Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 14, 2019 20:46:12 GMT -5
WOW at Gangsta's Paradise charting on Streaming Songs. Truly a classic
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Post by Rose "Payola" Nylund on May 14, 2019 20:51:06 GMT -5
I agree with you. That’s why I didn’t say Shawn Mendes was gay, I said “potentially gay”, because #1 and #3 are more or less confirmed, but Shawn is only rumored. My point was that hypothetically, if he’s actually gay and comes out in 5-10 years then this could retroactively be a historic week for the LGBT community. I don't think it's that big a deal. Especially when we can historically look back and see all the times George Michael, Boy George, Prince, Elton John, etc, etc, have topped the chart. The historic moment would be when out artists do it. Besides, "potentially gay" is still speculation and still isn't welcome. |
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jodakyellow
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Post by jodakyellow on May 14, 2019 20:51:41 GMT -5
^Anybody know why it got so much streaming this week? It was used prominently in the much-maligned trailer for the Sonic: The Hedgehog movie Considering the vast majority of people are straight, assuming one is straight until told otherwise makes sense. But really, their sexuality should be irrelevant. This is an extremely gross and privileged comment. Straightness is not the default state of being. |
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Post by Deleted on May 14, 2019 21:17:44 GMT -5
I agree with you. That’s why I didn’t say Shawn Mendes was gay, I said “potentially gay”, because #1 and #3 are more or less confirmed, but Shawn is only rumored. My point was that hypothetically, if he’s actually gay and comes out in 5-10 years then this could retroactively be a historic week for the LGBT community. I don't think it's that big a deal. Especially when we can historically look back and see all the times George Michael, Boy George, Prince, Elton John, etc, etc, have topped the chart. The historic moment would be when out artists do it. Besides, "potentially gay" is still speculation and still isn't welcome. I agree with your general point (and to add to that point it will not truly be historic until we have LGBT singers topping the charts while actually singing lyrics from an LGBT point of view). But Elton was out for much of his hit-making years, and Prince wasn't gay. Prince was kind of the reverse of the others in fact - he purposely flaunted his 'maybe, maybe not' status in his songs and appearance at first, but in later years turned out to be a heavily religious Bible thumper who probably leaned more anti-LGBT than I would care to admit as a Prince fan. |
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Post by Rose "Payola" Nylund on May 14, 2019 21:24:20 GMT -5
Didn’t Elton not come out until the early 90s? He still had hits after that of course.
For some reason I thought Prince was bi. Hmmm
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renfield75
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Post by renfield75 on May 14, 2019 21:29:29 GMT -5
The rocks bands and rappers may be hibernating but the producers of sea shanties been asleep for centuries can we get them back :clap: are :clap: the :clap: Gregorian :clap: monks :clap: ?! I don't know if you're too young to remember this, but they legit had a huge commercial moment in the early 90s. Enigma had a top ten hit with the funky monk track "Sadeness" in 1991, and in '94 the Benedictine Monks of Santo Domingo de Silos had a platinum number 3 album with 'Chant'. It was a weird time... |
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renfield75
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Post by renfield75 on May 14, 2019 21:36:57 GMT -5
Didn’t Elton not come out until the early 90s? He still had hits after that of course. For some reason I thought Prince was bi. Hmmm Elton announced he was bisexual in Rolling Stone back in '76 or '77, which took a LOT of momentum out of his career. By the time he came out as gay no one was surprised or too upset by it because most of the public equated bisexual with gay anyway. And Prince liked the controversy created by his androgynous image but he was only ever with women. His list of known female partners is pretty lengthy and impressive. There's never even been a rumor of any men, other than the public assuming a guy who sang in falsetto and wore heels had to be gay. |
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kierz7
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Post by kierz7 on May 14, 2019 21:37:45 GMT -5
Prince never once confirmed his sexuality; its always been presumed that he was Bisexual by most, however he was definitely hetero-romantic for the most part in that the majority of his long-lasting relationships were with women. The two closest times he has come to addressing his sexual orientation is once in his 1981 song "Controversy" ("Am I Black or White? Am I Straight or Gay") and then again in a 1987 interview with JET magazine where he more or less admitted to being or having been 'experimental' and I quote: "Humans have been having fun with eachother since the dawn of time, I'm on that spectrum. Everyone offers something in bed that another can't?". (As per Google Books). That more or less confirms his sexual fluidity, even though Prince was infamous for speaking in hypotheticals and what not. That said, by the mid-1990's, once he became a Jehovah's Witness, I believe he did away with that "lifestyle". renfield75 king Kurta |
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jodakyellow
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Post by jodakyellow on May 14, 2019 21:38:56 GMT -5
Where :clap: are :clap: the :clap: Gregorian :clap: monks :clap: ?! I don't know if you're too young to remember this, but they legit had a huge commercial moment in the early 90s. Enigma had a top ten hit with the funky monk track "Sadeness" in 1991, and in '94 the Benedictine Monks of Santo Domingo de Silos had a platinum number 3 album with 'Chant'. It was a weird time... I am too young to remember that, and I’m glad you shared it with me!!! I’m surprised that “moment” isn’t more remembered in the public consciousness |
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Post by Naos on May 14, 2019 22:40:54 GMT -5
This is an extremely gross and privileged comment. Straightness is not the default state of being. No, it really isn't. And I didn't say it was the default, this is a strawman. Assuming something does not mean it is the default. Assuming something when the vast majority of people fall under it makes sense. It's only natural to do so. People don't assume anomalies or rarities, they assume the average. And in what way am I "privileged"? I wouldn't even consider myself straight. It seems like a borderline ad hominem to discredit what someone says. |
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Post by Rose "Payola" Nylund on May 15, 2019 5:46:29 GMT -5
I don't know if you're too young to remember this, but they legit had a huge commercial moment in the early 90s. Enigma had a top ten hit with the funky monk track "Sadeness" in 1991, and in '94 the Benedictine Monks of Santo Domingo de Silos had a platinum number 3 album with 'Chant'. It was a weird time... I am too young to remember that, and I’m glad you shared it with me!!! I’m surprised that “moment” isn’t more remembered in the public consciousness They also had a top 10 hit in 1994 with Return To Innocence. |
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jenglisbe
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Post by jenglisbe on May 15, 2019 8:08:17 GMT -5
Prince never once confirmed his sexuality; its always been presumed that he was Bisexual by most, however he was definitely hetero-romantic for the most part in that the majority of his long-lasting relationships were with women. The two closest times he has come to addressing his sexual orientation is once in his 1981 song "Controversy" ("Am I Black or White? Am I Straight or Gay") and then again in a 1987 interview with JET magazine where he more or less admitted to being or having been 'experimental' and I quote: "Humans have been having fun with eachother since the dawn of time, I'm on that spectrum. Everyone offers something in bed that another can't?". (As per Google Books). That more or less confirms his sexual fluidity, even though Prince was infamous for speaking in hypotheticals and what not. That said, by the mid-1990's, once he became a Jehovah's Witness, I believe he did away with that "lifestyle". renfield75 king Kurta I wouldn't say any of that "confirms" sexual fluidity. It might suggest it, but neither of those things are a clear or definitive statement. |
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jenglisbe
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Post by jenglisbe on May 15, 2019 8:17:59 GMT -5
I don't think it's that big a deal. Especially when we can historically look back and see all the times George Michael, Boy George, Prince, Elton John, etc, etc, have topped the chart. The historic moment would be when out artists do it. Besides, "potentially gay" is still speculation and still isn't welcome. Yeah, but were they ever in the top 3 at the same time? That’s what I was trying to get at. Anyway I’m not sure how this turned into a 4 page discussion lol Well, Elton John and George Michael had a #1 duet, so that's worth mentioning (though George wasn't out at the time). |
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Post by Baby Yoda Hot100Fan on May 15, 2019 10:45:25 GMT -5
5/14/2019 by Andrew Unterberger
Here's pop music in 2019 for you in a nutshell. Less than a year ago, Shawn Mendes released his self-titled third album, a big career statement of musical and personal maturity for the soon-to-be-20-year-old, with two singles ("In My Blood" and "Lost in Japan") that broke new topical and sonic ground for the singer-songwriter, and were heavily promoted with music videos, remixes and high-profile live performances for much of the year to follow. And now, he's released a new single -- one unconnected to the album as of now -- that in one week is already threatening to overshadow all of it.
Make no mistake, Shawn Mendes was a very solid success: The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart with his best first-week numbers yet, while "In My Blood" -- the nervy, Kings of Leon-influenced lead single that represented both his hardest-rocking and most confessional hit to date -- earned him a Grammy nomination for song of the year, representing major industry validation for Mendes, and his ensuing Shawn Mendes: The Tour posted some jaw-dropping grosses. But for an artist who'd become a fairly consistent presence in the Billboard Hot 100's top tier, including three top ten hits from 2015 to 2017, the chart performance of the album's singles was a little less overwhelming: "Blood" peaked at No. 11, while "Lost in Japan" -- its frisky soul-pop follow-up -- topped out at No. 48, despite the song also receiving a bet-hedging, radio-ready remix from superproducer Zedd, and a fun, Lost in Translation-quoting video that blended both versions.
However Mendes' chart momentum might have cooled with the self-titled set's singles, though, it's boomeranged back to blazing with this month's "If I Can't Have You." The pop-rock one-off, not yet tied to any longer upcoming release, is the highest debut [on this week's Hot 100 (dated May 18), zooming in at No. 2, held off the top spot only by the juggernaut that is Lil Nas X's Billy Ray Cyrus-featuring "Old Town Road." Not only does it easily outstrip the chart performance of the two self-titled album singles, it's the highest Mendes has been on the chart in his entire career, besting the No. 4 peak of "Stitches" in 2015.
It's hardly a surprise that the song's a hit: Even aside from Mendes' own sterling track record, "Can't Have" as a pop single is quickly irresistible. The song hooks you immediately by starting off right with that chorus, so instantly explosive (and cleverly meta, with its "I can't write one song that's not about you" opening) that when it pulls back for Mendes' near-whimpered admission, "Everything means nothing that I can't have you," it's like catharsis in reverse. The verses are also alluring in their stripped-down thump, injecting a little bit of Afrobeats-via-More Life shuffle, but it all leads back to the stomping piano and gospel backing vocals of that chorus.
Mendes has cited acclaimed genre-mashing U.K. band The 1975 as his primary inspiration for the single, saying in a YouTube Live session, "I was obsessed with their album while making this song" -- presumably 2018's A Brief History of Online Relationships, though "Can't Have" actually sounds far more reminiscent of 2016's "The Sound." Just as importantly, though, there's a touch of classic disco in the wiggling groove on the refrain -- just enough that Mendes' song earns the right to borrow its name from one of the all-time great singles in the genre's history.
So "If I Can't Have You" is undoubtedly a winner as a single. But Mendes has already had plenty of those in his catalog, and he's never come this close to the Hot 100's apex before. What sets "If I Can't Have You" apart?
A lot of it likely has to do with timing. Mendes released the quasi-surprise single -- having announced it over social media just two days earlier -- on the Friday before that week's Saturday Night Live, where he performed it as the show's musical guest. Moreover, pop stars have consistently found success in recent times with unexpected singles released just after their previous album's promotional cycle had run its course, with Ariana Grande stunning the world by dropping "Thank U, Next" just months after her Sweetener LP, and Halsey also scoring her first solo No. 1 with the post-Hopeless Fountain Kingdom release "Without Me." (This isn't even a totally new concept for Mendes, who had one of his biggest hits to date with the 2017 in-betweener "There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back," though that was eventually included on his reissue of 2016's Illuminate LP.)
It's also a friendlier time to rock- and dance-based pop songs on the Hot 100 right now than it's been in a while. Though hip-hop dominated streaming -- and by extension, the Hot 100 -- for nearly the entirety of 2017, in 2018 we've already seen several smash hits, including Hot 100 No. 1s like the Jonas Brothers' "Sucker" and Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper's "Shallow," that have landed well outside of rap's shadow. Which is hardly to say that the genre hasn't remained a major presence -- just look at the song that's been No. 1 for the last six weeks now -- but that unlike at this point last year, where Ariana Grande's "No Tears Left to Cry" was the sole non-hip-hop song in the Streaming Songs top 20 and "In My Blood" was nowhere to be found on the chart, there's space for other derivations of pop music as well. Indeed, "If I Can't Have You" launches at No. 8 on Streaming Songs this week, tying Mendes' highest-ever ranking on the chart ("Stitches" again). Also in the chart's top ten? Grande, Halsey, Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish.
Does that mean that the pendulum of popular music is starting to swing back away from hip-hop and towards Mendes' brand of pop music? Maybe, though not necessarily. It's worth pointing out that last year's period of rap dominance was a relatively top-heavy one, overwhelmed by full-length releases from genre superstars Drake, Post Malone and Cardi B. None of those three have released or announced an album yet for 2019, nor have most of the genre's other true A-listers -- the closest we've had in recent weeks might be Logic's sneak-released Confessions of a Dangerous Mind last Friday, whose Eminem-featuring lead single "Homicide" debuts ahead of "If I Can't Have You" on Streaming Songs, landing at No. 2. It's possible that once a couple more of those big names return in full force, we may notice that pendulum reversing course again pretty quickly.
But for now, Mendes is in the right place at the right time with the right single. We'll see if "If I Can't Have You" manages to climb a spot higher and match the Hot 100 peak of its 1978 title predecessor, or if excitement around the unexpected single soon gets buried under an avalanche of releases from other 2019 leading lights, including a much-anticipated drop this Friday from one star playing the current pop game as well as anyone. Regardless, Mendes has shown he has both the songs and the strategy to continue playing at Top 40's highest level -- and he owes The 1975, Yvonne Elliman and Ariana Grande all a thank you for making it possible.
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Post by Rose "Payola" Nylund on May 15, 2019 11:09:49 GMT -5
I hate how Billboard relies solely on a song’s peak when determining how successful it has been. A #2 peaking song that just came out doesn’t outdo the performance of a #11 peaking song that had a relatively lengthy chart run.
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Post by Baby Yoda Hot100Fan on May 15, 2019 12:08:44 GMT -5
^Probably the worst thing Billboard does is calling everything that charts in the Hot 100 a hit.
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Gary
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Post by Gary on May 15, 2019 13:12:37 GMT -5
The broad definition of "hit" being one of the 100 most popular during the week.
There are obviously different levels of "hit" and there are broader definitions and tighter definitions - all open to interpretation
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Post by Rose "Payola" Nylund on May 15, 2019 13:26:59 GMT -5
^Probably the worst thing Billboard does is calling everything that charts in the Hot 100 a hit. The worst thing anyone else does is use Billboard as the sole definer of what makes a hit. |
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renfield75
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Post by renfield75 on May 16, 2019 9:58:51 GMT -5
^Probably the worst thing Billboard does is calling everything that charts in the Hot 100 a hit. The worst thing anyone else does is use Billboard as the sole definer of what makes a hit. I hate it when friends who know my chart knowledge ask me "what was a bigger hit?" or "who was a bigger artist?" because they usually have no interest in context. Bruce Springsteen, James Brown, Journey, Nicki Minaj, and the Backstreet Boys never had a number one single but Roxette had 4 of them. "Baby Shark" missed the top 30 but "Mona Lisa" went to number 2. Robyn's "Call Your Girlfriend" and "Dancing On My Own" didn't chart. But explaining timing and chart methodologies is not something most people care to hear about. |
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