Tinashe – Songs For You

[firefly]

SPIN article

Max Martin & Dr. Luke are involved
More uptempo, poppier sound
She wants that Grammy so bad

I am really excited about her sophomore album. Still can't believe Aquarius flopped so hard. It was one of the best albums last year IMO.

[Deleted]

Sounds like we'll be getting another Jackie mess.

Such a shame.

[wavey.]

I can honestly take another Aquarius. She was going somewhere with her debut. It seems she(or the label) want that "instant" mainstream hit".

[#LisaRinna]

Girl bye.

[lyhom]

Jun 2, 2015 14:21:57 GMT -5 firefly said:

Max Martin & Dr. Luke are involved

More uptempo, poppier sound

not to say that this couldn't go well, and if it were just dr. luke I'd at least expect something like "I Don't Mind" or "Only", but frankly I'm not expecting much

[Deleted]

To be fair to her, the article does emphasize crossover success rather than just strictly a pop overhaul and she explicitly said she's not interested in doing a bunch of EDM dance songs but I'm still worried.

What's most puzzling to me is the Amethyst mixtape, which is pretty much the opposite of a big glossy pop crossover record. It makes me think there is label pressures to turn her into the next lightskint crossover sensation rather than something she's pushing for.

[stunnedout]

This could work for her. She is talented, she just needs some hit makers.

[SHOOTER]

This could go extremely well or extremely WTF...

[**βécky**™]

Glossy & Pop, and hopefully a proper album push. Get the hits!

[tamed09]

I think it's good for her, I think they saw the album sales and said there's no point in keeping her urban. Pretend whole bring a fan favorite messed up her momentum

[fire]

I hate that she's giving up artistic integrity for pop success. She may get the hits, but a Luke/Martin produced album isn't a huge seller necessarily. In fact, hasn't she learned from other urban artists that the move towards pop may ruin even long-established careers?

[firefly]

It's not like she has an established urban career. It's evident in sales of Aquarius. Was 2 On #1 on Urban? I know it was #1 on Rhythmic. Maybe the Pop crowd will embrace her more.
Still, I'm not too excited about Dr. Luke & Max Martin. Everything they do for urban artists sounds so cheap to me.

[Deleted]

Well she's spent 3 years building up a fanbase made up largely of R&B fans. Not to mention that she has garnered a lot of critical buzz and attention based off of a mix of moody and ratchet R&B. Even though the sales haven't been there, she has been building a name for herself as being at the forefront of R&B and the payoff has been nothing but positive attention from the blogosphere.

It's a pretty big gamble to risk losing the ground she's gained as an up-and-coming R&B star for some quick Max Martin hits, especially if the sales don't pan out well which is an absolute possibility. I'm more disappointed that she's like broadcasting that she's willing to dumb down her songwriting just so she appeals to the lowest common denominator.

[tamed09]

At least she was honest and didn't try to make it out like she's doing some truly deep album....I have to respect that

[stunnedout]

I'm excited for a R&B chick really being a fully rhythmic/crossover artist and not a urban hook hoe.

[firefly]

Whatever she does, I want her to succeed. She is too talented to flop. I think she can become the queen of Rhythmic with some crossover Pop success and excellent R&B album tracks. We'll see, I guess.

[Mack]

Jun 3, 2015 0:24:06 GMT -5 fire said:

I hate that she's giving up artistic integrity for pop success.

Since when is working with mainstream producers equal to giving up one's artistic integrity? I'm sure her music with them will be tailored to fit her specific style. I mean, I very much doubt that Max and Luke will give her the same kind of material that they would, say, Kesha or Katy Perry.

[wavey.]

Jun 4, 2015 13:46:36 GMT -5 Mack said:

Jun 3, 2015 0:24:06 GMT -5 fire said:

I hate that she's giving up artistic integrity for pop success.

Since when is working with mainstream producers equal to giving up one's artistic integrity? I'm sure her music with them will be tailored to fit her specific style. I mean, I very much doubt that Max and Luke will give her the same kind of material that they would, say, Kesha or Katy Perry.

Truth. They can make some etheral-type sound for her. Dr.Luke gave Nicki that "Only" fire.

[Deleted]

Jun 4, 2015 13:46:36 GMT -5 Mack said:

Jun 3, 2015 0:24:06 GMT -5 fire said:

I hate that she's giving up artistic integrity for pop success.

Since when is working with mainstream producers equal to giving up one's artistic integrity? I'm sure her music with them will be tailored to fit her specific style. I mean, I very much doubt that Max and Luke will give her the same kind of material that they would, say, Kesha or Katy Perry.

It's not always equal to that, but having heard what Tinashe is capable of in r&b, there's a chance that whatever she gets from these pop producers will feel like an artistic 'downgrade' for her r&b fans (especially those who are absolutely not fans of pop music, because that means she'll be making music they're not going to like by default). Put another way, I can acknowledge that My Life Would Suck Without You is by far the better radio bait than Sober, but Sober will always be the artistic masterpiece of the two. Most Tinashe diehards did not become fans of hers for her potential to create radio bait; we fell in love with her because of her fantastic mixtapes. While we can accept that it's the MLWSWYs of the world that allow a singer to fund the more 'artistic' stuff, Tinashe fans aren't really here for a MLWSWY. And that's making the best assumption possible - that Max and Luke are giving her some of their best material and not some half-baked leftovers.

Now, it really doesn't matter if she goes from trying to make catchy urban records to trying to make catchy pop ones. I think the fanbase she does have will support her no matter what the format. But at least when she tried her hand at urban hits, you could still hear mixtape Tinashe throughout the album. All we've ever heard from Tinashe has been distinctly r&b sounds, and with a pop record we risk losing that completely. Hopefully that won't be the case - she seems insistent that she is simply trying to merge the 'super catchy, huge, smash hooks' with her signature style, but I can understand the concern. Particularly with Luke, he never struck me as one who is particularly amenable to a lot of artist input so I wonder if we'll still hear the "real" Tinashe underneath it all. Honestly, even though he clearly is still one of the top producers in the game - second only to Max, really - for some reason I actually feel better about the Max tracks, if it's just Max and not Max and Luke together.

It is also uncertain whether they are actually aiming to make pop records, or trying to make urban records with crossover appeal. Max indicates the former, but Luke could mean the latter. But I think the latter probably isn't going to work because urban fans are still so easily riled up when one of their 'own' tries to court white mainstream fans, and are even harder on the female artists than the males so there is less room to maneuver there. That backlash might in turn damage her momentum on pop. In the long run, if she's not going to stick with her mixtape roots, she's better off going full pop or bust...but again, that's not something her purely-r&b-listening fans will find particularly comforting until they hear what it sounds like.

[Zinc.]

I like her drive and determination

[Deleted]

Max Martin can do literally anything so I'm not too worried. Luke can do a bit of everything himself, but I'm incredibly biased as he's a total douche canoe. soblu is right to be worried of another Jackie situation. You'd think labels would understand how fanbases work, but like... no. They really don't lol.

[Glove Slap]

Jun 2, 2015 15:37:10 GMT -5 wavey. said:

I can honestly take another Aquarius. She was going somewhere with her debut...

...until the sales came in. I enjoyed Aquarius, but nobody should be surprised by some changes. I keep seeing mentions of her "fans" in this thread, but with the numbers she drew, there's not enough of them willing to walk the walk and make a purchase. I do think her mixtape buzz could have been utilized a lot better to build her up, even if 2 On was still going to be her biggest success on her debut, but by this point there's only moving forward. There's no way she could do a big tour on her own now either, which leaves singles success an appealing road to try to follow. Acclaim is nice, but at some point you have to enter the green, and she knows this. I'm surprised her label is shelling out money for 7 or 8 Martin/Luke tracks. Ciara may have had some extra cash from non-musical ventures to shell out, but I can't see Tinashe being able to pay that much out of pocket. I hope this means that her A&R has a close eye and is helping her guide her work into a sound that fits her. Proper direction and supervision, along with the material of course, is key to making a good successful crossover effort for the time vs. whatever Jackie ended up being.

Regardless of the direction, what they should be planning simultaneously is more exposure an higher profile spots. Despite her successes so far, her public profile isn't that much higher than that of a nobody. For the success of 2 On, the critical praise, and even the opening slot on Nicki's tour, very very little of that has transferred to actual momentum. I do get her frustrations since she's been "on the verge" for a while now and her debut didn't put her over that line the way she and her label wanted.

[divasummer]

I hope there's songs on there similar to "All Hands On Deck"
Did they even send it out to pop? I think it could have become a Top 20-25 hit at that format.

[Kishi KCM]

Tinashe made me so proud last night with the Janet tribute. She did that choreography effortlessly! I need to see this girl live and soon!

[Glove Slap]

She's opening for Katy Perry in South America this fall. Luke & Nicki did her well. Hopefully we hear some new material around that time.

[Zinc.]

Also coming sooner rather than later is his work with R&B upstart Tinashe. Diplo says one song he recorded with the “2 On” singer will be out by the end of the summer before her banger-filled sophomore LP arrives later this year. “She’s also an international act—she tours all through Europe, she goes to Africa, she goes to Asia—and when she performs live, she wants to keep it uptempo,” he says. “We’re giving her records that feel good. She’s beautiful, she can sing really well, she can dance and she lives right by my studio in Burbank, so it’s not hard to track her down. I really want to do more with her—I really believe in her as an artist.”

time.com/4001153/diplo-interview/

[Ky]

Aug 20, 2015 16:34:13 GMT -5 Zinc. said:

Also coming sooner rather than later is his work with R&B upstart Tinashe. Diplo says one song he recorded with the “2 On” singer will be out by the end of the summer before her banger-filled sophomore LP arrives later this year. “She’s also an international act—she tours all through Europe, she goes to Africa, she goes to Asia—and when she performs live, she wants to keep it uptempo,” he says. “We’re giving her records that feel good. She’s beautiful, she can sing really well, she can dance and she lives right by my studio in Burbank, so it’s not hard to track her down. I really want to do more with her—I really believe in her as an artist.”

time.com/4001153/diplo-interview/

Awesome! I usually like Diplo stuff and I have faith that whatever she does, pop or deep, is gonna be amazing.

[wavey.]

Diplo killed "Look At Me Now", so I know for sure he'll throwdown with Tinashe.

[MaterialGirl]

Her album is gonna be awesome. I dont think itll be Pop or Urban fully. I didnt use Aquarius at all, it was way too "artistic" imo. She needs HITS.

[MaterialGirl]

Ciara needs to stop playing, this girl is coming.