TwistedElegance™ Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 Superstar acts continue to place ballads on albums. Labels, however, haven't taken to releasing them as pop singles. Katy Perry performed a stirring version of "Not Like the Movies" at the Grammy Awards in February, but Capitol decided to release "E.T." as the next track from "Teenage Dream," even after three uptempo singles. (Kind of hard to argue, though, with a decision that resulted in a fourth consecutive Hot 100 No. 1. The label has released the hooky and "Waking Up in Vegas"-reminiscent "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" as the set's fifth radio single). Capitol can also cite that of Perry's first eight promoted singles dating to "I Kissed a Girl," all except her one ballad release have reached the top 10; "Thinking of You" peaked at No. 29. Jive similarly held back on servicing pop radio with P!nk's "Glitter in the Air," which likewise wowed the crowd as performed at the Grammy Awards last year. The song did, however, reach No. 8 on Adult Pop Songs and No. 19 on Adult Contemporary. In 2007, after three uptempo hits from Fergie's solo debut album "The Dutchess," Interscope released "Big Girls Don't Cry," which topped the Hot 100 and introduced her to Adult Contemporary, where the ballad reigned for six frames. The song's adult crossover success served the tradition of easing a rhythmic/pop star to older audience acceptance, a la Madonna with "Crazy for You" in 1985 after such songs as "Like a Virgin" had initially made the Material Girl taboo at the more conservative format. Before "Girls," AC DJs could talk about Fergie and the Black Eyed Peas, but without a song to play by her, there wouldn't be as relatable a connection to her for listeners. The song's success also helped mitigate resistance when the group released the uptempo "I Gotta Feeling" two years later. The track reached No. 16 on AC. Can a ballad still top the Hot 100 and/or the Pop Songs top 40 airplay chart? Radio-info.com's Sean Ross (formerly of Billboard's editorial department) has dubbed the current dominant sound at pop radio "turbo-pop," citing the onslaught of hi-NRG hits from Taio Cruz, Usher, Ke$ha and Britney Spears. Historically, when pop finds a style that works, it sticks with it, hence the heavy reliance on faster songs at the format in recent months. (And, maybe the Facebook/Twitter/cell phone era has made life so fast-paced that we've become conditioned to expect speediness even in our music?) Rare recent slower hits include Taylor Swift's "Back to December" (No. 11 on Pop Songs; not too surprising, as country is naturally immune to the dance beats plentiful on pop radio); Daughtry's "September" (No. 20); and, Paramore's "The Only Exception" (No. 12). Even Adult Contempporary hasn't seen a true ballad at No. 1 since Lady Antebellum's "Need You Now" wrapped a 15-week reign last July, as the format has modernized, having co-opted several hits from pop radio's uptempo wave. Hopefully pop programmers and labels still note how a listener's ears can perk up when a compelling slow song jarringly changes the tempo following a pulsating dance track. Plus, ballads traditionally are love songs, giving them an intrinsic leg up in embedding themselves in listeners' hearts, moreso potentially than less intimate uptempo party anthems. Perhaps Adele or Rihanna's latest singles can bring ballads back to the top of the Hot 100. (And, as of this posting, "American Idol" winner Scotty McCreery ranks No. 1 in the iTunes store with the country ballad "I Love You This Big" and runner-up Lauren Alaina places at No. 3 with the touching "Like My Mother Does"). http://www.billboard.com/#/column/chartbeat/ask-billboard-can-a-ballad-still-top-the-1005206342.story Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fanka Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 What about Beyonce's Halo? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Enjoi Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 It's quite possible - it just has to be quite interesting. It can't be a formulaic ballad. "Bleeding Love" is a good example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwistedElegance™ Posted June 4, 2011 Author Share Posted June 4, 2011 What about Beyonce's Halo? That didn't reach No. 1 though. It's quite possible - it just has to be quite interesting. It can't be a formulaic ballad. "Bleeding Love" is a good example. I wouldn't call 'Bleeding Love' a ballad at all, even a non-formulaic one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalQuin Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 If a strong enough ballad that appeals to everyone is marketed the right way and the interest is there I can see it happening. But I will say the tables have turned because it used to be that ballads ended up being the biggest hits on billboard. I always said Whitney and Mariah sold many records because they used to release ballad after ballad after ballad. And the ballads they released were appealing (most of the time) and helped them sell a buckload of records. Same for Celine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laveaux Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 anything is possible, so yeah a ballad can still top the Hot 100...attaching it to some movie wouldnt hurt either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidfresh832 Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 anything is possible, so yeah a ballad can still top the Hot 100...attaching it to some movie wouldnt hurt either. Yeah, it would need to be attached to a movie or a popular tv show to get it juiced up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
downeaznboi Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 chivalry is dead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Illi Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 The real question imo is whether middle-of-the-road radio is relevant anymore and if not, can it make a comeback. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utopia Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 anything is possible, so yeah a ballad can still top the Hot 100...attaching it to some movie wouldnt hurt either. hardly. Look at Leona Lewis with I See You, a good ballad for the biggest movie of all time and yet nobody cared about it. That ballad would probably top the charts if this were the 90's imo right now only someone with a HUGE hype behind her (has to be a female) can take a ballad to top 10 and that has nothing to do with the song. That or someone with a ballad as huge as We Belong Together, a ballad that cannot be denied but it won't happen anytime soon The last ballad to hit #1 was what Rihanna's Take A Bow? i rest my case Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cnd Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 With the way the current market is and what's popular in terms of music, no. I seriously doubt we'll see a ballad hit number one anytime soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Enjoi Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 I wouldn't call 'Bleeding Love' a ballad at all, even a non-formulaic one. You wouldn't? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwistedElegance™ Posted June 4, 2011 Author Share Posted June 4, 2011 You wouldn't? The content, definitely, but I think there's too much tempo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Enjoi Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 The content, definitely, but I think there's too much tempo. Hmmmm. I could see that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Wonder Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 It has to be from someone who can actually sing. So that eliminates half the acts currently in the top 20. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bailey Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 It's quite possible - it just has to be quite interesting. It can't be a formulaic ballad. "Bleeding Love" is a good example. yep, but if uptempo is reigning I also think that means artists who do uptempo well, like Janet should go with that formula and run the charts, but the key to ALL of it is it cannot be what we have heard before, listeners are quick to dismiss anything now, because we have options, so don't come wack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bailey Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 With the way the current market is and what's popular in terms of music, no. I seriously doubt we'll see a ballad hit number one anytime soon. I think it depends on who does it, if Coldplay had a ballad that was great it would go, if Mariah came with a really good ballad it could happen, the whole idea here is have ballads made it before, yes, so if that's true anything is possible, the only game change is you have to play things different out of the box now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xu1993 Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 I thought Rhiana had a shot with California King Bed, but it does not seem like she's really doing any promo for it. Also, with all the buzz from Man Down, I'm sure the label will push that more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bu. Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 Gone are the days of the I Will Always Love yous and One Sweet Days ruling the charts. Now we're stuck with the Tik Tok bitches Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janetDAYZ Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 With the way the current market is and what's popular in terms of music, no. I seriously doubt we'll see a ballad hit number one anytime soon. This .. Anything is possible but its very very slim in this case Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 I hope it will be Someone Like You. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rock & Roll Hall of Game Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 SOMEONE CALL MARIAH CAREY LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rock & Roll Hall of Game Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 I hope it will be Someone Like You. fucking love that song Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janetDAYZ Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 SOMEONE CALL MARIAH CAREY LOL Ha! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laveaux Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 It has to be from someone who can actually sing. So that eliminates half the acts currently in the top 20. so true Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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