Bronco 23,093 Posted April 19 Share Posted April 19 3 minutes ago, nodandsmile said: you've made a great point there, her debuts are incredible but the drop in quality might be hurting the album longevity wise I fear the easy commercial success is making her not give a damn about the quality of her work, hopefully I'm wrong and the response to Showgirl will wake her up! The thing that makes me thing she's faltering is that she released the Elizabeth Taylor vinyl for RSD this weekend. The Taylor RSD exclusives used to sell out instantly on the main day, I went to another local store today to try and hunt the records I wanted from my nearest store yesterday - they had about 50 taylor vinyls still unsold. The gays know how to party 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
monstertoronto 11,479 Posted April 19 Share Posted April 19 (edited) This song is such a vibe and I think serves as a great intro to the album/era. I think it’s less a lead single and more a mood setter and I’m so here for it. And imagine trying to drag an artist who is 67 years old and still relevant in the pop scene where she’s still discussed and anticipated. And she started decades ago in the 80s! Edited April 19 by monstertoronto 1 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pigatha 1,178 Posted April 19 Share Posted April 19 (edited) This is really good for a song that did not get any promo and is the album opener and not the lead single and was not on streaming when it was first "released". Not to mention she is 67 and still able to attract these numbers, I don't think many artists could pull that off by just randomly dropping an album intro song lol. Edited April 19 by Pigatha 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LGAte 710 Posted April 19 Share Posted April 19 I’m going to inform everyone of something as a marketer that surprises me that pop fans have not caught on to yet: In 2026, the lead single is not the “big single” anymore. Streaming changed how people buy music and if they do choose to buy it, it is near an album release when there is the most hype. So if you are going the singles-route: releasing a lead as a pallet cleanser or world starter is more the purpose of a lead now because you aren’t going to maximize commercial purchases months out- things move too fast now. The lead single is often the “identity” single now. In the past, singles and radio carried the hype into the album but that doesn’t happen anymore. Hype is built over time. This happened with brat, Chappell Roan, and Sabrina Carpenter. So the music labels opt for multiple singles rolled out and pick the hit as the 2nd or 3rd single nearest the album. Do we not see this with Gaga as well? Her last 3 pop albums have had a bigger 2nd single and a moderate lead. (Perfect Illusion/Millions Reasons, Stupid Love/Rain on Me, Disease/Abracadabra). For example, it would be like, if Born This Way came out today, Marry the Night WOULD be released as the lead single because it is the most excellent “vibe” and “world building” of that era (isn’t that ironic it was the last single?), and THEN I would say Born This Way or Judas being chosen as the “prime” single nearest the album. Or with ARTPOP literally choosing ARTPOP (the song) as a lead and then releasing Applause or Aura or Venus as a prime single. or vice versa- Abracadabra would be the lead of Mayhem in 2011, with Disease as the second single, Vanish Into You as the third, Zombieboy as a Halloween treat, and then Die With A Smile as the outro of the era. MY POINT HERE BEING: Madonna’s actually “big hit” of this era is probably either the Sabrina song OR it’s something that will be released during Pride Month. I also am pretty sure about this considering the tone of the song- it’s not trying to be a pop song- at all. It’s trying to be something you experience ala dance tracks back in the day that were on albums to continue the vibe- not be the hits. I Feel So Free acts as a way to nod to Future Lovers/I Feel So Good by Donna Summer (which was literally the fan-loved opener of the Confessions Tour interestingly), and is meant to set the tone of the album. The hit of Confessions II will probably come out in 4-6 weeks. 3 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ziggy 13,750 Posted April 19 Share Posted April 19 ns but most songs would be doing this or less were it not for the bot farms 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ziggy 13,750 Posted April 19 Share Posted April 19 (edited) 31 minutes ago, LGAte said: I’m going to inform everyone of something as a marketer that surprises me that pop fans have not caught on to yet: In 2026, the lead single is not the “big single” anymore. Streaming changed how people buy music and if they do choose to buy it, it is near an album release when there is the most hype. So if you are going the singles-route: releasing a lead as a pallet cleanser or world starter is more the purpose of a lead now because you aren’t going to maximize commercial purchases months out- things move too fast now. The lead single is often the “identity” single now. In the past, singles and radio carried the hype into the album but that doesn’t happen anymore. Hype is built over time. This happened with brat, Chappell Roan, and Sabrina Carpenter. So the music labels opt for multiple singles rolled out and pick the hit as the 2nd or 3rd single nearest the album. Do we not see this with Gaga as well? Her last 3 pop albums have had a bigger 2nd single and a moderate lead. (Perfect Illusion/Millions Reasons, Stupid Love/Rain on Me, Disease/Abracadabra). For example, it would be like, if Born This Way came out today, Marry the Night WOULD be released as the lead single because it is the most excellent “vibe” and “world building” of that era (isn’t that ironic it was the last single?), and THEN I would say Born This Way or Judas being chosen as the “prime” single nearest the album. Or with ARTPOP literally choosing ARTPOP (the song) as a lead and then releasing Applause or Aura or Venus as a prime single. or vice versa- Abracadabra would be the lead of Mayhem in 2011, with Disease as the second single, Vanish Into You as the third, Zombieboy as a Halloween treat, and then Die With A Smile as the outro of the era. MY POINT HERE BEING: Madonna’s actually “big hit” of this era is probably either the Sabrina song OR it’s something that will be released during Pride Month. I also am pretty sure about this considering the tone of the song- it’s not trying to be a pop song- at all. It’s trying to be something you experience ala dance tracks back in the day that were on albums to continue the vibe- not be the hits. I Feel So Free acts as a way to nod to Future Lovers/I Feel So Good by Donna Summer (which was literally the fan-loved opener of the Confessions Tour interestingly), and is meant to set the tone of the album. The hit of Confessions II will probably come out in 4-6 weeks. Actually, Gaga has always done this tactic. I have a hunch it's part of why we're in the era you pointed out so well. I'd even go so far as to argue that Telephone, the mega collab of TFM, is the hook single whereas Bad Romance was a sort of tonal establisher with some risk. It just also happened to be a juggernaut but i dont think that was by era design. But yeah i agree with you. Madonna can't just drop a single out of nowhere after years of no music and not being a selling force in the current music market. Having a sort of tease single to ramp up promo (and have it be this good) is brilliant marketing on her part. Because look at the reception. Look at how people responded to the Sabrina song at Coachella (which tbh I dont think will be the single either). She's doing that broad hype build you're talking about and being strategic. It's working imo. Edited April 19 by Ziggy 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAPRISONGS 1,652 Posted April 19 Share Posted April 19 9 hours ago, Ladle Ghoulash said: Eh, no shame in that, tbh. At this point in her career, she’s more of a niche artist, which is totally fine/respectable. She’s an absolute legend in the grand scheme, but her music just isn’t at the core of the cultural conversation atp. the concept of madonna being a niche artist Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronco 23,093 Posted April 19 Share Posted April 19 6 minutes ago, CAPRISONGS said: the concept of madonna being a niche artist In the streaming world she is sadly. Need only look at the kworb numbers. She's realistically not had a successful era in the streaming age to create a streaming audience. The gays know how to party 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awrah999 4,433 Posted April 19 Share Posted April 19 I don’t care about whether the numbers are good for her or not. The song itself made me less interested in Confessions II Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
palma 8,909 Posted April 19 Share Posted April 19 (edited) I mean this song is like Future Lovers or idk Impressive Instant - it's an early-tracklist mood setter. It's not meant to be a smash and it's not being pushed either. The song debuted on radio, every gay heard it through twitter first and she's 67. All things considered, I don't expect this album to flop as hard as Madame X or MDNA even. Edited April 19 by palma Is there some reason my LG7 isn't here? Has she died or something? 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ladle Ghoulash 49,079 Posted April 19 Share Posted April 19 31 minutes ago, CAPRISONGS said: the concept of madonna being a niche artist The concept of basic reading comprehension lmao We have forgotten our public MANNERS 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lance13 1,223 Posted April 19 Share Posted April 19 I LOVE IT! This will be the tour opener. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nodandsmile 11,699 Posted April 20 Share Posted April 20 3 hours ago, Bronco said: The thing that makes me thing she's faltering is that she released the Elizabeth Taylor vinyl for RSD this weekend. The Taylor RSD exclusives used to sell out instantly on the main day, I went to another local store today to try and hunt the records I wanted from my nearest store yesterday - they had about 50 taylor vinyls still unsold. oh they tired Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pigatha 1,178 Posted April 20 Share Posted April 20 7 hours ago, Bronco said: The thing that makes me thing she's faltering is that she released the Elizabeth Taylor vinyl for RSD this weekend. The Taylor RSD exclusives used to sell out instantly on the main day, I went to another local store today to try and hunt the records I wanted from my nearest store yesterday - they had about 50 taylor vinyls still unsold. In the taylor groups I'm in, they have been noticeably more underwhelmed with the music/era, so this makes sense. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
OMF 3,614 Posted April 20 Share Posted April 20 Thank all the Middle Aged gays and the ones making money off them. Confessions 2 was always going to be something Madonna fans look forward to. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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