Kelly Clarkson - Heartbeat Song

[Deleted]

I think it's fine perfect the way it is.

[Rose "Payola" Nylund]

Age isn't a factor but time as a popular pop singer could be. This will be her 13th year making the charts, I think? I was expecting her to make Top 50 for sure today but now I'm wondering if she's seen as a yesterday-artist.... I hope not. Kelly > Ariana

[JamaicaFunk²]

It's not so much her age that's a factor as it is that she is a mother now. Many female artists aren't received the same after they become mothers. It's just my opinion and observation, but it'd be interesting to see statistics on sales/radio before and after pop queens have had children. Even Beyonce being the biggest star on the planet (in some people's eyes) hasn't received the sales/radio support as her last album (pre-baby) did. Mariah, JLo, Xtina, Britney (almost repeated success with Circus, though)... the list could probably go on and on.
Again, just an observation on my part, so I could be wrong, but it seems to me that irregardless of age, motherhood can derail mainstream success pretty quickly.

[Deleted]

All I'd like to see on CHR is a Top 10 placement. I have faith this can do it. :)

[velcro]

RCA should have sprung for an hourly pop deal. I could see some CHR programmers thinking she's past her pop prime, but, after being forced to spin HBS a couple of times, they would have realized that girl is still setting trends and shaming the also-rans.

[Rose "Payola" Nylund]

Jan 14, 2015 12:35:57 GMT -5 wallace said:

Age & "freshness" is a bigger issue on CHR than on HAC, where the core listener is likely to be a mom in her late 20s to early 40s. It's hard to disentangle the effects of age, of pop culture's thirst for the new, of women's priorities changing when they become moms, and simply of artists running dry of ideas after they've been doing this 10-15 years. Kelly's generation of female stars has held up really well, but none of them are really automatic on CHR these days; I posted on this a few weeks ago:

Dec 15, 2014 13:31:56 GMT -5 wallace said:

Kelly's not young or new anymore; she's 12 years on from her debut. I think Kelly's voice gives her a good chance of still getting serious airplay if the sound is right. But halfway into this decade, she only has 1 top-10 CHR single. Pink has 5, but nobody else of her generation is a consistent presence on Pop anymore - Britney and Fergie (with BEP) each have had 3, Alicia Keys has 1, Beyonce and Christina each only have 1 and that's as a featured artist, and Avril has zero. The older pop females like Mariah and Madonna have vanished from CHR. Obviously all of those ladies are still around and some like Beyonce are still big on other formats, but it's going to be a challenge.

I think this song will get plenty of airplay on Pop anyway, but it does get harder as you get older.

Freshness is a great word to use for this!

[getonthebus]

This will be fine. I'm not buying ageism/discrimination against a mother stuff. Pink is more popular now than ever, post-baby.

Save the panic for next week and the week after. Give this time, and remember that this doesn't need to explode out of the gate. It has time to build, and I'm betting they're angling on getting this pushed to a peak by Valentine's Day. This adds day was absolutely jam-packed with hits, and HBS faired very very well against stiff competition.

[ILLUSION]

How is this not Top 50 on Pop? It had a radio deal, didn't it? That alone should have done it

[ificanthaveyou]

Jan 14, 2015 13:19:34 GMT -5 ILLUSION said:

How is this not Top 50 on Pop? It had a radio deal, didn't it? That alone should have done it

Radio deal was for HAC

[dbhmr]

Kelly's just up against what she's been up against for a while now: she isn't cool. She's super talented, everyone likes her in the sense that she's a really inoffensive and likable celebrity, but, aside from her Breakaway heights and the Christmas album (because that's just a unique music framework), she's a guilty pleasure. Pop radio is designed to play what's cool. So while I'm a bit surprised it's not in the top 50 yet, it isn't entirely unexpected. If this song can connect with the buying/streaming audience in a big way, pop radio will follow suit; this does not diminish its chances at being a huge #1 pop single for her. But if she can't quite make that crossover again from talented 30-something star to Facebook-sharing, I-love-this-girl hysteria (outside of her dedicated fan base, which is big enough to be the envy of 98% of music artists), pop radio will warmly push this to the upper teens/twenties while Hot AC treats her like royalty.

The only thing I don't like about this song, in that respect, is how tailor made for pop radio it is. This isn't Kelly's wheelhouse--in all her interviews she has said that this song was picked by design for the fans that love anthems out of her. This isn't the kind of music she seems to love to make, but likes that her fans love it, and that will give her a rush at concerts (kind of like "My Life Would Suck Without You," which she seemed a tad lukewarm about, but has embraced more over the years because it's such a win for her on tour). I adore how catchy this is, love the way she sounds on it, and fully appreciate that she has given us something distinctly Pop 2015, but she is capable of better music (and I think she knows that, and this album will have that).

It's going to come down to audience reception--if this can get big and viral (which will likely have to come from outside her camp--River and covers are her viral sweet spots, not music videos), this can explode, particularly with Valentine's Day timing. But it is going to take a bit of help to transform her generally #12-25 position on CHR to #1-5.

[ericcase]

lovin' It...2015 off to a nice fresh POP start

[Love Plastic Love]

I don't think this will have any issues. It will move slower without a deal, but it will be right there with Roar as the mid-tempo safe good-feeling radio hit. Not worried at all.

[Envoirment]

Don't get why people are expecting it in the top 50 in a couple days. I mean Kelly isn't a pop staple and it didn't have a radio deal, so it will climb more "normally", which means it'll take a few days or so for it to appear in the top 50. Hopefully it'll be a top 10 hit on POP & HAC and top 20 on the Hot 100.

[ss8]

It's a cute, harmless song but *positively NOT first single material! LOL. The moment I heard the song title (anything w/ the word 'song' in its title is already 2.5 strikes lol) and first 10-20 seconds I knew this wasn't very good and sooo not what she's (still!) capable of! For whatever the reason P!nk can put out songs that aren't exactly 'great' or kind of lackluster and overally safe like Blow Me and a few others yet radio and the public give her pass after pass 'cause there's something about her persona, image, etc...Even though Kelly is def. my preference P!nk (even being a mother and mid 30s) has an aura and star power that radio and the public almost instant and consistently eat up. 'Yet' (like Kelly) she's one of the least visible, hyped, least tabloid/TMZ/sleazy targeted female singers today. All that said, glad she's still actually staying steady in/around the top 10 on iTunes w/ next to no airplay or hype. I guess if the song was that god awful she'd already be plummeting. 

[SPRΞΞ]

Well I don't think P!nk is going to last much longer on CHR either.

[Au$tin]

Glad to see it entered AC today! I'm not shocked to see it hasn't entered pop quite yet. I wouldn't be worried about it right now, it's only day two. In fact, I fully expect to see it enter tomorrow or Friday. Now if it's not in there by Sunday night, that's when I'll start to worry.

[slayZ]

Jan 14, 2015 15:46:45 GMT -5 SPRΞΞ said:

Well I don't think P!nk is going to last much longer on CHR either.

As long as she keeps on latching onto Max Martin, she should.

The difference between Kelly & P!nk is that P!nk plays up the Pop star thing with big production performances and has never stopped catering to Pop. Kelly stopped catering to Pop radio a long time ago and moved towards HAC and AC.

None of the singles, or even songs for that matter, from Stronger, with the exception of the title track, were made for Pop radio, and weren't going to be smashes.

This is a step in the right direction if she wants to gain those audiences back. Not a particularly strong one, but by far better than anything she's released since the AIEW era, I'd say.

[Deleted]

The lack of a radio deal for CHR is still kind of surprising to me. If it were anyone else I would think that it was a borderline unforgivable blunder, but it's Kelly and we've been calling her transition to HAC/AC for years now, so it must have been by design...I just can't quite figure out what the design was, or why they would think that particular design was the best one to go with. If anything, it should have been reversed - she doesn't really need to buy her way into HAC; she is already at home there. She's not quite at home on pop anymore, though pop isn't at all averse to her either if nudged a bit.

The only thing i can figure is that if they think all or most of the people most likely to buy her album are the people listening to HAC stations now**, they'd rather spend the money there and just let pop do what it will do. This also makes sense given that she is still sticking to her one-single-before-release formula, unlike other pop artists who usually have a second single out by the time their albums are released. That's all just a very mildly educated guess on my part though. Even with all that + my genuine lack of concern for how this will perform in the end, I can't wrap my head around why they'd pick this song which was clearly built for pop consumption, and then not put their full weight behind making sure it's consumed as soon as possible.


**Of course this is aside from her core fanbase which has been aware of and anticipating this album since the GH wrapped up in 2013.

[Revelry]

Kelly's problem (if we want to call it that) is her complete disregard for being a "pop star" in the traditional sense. Its also the same thing that makes her relatable, endearing, genuine, etc. She's always been all about the music and less about image/videos/controversy and it seems like that'll be the case even more so with this album. Hopefully CHR picks this up because its a great song, but we're getting to the point where its going to take more than that to stay relevent on pop radio. We shall see...

[Deleted]

Jan 14, 2015 16:56:21 GMT -5 @antigonerising said:

I can't wrap my head around why they'd pick this song which was clearly built for pop consumption, and then not put their full weight behind making sure it's consumed as soon as possible.

I can't wrap my head around that, either. In almost every interview she has done promoting its release, she has said this was one of the poppiest songs on the record and was the lead single for that reason. I don't understand, then, why they wouldn't push for the song to receive as much immediate airplay as possible on pop radio. Assuming they were only willing or able to implement the hourly deal on one format, it would have made more sense to use the deal on pop radio, at least to me.

The pop format, presumably, needs more of an incentive to play new music from her, whereas the adult contemporary formats are more inclined to play her music without any type of push or deal. Because of that, the deal was not necessary to ensure adult contemporary stations played the song, but it would have obviously helped increase her pop airplay substantially and these discussions about her pop viability would not be overtaking the thread.

With all of that said, I don't feel the need to worry about the song just yet. There is still plenty of time for it to do well, and worrying about its prospects at this time would simply be premature and unwarranted. I don't follow the format all that closely, but I have this feeling that things stranger than this not yet appearing on the chart have happened here.

[SPRΞΞ]

tho a Top 5 Hot AC smash or higher will get CHR on board most likely anyways, so it's not a totally clueless waste of money to push it on Hot AC first.

have there been any recent (or any) #1 Hot AC songs that flopped on CHR completely?

[ss8]

Jan 14, 2015 15:46:45 GMT -5 SPRΞΞ said:

Well I don't think P!nk is going to last much longer on CHR either.

Maybe, maybe not but no doubt she has more momentum than ever. Even w/out JGMAR hitting #1, the other songs did more than well enough to garner enough interest/hype out of the gate for the her next/ 1st new single. I agree w/ the points others made...even though P!nk doesn't 'seem' obsessed w/ being a media wh**re etc...(just doing her thing and putting out music true to herself), many people forget she does def. sell out quite a bit (constantly working Max Martins, lead singer from Fun! lol etc...) to ensure hit, radio friendly songs and all those (now pretty tired lol) epic acrobat performances at awards shows. P!nk is a performer, singer and total 'star/celebrity' .At least w/ Kelly she DEF. takes more risks even if the songs arent as accessible and pop friendly. Kelly clearly doesn't seem to have the 'fire' that P!nk has/ had for fame. She couldn't have been more vocal about that during her *peak/ 2006ish* when she said she doesn't want, desire or really care to be the biggest pop star in the world (something along those lines). Frankly, seems she's been at point like...forever that she's made enough serious green for life x10, enough hits and would be MORE than content just being an indie artist who put out what she wants whenever she wants (totally anti record biz mindset). 

[bigb0882]

Why does it matter if this is top 50 on Pop on Day 2? Why does it matter if she got an hourly radio deal the first day? If this song peaks at #1 or #20 or even lower, it would have done that with or without those deals. This song is definitely good enough to get pop airplay. I won't call top 10 but it should certainly make its way well into the top 20. Anything after that depends on callouts and who else has singles out and peaking at the time. As a Kelly fan, I learned a long time ago to quit worrying about her performance on Pop. It was a blast when Stronger went to the top but let's not pretend this is the Breakaway era. Kelly will do well on Pop and dominate HAC and that is GREAT. I am much more interested in album sales and how good the music is!

[BDGeek]

Could someone please explain to me how this song's lyrics are "juvenile" or "immature?" To me it's a pretty universally relatable theme. Teens aren't the only ones who fall in love for the first time.

Moreover, I'm not sure what people expect as far as her recording more "mature" songs. There's only so many different lyrical themes a pop artist can tackle in a 13-year career without getting overindulgent and alienating fans.

[Jack]

Don't have opinion on the Chorus lyrics. I think the verse/pre/middle eight lyrics are all very strong.

[slamina]

This song sounds like an HAC smash to me. I have a feeling that many pop stations, for whatever reason, will hesitate to push this to the top of CHR. I wouldn't be surprised with a 11-15 peak without a huge, viral video or strong push from her label.

[lascrucesjail]

Jan 13, 2015 10:38:59 GMT -5 jma said:

Jan 12, 2015 23:25:45 GMT -5 Rurry said:

Not hating but the chorus is definitely the exact same as Jimmy Eat World's lol

Couldn't agree more, even the verses sound very similar

True and sort of ruins the song for me.

[nick64]

I see some similarities but I think a lot of these "The Middle" comparisons are overexaggerated. It's not like a carbon copy or anything

[Au$tin]

Jan 14, 2015 19:32:40 GMT -5 nick64 said:

I see some similarities but I think a lot of these "The Middle" comparisons are overexaggerated. It's not like a carbon copy or anything

For real. Like, I can hear it and I know where the comparisons are coming from, but it's not like "Roar" and "Brave" here. The two songs just happen to have similar chord progressions and melodies, but they are vastly different as well. I wouldn't even put the two songs into the same genre.

[Pink Pvssy]

^ So it's like Halo and Already Gone? Anyway, this song is growing on me.