rainie
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Post by rainie on Jul 4, 2023 17:15:35 GMT -5
okay new thread idea: i singled out a few pop stars who were a big deal at some point but whose careers appear to be on a downward trajectory, although y'all are obv welcome to do this with whoever you choose. anyways, imagine you're appointed as this person's new manager, effective immediately, with one goal in mind: return this person to relevance. how would you do it ?
post malone
ed sheeran
selena gomez
kesha (hard mode)
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Au$tin
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Post by Au$tin on Jul 4, 2023 18:08:40 GMT -5
Oh shit I love this thread idea omg! Posting to remind myself to think this through thoroughly and respond.
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rnb
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Post by rnb on Jul 4, 2023 18:47:53 GMT -5
ok let’s do this
post malone: ok so he’s doing ok right now but to 100% save it since I like you was so big, maybe try and get another one with some big pop star with a bunch of promo, get it to the top 5 at least and maybe get another super pop friendly song for 2nd single, maybe it can be a cute top ten hit that spends some time in the lower parts of the top 20, the album comes out and boom it goes #1 with a third single being released and going top 20. this can definitely be realistic if he and his team tries enough
ed sheeran: this one’s a bit more hard but for right now I would say maybe make the lead single some big pop, friendly song with huge playlisting and radio push and make it super appealing and make it sound not generic for once to pull some people in and get some extra streams, I would say top 5 hit for sure, could perform similarly to bad habits. then for 2nd song release like 2 weeks before album, maybe make this the week of an award show like the grammys to perform there and have some big sales push, drop a remix ep or something and also make it pop appealing, top 20 could definitely happen. drop the album and it does good, goes #1 and has ok longevity for the year. then drop the third single that goes to pop and hot ac and spends some time in the 35-40 area and performs good enough to go on the year end list. finally, drop a 4th single but make it a remix of it with some big pop star (taylor?) and make it super pop appealing, give it many versions, a HUGE radio push, lots of playlisting, pushes from the swifties too that can boost the song a lot, it could possibly go #1 with good timing and bring the album back up to the top 20 depending on when this happens.
selena gomez: honestly her career feels like it hasn’t really changed all that much so this will be a bit easier. so for starters make the lead single something simple but catchy and since she’s so big on social media, make a huge push there to get to some locals, maybe start a tiktok trend and she can get a cute top ten peak with it! following this, she drops the album and a promotional single with a music video that goes top 50 because of a sales campaign from maybe a performance at an award show like the amas. then make a third single that gets a pop push, it goes top 30 and has ok longevity. finally drop a 4th single with the music video premiering at the vmas and make it have a lot of celeb cameos for a top 5 spot and a huge pop push. to keep her name relevant til the next era, drop a song with an international act like karol g that makes it big globally and goes top 40 and has some good longevity in the us, maybe it can perform similarly to how tusa did? anyways selena has a lot of potential to get a big era whenever it starts.
kesha: honestly I could maybe see her getting the lead single to her next album to do well by it sampling some big song, her teasing it on tiktok and youtube shorts and then when it releases it instantly goes viral, the second single goes top 70 and does ok on pop radio but that’s it, honestly her chance to have another big era is probably done but if she tries, she can get another big single.
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Post by Devil Marlena Nylund on Jul 4, 2023 21:33:10 GMT -5
okay new thread idea: i singled out a few pop stars who were a big deal at some point but whose careers appear to be on a downward trajectory, although y'all are obv welcome to do this with whoever you choose. anyways, imagine you're appointed as this person's new manager, effective immediately, with one goal in mind: return this person to relevance. how would you do it ? post malone Either get him on hip-hop collabs and release a hip-hop album with rock undertones, or do a full pivot and go country. ed sheeran Not sure he needs the help. I haven't followed the numbers but is his tour selling out? If he remains a strong touring act, he's fine. Let him transition into his legacy phase, and do that by partnering up with long-established acts who would want to work with him. If "relevancy" means younger pop audiences, I'd say get him behind the pen on writing pop hits for other artists for a year or so and then have him come back with a new album in spring 2025. That album would be closest in sound to Multiply, except with collaborations from producers like Disclosure and Rudimental, who he's worked with before, but go for a more underground sound with lighter EDM vibes blending with his style of acoustic pop. selena gomez Quit music, go full into streaming TV series like Only Murders. A mix of drama/comedy that doesn't take itself too seriously but isn't a total joke. kesha (hard mode) Play up the AC angle, go into legacy mode, but stay fun. Rainbow was a good album. If she can get acclaim like that one, she could maintain relevance from the award show circuit. |
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avamaxstan
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Post by avamaxstan on Jul 5, 2023 19:22:21 GMT -5
How is Selena on a downward trend? She's currently having the biggest global hit song of her career, and stars on an acclaimed smash TV series that just got renewed for another season. If she's not as prolific as she used to be, it's because she lives with a serious autoimmune disease that saps her energy and capabilities.
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Post by Ezekiel 23:20–21 on Jul 5, 2023 19:54:57 GMT -5
How is Selena on a downward trend? She's currently having the biggest global hit song of her career, and stars on an acclaimed smash TV series that just got renewed for another season. If she's not as prolific as she used to be, it's because she lives with a serious autoimmune disease that saps her energy and capabilities. Perhap music is not the be all, end all for her. She is doing so much more beyond the music and she is doing good there right now too. Not everyone else has that. |
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Au$tin
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Post by Au$tin on Jul 11, 2023 0:35:00 GMT -5
Okay, here we go!
Post Malone
This one is a toughie, actually, because I don't actually know what has caused interest in Post to wane so much. My best guess here is to maybe have him go back to his roots and put out a real grungy, alt/country/rap album. Really make it a big deal by collaborating with artists like Luke Combs and Sam Hunt, but also big draw collabs like Drake and Jack Harlow. Also get a legacy act on there, and I'm thinking Red Hot Chili Peppers could really fit with him and this vibe. Mix all of that together to create this really solid slightly experimental yet also familiar album. The imagery of the album would reflect all of these more calculated hodgepodge vibes I'm thinking of: Post starts to adorn a traditional baseball cap in various styles, lots of oversized, colorful, and baggy clothing (similar to Billie Eilish, but a masculine version of it), boots and sneakers depending on what the style looks best with. Really sell the artistic aspect here. Completely abandon all the poppy hooks and airy production for this album. There likely isn't an obvious solid pop hit here. It's all very heavily suited for rhythmic and urban formats, but with several tracks that could easily cross over to both alternative and AAA. Because of his name, though, pop will still hop on board, especially after the critics praise the album and old fans return to combine with his current fans.
Ed Sheeran
Now that the math symbols appear to be coming to and end, his next project should really be a bold statement. I think it's time to go full rock. "BLOW" was such an excellent track and I really could see Ed expanding that sound creatively and successfully. Meanwhile he could also continue to explore his folksy side he's been dabbling in lately at the same time. Unfortunately, I don't think this would do anything to help him return to his mega status on the charts that he had previously, but I do think it would do a lot of damage control for his perception across many demographics that have deemed him as uncool, which will allow him to score a few more hits for a few more years before transitioning to legacy act status. There's also option number two, which would be to lean fully into dance. I don't think it would do anything for his image in the US, but I could really see that dance persona working for him in Europe. Either way, I don't think he's ever returning to the heights of Divide. He's still a touring force, though, and I think that will translate beautifully no matter what pathway he decides to take.
Selena Gomez
Now, this one was funny to me. "Calm Down" has literally peaked inside the top ten of nearly every country at this point and Only Murders in the Building is easily the second most buzzed about TV series on Hulu only behind The Handmaid's Tale. But after thinking about it, yeah, I guess this thread is focusing more in terms of substantial chart success as an artist and she definitely hasn't had a great showing since "Lose You to Love Me." Honestly, I'm not sure Selena ever wants to be as big as she was during the Revival through the droplets eras. With her condition, it makes many of the traditional promotional avenues to really have the success of Revival be repeated almost entirely out of the question. So I'm going to give two answers here. Answer one: this one assumes she both could physically meet the demands and would want to achieve major success again. In this scenario, Selena launches a new era hot off the heels of season 3 of Only Murders in the Building. It's a very hot, sexy, Latin inspired r&b album. Basically it's SZA/JoJo meet Rosalia/Becky G. Working hard to basically market herself as the sexier, edgier, fully realized version of herself. The vast majority of the album in English, but a couple tracks are fully in Spanish. (One even features Bad Bunny.) Answer two: everyone has settled that she's never going to realistically be a mega superstar in the music industry anymore, but Selena still has a passion for making music. In this scenario, her music career becomes her side hustle. She leans harder into her acting and directorial pursuits, and we return to the droplets era, part deux. Every few months, she drops a new track. Maybe once in a while it's an EP. The songs are just what she wants to make because she doesn't have to worry about chart success anymore.
Kesha
Gag Order satisfies Kesha's contracts and she'll be able to work without Dr. Luke from this point forward. With that in mind, Kesha signs to a new label. Columbia snatches her up. Everyone knows it: if she's going to be a force again, this is the time. It's the only shot. So Columbia goes full force in, we've got big name producers and collaborators coming in to get Kesha making excellent rock/hip-hop/dance/folk fusions that blend the best of Warrior, Animal, and Rainbow together, but with a more fierce, mature, newly born again vibe and marketing behind it. We get a huge deal leading up to the release of her lead single (see: Miley's "Flowers"), really sell the "Kesha is Free and She's Here to Speak" angle. Come out with this real catchy, in your face, upbeat track that's basically if 2007 Avril Lavigne was on LSD. Big budget music video, major promo push. Really put all the eggs into the basket because this really is her last shot here. It all pays off and the album sees a few more hits. She scores a couple more smaller hits for the next few years before fading into legacy act. She'll be able to pack shows for the rest of her career.
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marcyiam
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Post by marcyiam on Jul 11, 2023 1:14:06 GMT -5
imagine you're appointed as this person's new manager, effective immediately, with one goal in mind: return this person to relevance. how would you do it ? ed sheeran Not sure he needs the help. I haven't followed the numbers but is his tour selling out? If he remains a strong touring act, he's fine. Let him transition into his legacy phase, and do that by partnering up with long-established acts who would want to work with him. Yes. And has also been setting attendance records at the stadiums. |
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dbhmr
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Post by dbhmr on Jul 11, 2023 14:57:55 GMT -5
This is a cool thread idea, but I feel like Kesha is in a different category. Post, Ed, and Selena are still so big that it's hard to talk about how to save their career--it isn't really saving a career so much as how to get them back at their absolute commercial peak and I'm not sure how realistic that is or how to even go about imagining it, personally.
I actually think Kesha would do better to lean into a "I'm here for millennial nostalgia" and go full early/mid 2000s banger(z). I get the appeal of a "Kesha is here to speak her mind" angle but I feel like that's been played out for so long for her that I'm not sure it'd translate to much traction beyond a few articles.
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Post by Ezekiel 23:20–21 on Jul 11, 2023 23:36:41 GMT -5
Post Malone
I will get him into rehab, therapy, and counseling ASAP. Then once he is clean, I would get him laser tattoo removal. Then I will have him get his teeth fixed and once that heals, fix his hair. Then I'll get him singing lessons and enunciation training. Then I will get him a stylist to help him re-invent his look and image.
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lurker2
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Post by lurker2 on Jul 29, 2023 9:20:15 GMT -5
Post: I feel like Post falls in the Katy Perry camp - people love his songs, but they don't love him. To jumpstart his career, he needs to make better music. Since his pop stuff hasn't been going so hot, go back to hip-hop. With the amount of genre fusion going on, he can make it influenced by the rock music he likes. Have a big name feature (maybe 21 again?) on his lead, have a strong producer (I'd go with one of the producers on Pink Tape or Utopia) on it, and make it good. Then promote the shit out of it on TikTok. He's got enough of a fanbase where that might not be necessary, but I doubt it'd hurt. Then put out a solid, 12-16 track album with a few big features (let's say 21, Ice Spice, Durk, Ken Carson, and some rock group he likes), and try to make it relatable. Basically, make Twelve Carat Toothache but make people actually like it. Push a solo song or the Ice Spice song to pop and rhythmic, and push the Durk song to hip-hop. Put out some stuff to make people connect with him.
Ed: Make good, classic-sounding songs like Photograph, Perfect, and Thinking Out Loud. Don't be tempted by pop radio fodder - they played these, they'll play this if it's good. Continue this, try to make them good, and slowly fade into being a beloved legacy artist. Maybe do a Vegas residency at some point. I think it really just comes down to the fact that I Don't Care and Bad Habit et al. aren't what people really want from Ed.
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