Singles that had no business being singles!

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Reply #30 posted 12/21/23 7:32am

LOSTPASSWORDMA
N

Always hard to know what will 'hit' or not, also Prince didn't always write for singles - he made an album then 'advertised it' with singles. Even though he was a big singles artist of the 80s he wasn't too concerned with hit making per se, because that was not a creative way of making music (although he was good at making pop songs of course).

Interesting to see Adore now doing so well on streaming services ! Time is the decider of hits!

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Reply #31 posted 12/21/23 9:00am

RODSERLING said:
MattyJam said:
My Name Is Prince was a trash song - Prince should've listened to Warners and released 7 first. The Holy River, whilst a great song, had zero commercial appeal. Face Down should've been single #2 from Emancipation. Eye Hate U was an odd single choice. A single edit of Billy Jack Bitch would've had a broader appeal imo. [Edited 12/20/23 0:25am]
My Name Is Prince is great. It was an obvious single choice. I think it flopped because Prince didn't show his face in the vidéo. That was a bold, risky choice to do that. It could have paid well, but it didn't. Maybe too much singles-fatigue for the audience at the time. 7 was a flop outside the US, and it didn't really sell the album in the US neither by the way : it was already at the bottom of the charts. I think what mostly hurt the sales of the album was that Sexy MF was released way too soon before the album release. Then, it success ( at least in Europe) and all the fuss surrounding its release, didn't impact the sales of the album. I m sure most people at the time thought Sexy MF was on D&P. Take Me With U wasn't a good single choice, because you can't really distinct Prince voice from Apollonnia that much. Hence it peaked "only" at #25, whereas I m sure something like The Beautiful Ones would have been a smash top ten hit. They should have released The Cross instead of IIWYG, it would have been a success in Europe for sure, bigger than any of the other singles from SOTT. Mountains or even Girls and Boys were odd choices, following Kiss. The only other obvious hit from Parade is Sometimes It Snows In April. It would have been successfull and cult in every major markets. Frankly, for Lovesexy, Alphabet St was the only commercially viable single, IMHO. I wouldn't have given a penny on the potential success of the shitty Round and Round, but it went Gold, so...who knows. [Edited 12/20/23 5:10am]

"Take Me With U" was huge back in the day.

And a perfect singel choice imho.

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves. And wiser people so full of doubts" (Bertrand Russell 1872-1972)

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Reply #32 posted 12/21/23 9:17am

RODSERLING said:

They should have released The Cross instead of IIWYG, it would have been a success in Europe for sure, bigger than any of the other singles from SOTT.

Nah, "Strange Relationship" should have been the single instead of IIWYG

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Reply #33 posted 12/21/23 9:18am

RJOrion	strongoxman1 said: RODSERLING said: They should have released The Cross instead of IIWYG, it would have been a success in Europe for sure, bigger than any of the other singles from SOTT. Nah, "Strange Relationship" should have been the single instead of IIWYG Nah..."Hot Thing" is the one
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Reply #34 posted 12/21/23 9:40am

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Mountains is my fave Prince song but Girls & Boys I think would've done better. However I do agree the movie flopping is what did that whole album in.

Strange Relationship, Housequake, or U Got The Look should've been the 2nd single.

Betcha By Golly Wow was too similar to MBGITW. I like the song and I know it was a big hit in Europe but it sunk Emancipation in the US before it even started (EMI closing didn't help). Sleep Around or In This Bed I Scream should've been the 1st.

I remember being SOOO disappointed in My Name is Prince. Still not a big fan of the song or the album but 7 should've been the one instead. Always thought and God Created Woman would've been a hit as well.

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Reply #35 posted 12/21/23 10:10am

Ndorphinmachin
a

MattyJam said:

My Name Is Prince was a trash song - Prince should've listened to Warners and released 7 first.

The Holy River, whilst a great song, had zero commercial appeal. Face Down should've been single #2 from Emancipation.

Eye Hate U was an odd single choice. A single edit of Billy Jack Bitch would've had a broader appeal imo.
[Edited 12/20/23 0:25am]

MNIP is a fucking awful single. I do remember hearing a couple of the rave/house influenced remixes in clubs but they weren't floor fillers by any stretch. If the chorus was anything other than "My name is Prince, and I am funky" I could imagine it doing better.

I think 7 would have performed much better in the UK if he'd trimmed the acapella intro. It goes on forever and even as a fan I'm bored by the time the song actually starts. They say you have 20 odd seconds to capture a listener on the radio, an overly long intro isn't the way to grab people.

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Reply #36 posted 12/21/23 1:43pm

Andre3000, on a recent Questlove Supreme Podcast, told a Prince story about him saying something about lead singles and follow ups "back in my day you only get one shot and the follow up single don't matter"

Its a great episode, 3 Prince stories and the Coachella story is the best.

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Reply #37 posted 12/21/23 1:53pm

Vannormal said:

RODSERLING said:

MattyJam said:
My Name Is Prince was a trash song - Prince should've listened to Warners and released 7 first. The Holy River, whilst a great song, had zero commercial appeal. Face Down should've been single #2 from Emancipation. Eye Hate U was an odd single choice. A single edit of Billy Jack Bitch would've had a broader appeal imo. [Edited 12/20/23 0:25am]

My Name Is Prince is great. It was an obvious single choice. I think it flopped because Prince didn't show his face in the vidéo. That was a bold, risky choice to do that. It could have paid well, but it didn't. Maybe too much singles-fatigue for the audience at the time. 7 was a flop outside the US, and it didn't really sell the album in the US neither by the way : it was already at the bottom of the charts. I think what mostly hurt the sales of the album was that Sexy MF was released way too soon before the album release. Then, it success ( at least in Europe) and all the fuss surrounding its release, didn't impact the sales of the album. I m sure most people at the time thought Sexy MF was on D&P. Take Me With U wasn't a good single choice, because you can't really distinct Prince voice from Apollonnia that much. Hence it peaked "only" at #25, whereas I m sure something like The Beautiful Ones would have been a smash top ten hit. They should have released The Cross instead of IIWYG, it would have been a success in Europe for sure, bigger than any of the other singles from SOTT. Mountains or even Girls and Boys were odd choices, following Kiss. The only other obvious hit from Parade is Sometimes It Snows In April. It would have been successfull and cult in every major markets. Frankly, for Lovesexy, Alphabet St was the only commercially viable single, IMHO. I wouldn't have given a penny on the potential success of the shitty Round and Round, but it went Gold, so...who knows. [Edited 12/20/23 5:10am]

"Take Me With U" was huge back in the day.

And a perfect singel choice imho.

Strange, because it had a very poor chartrun, similar to Mountains :

12. TAKE ME WITH U (by Prince & The Revolution)
Date: 09/02/1985 - Run: 61-51-42-37-33-30-*25*-25-31-42-66-78 (12 wks

Maybe it did better on AirPlay ?
It sure sold better Purple Rain than Mountains sold Parade.
It also lacked a true b-side to attract more sales.

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Reply #38 posted 12/21/23 2:43pm

funkbabyandthe
babysitters

RJOrion said:

Face Down as a single?...LOL...Face Down shouldve been buried under the vault...one of Prince's worst creations of all time.

This man knows what he speaks
At least until his comments on MNIP
Lol

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Reply #39 posted 12/21/23 2:48pm

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RJOrion said:

"My Name Is Prince" is a GREAT song.

Agreed! I love the beginning and how he sampled his own songs.

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Reply #40 posted 12/21/23 2:50pm

funkbabyandthe
babysitters

bonnie184 said:

Andre3000, on a recent Questlove Supreme Podcast, told a Prince story about him saying something about lead singles and follow ups "back in my day you only get one shot and the follow up single don't matter"

Its a great episode, 3 Prince stories and the Coachella story is the best.

Thanks for the tip
Pretty true tbh
Sexy mf, bad song, but i can see why he thought itd have novelty single value
Same for MNIP (a better, fuller song, but also dumb af)
The symbol album is when the singles got worse
I never liked 7 either. Just relentlessly leaden. The acoustic version was the better version.

Also, eye hate u was a highlight of gold but the first single? No.

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Reply #41 posted 12/21/23 3:14pm

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RJOrion said:
Face Down as a single?...LOL...Face Down shouldve been buried under the vault...one of Prince's worst creations of all time.

yeahthat

Betcha by Golly Wow was a terrible first single choice. Should've gone with Somebody's Somebody or maybe some kind of radio edit version of Joint 2 Joint.

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Reply #42 posted 12/21/23 3:19pm

MattyJam said:

lurker316 said:

pdiddy2011 said:

SoulAlive said:

RODSERLING said: I’m convinced that “Girls and Boys” would have been a huge second single in the States,following “Kiss”.It actually got alot of radio airplay in my area.It was very well-received.It’s a fun,irresistible track.

I think Kiss, Anotherlover, and Sometimes It Snows could have all been great LEAD singles, in that very order, if marketed well and coupled with good videos. I think Mountains actually would have performed much better with better marketing and a better video. The trouble is/was if you didn't already like/love Prince, his use of lyrics/looks/symbolism was "strange" to a lot of the uninitiated- especially in comparison to what was starting to top the charts in the US. I think many people just couldn't relate to the uniqueness of Prince's product - so it sat on the shelf.

I like Anotherloverholenyohead, but it was a terrible single. Not remotely catchy. When my friends heard it on the radio, they mocked it as "adult contemporary / easy listening". The kids not like it.

Funny that. For me, I always thought Anotherloverholenyohead was by far the catchiest song on Parade.

I think Parade only has three songs that could be singles:

Kiss,Girls & Boys and Anotherloverholenyohead.

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Reply #43 posted 12/21/23 7:19pm

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I agree with many of the comments, so I will just add one that doesn't get talked about as much:

LET'S PRETEND WE'RE MARRIED: Am I crazy? Why on earth ???

Of course, I love it - but NOT A SINGLE

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Reply #44 posted 12/21/23 7:32pm

wut? sometimes it snows in april would have been a purple rain size hit if he had released it at the right time ... parade as much as i love it .. is very quirky and not very pop radio other than kiss .. eye think kiss followed by she's always in my hair then sometimes it snow in april then maybe followed by love or money would have gained more widestream appeal .. as for my name is prince ... eye wonder what p was thinking telling everyone his name was prince and then next album being like .. don't call me that anymore ... how premeditated was it all? .. seems his ideas and marketing are all thought out far in advance yet this was such an about face .. was the dawn originally a prince album ..and then he got mad and changed it all? ... or was my name is prince some kind of end cap on his name already knowing he was going with the symbol next album cycle .. then he was calling himself victor for a while .. makes about as much sense as that dolphin song .. eye never did figure it all out

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Reply #45 posted 12/21/23 8:18pm

SoulAlive	DotsofU said: I agree with many of the comments, so I will just add one that doesn't get talked about as much: LET'S PRETEND WE'RE MARRIED: Am I crazy? Why on earth ??? Of course, I love it - but NOT A SINGLE Very good point.I never heard this song played regularly on the radio when it became a single.Of course,it’s a great track but perhaps a little too risqué for pop radio,lol.
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Reply #46 posted 12/21/23 8:23pm

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SoulAlive said:
DotsofU said:

I agree with many of the comments, so I will just add one that doesn't get talked about as much:

LET'S PRETEND WE'RE MARRIED: Am I crazy? Why on earth ???

Of course, I love it - but NOT A SINGLE

Very good point.I *never* heard this song played regularly on the radio when it became a single.Of course,it’s a great track but perhaps a little too risqué for pop radio,lol.

glad you agree!

sometimes I forget it was a single

I'm not sure if they even needed a fourth single and I'm not even sure what it should have been:

Probably Automatic or DMSR?

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Reply #47 posted 12/21/23 8:43pm

DotsofU said:

SoulAlive said:

DotsofU said:

I agree with many of the comments, so I will just add one that doesn't get talked about as much:

LET'S PRETEND WE'RE MARRIED: Am I crazy? Why on earth ???

Of course, I love it - but NOT A SINGLE

Very good point.I *never* heard this song played regularly on the radio when it became a single.Of course,it’s a great track but perhaps a little too risqué for pop radio,lol.

glad you agree!

sometimes I forget it was a single

I'm not sure if they even needed a fourth single and I'm not even sure what it should have been:

Probably Automatic or DMSR?

Lady Cab Driver.

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Reply #48 posted 12/21/23 8:48pm

RODSERLING said:

DotsofU said:

SoulAlive said:

DotsofU said:

I agree with many of the comments, so I will just add one that doesn't get talked about as much:

LET'S PRETEND WE'RE MARRIED: Am I crazy? Why on earth ???

Of course, I love it - but NOT A SINGLE

Very good point.I *never* heard this song played regularly on the radio when it became a single.Of course,it’s a great track but perhaps a little too risqué for pop radio,lol.

glad you agree!

sometimes I forget it was a single

I'm not sure if they even needed a fourth single and I'm not even sure what it should have been:

Probably Automatic or DMSR?

Lady Cab Driver.

Yes

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Reply #49 posted 12/21/23 9:46pm

SoulAlive	“Automatic” would have been a perfect single,especially since he already filmed a video for it.
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Reply #50 posted 12/21/23 10:47pm

funkbabyandthe
babysitters

The cross would be an awful single.
If you wanted a rock single after icnttpoym, play in the sunshine should have been it.
But the right songs were released. Iiwyg maybe too weird but it was prob meant to be a daring choice, not an album booster (rightly or wrongly).
Some albums just arent going to be as big as they deserve.
With sott it almost didnt matter anyway, he was done with it quite fast, like everything in the 80s.
And he had another hit soon after with alphabet st.

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Reply #51 posted 12/22/23 6:00pm

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I thing some of the single choices depend of what side of the Atlantic you sit.

'I hate U' may have gained more traction in the US, where the black/RnB charts have more significance, but Europe left that sound behind in 85-88.

Cream topped the US charts, but didn't crack the top 10 in the UK. While Gett Off and My Name is Prince has a much bigger influence.

Prince's biggest hits in the US tended to be the 'safe' songs.

.

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Reply #52 posted 12/22/23 8:03pm

SoulAlive	RJOrion said: Face Down as a single?...LOL...Face Down shouldve been buried under the vault...one of Prince's worst creations of all time. I agree.Never really liked this song or any of the other hip-hop styled songs on that album.
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Reply #53 posted 12/22/23 10:16pm

funkbabyandthe
babysitters

SquirrelMeat said:

I thing some of the single choices depend of what side of the Atlantic you sit.

'I hate U' may have gained more traction in the US, where the black/RnB charts have more significance, but Europe left that sound behind in 85-88.

Cream topped the US charts, but didn't crack the top 10 in the UK. While Gett Off and My Name is Prince has a much bigger influence.

Prince's biggest hits in the US tended to be the 'safe' songs.

The American public just cared less for prince the rapper (sexy mf, MNIP) than overseas, for whatever reason.
[Edited 12/22/23 22:16pm]

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Reply #54 posted 12/23/23 5:03pm

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Regarding SEXY MF in the US...

YES - this did only make #66...

BUT - this song was HUGE!

Everyone knew the song even if it wasn't on the radio

and I think it even went gold despite a low chart # - b/c it had no radio points

This was also the era of the 'BUZZ SINGLE', wasn't it ?

A single released more as a marketing ploy than as a chart contender..

I think the VHS went gold too...

I could be mistaken... but at least to this 49 year old memory - that song was a MEGA HIT in the US

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Reply #55 posted 12/23/23 6:17pm

DotsofU said:

Regarding SEXY MF in the US...

YES - this did only make #66...

BUT - this song was HUGE!

Everyone knew the song even if it wasn't on the radio

and I think it even went gold despite a low chart # - b/c it had no radio points

This was also the era of the 'BUZZ SINGLE', wasn't it ?

A single released more as a marketing ploy than as a chart contender..

I think the VHS went gold too...

I could be mistaken... but at least to this 49 year old memory - that song was a MEGA HIT in the US

Sexy MF only went Gold with the VHS(50k) but was far from the 500k single Gold certif. : Only 117k copies scanned.
It was doomed for the hot 100 since it didn't chart in the too 75 AirPlay.

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Reply #56 posted 12/23/23 6:48pm

DotsofU said:

Regarding SEXY MF in the US...

YES - this did only make #66...

BUT - this song was HUGE!

Everyone knew the song even if it wasn't on the radio

and I think it even went gold despite a low chart # - b/c it had no radio points

This was also the era of the 'BUZZ SINGLE', wasn't it ?

A single released more as a marketing ploy than as a chart contender..

I think the VHS went gold too...

I could be mistaken... but at least to this 49 year old memory - that song was a MEGA HIT in the US

It definitely got alot of attention and hype.As a "buzz single",it certainly did its job smile

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Reply #57 posted 12/23/23 11:34pm

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SoulAlive said:

MattyJam said:
Eye Hate U was an odd single choice. A single edit of Billy Jack Bitch would've had a broader appeal imo.

I think this is one of the times when they got it right."Eye Hate U" is one of Prince's strongest singles of the 90s,imo.It's a superb track that actually did reasonably well on the R&B charts.

Yeah this is one of the few good choices of the 90's. It got a lot of play when that album hit. In fact, it was the only song that I remember being on the radio from that album.

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Reply #58 posted 12/24/23 9:02am

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whodknee said:

SoulAlive said:

MattyJam said:

Eye Hate U was an odd single choice. A single edit of Billy Jack Bitch would've had a broader appeal imo.

I think this is one of the times when they got it right."Eye Hate U" is one of Prince's strongest singles of the 90s,imo.It's a superb track that actually did reasonably well on the R&B charts.

Yeah this is one of the few good choices of the 90's. It got a lot of play when that album hit. In fact, it was the only song that I remember being on the radio from that album.

I think it depends what side of the pond you're from. Eye Hate U did nothing in the UK, but Gold was a top ten and played a fair bit on radio.

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Reply #59 posted 12/24/23 11:57am

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RODSERLING said:
DotsofU said:

Regarding SEXY MF in the US...

YES - this did only make #66...

BUT - this song was HUGE!

Everyone knew the song even if it wasn't on the radio

and I think it even went gold despite a low chart # - b/c it had no radio points

This was also the era of the 'BUZZ SINGLE', wasn't it ?

A single released more as a marketing ploy than as a chart contender..

I think the VHS went gold too...

I could be mistaken... but at least to this 49 year old memory - that song was a MEGA HIT in the US

Sexy MF only went Gold with the VHS(50k) but was far from the 500k single Gold certif. : Only 117k copies scanned. It was doomed for the hot 100 since it didn't chart in the too 75 AirPlay.

OH! GOT IT! Thanks for the data !

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