PurpleCharm said:

There wasn't one..as far as I know. As for the track, "Black Sweat" is one of my favorite Prince songs in like ten years. If that isn't amazing, I don't know what is. 2006 is turning out to be quite year..first Prince delivers 3121 - which I love. And then George Michael's new song, "An Easier Affair." Daaaang. I'm loving the new music.

PurpleCharm said:

technically, yeah. there were one-track cd singles you could find in stores, and vinyl picture discs.

alwayslate said:

Maybe you missed the gist of my post so here it goes... Prince thinks every song he records is a hit. Whether he cares if the public does or not is subjective. Plus the problem with throwing a word like "Hit" around is you never know what defines a hit. Like I said Prince ain't lookin for hits because he feels like he has one right under his nose at all times. If I had been searching his album for singles, I would have said release "Black Sweat" because it is a dance track that hearkens to the Prince of the past, it's easy to see he wanted to release "Te Amo Corazon" and "Fury" so he probably just compromised with the label and released Black Sweat in between hoping to keep them at bay while he got out whatever songs he wanted out. I know Prince knows the formula for a hit with the kiddies, but he's not gonna play that game.

For one thing, Prince could've promoted this single like he gave a flying fuck! His attitude towards promoting his singles sucks. It was a good song and most people liked it. He just didnt shove it down their throats enough.

my completely un-self-conscious, go-ahead-and-hate-me thoughts about why black sweat didn't do better:

1. that damn wave machine. it makes the song sound like a stale dr. dre wannabe track, it's annoying, and it buries the good part of the song - the beat.

2. the chintzy single. give us b-sides. give us live tracks. give us an iTunes exclusive e.p. on top of a retail five-track single so we have to buy it twice. if there's extra tracks to be had, everyone knows we're fools enough to buy it twice or three times. have one single be all mixes and one single have live tracks or b-sides. but NO. billy was right: WHAT'S THIS ONE SONG SHIT?!?

3. performing the single you actually released might be nice. ahem, SNL. hello?!

4. give a damn. which is something i think prince quit doing in terms of 3121 months ago.

Anx said:

I love it when smart Prince fans speak the harsh, truth.

JasonStar said:

if prince is "over" 3121 and wants to focus on tamar or whatever, then fine. i hope it goes well. i think it was meant to be a much bigger project than it's turned out to be, and i think something happened this year that took the air out of prince's tires - probably the universal deal, but who really knows for sure. and that's all what it is.

my only disappointment with 'black sweat' was hearing the acoustic "preview" of it during the musicology tour and thinking it was such a bad-ass song, only to hear the final version, which i will admit i flipped over the first time i heard it - but even then, i remember thinking "this wave machine is getting on my last nerve, but i guess i'll get used to it in time."

and i haven't.
[Edited 6/27/06 15:46pm]

No. First off, Unlce P never really cares about getting the "hits", he plays music that he likes and goes from there. So, play on, Uncle P.

JellyBean said:

why release singles? why make videos? why bother with major labels? he can make a cool mint just from touring. seems like a lot of bother for not caring.

thepope2the9s said:

keep telling yourself that if it makes you sleep better, though if it were me the ridiculousness of it would keep me awake.

lets see, if the radio stations play what record execs want them, wouldn't make sense that Sony or whoever distributed 3121 would telll them to play it and they would. unless you have a theory on why the stations would side with WB over the current label, your position just makes you look like an illogical, irrational and insecure fan who can't face the possibility that the stations and their listeners simply did not want to hear it.

Anx said:

ssshhhh, you'll wake the fams from their delusion.

blackbob said:

Um...you're entitled to your opinion, but Black Sweat is great--period.

LLA said:

your opinion

sucked for me

C'mon people. Black Sweat wasn't a hit because it was a song that sounded somewhat contemporary but made by a middle-aged man. For Prince to have a hit it would have to be something that just floors people.

I love "Black Sweat".It wasn't a "hit" because,unfortunately,good songs don't become hits these days.

i actually think -- for todays older musicians ... like Elton John , Billy Joel ... Paul Simon come to mind ---- those "artists" are more concerned with "making a critically acclaimed album"

WHY ??? becus word of mouth ... I remember Paul Simons album "graceland" gettin alot of airplay and he really only had "you can call me al" which was like a top 25 hit .... but songs like "graceland" you can still hear on the radio ...

a song like "black sweat" - due to things like its lil award on BET last night .. might get some spins .... in the future??? correct me if i am wrong ... but some of the more "classic " songs --- were not great "hit" singles ??!! cant really recite any examples but i would bet that there are some out there ....

whodknee said:

Looking 4 hits? I'm NOT sure what that means. Was Prince looking for a hit when he released When Doves Cry? Dirty Mind? Sign of the Times? I don't get that comment.
[Edited 6/28/06 12:31pm]

whodknee said:

Black sweat was NOT a hit because Prince does NOT play the PAYOLA game. That SIMPLE.

Graycap23 said:

I believe this to be true,as well.That's the key to everything these days.Somebody at Universal should have slippd the cash to the dj's while P turned his head.

EmbattledWarrior said:

No disrespect...we can agree to disagree

Graycap23 said:

Very fair point, but the market was so different back then. Prince's sound and look was pretty unique, he new and fresh and radio and it's audiences in the 80's were far more open to the 'new', i should know ciz i grew up in that period. This simply meant that you could be bold in your choices of singles. However now it's a whole different ball game with , apparently, Rdaio Programmers dictating what the audience should listen to, therefore P has to try and fit into that format. This really does beg the question though of wehy he doesn't use ITunes more?.

Anx said:

there were regular vinyl singles as well with Beautiful Loved and Blessed as the B-side..

http://www.juno.co.uk/ppp...ght=prince

Graycap23 said:

All I KNOW is that kids aren't trying to hear Prince. Hell, the public has already written HIM off. Maybe he could have a "hit" where the song IS playing everywhere, being forced down the public's throats ala Who Let The Dogs Out or Macarena but NOT a true hit where there's a buzz and an aura about the project.

My definition of the term "hit" has as much to do with quality of the song as it does airplay. Many factors go into making a song a hit: timing, image, social climate, etc. So, to reiterate my original point, Prince would have to dig deep and do something amazing-- and really it would have to be as good but much different than Purple Rain to get people's attention and surprise them.

I think Prince is his own individual person and should keep doing what makeks him happy. His music is unique and it reflects the kind of person that he is. I LOVE Black sweat and I will be happy with whatever he decides to come up with!

I would have never wanted my song played on the radio in the first place. If I heard my song on the radio, I would have been insulted.

whodknee said:

Just curious. Why do u THINK Prince did almost NO marketing 4 this cd once it came out?

Graycap23 said:

Now I'm gonna say what you wanna hear: he was probably ready to move on and didn't want to play the game. However, it would've never been more than one of those phony, manufactured "hits"-- that was my point. Hell, you and I could make a tune and it could be a "hit" if we had the resources and contacts.

Only weird kids like the current Prince because, let's face it-- he isn't "cool" these days. ("Weird" often leads to creative and extraordinary so that's a good thing )

whodknee said:

WTH? I don't WANT 2 hear anything in particular. That's why I asked. Prince does NOT have 2 be "cool" these days. Actually being COOL these days isn't WORTH much. I means lets get real, let's name some people who are cool these days:
Paris Hilton
Ashlee Simpson
Lil Jon
T.I.
Ne-yo
Chris Brown
Beyonce
.....I'm glad Prince is NOT cool based on a list like this.

I expect he'll stick to his usual pattern of recent times... a few small dents in the charts... some occasionally "legend"-status appearances... and continual releases of a less commercial nature, with tours incorporating the old hits.