‘Our Version Of Events‘. ‘21′. ‘Babel‘.
For today’s consumer, the albums above are no doubt three of the decade’s highest selling releases- and in ‘21‘s case- one of the highest selling releases of all time.
However, while the last decade saw a number of R&B projects reach similar heights in a fashion just as spectacular, the last few years have seen the genre fall prey to a number of commercial bombs- despite efforts made by the fan favorites Frank Ocean and reigning Queen, Mary J. Blige.
Failing to produce projects that ever feel the warm embrace of Gold status, 2013 will see the genre birth a number of acts all hoping to exceed where many of their more recent predecessors failed. Two of those being Def Jam‘s Elijah Blake and Compound‘s very own B Smyth.
Unfortunately, with recent sales figures giving labels no real incentive to prioritise the genre, the pressure is on for more established acts like Beyonce and Usher to bring in new numbers akin to the prior bests, and the likes boasted by Alanis Morissette‘s ‘Jagged Little Pill’ (16x Platinum) and Celine Dion‘s ‘Let’s Talk About Love’ (10x Platinum).
Of course, while these albums were released in a world free of illegal downloads and tougher ‘industry laws’, numbers generated by Adele, Emeli Sande and Coldplay do go a long way in proving that ‘mega selling’ LPs are far from over.
More below…
Janet Jackson – ‘Velvet Rope (10 Million Worldwide)’:
TLC- ‘Crazy Sexy Cool (11 Million in the US)’:
So now we ask you…
Is it unrealistic to hope that R&B could spawn an album as commercially successful as ‘21‘, and if so…why?
![New Song: Mary J. Blige - 'Christmas Without You' [Produced by Rodney 'Darkchild' Jerkins]](https://thatgrapejuice.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/christmas-without-you-mary-j-blige-2024-rodney-jerkins-464x260.jpg "New Song: Mary J. Blige - 'Christmas Without You' [Produced by Rodney 'Darkchild' Jerkins].")
We are in the age of pop, dance and electro music. It is sad…but there will definitely not be a R&B album with 21-like sales figures. Period!
cheap pop hooks and Stan wars are what you kids like now days so that’s what record companies are giving you. Funny how these comments are filled with “good music” this and good music that. There’s a time and a place for all music but you guys are so fixated on stats and Stan wars that the majority of music that wins fuels this foolishness and guess what geniuses….it’s POP.
I LEGALLY download of of my music and I can support multiple artists at once if I like them.
The format that music is consumed in now lends itself to the youth and most young people don’t want substance or can’t distinguish how certain artists are necessary and can coexist. For example, when you’re getting ready to go out twerk raving with your b****** you are not about to put on (insert name here). When you want to hear powerhouse vocals you’re not about to put on (insert name)…yet endless comparisons of people with different aesthetics??? They just all crossover to pop to get paid and keep you h*** happy
pop, dance and electro music doesn’t have anything to do with it…hood people don’t buy music #TheEnd
When hood people feel like buying music again then R&B/Hip-Hop will thrive, until then stop complaining when more than likely you’re the problem
Country lovers buy music…hence Taylor Swift always slaying…even though she doesn’t really do country like that she still has country fans
We had ou “21” for r&b with “Confessions” by Usher in 2004 (over 20 millions sold WorldWide – FACT – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confessions_(Usher_album) > go to “commercial performance”.
There is that new breed of singers… My fingers are always crossed and I know there will be another one! ^^
Nobody got time to be buying R&B albums
Judging by your sales Ms Minaj, doesn’t look like anyone has time for your albums either.
5 million in three years begs to differ sister.
Lololol!! Read that h** and @icki said it B**** pleeease!! They bought MOSTbof those 5milli when rnb was still selln u fucka!
tell me of one r and b album that surpassed my sales
of 800,000?
or 1.5 mill ww?
ill wait
@real xoxo minaj has sold with pink friday 2 mill and reloaded 765! not 800! and 1.2 worldwide that brings it to about 4m not 5m! riri talk that talk sold 4.m already so how is that big! nick stand are delusional!
lmfaoo ^^^^ do your reasearch honey the album has sold 816,000 in the us
and 1.5 mill worldwide as of yesterday
FOOLS R&B ALREADY HAD IT’S “21”.THE HEADLINE IS DUMB AS F***. HELLO CONFESSIONS BY USHER.SERIOSULY TGJ STAY AS A GOSSIP SITE BECAUSE EVERYTIME YOU TRY TO GO DEEP IT JUST DOES NOT WORK.
YOU are the fool my dear. They were talking about future albums.
Comprehension is key. They said NEW albums sis.
branndy album never say never sold 16 millon worldwide
That’s that’s not facts! NEXT!
thats right and Usher
Usher / Confessions – over 20 million
Miseducation Lauryn Hil – over 18 million
Alicia Keys first CD sold over 6 million in US alone
But NOBODY is making quality albums like that anymore
MUSIC EXECUTIVES dont care about R&b anymore… it is all hip hop in Urban music depts
No it will not. In order for an R&B album to sell over 10 million copies, there has to be an audience for it. R&Bs core audience no longer supports their artists. They’d rather download illegally than spend a measly 10 bucks to support their favorite artist. A lot of this new R&B is crap anyway. The R&B singers are too busy trying to keep up with the rappers talking about s**, violence, strippers & drugs. While I’m not the biggest Frank O fan, he does have a knack for storytelling and musical arrangements. So does Elijah Blake (vocals!!!) and Miguel (risk taking). Beyonce isn’t known for her artistry, but shes a great entertainer. Alicia Keys fell off. Mary J still has a solid fanbase, but she probably won’t be pushing platinum anytime soon. Usher seems to be lost. Brandys confidence is there, but she has yet to reignite the masses interest. Ciara is stale. New R&B artists don’t stand a chance. Hopefully Mariah will come back with some good music.
Good points. I’m glad you could mention several acts and point out their draws and flaws.
I must say, you brought out some good points. People don’t like to listen to real music with meaning anymore. Nowadays, anyone can make a song about any stupid thing. 21 had it all. The feeling, the story telling, the soul, and even some “pop” beats. It hit all demographics. No one cares for artistry anymore, it’s all about entertainment. I am a Brandy fan and although she has a lot of hits on her new R&B album, people won’t respond to her music because people just lack interest in R&B overall. Even Beyonce’s mostly R&B album didn’t do too well and I would even go as far to say that the only reason it did as well as it did is because of her name. I love R&B, hope people keep making it but it won’t be a “21” in R&B anymore.
Oh please, what story does Forest Gump tell?
You talk about R&B singers singing about S**? They always have from MAVIN GAYE to MAXWELL or DIANA ROSS to JILL SCOTT. And didn’t Miguel just record a song called “P*SSY IS MINE”? Given MC’s recent buzz releases, I’m not sure what you think she can do for R&B? I’ve never known her to be an R&B act, she has always been Pop to me! <—nothing against MC by the way…..
Although the singers you named sang about s**, they weren’t raunchy or thuggish. Marvin sang about making love not waxing the p**** and so does Maxwell. You also said that you never saw Mariah as R&B when she’s been nothing but R&B since 1997 when ‘Butterfly’ came out. You don’t consider The Emancipation of MIMI R&B? Or E=MC2, or Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel? You sound ignorant.
@MCFan05
To the contrary, Marvin Gaye was considered raunchy to some. Prince was the KING OF RANCH per many (I still love me some Prince though..lol). Rick James and many others were also regarded as being too oversexual in their lyrics. Janet Jackson received her fair share of criticism over explicit lyrics (Throb & Anytime…2 of my favs by her).
Wow….. “ignorant” b/c I have never regarded the Pop diva Mooriah Scary as a R&B artists in the same vain as say a Whitney Houston? No, you are the ignorant one!
@MOB: Oh Please. The artists you named lyrics were more tasteful than the crap that’s released today. It’s graphic, disrespectful, raunchy and no-holds barred. I agree with Mother Mariah.
but all artists are selling less in all genres. so yeah illegal downloading occurs, BUT please dont make it out that it only happens to rnb artist bc britney once sold a million copies in 1 week and her last album barely shipped a million copies. ppl before bought an album for 1 or 2 songs and grew to like or tolerate the whole album. today, ppl can buy 1 or 2 songs they like and forget about buying the whole thing. album sales are going down, single sales, as a whole, are rising, so when rnb music isnt not the “it” sound and is not played on pop radio stations, only to black ppl, (which only make up about 14% of usa population) it will be IMPOSSIBLE to sell Adele’s 21 numbers bc album sales are shrinking, ppl can get the music illegally, and rnb is only played on the radio to a fraction of music buyers.
AmbeRussell on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/user/AmbeRussell?feature=mhee
omg I said the same thing…back then you had to buy the entire album and learned to like it….thanks to itunes and downloading that birthed singles artist……people can’t except that the way we buy and listen to music is changing…..
Confessions?
I think Beyonce has the potential if she decides to stop being “INSPIRED” and try to inspire others and she could do that by not rehashing things that Tina Turner or Janet did stop looking back and look forward.I would also love if Beyonce picked up an instrument I know she plays around with a flute but how amazing would it be if Beyonce played the piano or did the guitar solo on 1+1!!!!!
spoken like a true fan.no lies detected.
I love what you say, so true!
Yes sister. You are so right. Bey needs to find a new muse because her whole vibe is getting so played and tired.
Yes, her vibe is tired and she has been “inspired” by too many other acts. I was disappointed to learn the Single Ladies dance was yet another ONLINE INSPIRATION [see Mexican Breakfast/Single Ladies (bob fosse/beyonce) ]. I like Beyonce and feel that she is a great package…..singer & dancer, I’m just going to need her to update her act!
The only way in which R&B will pull those numbers is if some unattractive white british female decides to sing R&B.
lololololololololololol. Thank You! Nuff Said!
Watch your mouth s***.
What is Sam talking about? He’s just angry because Alicia and Usher have already pulled in those numbers with one album.
RnB already had its “21”, it’s called “Confessions”, RnB had an unbeatable reign in the 90s to early 2000s era because it was different from what is out there. It has had its time and it’s now time to call it a wrap. It’s slowly taking its non versatile artists with it like Mary J, Beyonce, R Kelly and many other artists who can ONLY SING RnB.
If you’re a fish like Usher or Rihanna, who can swim through multiple genres, you’re most likely goin to be around for a long time. On the other hand, if you’re a one trick pony, you’ll be gone as soon as the genre is gone, just like Beyonce is on her way out.
In other news, Emeli Sande’s Our Version of Events keeps on rising, keep on buying people, the album is AMAZING.
“Emeli Sande’s Our Version of Events” <——OMG I notice that yesterday on the US itunes when decided to buy Goldfinger by Shirley Bassey…i was like dammm this chick didn't event promote her album here..i 'm so happy for her plus i have the album since last year..glad to see everyone else knows what's up ..great album to say the least.
So being around for 16 years isn’t a long time? Rihanna isn’t a fish shes pop.
’21’ is very R&B in a lot of ways. In the past 10 years Usher and OutKast (Andre 3000 had a very R&B/Soulful side to his part of the album) have both gone Diamond, and Alicia Keys and Mariah both sold 6 million in the US and 12 million world wide with ‘Songs In A Minor’ and ‘The Emancipation Of Mimi’. It just takes going back to that good music again and making it go forward. With songs like “Adorn” and artists like Miguel and Elijah Blake, I do have hope. And let’s not forget JoJo who could very well do the same. Everyone in the industry needs fair promo as well.
The R&B population isn’t buying music anymore! It may almost sound racist to say (and I’m black) but we just don’t buy music anymore. The white population is still purchasing music legally and going into stores and buying cds. Which is why mainstream pop and country will continue to sell as well as it does.
Mariah is the only R&B act that can put out a great album and pull those figures and thats a shame because she’s 23 years in the business. If she gets 2 solid radio smashes off an album she can do it. i just don’t think Beyonce can and Usher has completely washed up.
The Emancipation of Mimi was the last R*B album to really sell well internationally and that was since 2005!
Adele is white (and totally overrated)- but she had 2 radio smashes and was teh great white home since the departure/retirement/folpulation of Celine Dion!
I think it is someone impossible….especially how these artists are promoted now!
Why are we talking about Confessions when that came out ten years ago. They mean new albums. And no, it will never have a 21 because the music is dull and boring.
There is more to music than single sales and chart positions.
It’s called the BUSINESS for a reason. If sales are important to singers they shouldn’t look for record deals.
These fools clearly didn’t read s***. They clearly said new albums and Loud was that album so there’s your answer.
Loud??? LOL They are talking about pure R&B. And also, how was Loud that type of blockbuster we are talking about on here? Rihanna will never get one of those hun
see this is why r&b will never have another 21..cause when you have so much ignorant people within the black community hating each artist they don’t support and creating imaginary fights between these artists..it will never happen cause navy is not going to buy be’s album and beyhive is not going to buy rihanna’s but download it illegally and these goes for other artist within the genre. ..but unlike taylor swift and adele it’s a total different scenario… i think you get my gist.
seriously uninteresting thing. i just noticed that the platinum status is different for some genres. (full and half mills) that alone doesn’t add up value to that comparison. just that r&b platinum is maybe actually easier to reach. some still struggle to get that platinum title.
plain by numbers, maybe we’ll see some r&b acts crashing that 5 mills. yeah. i do base that on the “reduced” platinum version of adele. hah good? now people gotta make it happen. got bucks?
You are a true idiot. Since when is platinum different for different genres. Don\t speak on matters you do not know about.
wikipedia says so. there are multi-platinum album in the list that only have half or even less the numbers. who’s the idiot? not me. there’s definitely something foul in it. 😉
@forreal YOUR the idiot for believing Wik
You are confused but it’s not your fault. A label has to ask for an album to be certified before it is, so you could have two albums that sell 1 million but one be could platinum and the other not because the label didn’t put it in a request.
I think tgj wrote about it last year.
ugh. i don’t care who’s asking what. certifications and s***. as others already posted usher did the numbers before. end. bye.
Sam you need to make a post about Emeli Sande “Our Version Of Events” Rise on the US itunes…and to answer your question R&B already had its “21” with usher’s Confessions.
Weird post? Why did you state worldwide numbers for some albums and only USA numbers for others?
Guys r&b is dead ever since usher confessions came out and sold and left. Point blank! R&b will never make a return:( but try to get somebody white to do a confessions pt2 then maybe r&b will rise again. But as long as black people keep being lazy on buying music nowadays it will never see the light of day.
Blacks need to support artist music instread of buying KFC chicken all the damn time just go out and buy a damn album! What you blacks are this poor that you can’t pay 10 bucks for an r&b album smh
Yes. Beyonce could be the one to do it if she made iconic songs. She needs to stop working with the same old producers and call in some people from different walks of life to write something really empowering and not the same old s*** about how much she loves her man.
she needs to work with rihanna’s people 😉
I’d stop being a Beyonce fan if she worked with “Rihanna’s people.”
I’d stop being a Beyonce fan if she did that as well. She shouldn’t discredit herself like that.
BYE THE WAY WHERE DID ALL THESE NEW F*** N***** ALL OF A SUDDEN COME FROM..YOU AIN’T FOOLING NOBODY..YOU ARE THE SAME OLD H*** USING DIFFERENT NAMES..PUNKS!
Very interesting read. Yes I think there can be if everyone got on board to make it happen. People blame the fans but it’s not their fault. The label has to want the r&b album to do well so they can spend the neccessary funds on promoting it.
Like its Clear that African Americans don’t buy record:( cause I target my record towards them and they did not buy my record. They are the reason I’m having trouble with my record label I ain’t release a single in 8months cause of that. Blacks are the reason why r&b music as a whole is falling apart to lazy to buy music, CDs, iTune card, just lazy as hell. But white people support there people like Taylor swift, Adele, Justin timberlake, like they know how to support. African people can’t afford to buy s***.. They sit in the KFC line tho for 14.99 chicken but can’t sit in line at target for a 7.99 r&b cd WTF!
Beyonce will try but she’ll fail again because she only knows how to talk about three things.
1. How much she loves her man.
2. How much she’s been hurt by her man.
3. What she wants to do to her man.
ALL the other girls have sung about different topics except her and that’s why she keeps on flopping.
Beyonce sings about relationships, which are a universal topic. What the hell “other” topics do these “other” girls (and who are they?) sing about?
Everyone sings about relationships: being in love, losing love, making love, etc., etc.
What the f*** else is Beyonce supposed to sing about, cleaning a fish tank, changing engine oil, renovating her house?
Hush.
What type of foolishness is this?
1st, Fake Ocean is not a fan favorite in the R&B/Hip Hop community. He is being forced down the throats of Black people who are being bullied by a WHITE MEDIA and mostly WHITE Gay MAFIA as an alleged “SAVIOR & NEW KANG” of R&B/Hip Hop. As if anyone appointed by the WHITE OWNED MEDIA can be crowned anything fo the masses. THE PEOPLE MAKE THE DECISIONS about their own music choices and people to deliver it, not the RACIST MEDIA!
2nd, CUT THE CRAP! Although I have enjoyed a few song selections from Adele’s 21, the oveall CD was not that great. And it certainly did not warrant all the praise that it has received….”transformative”…..”better than any other Soul-based CD”…..blah, blah. Please, I still contend that Amy Winehouse’s BACK TO BLACK is a much better CD than 21! Adele has a great studio voice and when she applies herself (The Oscars was NOT a great example of this) she does a great live show (see Adele’s concert at the Royal Albert Hall).
With all that said, the MUSIC-MEDIA MONOPOLY is killing the music industry. It is not just promoting gimmicks (LMFAO & PSY aka “Gangum style”)it is suppressing actual talents and keeping them from rising (see Ledisi, Kelly Preston, Jill Scott, Brandy etc.. They have chased so many out of the industry (see Jazmaine Sullivan) as they world of music and promotion has just changed dramatically. We all should know by now that R&B is not marketed and supported like POP, Country & even DANCE MUSIC in the media or music industry!
Us whites don’t bully blacks cause there gay. Ya blacks bully white females who are trying to come in the rap gamn.. Like me iggy, v nasty, ya don’t want whites to rap ya are soooo mean to us it ain’t even funny. Ya blame me for saying n**** in my music.. But it was my sister v nasty. But ya kept picking on me like I was some soft white chick from Oakland.
Everybody who bully me on twitter was black
Trick miss me with your comments…..peroid! No one gives a rats ass about Crazyshaun and her noise you call music. She like PSY “gangum style” a damn gimmick!She had a window, she didn’t know how to extend her 15 minutes and now no one cares!
To be honest “21” was more Rhythm & Blues than most “r&b” projects that came out in the last 2 years…so maybe instead of distancing “21” from r&b we should embrace it as our generations less urban approach to rythm and blues…
98% of blacks rob stores just to put food on the table in the hood (smh) and only 15% of whites rob see the difference. Most t*** girls who get pregnant under the age16 are mostly black nappy headed hood chicks. Only a few white girls get pregnant (like on t*** mom). I read in a newspaper this morning that there was two car jacks today. And guess what they where two black guys in there mid 20’s smh. Africans love to start s*** with people who are minding there own damn business.
B*tch shut up! “I read in a newspaper…” and who owns and controls the biased ass media (tv/cable, newspapers, magazines, blogs, radio)?Of course someone else is bad, wrong and less than per the biased, racist lowlifes that own the major & majority of the media outlets of the world! ….DUH
I finally checked out that Elijah Blake guy you keep writing on. The vocals are serious.
We did with Confessions. R&B will come back when R&B artist start making great music and not cheap pop hooks that is a sure way to chart. Look at 90’s classic (yet new comers) Aaliyah, Brandy, Monica, Usher, Genuwine and others, they didn’t have fast sellers, but the sold cause they had great cutting edge hit after hit. We got spoiled when R&B became pop in the 2000’s with Keys, Beyonce, Usher, Ashanti (cause we’re talking early 200’s here people, lol) and others. What killed R&B was cause it gotten too close to hip hop, remember when crunk came out, then crunk N B, snap came and then snap NB, so when hip hop was dieing, R&B was on it’s last breath. Nother thing, the lines were blurred when JT’s Future S**/Loves Sounds came out(cause remember, pop became every urban with Britney Give Me More, PCD, Fergi and others) and what really burred the lines was in 07 when Rihanna’s GGGB came out and Chris Brown Forever, those was the first soge (Please Don’t Stop The Music) that were elec pop (at least in the US and Urban world). By 08, everything with an urban sound flopped (Usher Here I Stand, Ciara’s whole career, MJB) and you had to have this new cutting edge sound (Beyonce I Am) or you were done. So I don’t think R&B is dead, I think the 90’s sound is, but that already happen when the 2000’s mark hit cause everyone was on a New Millenium sound anyway, no one sounded alike, but everyone was trying everything new. But every decade music changes, 90’s R&B sounds nothing like 80’s or 70’s R&B, so get over it. MJ and Janet had pop music too (it was awesome and new and on poiont) but it was pop just as well. Sorry for the book, lol.
Yeah, the times changed and thus the artists who saw the writing on the wall attempted to adapt! We should all know that music is cyclical. At one point, DISCO (BEE GEEs, Donna Summers etc) was on top. Next came a DANCE/NEW WAVE sound (BLONDIE, Gary Newman etc)…and so on. I mean whatever happened to GRUNGE music (STP, Nirvana, Alice in Chains)? Music changes and goes through peaks and valleys. It is what it is……I think that R&B will be fine. The real problem is MEDIA OWNERSHIP! Whoever owns and controls the radio stations, music video tv programs and music media mags etc control the outcome of music sells.
Well, what about Rock, Jazz etc. Those genres were once the biggest at one point – will they have their own 21 sales anytime soon.
Beyonce is our only hope but she’s too busy worshipping Jay to make the album she needs to. She needs to listen to a wide variety of music so she can switch it up because nobody is here for another album talking about how in love she is. Rihanna can talk about anything and make it sound good. She can talk about serious s*** like in Man Down and fun s*** like in Pour It Up.Where’s the variety in B’s music.
Agreed. I still respect Beyonce’s artistry more though because she did not give in to that electro-pop crap like Rihanna. Their in two different leagues. Rihanna can make anything “sound good” because she’s merely a single artist. There’s nothing R&B about her .
@mob trying to play white people trying to call them gay media bullies. What about we call ya negro media bullies how bout that. That’s all ya did was bully me when I was trying to come up in the rap game with my single “Gucci Gucci” miss me with that bully s*** talk.
All them black came in my twitter mention talking bout how I was “white trash” ” one hit wonder” “flop b****” crack w****” so I finally got p*** off and set my twitter account to private. And went on a racist twitter rant.. Then the next day I said I was hacked!
YAWN…………..
Sexlijah Slayke. That’s all imma say.
Artists need to combine both experimentation with sophistication. Lauryn Hill did that and forever gave Neo-Soul and Reggae-influenced rhythms a place in history on “The Miseducation”.
Michael Jackson could change genres, keep his fanbase and still do everything to the highest standard. It wouldn’t hurt Beyonce to do some songs pertaining to humanitarian issues. She speaks about women being “empowered” all the time so a few opinions about FGM, s**-slavery and equal rights would go down well both in her music and message. Janet could have rehashed “Control”, actually her label wanted her to. Instead she experimented and used the sonic sophistication of Jam & Lewis to formulate what I think is her best album RN1814. “4” could have been bigger and better received but it lacked the finesse (aurally) that it needed to be dynamic, enticing and revolutionary.
Artists also need to have understandable, relateable messages. I GET what Miguel and Bruno Mars are talking about, they are a combination of alluring and enjoyable, but what is Frank Ocean talking about? Sounding half asleep as he slurs, “She’s workin’ at the pyramiiiiid zzzzzzz…” She what? What does that mean? With messages so deep your atistry gets resigned to a niche market and significant commercial impact is averted. Let’s not defend Frank Ocean. His message and artistry are no deeper than Lauryn Hill’s, Stevie or even Michael yet unlike them, he is neither enjoyable or understandable.
Until these boxes are checked people are not going to run and buy a 20 track album from Mister Mysterious or Sister Silent who can’t articulate what their artistry is about, what they want to achieve and why they make certain artistic choices (Watch Marvin Gaye explain the concept behind “What’s Going On”).
As for getting a “21” album (an album that could have been even bigger!) for RnB I think we need to have that edge and excitement. Have REAL RnB music (no autotune, real instruments not cheap synths, melodies, harmonies) with Pop lyrics (lyrics that are on popular subjects). Both “Adorn” and “Motivation” were too raunchy and personal I think. Making music and lyrics more of a celebration as opposed to a two way conversation widens the receivership as people will think “They’re talking to me” rather than “They’re talking of a situation I can’t relate to.”
US expressions of RnB have become stale I feel. In this globalised world a different expression of this worldwide genre is needed. That means…THE UK NEEDS ITS LONG OVERDUE MOTOWN EQUIVALENT!!!
Love most of the points made here.
“Beyonce to do some songs pertaining to humanitarian issues.”
THAT IS A MUST!!
Small details for her can mean A LOT of records if its crafted right.
This is why the f*** I love this site and comment section. We got some real musicologists here.
Shout out to everyone commenting here, I’m in class reading them and getting my life. I think the girl behind me thinks im crazy because i keep shaking my head.
U must not visit this trashy site everyday?
And another thing, will US pop ever have a 21, cause 21 is soul that happens to be love by the masses. So will Brit, Katy, CA, JT, Gaga and others have a 21. I’m not talking about selling a mil in a week, cause gaga did that and that was it on that album. Why do we care about sells anyway? Cause it only goes in some Jews pockets that ripped off artists for DECADES. I like how it is now, if you want money, yo ass gotta get on the road and work for it, no more sitting on MTV or cheap scams. R&B need to go independent, but let’s be real, most of “the best” can’t even write their own songs and others can’t even write a good one. When R&B artist quit working with the same writers and producers and start taking a chance like it was in the 90’s, THEN it will be hot and respected again. I think they’re tons of Adeles, but they’re not known cause we’re so stuck on looks, sells and chart stats. My friends listen to Rock music and they don’t give two shits about sells or even know what Billboards is. And with the way the charts is now, they can go to hell. I been BUYING albums that were released 10, 15 20, 30 years ago and some new like Bruno and AK. With that said, I’m done with this site, goodbye.
When R&B artist quit working with the same writers and producers and start taking a chance like it was in the 90′s, THEN it will be hot and respected again.
^this.
I like Slayguel but Slaylijah is sexier.
R&B is failing at its own fault. First off R&B artists these days are always talking about s**,(not love)money, b****** and h***. That was left to rap and R&B picked up on it because the line became to meshed between the two. So that was successful for about a year or two and then Kween Adele came around and slayed. Blacks who bought music, whites who loved soul came around and bought 21. This left the rachet R&B artists destitute. This all happoend while Kween B was on vacation. Know they’re mad cause their music is cool for the radio but not for the BB 200 or the Hot 100. Now we have a few legitimate artists Frank, Bey, Miguel, JT, and maybe Emeli. Now the only way the can save R&B is if they put out AMAZING music, band together and rejuvenate R&B. In short it has nothing to do with Pop cause Pop has been around before R&B. Pop and Country artists are making buying-worthy music and thats why they dominate the top 40 and not the Bottom 80 like R&b
“First off R&B artists these days are always talking about s**,(not love)money, b****** and h***.”
Clearly you only listen to the few artists that are heavily marketed. Give underground and/or off the charts artists a chance.
I just think nobody is checking for r&b anymore- sadly. Beyonce’s last album was very r&b, and I think that’s why it wasn’t as big as her others. She had “Love on Top” “Dance For You” and “I Was Here” just to name a few. In an industry saturated with pop and dance, it’s hard for the real r&b singers like Jill Scott, Maxwell, and Solange because everyone is so obsessed with having a hit and staying on the charts rather than making real music. The Rihannas of the industry are dominating because ppl like catchy music more than music that makes you feel- not to mention it’s easy to sing along to.
I don’t really consider Bey RnB (with the exception of her first solo album).
She is more pop based in my opinion.
“Love on top” is an uptempo pop song
“I was here” is a pop ballad
Well, I have to respectfully disagree. Love on top gave me an old school r&b vibe, hence the theme of the music video. I suppose I see where you are coming from with the comment on “I was Here”, but to me it had r&b vocal arrangements. Even if so, the sound was a deviation from the normal dubstep we hear on most tracks these days.
I was hoping this wouldn’t turn into a discussion about Bey only, I was just using her as an example, since I feel like she is one of the artists who have attempted to move away from what’s popular. I do hope she goes back to r&b like she said she would in her documentary. I just miss good ol’ r&b period. You can only replay songs so many times before you’re tired of them. :-/
That album was definitely predominantly R&B. Love on top won the Grammy for best Traditional R&B performance at this years Grammys. Also how do you define Pop music as?
Please stop with the “21” bandwaggoning. Adele is a boring, fat b*tch with a hoarse voice that got lucky. The only reason she is now currently successful is because she’s white, whereas Leona Lewis is prettier, and a better vocalist with better songs but unfortunately she can’t sell as well as Fatdele because she’s not caucasian.
“21” will be Adele’s first & last successful album, a few yrs from now she will be forgotten.
I can’t wait until that fat humpty dumpty, homewrecking h** crashes onto her big lard ass.
I think it’s possible that RnB can make a comeback, there will probably be a very special person to do it though.
You seem pressed, boo
The fall of R&B came when it began to lose its creativity. You could expect conceptual storylines to videos, awesome performances, and stellar live performances from R&B acts. However in todays generation its more about Twitter followers than actual talent. There aren’t many R&B singers out here these days who can actually sing. A lot of them ar manufactured into being famous, a product of an famous parent, or a simple legitimate connection in the music business. When I think about the best years in music I think of when R&B ran the world.
Another reason is that black people don’t support their artist. We will bootleg a copy of an album before we go buy the authentic copy. Thats not the case in Country music which IMO is R&B with a different band behind it. Country also never lost its creativity. The stories remained, the love songs stayed classic, and it didn’t turn into ass, shake your ass, give me some ass, show me your ass, where my money at!. R&B has lost its soul and thats for lack of talent behind the mic. We used to have artist, singer, songstresses, now all that remains is mediocre talent with infectious hooks and repetitive production.
Not if we are going by the type of music that’s in demand now, it wont be any time soon. And Im talking REAL RnB like the Miguel, Lauryn Hill kind, not no Emilie Sande who is still very pop. I believe the time will come when RnB will come back round again however, dont’t ask me why but this electro pop sound will burn out and sound dated eventually and artists that thrived in it will struggle. I honestly cant see people like Rihanna lasting for another 10 years in all honesty shes too generic for a specific era, the whole bad girl image and everything, it will become boring and dated. And I also don’t believe in bashing people that stick to their genre as not being versatile. People that hop over to the sound of the moment don’t impress me at all. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think the sun shines outta Beyonces ass, and theres a lot I could critique her on but although she makes pop, shes always kept that RnB undertone to her music and managed to carry it for a long time without hopping on the electro dance pop bandwagon that I commend her for, cos lets face it, if she wanted to take the easy way out, she would’ve made 4 completely different. But I believe Beyoncé makes music that SHE enjoys not what her record label push to get sales in. And Im not afraid to say that 21 is one of the most overrated albums of all TIME. No doubt it was a good album and Adele is talented but she gets recognition for things that have already been done, done better and that those same people get barely any recognition for. That’s a fact.
“although she (Beyonce) makes pop, shes always kept that RnB undertone to her music and managed to carry it for a long time without hopping on the electro dance pop bandwagon that I commend her for, cos lets face it, if she wanted to take the easy way out, she would’ve made 4 completely different. But I believe Beyoncé makes music that SHE enjoys not what her record label push to get sales in”
All of this! I agree with everything. She’s def not 100% r&b, but she still holds on to her roots.
UMM ONLY WAY AN R&B ALBUM WILL DO ADELE NUMBERS IS IF A WHITE PERSON DOES IT SAD BUT TRUE..BRANDY AND BEYONCE HAD GREAT R&B ALBUMS BUT NOBODY WAS HYPE CUZ IT WASNT A WHITE GIRL/GUY SINGING R&B..ITS LIKE BLACKS SINGING R&B IS NORM AND WHITES DO IT ITS A MASTER PIECE SMH WHITE AMERICA I TELL YA!
I like Brandy but lets be real her album wasn’t a classic, will not be Remember and Beyonce last album was garbage will not be remember. There is no R & B artist who’s fan base crosses over to the masses, not Beyonce or Usher. They will not sell over 4 million WW. Frank Ocean is over rated, he will not even sell his next album, using the gay controversy only had him sell just around the same as CB, Usher. CB and Usher has outsold him WW. CB and Usher, singles sells over 1 milion. Frank Ocean singles didn’t sell over 1 million. I hate to inform you, but todays music is about popularity and if you have a strong fan base you may go Gold or Platinum depends on how big you are.
Beyonce’s last album should have been a huge success but she had no monster singles and the promotion behind it sucked!
Brandy’s latest album should be approaching platinum by now but her label is afraid to spend the money to back her as a major artist and her management team sucks!
Usher and Chris Brown could easily sell 5 million + on their next albums if they give us some good music and avoid all the drama of recent years. But that won’t happen anytime soon given their current mental states and alleged substance abuse issues.
Adele is not all that. I dont pull the race card normally but Im just being real, it helps to be white. Her voice is overrated, her songs are ovverrated, people are just balled over by this unconventianial looking white lady that sounds like a black woman.
Y’all should remember that R&B is mostly popular in the USA, the rest of the world has always been in love with Pop, Dance and Electronica Music. Just like Country is a US thing, for peasants, R&B is a US thing mostly for Black people, the fact that you ask ‘Our Version Of Events‘. ‘21′. ‘Babel‘…Confirms that, not have wondered ever, why R&B singer are not as popular as Pop singers, why R&B singers have lower sales than Pop singers, i mean “21” is a miracle, “Confessions” has Dance in it, in fact “Yeah” was the album only ww smash hit. Take for example Mariah Carey, she was really popular ww back in the 90’s, since 1998, when she started making R&B music her fame has decreased incredibly in the rest of the world, especially Europe, Europeans loves Dance music but if you ask me, YES, it’s a fact that Race plays an important role in all this, Adele>>>>Mary J. Blige (who should be more famous in the rest of the world), Justin Timberlake who music is similar to Usher’s music, has always been more popular than him even during Usher best era “Confessions”, i bet you if Britney makes an album a la 21 she would have even bigger sales while an artist like Beyonce would have to resort to Dance music to have some relevancy in the Billboard Hot 100, in other news Sam Your Queen Janet Jackson has married.
I get what yourself saying…
But with Mariah Carey – I think you’re confusing R&B with Hip Hop.
Mariah was always R&B/Soul
As for R&B not being WW and a US thing – the 1960s Motown R&B was a WW phenomenon.
As was the 1980s, 1990’s. .. Today’s R&B is not R&B so to speak but Urban/Hip Hop based R&B.
But like I said – there’s a big difference between commercially R&B and Indie-R&B.
Frank = Indie R&B. Chris Brown= Commercial R&B.
Btw, as for dance music – there was a time when dance wasn’t popular and that time willcome again. No general is popularno consistentlyw
Let me correct some things here:
R&B has been the dominant genre from 1980’s-2005 not just because it’s relevant to blacks but because ALL races of people embraced it. R&B could not have had so many #1 hits on the Hot 100 and multiplatinum albums (i.e. Toni Braxton, TLC, Usher, Brandy, Monica, Boyz II Men, Destiny’s Child, Brian McKnight, En Vogue) without heavy airplay on pop radio. Do your homework!
Also, Yeah was not a dance record. It was an urban/hip-hop record or to be exact, a crunk record from the south.
And Mariah Carey’s The Emancipation of Mimi was the top selling album of 2005 and yes it was a R&B album with We Belong Together being the longest running #1 single by a solo artist in the history of the Billboard Hot 100. That was a r&b song btw.
@GGG
@MUSICHEAD
You’re both are taken out of context what i said, it’s a fact that R&B was a WW phenomenon in the 60’s but Pop music wasn’t the type of Pop with know since the 80’s, it was called Traditional Pop, those kind of songs that Sinatra sang. Mariah’s music was more pop oriented until Butterfly, and R&B didn’t rule the 80’s, Pop, Synthpop and New Wave did and Mariah Carey’s The Emancipation of Mimi was her biggest comeback yet and she was already a superstar, the fact is that R&B is not as popular as other genres in the rest of the world.
“MC” is extremely popular period. All forms of her music does incredibly well. Adele is amazing, her music and her voice. It’s not her issue that r&b artists are selling that well. There core audience needs to start supporting them. Their are plenty of good r&b albums. Many of their fans just don’t support them.
There*.
OH AND LETS BE CLEAR… POP Music means POPULAR MUSIC. POP is not a sound so to speak because and R&B record could be a pop record, just as a country record could be as well. Techno is techno and thats what these girls are doin these days TECHNO lol… and its just popular
Not trying to throw shade, but Adele’s voice doesn’t amaze me. I don’t hear a lot of versatility or range. She reminds me of Jennifer Hudson- they both have a loud, gospel sound, but that’s about it. She can sing, no lie- but she just doesn’t amaze me. *shrug*
Seriously, Jennifer Hudson and Adele are two different things. I don´t see how you could make that comparison
Jennifer is so powerful but loud, not beautiful
Adele´s is so pleasant, works perfectly for the music she makes (and yes she is a songwriter). I can´t see the comparison. I agree Adele is not Whitney Houston if that was your point, but she´s a better artist than Jennifer Hudson
Adele’s voice is hardly loud. It’s very beautiful. Her voice is way different from Jennifer’s.
The answer is yes! But it will take more than good music to make that happen. It’s gonna take a strong backing from a major label to PROMOTE and MARKET an artist with a mainstream/r&b album from an artist (present or future) who can appeal to all audiences.
The problem isn’t just the music. The problem is r&b doesn’t have any new stars to carry on it’s legacy.
Chris Brown was the last new male r&b artist with star potential to cross over. We haven’t had anyone like him carry r&b who can sing and dance since he came out.
We haven’t had a breakout r&b female artist with the same level of star power since Beyonce debuted as a solo artist in 2003.
If the labels and their A&R guys will stop being lazy and find the talent (cuz believe me it’s out there) r&b will rebound in a major way.
It takes new talent to keep the doors open that the ones before them opened in the first place.
It’s not even about the sales climate or current music trends that make R&B a low-seller. To me, it’s services like Spotify and Pandora that are putting the nail in the “buying albums” coffin. Why buy each individual album when you can pay $15 a month for unlimited albums? Even just with things like YouTube, you can tell that the culture is just shifting away from buying albums and singles. A lot of people have the mindset of “Why buy an album when I can just listen to the ‘good songs’ for free on YouTube?”
R&B already had it’s 21 nearly a decade ago, by Usher (Confessions). Ever since 2004 R&B sales have been declining, but I think it will make it’s comeback one day. People just buy what’s “in” at the moment, and it happens to every genre. Also people just don’t buy music like before, the music industry has been suffering from poor sales for years, look how long it took for another person to go diamond in the U.S., sales will eventually recover but it won’t be the same as before. I think what R&B needs is that person with the crossover appeal, Usher was that person when his albums used to do big numbers (My Way, 8701, Confessions), but now they need a new person that can appeal to all kinds of people.
I love “21” but I don’t think “21” is R&B…
What we need to do is to support those artist who’s making grate R&B music. Artist such as Jill Scott, Maxwell, Malanie Fiona, Erykah Badu, Jazmine Sullivan etc…
And for your question “if R&B could spawn an album as commercially successful as “21”… My answer is YES…
What we need is a great singer (you don’t have to have the best voice but you must Carrie a tune), great lyrics, great production, support from your label and Most important to promote your project and to have the support of your fan and to gain new fans…
I would love another Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number (Aaliyah), 12-Play (R.Kelly), The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill, Baduizm (Erykah Badu),Voodoo (D’Angelo)…
Although most of this album did pass the sale of 21 but they are some of the best R&B album of all time.
I do love myself some Beyonce, Alica Keys, Miguel, Frank Ocean and MJB… BUT I don’t think they can produce an R&B album that can pass the sell of 21… We need new & fresh talent and to support those amazing and talented artist we have in the R&B field…..
The reason why r&b is failing because people don’t want to to be themselves. They either want to be Beyonce Janet or mj. What made r&b so great is that it was a very versatile genre no one sounded the same and you could tell who it was today everyone has that drowsy boring Drake effect. Country still doe well because they still sing about the same issues and s*** most of them have great distinct voices but rock today is dry there’s no big band like Foo fighters or nickelback killing the charts anymore and the standard has change today people are looking for entertainers instead of actual singers and musicians I bet the record labels don’t even go out and scout for talent. They just go on YouTube and find someone who come up with something catchy. To answer the question no there will never be an r&b 21. Unless someone new comes out and gives us something fantastic and worth buying I love r&b from 2005 down but today I hate it and I don’t really care for it and I barely hear new r&b on the radio its more rap than anything on the urban stations and I’m sick of that too and I haven’t bought an actual copy of an r&b CD in a very long time tbh
Topics like this are bias and one-sided because it implies that all other genres are thriving, except R&B, which isn’t true. The fact of the matter is that pop stars aren’t selling albums anymore either…not really. Name around album – of any genre – that is rivaling 21’s sales. Katy Perry has more hits than Adele and yet Perry’s album sales aren’t even in the same stratosphere as hers.
With maximum media saturation, over-exposure and 50 singles, it’s still taking even the biggest acts a year to go platinum — if they manage to do that. Taylor Swift may outsell her contemporaries, but she ain’t f****** with Shania Twain’s Come On Over sales and One Direction ain’t f****** with Backstreet Boy’s numbers either. Pop stars of today sell singles, by and large. They don’t sell albums. And the reason they sell singles is because the music industry is in a state of financial peril *because* album aren’t selling anymore. So as a result, they keep shelling out an overabundance of silly ass pop music (while pushing other types to the backburner) to overcompensate and overpromote because they it’s the only thing that will net them a profit. Eventually this will create a backlash against pop because of all the overexposure, and that backlash will be huge.
The real problem is that after 2005, someone told the 12-24 year old music listening public that albums weren’t necessary and that music via YouTube/Spotify and iTunes singles was are just as good as a CD, and furthermore made it easy for them to overindulge in quick convenience. The worst thing the music industry ever did was get into bed with iTunes. They made it unnecessary to buy albums after that. If the industry clamped down on streaming, making it mandatory to go out and buy physical music again and albums sales spiked as a result, so would R&B. But for as long as the industry is fine with allowing people to get away with listening to music on their computers and phones, while cherry picking album tracklistings, everything suffers. And in the meantime, artists are allowing this shallow mentality invade their work and how they promote themselves. The number of Facebook likes and Twitter isn’t a success, but celebrities today are acting like it is, which is stupid.
It’s all about quick convenience now, even at the cost of quality. The Internet age has allowed people to become lazy about entertainment.
I do Not see it for R&B nowadays , I’m sorry … not a race Problem , but not a lot of People are interested in R&B as it was back in the day , and most of R&B artists of today’s are JOKES compared to what it used to be a R&B artist.
Also R&B gets no love from the Radio or MTV or Whatever …
R&B already had a 21 it’s called the My Life Album by Mary J Blige. No disrespect to Miguel and Frank Ocean but the music they’re making isn’t “R&B”. It’s pop music made by Black people but the fact that Black people are making it doesn’t make it R&B. Call it something different and let it have it’s own day in the sun.
Miguel and Frank are definitely R&B, although Frank refuses to be “put into a box”. Miguel claims R&B. There’s nothing “pop” about either of them.
When was the last time Country music had a “21?”
When was the last time Hip Hop had a “21?”
When was the last time Rock music had a “21?”
When was the last time dance music had a “21?”
Hell, when will another pop music act have a “21?” I’m not seeing anyone else out right now on the path to Adele’s success either.
The last album to have “21”-like success was Usher’s Confessions…an R&B album.
This question almost unfairly scrutinizes R&B, while completely ignoring the bigger picture: that “21” was basically a fluke. A better question would be “when will the next ’21’ of ANY genre happen?” Because the way I see it, the world of music isn’t currently set up for more of them to come in the foreseeable future.
All of the genres you just named aren’t doing as bad as R&B. I can’t even think of the last R&B album (other than Beyonce) that went platinum, and that’s sad.
Country music fans support their artists.
Hip hop fans support their artists.
Rock music fans support their artists.
Dance music fans support their artists.
Pop music fans definitely support their artists.
R&B barely exists anymore. 🙁
Yes.Beyoncé has the potential! If she USES HER LIFESTYLE. as inspiration. I’m sick of the reusing old things so blatantly. The only person who is worse with doing that is lady gaga.if Beyoncé made an album about her miscarriage, her relationship with her father, her marriage, her struggle and her happiness she could really get bigger! If that’s possible! Cmon bey.you you can do it! This next album should be emotional fun and great
I agree. Now is the time.
What’s killing R&B is that since 2002, the black music climate has been favoring Hip hop over it by a noticeable degree. Used to be a time when Hip hop would largely play at black radio during the 6pm to 10pm hours. The rest of them time would be primarily R&B, with some ‘lite’ Hip hop sprinkled in. Now if I turn on the radio at 2am or 7am or 12pm or 3 pm, guess what I’m more likely to hear? Some obnoxious rap song. At urban radio, R&B basically exists to fill the gaps in between hip hop songs.
In order for R&B to make a comeback, first it needs to make a comeback at black radio. But the urban music community is so worried about supply and demand that they crank out nothing but wall to wall generic Hip hop or are trying to get its artists to “cross over” by having them suddenly go dance/pop like Usher.
yesssss for TLC!
I love Adele but lets be real “21” wouldnt have sold more than 3mil if she was slim.
We need RE-INVENTION.
Look at Lauryn Hill, while everyone else was making cliche love songs, she took hip-hop and reggae influences and made a f****** good r&b album.
Amy Winehouse took influences from the 60s girl groups and made one of the best r&b/soul albums of our time.
Artists are so uninspired these days and it doesnt help that labels don’t let them think outside of the box.
I think that Mary J. Blige and Alicia Keys are the two artists that, if they come out with a real huge R&B hit and with a solid album (MJB’s last album was solid but the singles were horrible except for the last two) they can have somewhat of a “21” in the states. Something that would sell like Michael Bublé sold recently. They are both able to do that, but they seem to never play the right cards.
Yes….If Adele’s next album is RnB.
But seriously, if the music is good enough, and it speaks to the people, then of course there is a chance.
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Its clear that the writer is overexaggerating things a bit. Just because ONE pop album became a huge international hit doesn’t mean that the pop genre as a whole is doing good. Why is the author so focused on comparing the success of Adele to R&B artists when ALMOST ALL POP ARTISTS aren’t even selling like she is right now? Katy Perry, Britney, Justin Beiber and most Rock and country artists haven’t pulled anywhere close to the numbers Adele has in recent years so why call out R&B artists as if low album sales is a unique issue to the genre. Throughout music history there have been SEVERAL R&B albums that have sold 10 mil plus from confessions to Miseducation to Crazy S*** Cool and several Michael Jackson, Whitney, Janet, Prince, and Mariah albums so R&B doesn’t need to prove anymore than any other genre. P.S. Babel has yet to hit platinum in the US. It had a “golden age” and now its not getting as much play as other genres (but neither is alternative rock or heavy metal. Its being outshined by folk music rock). However, R&B is not dead. All genres go through cycles it its cycle of success will come back around one day.