Fans may have thought Grammy-nominated songstress Keyshia Cole had literally reached the ‘point of no return’ when her 2014 album of the same name not only delivered the lowest first week sales of her career to date (read more about that by clicking here), but went on to clock the lowest overall sales of any of her previous efforts. A harsh blow for an otherwise consistent seller, especially amongst her Urban counterparts, the nonperformance of the LP – in addition to a host of personal dramas – acted as catalysts for the R&B chanteuse to go back to the drawing board and regroup.
After the two years that followed ‘Return’ rendered rumored singles and reported few false starts, the late 2016 announcement of the singer’s relocation to Epic Records signaled the surest sign of a full on return. Lo and behold, by February 2017, Cole put the rumors to rest by officially lifting the lid on her long-awaited new single – ‘You’ (featuring rappers Remy Ma & French Montana)…
Going from ‘point of no return’ to ‘return to form,’ ‘You’ was celebrated by longtime listeners of Cole as a comeback for a number of reasons. Foremost, the song was sonically reminiscent of many of the fan favorite cuts that line her discography. Secondly, the Remy Ma & French Montana-assisted number tackled familiar thematic ground for the songstress who – like her idol Mary J. Blige – has long developed a reputation for her ‘down & out’ or ‘love gone wrong’ anthems.
Yet, while the praise rang in for ‘You’ and its accompanying cinematic video, that fanfare was not reflected on the Hot 100. Peaking in the top 10 of the Bubbling Under charts (to date), the nonperformance of the single has drawn worry for sales of its parent album, ’11:11 Reset.’
So, where did it all go wrong? Was ‘You’ just not the tune Keysh needed to reintroduce herself to the masses? Or, has limited promotion caused this shoulda-been-a-hit to miss the Hot 100 all together?
In other words, tell us:
This was actually a more than decent bop and video. The promotion was more than a lot of r and b acts get these days as well. Her fans have grown up though and the millennials have replaced k michelle as their version of her. Reality tv may not be a bad thing for her at this poin to reestablish her brand.
Millennials are 1980-currently.
Maybe you mean younger millennials.
ouuu..this was interesting. !
RON FAIR can fix this. Heaven Sent. Work it out. I Remember. So Impossible. Give me more. Got to get my heart back. I should have cheated. I Just Want It To Be Over. all hits.
K. Michelle didn’t replace nothing. This song is dope. Urban radio is trash for not playing r&b..
k michelle’s last 2 albums outsold this girl’s last THREE albums. she’s been replaced by K.
Girl K Michelle ain’t outsold s***!!! Not one of her albums or singles have ever been certified!!! She has decent first week numbers but hell not even all three of her albums put together have sold 500k
I agree. K. Michelle did not replace Keyshia Cole. The problem is simply whether or not there is still interest in Keyshia Cole’s music. People always want to make excuses why something does not sell when the answer is so simple. No interest = no sales. Radio has to be interested and consumers have to be interested for it to sell.
Most artists needs air play to have successful song.
The song has to be interesting to radio though for air play. The song was cute but were people calling local radio stations to request it to be played? I doubt it.
FRENCH WASN’T NEEDED. SHE ENDED UP SOUNDING LIKE A FEATURE ON HER OWN SONG.
Air Play is needed for one, and French Montana wasn’t necessary.
People just don’t buy R&B music. Point bland and the period!
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Radio stations now are vying for songs what’s deemed as popular on the net to play repetitively other than giving a good song a chance on the airwaves.
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People buy R&B if it is good music. Ask Chris Brown or Solange if people bought their s*it. So what if Keyshia’s single did not sell. She just has to release another one. In today’s world of microwave music she has to reinvent herself to stay current. She has been gone a little while so people are not checking for her.
She was never a strong artist that showed longevity to begin with.
Her performance level is still not up to par.. She looks angry in every performance and video… she doesn’t command the stage like when she used to perform Love …. She needs a new stylist… They have her looking older than she is… and she seems very arrogant… and her dancing is terrible… she doesnt need choreography, she just needs to seem like she’s enjoying being on stage and bop around. she seems very stiff… I see her career going down the same road as ciara and ashanti if she doesn’t change some things
She is trying to step outside pf her confort zone with the dancing but she know her fans wanna hear that breakup s***. KC is/was a single pusher and good seller she needs to make amends with that guy and get back to interscope. woman 2 womam was her BEST album
Isn’t…….this…..a…..break up song ? ?
I think that keyshia needs ” the song” that will connect her deeply again to her loyal fans and open new doors for her.
I also think that keyshia is the victim of an always changing music industry because she does not have the proper team to push her talent to the next level.
Promo & radio play wasn’t right. I think she should sign up to perform on more talk shows & the BET Awards as well as debuting a new song. Is obvious ppl care for the song and the video because it has 10 million views on YT. She just needs a push the song is hot.
Bottom line is R&B isn’t being played on urban stations which is so stupid to me. Where else are we supposed to listen to R&B on the radio ?
she shouldn’t have put remy ma on it
It’s not Remy or Montana’s fault. It is the main artist’s fault but in this case she needs a few singles regardless to get in the game. Gone are the days that an artist that had low sells at their peek can make a comeback with just one single. It takes multiple singles and touring to get a good momentum going.
I’m guessing you had Lil Kim & Missy in mind considering her last song with Nikki was a total flop?
Everyone thinks adding Tricki Garbagh will make the difference she just wants to be leading in some billboards bull s***…??♂️