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Thread started 12/20/23 12:23am

MattyJam

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Singles that had no business being singles!

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]
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Reply #1 posted 12/20/23 12:54am

SoulAlive

*"Glam Slam"---I think this is a decent album track but it didn't stand a chance on pop radio in 1988.I have always felt that the dynamic title track should have been the second single.

*"If I Was Your Girlfriend"---Yes,this song is clearly a fan favorite and it really is a brilliant track.But this is not the type of song that works as a single.The meaning was misunderstood by the masses and the SOTT album started tumbling down the charts when this was the single.

*"Mountains"---It's a good song,but not an outstanding one.Many people have said that "Girls And Boys" should have been the second single and I agree.

*"The Morning Papers"---The Symbol album was filled with so many strong,catchy,potential hit singles.Unfortunately,this wasn't one of them.It's a decent but uneventful track.

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Reply #2 posted 12/20/23 1:12am

SoulAlive

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.

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Reply #3 posted 12/20/23 4:31am

Mindbells9

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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.




Agreed. Here in Detroit, Eye Hate U and the remix got heavy airplay from Summer'95 through Spring '96. I think his decision not to release the promo video hurt its potential to be a bigger hit.
[Edited 12/20/23 4:32am]
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Reply #4 posted 12/20/23 4:50am

RODSERLING

I Hate U peaked at #12 with it being only 3 days of sales- the single was delayed for a few days, so it killed its chances to be a top 10 or even top 5.
The lack of a video hurt too.

The Holy River was a top 40 pop AirPlay in the US, and peaked at #6 in Europe, IIRC. The previous single, Betcha By Golly Wow! peaked at #1 for 2 weeks (!).

Of course a lot of payola at play here obviously, since it had clearly zero impact on neither the sales of the said singles, nor the album Emancipation.

Facedown is a great track, excellent video, but I don't think it would have been a great lead single. Not enough catchy, too much private jokes to attract a large audience.
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Reply #5 posted 12/20/23 5:04am

leecaldon

Glam Slam and I Wish U Heaven weren't great choices - this was when I was first getting into music as a kid, and I remember seeing a clip of I Wish U Heaven on Top of the Pops and not being too impressed.

.

Although I absolutely love The Greastest Romance Ever Sold, I'm not sure it was the best choice as a lead single (that was my thought the first time I heard it).

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Reply #6 posted 12/20/23 5:08am

RODSERLING

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]
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Reply #7 posted 12/20/23 5:17am

RODSERLING

SoulAlive said:

*"Glam Slam"

*"Mountains"---It's a good song,but not an outstanding one.Many people have said that "Girls And Boys" should have been the second single and I agree.





Girls and Boys was released in Europe instead of Mountains, and the success was not extraordinary neither, to say the least.
Mountains sold 530k copies Worldwide, while Girls & Boys 280k.
Do the maths.
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Reply #8 posted 12/20/23 5:38am

whitesockedfun
k

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RODSERLING said:

SoulAlive said:

*"Glam Slam"

*"Mountains"---It's a good song,but not an outstanding one.Many people have said that "Girls And Boys" should have been the second single and I agree.

Girls and Boys was released in Europe instead of Mountains, and the success was not extraordinary neither, to say the least. Mountains sold 530k copies Worldwide, while Girls & Boys 280k. Do the maths.

Both Mountains and Girls and Boys were released as singles in Europe.

Just like the white winged dove...
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Reply #9 posted 12/20/23 6:57am

RODSERLING

whitesockedfunk said:



RODSERLING said:


SoulAlive said:

*"Glam Slam"


*"Mountains"---It's a good song,but not an outstanding one.Many people have said that "Girls And Boys" should have been the second single and I agree.




Girls and Boys was released in Europe instead of Mountains, and the success was not extraordinary neither, to say the least. Mountains sold 530k copies Worldwide, while Girls & Boys 280k. Do the maths.


Both Mountains and Girls and Boys were released as singles in Europe.



Right, And they did more or less the same numbers there. So there s no reason to believe that Girls and Boys would have done better in the US than what Mountains did (Billboard #23, Cashbox #19)
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Reply #10 posted 12/20/23 8:46am

MattyJam

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RODSERLING said:



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.



Lead singles always do better by virtue of the fact that they are lead singles. MNIP didn't flop because he wore the chain mask in the video, it flopped because it sucked. The majority of Prince fans think it's embarassing, so if the diehard fanbase think that, it doesn't bode well for the casual music listening audience.

7 was a top 10 US hit and possibly could've been much bigger in Europe if they had released it earlier in the album campaign instead of MNIP.
[Edited 12/20/23 8:49am]
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Reply #11 posted 12/20/23 9:42am

leecaldon

MattyJam said:

RODSERLING said:
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.
Lead singles always do better by virtue of the fact that they are lead singles. MNIP didn't flop because he wore the chain mask in the video, it flopped because it sucked. The majority of Prince fans think it's embarassing, so if the diehard fanbase think that, it doesn't bode well for the casual music listening audience. 7 was a top 10 US hit and possibly could've been much bigger in Europe if they had released it earlier in the album campaign instead of MNIP. [Edited 12/20/23 8:49am]

Did My Name is Prince flop? It went Top 10 in the UK, and had massive exposure.

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Reply #12 posted 12/20/23 9:47am

mediumdry

never understood the choice of Gotta Stop Messing About as a single. Never liked the song... not on an album... just never understood it.

Paisley Park is in your heart - Love Is Here!
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Reply #13 posted 12/20/23 10:31am

MattyJam

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leecaldon said:



MattyJam said:


RODSERLING said:
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.

Lead singles always do better by virtue of the fact that they are lead singles. MNIP didn't flop because he wore the chain mask in the video, it flopped because it sucked. The majority of Prince fans think it's embarassing, so if the diehard fanbase think that, it doesn't bode well for the casual music listening audience. 7 was a top 10 US hit and possibly could've been much bigger in Europe if they had released it earlier in the album campaign instead of MNIP. [Edited 12/20/23 8:49am]


Did My Name is Prince flop? It went Top 10 in the UK, and had massive exposure.



Flopped in the US.
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Reply #14 posted 12/20/23 10:56am

nayroo2002

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MattyJam said:

leecaldon said:

Did My Name is Prince flop? It went Top 10 in the UK, and had massive exposure.

Flopped in the US.

Yeah.

There should've been a different long ass video where Prince came back home from an uppidy university and met his old buddy Tony who then calls Prince a "pussy" to which the music starts...

"MY NAME IS PRINCE!!! EYE DID NOT COME 2 FUCK AROUND!!!"

"Whatever skin we're in
we all need 2 b friends"
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Reply #15 posted 12/20/23 11:00am

SoulAlive

RODSERLING said:

whitesockedfunk said:



RODSERLING said:


SoulAlive said:

*"Glam Slam"


*"Mountains"---It's a good song,but not an outstanding one.Many people have said that "Girls And Boys" should have been the second single and I agree.




Girls and Boys was released in Europe instead of Mountains, and the success was not extraordinary neither, to say the least. Mountains sold 530k copies Worldwide, while Girls & Boys 280k. Do the maths.


Both Mountains and Girls and Boys were released as singles in Europe.



Right, And they did more or less the same numbers there. So there s no reason to believe that Girls and Boys would have done better in the US than what Mountains did (Billboard #23, Cashbox #19)


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.
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Reply #16 posted 12/20/23 11:46am

SoulAlive

I like "My Name Is Prince" biggrin I don't know if it was the best choice for a first single,but I enjoy it.That groove is wild!

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Reply #17 posted 12/20/23 12:09pm

pdiddy2011

SoulAlive said:

RODSERLING said:
Right, And they did more or less the same numbers there. So there s no reason to believe that Girls and Boys would have done better in the US than what Mountains did (Billboard #23, Cashbox #19)
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.

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Reply #18 posted 12/20/23 12:21pm

SoulAlive

one problem with Parade is that...once the movie came out (along with all the bad reviews and negative word-of-mouth),it sorta killed the momentum of the album and its singles."Anotherloverholenyohead" is a fantastic song but when it became the third single,it flopped,which really makes no sense.

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Reply #19 posted 12/20/23 12:50pm

RODSERLING

MattyJam said:

RODSERLING said:



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.



Lead singles always do better by virtue of the fact that they are lead singles. MNIP didn't flop because he wore the chain mask in the video, it flopped because it sucked. The majority of Prince fans think it's embarassing, so if the diehard fanbase think that, it doesn't bode well for the casual music listening audience.

7 was a top 10 US hit and possibly could've been much bigger in Europe if they had released it earlier in the album campaign instead of MNIP.
[Edited 12/20/23 8:49am]


Bullshit.
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Reply #20 posted 12/20/23 4:42pm

blacknote

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Te Amo Corazon. Good God what was he thinking releasing this boring song as a lead single????

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Reply #21 posted 12/20/23 6:42pm

lurker316

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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.



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Reply #22 posted 12/20/23 6:47pm

MattyJam

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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.
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Reply #23 posted 12/20/23 10:07pm

funkbabyandthe
babysitters

Lol. Face down? Song has no hook. Princes rap songs (mnip, sexy mf) never did well in the states. Face down would have bombed. It was a promo only single anyway. So they half tried it already.
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Reply #24 posted 12/20/23 10:45pm

MattyJam

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funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

Lol. Face down? Song has no hook. Princes rap songs (mnip, sexy mf) never did well in the states. Face down would have bombed. It was a promo only single anyway. So they half tried it already.

But Face Down is much cooler than MNIP and a much better song.

I disagree that it has no hook - those dark strings in the chorus are very hooky.
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Reply #25 posted 12/21/23 4:01am

leecaldon

blacknote said:

Te Amo Corazon. Good God what was he thinking releasing this boring song as a lead single????

Interesting. I thought it was a good choice. So different from anything he'd done before, very classy, appealing video. It did continue that long run, since TMBGITW of leading with a ballad, which I'm not sure was always the wisest choice.

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Reply #26 posted 12/21/23 4:50am

RODSERLING

leecaldon said:



blacknote said:


Te Amo Corazon. Good God what was he thinking releasing this boring song as a lead single????




Interesting. I thought it was a good choice. So different from anything he'd done before, very classy, appealing video. It did continue that long run, since TMBGITW of leading with a ballad, which I'm not sure was always the wisest choice.



It s a stretch to consider TMBGITW as a leading single IMHO.
Because TGE was released like 18 months after, and didn't include the single version everybody knows, but a strange remix instead.

Black Sweat would have been a better lead single choice, but this and Te Amo Corazon were unheard of the audience, so at this point, that doesn't really matter anyway.
He could have released "Yeah " instead of Usher or "Hey Ya" instead of Outkast, these songs would have flopped at #80 on the hot 100 under his banner.
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Reply #27 posted 12/21/23 6:31am

RJOrion

Face Down as a single?...LOL...Face Down shouldve been buried under the vault...one of Prince's worst creations of all time.
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Reply #28 posted 12/21/23 6:33am

RJOrion

"My Name Is Prince" is a GREAT song.
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Reply #29 posted 12/21/23 6:41am

RODSERLING

Both MNIP and Facedown are great !
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