Too bad Rosie never became a singing star. She is one great singer with the right material. Prince basically killed her material, plus the fact that she just can't write a good song to save her life.

Prince wrote her some very weak songs. BITCH? Hit U In The Fucking Socket! Try Me??

Awful. Now she can't get arrested. I'm saddened about it.

Oh really, so P is responsible for her career since 1994?, are you you freakin' kidding me. You're basically saying that without Prince she doesn't / didn't stand a chance!. If she, OR ANY so called associated artist had the talent and determination then they would succeed-plain and simple. Perhaps not on a global scale but surely have some sort of career. If she couldn't take advantage of the global spotlight shone on her from 1991 [Nude tour] through to c1994 then it's her own damn fault and NOT his.

I thought Closer Than Close was a good album, but I admit I haven't taken much notice since (I have Arrival, and one from a few years back, but meh). I agree, Prince could've done better by her - 'I Want U' is so incredibly pedestrian, and 'My Tender Heart' is a very nice, polished, if risk free ballad. The better stuff on CTC is definately outside Prince's involvement.

^^^Neither B.I.T.C.H. nor Try Me are Prince songs.

vitriol said:

^^^Neither B.I.T.C.H. nor Try Me are Prince songs.

Never fails that someone tries to blame P for EVERYTHING.

Eye like the close than close album and play it alot......eye just dont like the slower version of the song closer than close...... ......but i realy enjoy Bubbly World/My Tender Heart/Can U Handle It/Do What U Wanna Do....................But eye agree Rosie should have been bigger as a Solo artist...

For many of these people,being associated with Prince was a blessing and a curse.Very few of his proteges were able to establish their own identity and move forward in their careers.

During that time Prince wasn't making the best stuff himself. However other than the Time what artist has he ever really poured hits into?

She wouldn't have made it with or without Prince. Modern mainstream radio is not friendly to non thin performers. Maybe if it was the 1960's or 1970's she would have recieved airplay, but not post MTV/BET. She could have been like Lelah Hathaway or Oleta Adams who had a smaller, more middle aged audience, but not with the New Jack Swing and gansta rap era mainstream acts who recieved the heavy airplay. Or she could have done the Marsha Wash thing and do ghost vocals for dance acts if she wanted pop radio play.

[Edited 9/18/11 18:13pm]

MickyDolenz said:

She wouldn't have made it with or without Prince. Modern mainstream radio is not friendly to non thin performers. Maybe if it was the 1960's or 1970's she would have recieved airplay, but not post MTV/BET. She could have been like Lelah Hathaway or Oleta Adams who had a smaller, more middle aged audience, but not with the New Jack Swing and gansta rap era mainstream acts who recieved the heavy airplay. Or she could have done the Marsha Wash thing and do ghost vocals for dance acts if she wanted pop radio play.

[Edited 9/18/11 18:13pm]

Beg ur pardon but Missy Eliott broke out around the same time as Rosie's solo ventures. Fatness isn't the problem.

Corny ass songs was the problem.

Spinlight said:

Corny

When has that ever stopped a song from becoming a hit?

Many overweight singers have said that their labels told them to lose weight in the video era.

"My Tender Heart" is a great song I don't know what went wrong,but it should have been a hit.

2freaky4church1 said:

Too bad Rosie never became a singing star. She is one great singer with the right material. Prince basically killed her material, plus the fact that she just can't write a good song to save her life.

Prince wrote her some very weak songs. BITCH? Hit U In The Fucking Socket! Try Me??

Awful. Now she can't get arrested. I'm saddened about it.

Blaming Prince? Really? Who knew who shewas before she got with Prince? THe fact that she is one of Prince's associates who actually had some talent but didnt "make it" is not Prince fault. I have her last solo album and it blows.

[Edited 9/19/11 7:06am]

Not Prince's fault for anything...no.... Music careers can only go so far...you can be an awesome singer ..but singing bad material, and not recognizing a bad song speaks volumes.

Remember that interview where she said that the band made fun of her size and they hung out and didn't include her. It was a form of mental abuse. The band abused her and this is why she is not a star.

2freaky4church1 said:

Remember that interview where she said that the band made fun of her size and they hung out and didn't include her. It was a form of mental abuse. The band abused her and this is why she is not a star.

That's a bit of an assumption isn't it? If you believe the story, Prince was emotionally abused as a kid and he still made it.

I think we're all coming up with reasons for why, and it isn't just one of them - it's all of them together - the cards were stacked against Rosie. Not to say she couldn't make it, but the stars had to be aligned - there's a lot of asks when you're a plus size singer, in this industry, on a label owned by someone who doesn't give a shit about it, less so if you're not a stripper.

Not everyone can be like Jil Scott.

No matter your size, if you are good... people will get interested. The appeal might be slower for a women if she doesn't fit mainstream standards, but if she kicks ass she will break barriers.

Being cute and having talent sometimes isn't enough IF you want fame.

Weight isn't the issue. There are a lot of successful singers who are not rail thin. JHud downsized and now her fans HATE her. I think Rosie got caught up in the Prince v WB turmoil. When "Diamonds And Pearls" came out, her strongest play was to leave Prince and sign with a major. She hung around until it was too late. I think Prince's anti-major rhetoric influenced her and she tried to go independent. She had no promotion budget and of course things just didn't work out.

I like Rosie too so don't anybody get their panties in a bunch but uh.....not everyone is meant to be a superstar.

It's not just about having the right material but also timing, having the proper support and promotion behind you, having the right style and really WANTING to be that front and center performer that people spend money on and come out to see every time you perform. Also, who is to say that Rosie isn't content with the level of success she has achieved?

funksterr said:

Weight isn't the issue. There are a lot of successful singers who are not rail thin. JHud downsized and now her fans HATE her. I think Rosie got caught up in the Prince v WB turmoil. When "Diamonds And Pearls" came out, her strongest play was to leave Prince and sign with a major. She hung around until it was too late. I think Prince's anti-major rhetoric influenced her and she tried to go independent. She had no promotion budget and of course things just didn't work out.

You are correct,she was caught up in the middle of Prince's war with Warners.After the Diamonds and Pearls tour ended in 1992,she was signed to Paisley Park Records as a solo artist and began working on her album Concrete Jungle.Unfortunately,her album was put on the backburner while Prince focused entirely on Carmen Elektra.The promotional budget for Carmen's album was over $2 million.Of course,it flopped and this was the beginning of Prince's war with Warners.They shut down the label in early 1994,only a few months before Rosie's album was finally going to be released.In a 1995 interview,Rosie didn't hold back....

"My album (Concrete Jungle) wasn't released because I wasn't sleeping with Prince",she said

She signed to Motown,the album was revamped and finally released in 1995 but it went nowhere.

SoulAlive said:

"My album (Concrete Jungle) wasn't released because I wasn't sleeping with Prince",she said

Just so folks don't get the wrong idea...............what she meant was the fact the Carmen was sleeping with Prince and received all of the attention. She was not and got no attention.

HotGritz said:

I like Rosie too so don't anybody get their panties in a bunch but uh.....not everyone is meant to be a superstar.

It's not just about having the right material but also timing, having the proper support and promotion behind you, having the right style and really WANTING to be that front and center performer that people spend money on and come out to see every time you perform. Also, who is to say that Rosie isn't content with the level of success she has achieved?

This is the truth. Maybe she went as far as she wanted to be committed to going. I am thinking of that Aha moment I had recently when Jill posted something on her fb page of how sad it is that Prince is playing all night long and that therefor he doesn't have a life to go home to etc.

To me all the big names have one thing in common; energy for their art that seems boundless. They stay up late, work constantly and have shitty relationships often because of it. I can't think of a big name that puts in 50 hours or less on their craft. Somepeople also want a life that isn't booked solid a year in advance; they have talent but not the endless drive that will stop at nothing.

Deadflow3r said:

HotGritz said:

I like Rosie too so don't anybody get their panties in a bunch but uh.....not everyone is meant to be a superstar.

It's not just about having the right material but also timing, having the proper support and promotion behind you, having the right style and really WANTING to be that front and center performer that people spend money on and come out to see every time you perform. Also, who is to say that Rosie isn't content with the level of success she has achieved?

This is the truth. Maybe she went as far as she wanted to be committed to going. I am thinking of that Aha moment I had recently when Jill posted something on her fb page of how sad it is that Prince is playing all night long and that therefor he doesn't have a life to go home to etc.

To me all the big names have one thing in common; energy for their art that seems boundless. They stay up late, work constantly and have shitty relationships often because of it. I can't think of a big name that puts in 50 hours or less on their craft. Somepeople also want a life that isn't booked solid a year in advance; they have talent but not the endless drive that will stop at nothing.

If you don't have time for a relationship it certainly won't last. I've heard that doctor's and military men have the highest divorce rates.

Deadflow3r said:

HotGritz said:

I like Rosie too so don't anybody get their panties in a bunch but uh.....not everyone is meant to be a superstar.

It's not just about having the right material but also timing, having the proper support and promotion behind you, having the right style and really WANTING to be that front and center performer that people spend money on and come out to see every time you perform. Also, who is to say that Rosie isn't content with the level of success she has achieved?

This is the truth. Maybe she went as far as she wanted to be committed to going. I am thinking of that Aha moment I had recently when Jill posted something on her fb page of how sad it is that Prince is playing all night long and that therefor he doesn't have a life to go home to etc.

To me all the big names have one thing in common; energy for their art that seems boundless. They stay up late, work constantly and have shitty relationships often because of it. I can't think of a big name that puts in 50 hours or less on their craft. Somepeople also want a life that isn't booked solid a year in advance; they have talent but not the endless drive that will stop at nothing.

Every woman in Prince's life - past, present and future - is a mere jump-off. The man is married to his music.

Rosie is a talented woman who probably is still performing somewhere. Does anybody know if she is or isn't? It would be sad if she wasn't. Just cause she doesn't work with the man anymore-doesn't mean she couldn't have a career. Maybe she just went another direction in her life. She seemed like a sweet person.

I think Rosie should do a gritty,unapologetic funk album.She's got the right kind of voice for that.