so much discussion about these artist and about how radio, mtv, etc...don't play the songs/videos....

The reality is their music is not as relavent as it was, Madonna - how many times can this woman "change"???....1st she was catholic, then jewish, then kabbala... then it was street than french, than spanish, the english....too much work.

MJ: where do we even begin...Thriller was the "shit", but Thriller (pt2) "Bad", Thriller (pt3) "Dangerous", Thriller (pt4) "Invincible"...damn Mike change your sound...people get confused. Oh by the way blaming Tommy Mottola for not buying your album was a "crock"...put music out that people will buy. Also hire a new dance instructor those same moves you have been doing since the 80's is a joke and predictable. "sharing your bed with young boys" will be hard to shake in the general publics eye.

Janet: "nipple gate" was the best thing that happen to you, without that happening how many people would of bought Damita Jo??? You gave your career over to JD who had a history of making hits of newer artists...not you....
Don't blame your record company that they didn't promote your album, your on talk shows and radio...people knew you were putting it out...too bad they didn't show up....

Prince: the name change killed your career, boycotting radio, MTV, major labels didn't help. You signed the contract in "92", didn't you read it??? You should of fired your lawyers for letting you sign it..instead of blaming WB's. Now you're playing Vegas..does a free cocktail come with the show???

it just seems to me that it's always someone else's fault when thier record tanks...we just need to accept they facts they these artist are past their prime...kids today don't get that excited over artist over their 40's

Mariah...your next!!!!

avasdad said:

So what you're saying is that any artist who's 40 years old and over needs to retire?

avasdad said:

You made some good points. However, I think most of these artist's futures, if any, remains in touring. Good to hear Janet will tour in 2007. (While it might not help album sales, it will put some money in her pocket.) As for MJ, he can continue living off other people till he decides to tour or release (as you would call it) "Thriller 5." Prince and Vegas won't last, and as long as Prince tours, and plays "1999" and "Let's Go Crazy" touring will be enough for him and his music to "live on." Madonna, same goes for her.

These artist's money-making futures aren't in their "new albums" but "new tours."

so what if their prime is over. would you rather continue to support them in shows and listen to past or current music,

or listen to the stuff on the radio today?

we live in a world where things are born,grow,diminish and die.


nobody stays on top forever.

that goes for regular people as well as those in the spotlight.

it's what "growing up" means to you, personally.

i'm 33 going on 34. and i love it.

stretch marks,laugh lines.gray hair,etc.

these are what i call "Life's Medals"

so if you got em'.wear it with pride..you've earned them.

so you find that you're not as "fast" as you used to be?

that's nature's way of slowing you down to smell the roses you walked so fast by when in your youth.

avasdad said:

Well thank God 4 all the people you mentioned cause today's music is crap!!I'm glad that I can sit back and listen 2 their music past and present...cause honestly if todays music was all I had 2 listen 2 I would prolly blow my freakin brains out!!....not really but ya'll get what I'm sayin!!

Well,I agree with u about 3 of 'em!

Krytonite said:

Sorry to burst your bubble, but nothing on Dangerous sounded like Thriller. I noticed that you didn't put HIStory into the equation. If you had, you could have said that NOTHING on HIStory even remotely sounded like Thriller.HIStory was Michael's most personal album and one of his best albums. Now to Invincible, NOTHING on Invincible sounded like Thriller. Just curious as to why any of these albums would be compared to Thriller, since all of them were different; and yes, MJ did change his style with all of them. Of course, you are entitled to your opinion, I just want to point out that NONE of these albums were Thriller Part2, 3 or 4.
Oops, here I go again, defending MJ. Oh well, that's what happens when you don't agree with what others say.

sexxydancer said:

LOL!! but you have to agree all of em are better than artist that are out now!!

IMO!!

avasdad said:

This years No Shit Sherlock award goes to.....

JasonStar said:

iconsweat said:

Maybe Madonna doesn't sell as much as she used to in the US, but i believe in the rest of the world she still sells huge numbers....so i don't see her time is over..."hung up" was all over the place and one of her biggest hits....

I haven't had more than a passing fancy bout any of the artist that were mentioned in the start of this thread since bout the mid 90s.

Maybe its just me but I'm always looking for new artist to listen to and explore whats going on in the here and now.

I think the only group that I still find current from the 80s would be U2 or R.E.M and from the last cd from each I'm thinking of moving on.

avasdad said:

The irony, of course, is that what you wrote is exactly what people said about Mariah when they wrote her off in 2001. I wouldn't write any of these people off, as they all have loyal fanbases and a huge back catalogue that new generations are constantly discovering.

All four of these artists still have much more star power and are much more interesting and entertaining than anyone who has come out in the past decade.

tonyat said:

Well,u're right about that!

Moonbeam said:

Exactly, any of the above people, just doing an interview gets more press then any of today's stars being involved in a 'scandal.' People need to realize that the stars of 'today' will never equal the stars of 'yesterday' (If you really want to use those terms. I disagree. Calling MJ, Prince, Janet and Madonna yesterday is silly. These artists are closer to timeless, then yesterday IMO.)

avasdad said:

This is true though. Sure, established artists that have been in the business for a long time will always have their loyal fans, but it's true that kids aren't going to go out and buy their albums. The majority of them anyway.

Music is way too focused on image these days, so they're really not going to care about some "old" person that's still putting out albums. They'd rather watch Pussycat Dolls videos or something for the eye-candy factor instead.

And that was my over-generalizing post of the day folks. Spoken like a true old person.

iconsweat said:

I twas thinking the same thing!

For some odd reason though, I'd rather hear any of these "past prime" artists anyday over most of the crap on Top 40

thekidsgirl said:

thekidsgirl said:

Same here, don't get me wrong. I think they are well past their prime and know that kids dont really care too much about those atists, but I think they are still doing good work and prefer them to many of todays current artists as well.

Well, for the most part, when they put out worthy material, it does sell. Madonna's last CD might not have sold as many copies as The Immaculate Collection, but the music industry is in a different place now. For an album of dance music released in 2005, I think it sold better than most people could've anticipated. Plus, her Confessions tour was huge, as was her 2004 tour.

Janet's last album didn't sell because it isn't very good. If her next album is worthwhile, and she can actually get off her ass and do some press, I still think she can sell.

I think P and MJ are in a different boat, though. P hasn't really been a huge "pop" star since the mid-90s. Other than the Musicology thing, P really hasn't connected with a mass audience since 'Most Beautiful Girl'. However, the last time he went on the road, he was a massive draw. There is still some interest there.

MJ has just become such a joke that I don't know if he can ever recover. But I think this has less to do with him being "past his prime" and more to do with the godawful PR he has accumulated since the early '90s.

Axchi696 said:

I can see what you're saying, but I don't really buy into the "good sells and bad doesn't" theory. Bottom line is it's all about publicity. Music somehow sold more than Erotica even though it's a vastly inferior record. The Velvet Rope should have sold way more than janet. but the single choices were crap. Janet has been at a disadvantage for promo ever since Richard Branson departed Virgin. Now that her contract is up, hopefully she will go somewhere else, maybe to Island Def Jam.
[Edited 11/25/06 11:52am]

VoicesCarry said:

She may end up having to go to K-tel

iconsweat said:

No, she can easily get a multi-album deal at one of the majors at a reduced price. Same as Mariah after Glitter.

Virgin is the kind of company that pays Mariah not to sing and couldn't sell gold plating to Donald Trump.

I think that, because all 4 of these artists were such big stars at there peak, they're still expected to sell like they did in the past. Which sucks. I mean, look at Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney. They're still great artists with a VERY great back catalogue, but there last CDs sold shit.

I think the one that's still very much relevant today is Madonna. Sure, COADF might not have sold like her past work, but it sold pretty decently for a dance album in the US, not to mention that her international sales were alot higher. Plus, it scored a Top 10 hit with Hung Up, and the tour was a big success.

I think Prince has made a pretty good recovery from his 90s period. His last 2 albums were his best in years, and his last tour was a major success. Is he still a major pop star? Maybe not, but he's certainly become an influential musician, and that's the important thing.

Janet could make a comeback, but I think she has to make an album thats more true to her sound rather than try to compete with all the Ciara's of todays pop world. Granted, I thought 20 Y.O. was a step in the right direction. If she makes an album that REALLY is like her past work, she may or may not get high sales, but she'll get critical appreciation at least.

MJ...he's become such a joke. If he's gonna make a comeback, it's going to be really hard. He had an oppurtunity with Invincible, but that didnt work. Obviously, alot more has happened since then, and now he's known as this weird looking pedophile rather than a great performer. Prince was also like him in the weirdness factor, but at least he didnt get TOO weird and was able to reclaim his image. I wish him well with the CD he's making, but I can imagine that returning to the road of glory is gonna be tough.

newskin69 said:

This is true. But no one sells like they used to.



Confessions was pretty huge, both in the US and globally. I mean it sold 1.5 million in the US, which is huge for anyone these days. It's not huge compared to her past successes, as you said.



I agree.



20 Y.O. was pretty good. First, she trimmed the tracklisting down to 11 songs or so, which was much better than the bloated albums she'd been releasing for a while. Then there's some really good tracks on there, like Enjoy, which I think is the best thing she's cut in 10 years. There's a lot of songs I like on there. At any rate, she just needs to never work with Jermaine again, and to branch out with her producers (although she's been doing a pretty good job of that the last two releases). People will have to get over seeing a black tit, though.



I'm worried since I heard he's working with will.i.am or something? Very disturbing. I wish he'd just write songs on his own and then hire a really good producer and not try to aim himself at the contemporary market. I know he can do this.

Totally agree