With Keyshia Cole‘s new LP ‘Calling All Hearts’ due out in stores today, sources close to the project are said to be worried about its lack of hit singles upon release.
Cole however isn’t so worried; though she does, in a recent interview with the Associated Press, admit to ‘I Ain’t Thru’ being the wrong single to lead the project.
Full story after the jump…
Via the Associated Press:
NEW YORK – Keyshia Cole’s new album, “Calling All Hearts,” is out this week. It’s the follow-up to her first three albums, all platinum-sellers that had multiple R&B hits.
But this time around, Cole’s lead single has not created a buzz for the singer like it has done in the past. “I Ain’t Thru,” which features Nicki Minaj, has only peaked at No. 58 on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop songs chart.
Cole says she made the decision to release the song — though her record label disagreed.
“The label didn’t really want to drop the record because they knew … that people wanted a more intense, soulful record from me about love and I really should have followed (their) direction,” she said. “But I wanted that to be a statement record. It’s like saying, ‘I’m doing me, you know. I don’t have no regrets for nothing that I’m doing.'”
“There’s no way to predict how people will respond to things,” said Ron Fair, chairman of Geffen Records. “It’s something that Keyshia really wanted to say.”
Cole is following up the song with “Long Way Down,” which she says “people are gravitating more toward” because of its mid-tempogroove and focus on love; the song was released to radio last week.
Fair, who executive produced all of Cole’s albums, says though the pre-album buzz isn’t as strong as it has been in the past, he’s not worried about the new album’s first-week sales.
“The record business is so perilous right now that it’s always, for me, a case of the tortoise not the hare,” Fair said. “What will be the ultimate judgment is where this record is in a year.”
Hmm. Having listened to the album, ‘ultimate judgement’ rests with the fact that it simply boasts little to no hit material. Therefore, if we’re to keep it real, the album is heading for a bargain-bin near you soon.