is perfection start to finish (with maybe a few fillers) but she experimented and was vulnerable while always showcasing her impeccable vocals. 

In more recent years, Billie had an impressive second album imo when it comes to expanding genres (Jazz, rock, dance, lo-fi) and I can't wait to see what she has in store. 

___

I think Camila Cabello didn't necessarily have a "slump" but the quality of her first record did not transfer to her second. There were some gems, but also lots of filler and boring songs about Shawn 

 

(I couldn't really think of more sophomore slumps...)

[holy scheisse 22,254]

31 minutes ago, Ziggy said:

I’d agree. With Gaga, it’s a weird one because she basically dropped music consistently through BTW so she never really had a huge “sophomore” album that’s clearly define apart from TFM. BUT if you wanna say TFM is the second album in that case, look at how people wish that Gaga was back still after all these years (a Gaga which morphed but was still decently present on BTW, for sure). Sonically, Gaga didn’t really have a big deviation until C2C. She very much had a “song structure” from the fame through ARTPOP that became familiar.

i feel like because TFM is considered her sophomore project, for a while she really did get boxed into the redone sound. all the old school fans (like me) bitched for years abotu how we miss redone ga/darkga whatever lolol 

 

and so true with the song structure. Poker face --> bad romance --> judas --> venus

 

i think she finally broke that though ever since she chose to get out of her box with c2c/joanne

[holy scheisse 22,254]

3 minutes ago, WheresMy911Alice said:

The second album is almost harder than the first because at least with your debut you can do whatever you want, with the second you have to carry a sound that fans of your first album will love, but also (hopefully) introduce something new. 

i wonder what people think of lorde... melodrama was a bit different than pure heroin, but it still maintained that familiar "lorde-ness" if you will.... then she drops solar power, completely different from the first 2 albums, and fans were like wtf is this scheisse... its not lorde enough!

[Dojo 19,365]

is TFM Gaga's sophomore? or is it BTW? 

also how this works for Katy? 

i think Dua is THEE example of what OPs is talking about 

[Neroneau 1,016]

25 minutes ago, Julia Fox said:

is TFM Gaga's sophomore? or is it BTW? 

also how this works for Katy? 

i think Dua is THEE example of what OPs is talking about 

Imo TFM is Gaga’s 2nd album but BTW is her sophomore 

[holy scheisse 22,254]

10 minutes ago, Neroneau said:

Imo TFM is Gaga’s 2nd album but BTW is her sophomore 

gagz got held back and had to do freshman year twice

[Dojo 19,365]

32 minutes ago, Neroneau said:

Imo TFM is Gaga’s 2nd album but BTW is her sophomore 

[Kimmo 80,613]

TRUE!!

Gaga decided to skip changing until the sophomore album and did it with her EP ‘The Fame Monster’

Sonically, the difference between any song on The Fame and Bad Romance is light years of difference… I remember being shocked and obsessed with Bad Romance because it was so fresh and felt different from anything anyone had ever done