Ok, I saw performances of both songs this past wknd @ the Fillmore and here's the deal.
They are both ok songs. There's nothing special about either one of them - they're not great, they're not bad. Just ok - and definitely something I would listen to.
Musicology is cut from the same cloth as The Work, Prettyman, etc...not great, not bad. Not radio.
Hey Mr. Man reminds me of Golden Parachute. Again, not great, not bad. Not radio.

Neither song has a chance of being on the radio in their original forms. Remixes? That's a different story. I mean, they somehow keep finding Tupac vocals to produce into new cuts, so sure, anything is possible.

Question - why are so many people hung up on his next releases to be huge hits? Why do you care if Prince has another Top 10 hit...video...etc..? You know you'll buy the album anyways (or at least download it)! You know you'll still go to the shows! If he's not a commercial success again, what's the big deal? Think about all of the great ones of the past....who keeps putting out hits? Stevie? Bowie? G. Clinton? None of 'em. Does it matter? Does it make any of them any less great?

I personally don't care if Prince ever creates another hit ever again. It doesn't matter to me. What matters to me is that he starts to make new, exciting, daring music again! And unfortunately, the Musicology and He Mr. Man singles don't fit that criteria. I thought he was on the right track with Rainbow Children (musically - not lyrically), and I even appreciated the tangent he went off on w/Xpectation & N.E.W.S.....but these songs don't seem like an evolution or progression of any of that. Granted, we haven't heard the rest of the album, so maybe we'll all be pleasantly surprised...stay tuned.

I want Prince to have hits again because he is one of the most talented musicians we have. Sure, I don't love everything he has done but I think he is so much more talented than 99% of what we hear that it is a damn shame that the general public doesn't know he is still around. Most people think of him as an "80's artist" and that's not right. I believe that if he had the proper management/promotion he could have a hit album. Plus, there are many Prince fans who stopped believing in him and I would love to see him release another masterpiece to bring them back into the fold. I do not want Prince to live in the past but I believe he is capable of better music than he is currently making. A return to the top of the charts would be a beautiful thing!

What difference does it make ?

Prince's music is so diverse that it has split his fanbase into factions.
Whatever pleases one group will offend the others.
The instant communication of the internet allow people who do not have opinions to have them.
Was your ideas of Prince's music different before you came onto the ORG ?
Mine are not .

I'm here for the ride .
Enjoy it while you can .

Well I think Prince is incredibly capable of producing hits....just not on his own.

I think the days of the musical genius Prince doing everything on an album and it resulting in hits are long gone.

Why? Because Prince can't relate to that group of young ppl anymore, he's a mature 45 year old man now.

We all know Prince would never pull a Madonna and keep himself updated with the latest "in" producer on his album (in this case Pharrell), so that just means we as fans can't realistically expect any substantial commercial success ever again.

It's not a bad thing though. Every artist eventually sees the day when he or she is no longer commercially viable.

As long as Prince continues to fascinate me with his artistic vision and incredible talent the way he still does, I'll always be very satisfied and grateful.

I think at the end of the day, it comes down to making a living doing what you love.

Prince doesn't make the big bucks from releasing singles anymore, if indeed he ever did even when they sold like hotcakes. Prince probably doesn't even make a lot from the albums he's released over the past few years, even though he'd like us to believe otherwise.

Seems to me the man makes his money from his catalog, and the man makes his money performing. He's at a point where this is all he has to do. And even if he wanted to do otherwise, the music industry is not in a market for veteran musicians right now, nor has it been for quite a while. "Hits" now aren't what they were when Prince was at his height, though that mentality (I hope) seems to be turning around just the eensiest bit lately.

Still and all, the excitement of cracking the shrinkwrap on a new Prince album is not a case of wondering which songs could be hits - it was never like that with me, even in the days when there was already a hit single on the radio when the album came out. It's always just about seeing what our purple weirdo has put together for us this time, and either letting it connect or letting it grow on me or at worst, filing it away and rolling my eyes (coughcoughNPScoughcough)...

I agree with Shock777 - the newer stuff I've heard from Prince hasn't really rocked my world. They're pleasant songs, but nothing's gotten me excited. Of course, I've been hearing them on such mercenary formats - a download here, a clip on a TV show there - maybe when I can sit back and enjoy it all on an album, I'll respond to the music differently. Who knows?