The "It" Person, 1990-2004

[bluenote]

Bob said:

Do you realize how many albums sell well without succesfull singles?

Yes, there are one hit wonders. They get ONE hit single. When you have NINE it says something. In fact, it's harder to get many hit singles than to sell lots of album. The artists who most often sell many albums without many hits are those artists who are popular with teens and other people who just go with the fad, like yourself.

Sorry Janet, Mariah, and even Britney all have successful singles and album sales to go with them and those are my favs :o :o ;) ;) :) :)

[singingsparrow]

Kurt Cobain is probably the most revolutionary icon from 1990 to now.

Though in my opinion I think of him as way overrated, it is clear he set the stage himself for what is now modern rock. He changed the rules of alternative music. He set the stage for Pearl Jam (whether he liked it or not). His name is continuously mentioned from the grave in all kinds of musical discussions no matter what fan of rock you are, he's an immortalized symbol in Hot Topic and psychedelia stores, his name is unescapable.

I definitely believe had Kurt Cobain not committed suicide and lived to today, the band's reputation would have went much lower just has Pearl Jam's has since the Ten/Vs. era, in the inevitable fact that trends come and go and the age of grunge music has passed. But the fact is, he tragically took his own life as the grunge era was still thriving, and Cobain's legacy is secure and he will be both an icon and iconoclast of Rock for years to come.

Sincerely,
Noah Eaton

[Crushcrushchris]

SingingSparrow said:

Kurt Cobain is probably the most revolutionary icon from 1990 to now.

Though in my opinion I think of him as way overrated, it is clear he set the stage himself for what is now modern rock. He changed the rules of alternative music. He set the stage for Pearl Jam (whether he liked it or not). His name is continuously mentioned from the grave in all kinds of musical discussions no matter what fan of rock you are, he's an immortalized symbol in Hot Topic and psychedelia stores, his name is unescapable.

I definitely believe had Kurt Cobain not committed suicide and lived to today, the band's reputation would have went much lower just has Pearl Jam's has since the Ten/Vs. era, in the inevitable fact that trends come and go and the age of grunge music has passed. But the fact is, he tragically took his own life as the grunge era was still thriving, and Cobain's legacy is secure and he will be both an icon and iconoclast of Rock for years to come.

Sincerely,
Noah Eaton

*standing applause*

[pkwi]

No one could have said it better.

[JCMF3]

Why does the "it" person have to be a musician?

There are PLENTY of other incidents outside of music that defined years in the 90s. For example, in 1994, I would say OJ Simpson was the IT person. The trial, the verdict... come on. You can't deny the fact that man received more press and airtime than any of the artists nominated in this fourm combined.

It seems like we should expand the "IT" person beyond just single and album sales and radio airplay.

[Deleted]

JCMF3 said:

Why does the "it" person have to be a musician? 

There are PLENTY of other incidents outside of music that defined years in the 90s.  For example, in 1994, I would say OJ Simpson was the IT person.  The trial, the verdict... come on.  You can't deny the fact that man received more press and airtime than any of the artists nominated in this fourm combined.

It seems like we should expand the "IT" person beyond just single and album sales and radio airplay.

But this is a music forum.

[JCMF3]

The said:

ummm not all artists release their music to make a lot of money.  some of them release music to have it be heard.

True, but those aren't the artists you hear on mainstream radio. If you are an artist or a band and you sign with a major record label, don't bother trying to tell me that you're doing it for the music and not the money.

[JCMF3]

&start

The said:

But this is a music forum.

Where we also talk about pop culture all the time, from movies to politics. There's no reason we have to exclude ourselves to a narrow definition of influential people. Heck, people outside of music can often inspire the music that defines a generation.

[Deleted]

JCMF3 said:

&start
Where we also talk about pop culture all the time, from movies to politics.

In the off-topic lounge. You are in the music opinion forum at the moment. :)

[JCMF3]

The said:

In the off-topic lounge.  You are in the music opinion forum at the moment.  :)

Eh, minor detail. ;)

[Libra]

Honestly, I don't believe there was ONE "It" artist for 1998. I've seen arguments for all these different artists, but the fact of the matter is, they all overlap. No ONE artist stands out from that bunch.

Am I right?

[DuckHead]

MikeK102 said:

Honestly, I don't believe there was ONE "It" artist for 1998. I've seen arguments for all these different artists, but the fact of the matter is, they all overlap. No ONE artist stands out from that bunch.

Am I right?

I would say Backstreet Boys stand out. They sold what, 13-14 million? They took over the charts (5 Top 10 singles from that album), inspired the whole teen-pop phenomenon, and were the main reason TRL was created. Not to mention they crossed over into the AC formats, and were huge around the world, not just in America.

[Libra]

DuckHead said:

Not to mention they crossed over into the AC formats, and were huge around the world, not just in America.

Yes, but they were already big in several places around the world before America, if I'm not mistaken.

I believe as the story goes, they tried in 1995 with "We've Got it Goin' On" as a lead, but that bombed (Peaked at #35 on Pop), to which they decided to go other places before returning to try again.

Not to mention that one of those Top 10s was in 1997, another was in 1999, and a third peaked right AT 10.

If anything, it would be in 1999 that they were more of an "It" artist. Millenium set the record for first-week album sales (until No Strings Attached broke it) AND they had their first #1.

[Pet Shop Boy]

It depends how you look at it really.

Take 1990. Most people seem to agree it's between Janet Jackson & Wilson Phillips. I'd say Wilson, cos yeah Janet had a big year, but she had a lot of big years. It may have been her most succesful, but she's had other huge years too, and loads of hits, before and after 1990. Wilson Phillips were a genuine 1990 phenomenon. They dominated the airwaves, sold a ton of albums, but after that year they struggled to match the success. Same with Alanis in 1995, and Avril in 2002 i'd imagine. It's hard to pin the megastars down to one specific year.

[Bob]

don't be RIDICULOUS, of course we're talking about music here. and OJ Simpson as an "It" person"? Nm you must have been joking around.

I think we established FROM THE START that there usually isn't one clear artist for a given year, they overlap a lot.

[Libra]

Bob said:

I think we established FROM THE START that there usually isn't one clear artist for a given year, they overlap a lot.

If that's a summary, then to that I would like to add that some are It people during more of a given year than others are. For example, compare 50 Cent and Beyonce last year.

[Bob]

MikeK102 said:

If that's a summary, then to that I would like to add that some are It people during more of a given year than others are. For example, compare 50 Cent and Beyonce last year.

yeah i agree

[halo19]

I don't know about anyone else here, but I would put Nirvana's "it" year as 1992. True, SLTS was an alt. #1 in 1991, although it also had success for the following year, and not just that, that's where it peaked top 10 on mainstream rock, and even got #9 on CHR/Pop. On Billboard's chart, it was even bigger than that, and the album hit #1 in 1992. That is when grunge finally became mainstream.

Pearl Jam could possibly be in the overlap of 1992 and 1993. "Jeremy" is what set the stage for them, I believe. Its video was popular, and it was their first alternative top 10 hit, even peaking at #5. They got more airplay the following year, whenver Vs. sold over 950,000 copies in its first week (read from an old article). That fact alone just very well make PJ's year 1993.

I guess that would include the White Stripes and OutKast for 2003. As for the White Stripes, they've never hit the pop chart, but "Seven Nation Army" turned several haters of the Stripes into lovers, and even went to #1 on alternative, as well as the fact that they had a five-star review from Rolling Stone. It followed with two other singles as well, even though neither was quite as big, neither making the active rock chart, if memory serves me correct. But "The Hardest Button To Button" was still a top 10, and the other facts make them enough of an "it" artist, to make even The Strokes look forgettable for 2001/2.
OutKast, well, you can't say you've never heard "Hey Ya!", almost every radio station played it. The album was well-received and each single has been successful, something that's really good for them. It's also an overlap into 2004, seeing as they still had a lot of success then, with many songs finally peaking on pop then, and of course success on the urban/rhythm charts. It even had two Hot AC hits and an alternative hit. Nothing has connected like that in recent memory.
2003 might also be the year for Evanescence. It was not critically revered like the Stripes, but it had a lot more success, even two pop top 10s. Everyone knows "Bring Me To Life" like they know "Hey Ya!", "In Da Club", and "Seven Nation Army".

[JCMF3]

Bob said:

don't be RIDICULOUS, of course we're talking about music here. and OJ Simpson as an "It" person"? Nm you must have been joking around.

The opening post never said music artist.

And if we are talking about people that had the most exposure and/or influence in a year, then yes, OJ Simpson would certainly take the cake in 1994. That man was the biggest celebrity of the year, even if it was in a negative sense.

[singingsparrow]

Pearl Jam could possibly be in the overlap of 1992 and 1993. "Jeremy" is what set the stage for them, I believe. Its video was popular, and it was their first alternative top 10 hit, even peaking at #5. They got more airplay the following year, whenver Vs. sold over 950,000 copies in its first week (read from an old article). That fact alone just very well make PJ's year 1993.

This is another big reason I chose Kurt Cobain as the IT person of not just the greatest year of their fame, but the IT person since then.

They set the stage for so many other rock acts. It is thanks to Nirvana that Pearl Jam dominated the remainder of the early 90's. I don't remember the order of their singles (I think "Jeremy" was actually released third behind "Alive" and "Even Flow") but "Jeremy" indeed may be the song they'll be most remembered by (It could actually be "Daughter") and "Even Flow", "Alive" and "Black" solidified their status as the band that would carry on Nirvana's torch of grunge rock.

Even now you still see many Alternative bands with Cobain's influence, particularly Puddle of Mudd. Even with the emo age basking now, the evidence is there.

Sincerely,
Noah Eaton

[Rob64]

Bob said:

Before that I think it was Ashanti, if you count her collabos and not just her solo singles (since only "Foolish" did that well).

Nah, i disagree. Ashanti was never an "IT" person

[halo19]

I totally could understand that, SingingSparrow, and to an extent I would agree. There are artists like that and U2 which have a long-lasting "it" status. I mention U2 because in 1987, 1992, and 2001, they were huge in all of those years. In the first two years, they pretty much owned rock radio, including six top 10 hits on both rock formats, two of those even being top five hits.

Actually, PJ's first two singles were "Alive" and "Even Flow", in that order. They peaked at #18 and #21 on Modern Rock Tracks respectively. "Black" peaked at #20, which was fourth, but it was a lot more successful on the Mainstream Rock tracks chart, peaking even later, ending up as the #10 song of 1993, if those archived MR charts are right with my memory..
Then "Crazy Mary", from some compilation album, was released before the Vs. singles. "Go" was released first, then "Daughter" which was their first crossover hit. For them, success was technically 1992-5 at the peak, I believe. "Better Man" was the biggest original song on pop perhaps, excluding "Last Kiss", which ironically wasn't even supposed to be released.

[singingsparrow]

halo20 said:

I totally could understand that, SingingSparrow, and to an extent I would agree. There are artists like that and U2 which have a long-lasting "it" status. I mention U2 because in 1987, 1992, and 2001, they were huge in all of those years. In the first two years, they pretty much owned rock radio, including six top 10 hits on both rock formats, two of those even being top five hits.

Actually, PJ's first two singles were "Alive" and "Even Flow", in that order. They peaked at #18 and #21 on Modern Rock Tracks respectively. "Black" peaked at #20, which was fourth, but it was a lot more successful on the Mainstream Rock tracks chart, peaking even later, ending up as the #10 song of 1993, if those archived MR charts are right with my memory..
Then "Crazy Mary", from some compilation album, was released before the Vs. singles. "Go" was released first, then "Daughter" which was their first crossover hit. For them, success was technically 1992-5 at the peak, I believe. "Better Man" was the biggest original song on pop perhaps, excluding "Last Kiss", which ironically wasn't even supposed to be released.

There's no doubt U2 has been huge this past decade and a half. First they have the mega-hit album "Achtung Baby", and when it seemed that with Alternative radio changing and U2 likely already living their last days in the spotlight, "All That You Can't Leave Behind" proves them dead wrong and gives them their second mega comeback.

However I was thinking because they came out of the late 70's-early 80's and have been successful all along since then, it would sound peculiar to label an already-existing band as the It Band of the 90's and beyond.

If the title of this thread was "The 'It' Person, 1980-2004", it would be a no-contest for U2. But I feel a winner in a time-frame involves someone fresh, someone who rose from nowhere to change the rules, change the way we listen. And I have voiced who I believe it is.

As for pearl Jam, yeah, I figured that was how the singles were released off their debut, with "Black" the fourth single from the album. Then, despite no singles being officially released from "Vs" as part of vedder's "anti-sellout" attitude, tracks still went to radio anyway, with "Go" the lead, followed by "Daughter" (the album's biggest hit), "Animal", "Dissident", and "Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town" (a Triple A recurrent staple)

"Spin The Black Single" was a pretty big hit too off of "Vitalogy". It managed a Top 40 appearance and won Vedder a Grammy. "Who You Are" was the biggest hit as far as airplay was concerned though.

Sincerely,
Noah Eaton

[strong4PMB!]

Ashanti was the "It" person in April of 2K2.

[George Tropicana]

Gretchen Mol
Claire Forlani
Kate Bosworth

[halo19]

SingingSparrow said:

As for pearl Jam, yeah, I figured that was how the singles were released off their debut, with "Black" the fourth single from the album. Then, despite no singles being officially released from "Vs" as part of vedder's "anti-sellout" attitude, tracks still went to radio anyway, with "Go" the lead, followed by "Daughter" (the album's biggest hit), "Animal", "Dissident", and "Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town" (a Triple A recurrent staple)

"Spin The Black Single" was a pretty big hit too off of "Vitalogy". It managed a Top 40 appearance and won Vedder a Grammy. "Who You Are" was the biggest hit as far as airplay was concerned though.

Well, I suppose you can count "Who You Are", although it seems to me as if "Daughter" was bigger, and WYA was mainly a first single success. I do know that both were #1 alt. hits.

But I think that perhaps "Animal" was just a really strong album cut from the radio, much like "Why Go" from Ten. But I do believe that the others were, though. One strange fact is that while "Dissident" was released, it missed the alternative top 30 because the format's decision to play the B-side track "Yellow Ledbetter". I guess that the success of songs like that and "Last Kiss" explain PJ's decision to release the Lost Dogs album last year, because some fans seemed to think that those songs were just as good as album tracks.

[singingsparrow]

halo20 said:

Well, I suppose you can count "Who You Are", although it seems to me as if "Daughter" was bigger, and WYA was mainly a first single success. I do know that both were #1 alt. hits.

But I think that perhaps "Animal" was just a really strong album cut from the radio, much like "Why Go" from Ten. But I do believe that the others were, though. One strange fact is that while "Dissident" was released, it missed the alternative top 30 because the format's decision to play the B-side track "Yellow Ledbetter". I guess that the success of songs like that and "Last Kiss" explain PJ's decision to release the Lost Dogs album last year, because some fans seemed to think that those songs were just as good as album tracks.

All the Vs. tracks were never singles. Even "Daughter" was an album track that happened to go #1.

Because of all the mega-fame surrounding the band off of "Ten", a diamond album, Vedder was apparently frustrated and didn't want to make any videos with the band or release any singles. But because "Vs" sold over 900,000 its first week and the album would go on to go 7-times platinum anyway, tracks surfaced on radio.

I think both "Animal" and "Dissident" deserved to be bigger hits, but it makes sense why "Yellow Ledbetter" made an impression. It even got allowed for the Friends finale, the first time a song of theirs was used for a commerical purpose besides movie soundtracks.

Sincerely,
Noah Eaton

[FriendsFan]

Rob64 said:

Nah, i disagree. Ashanti was never an "IT" person

She was for a brief instant.

[strong4PMB!]

geoguy said:

Ashanti was the "It" person in April of 2K2.

[Bob]

Ashanti definitely was an "it" person; I think an "it" person is always reserved for the current leading R&B diva, and Ashanti (perhaps unfortunately) held that crown, although it turned out to be brief. Her follow ups underperformed and then Beyonce stole it away.