SeventeenDayze said:

When has he ever stood up against racism?

and how about this story. MJ actually wanted to work with Justin and record a duet for "Gone". Even MJ respected the man's talents enough to want to record a song with him and that was at the time he was with N Sync..

[Edited 5/16/14 12:52pm]

TrueFunkSoldier2 said:

and how about this story. MJ actually wanted to work with Justin and record a duet for "Gone". Even MJ respected the man's talents enough to want to record a song with him and that was at the time he was with N Sync..

[Edited 5/16/14 12:52pm]

Good point, but couldn't that also be considered MJ just collecting on JT's debt to him?

I mean, JT has emulated him from day one. Nothing wrong with that. He's literally taken songs MJ rejected. So to the extent JT borrowed some of MJ's shine, maybe this was MJ's was of collecting it back from JT. It happens frequently; legend teams with young, popular would be heir apparent for chart success.

Artesian said:

...and as far as 'white privledge' goes, yeah JT definitely benefits from it...but it's a system that he didn't create and goes way beyond him, so I can't bring myself to be bitter at him about it.

If he knows that he benefits from it then he can use that privilege to teach other white people about it or call them out on it without acting like some white savior.

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Replica said:

Love this, it's the track that sold him to me.

namepeace said:

TrueFunkSoldier2 said:

and how about this story. MJ actually wanted to work with Justin and record a duet for "Gone". Even MJ respected the man's talents enough to want to record a song with him and that was at the time he was with N Sync..

[Edited 5/16/14 12:52pm]

Good point, but couldn't that also be considered MJ just collecting on JT's debt to him?

I mean, JT has emulated him from day one. Nothing wrong with that. He's literally taken songs MJ rejected. So to the extent JT borrowed some of MJ's shine, maybe this was MJ's was of collecting it back from JT. It happens frequently; legend teams with young, popular would be heir apparent for chart success.

It dosen't sound like something Mj would do imo

And this happened before JT's solo career and the rejected songs.

He probably genuinely appreciated Justin's skills and enjoyed the song enough to want to work with him and specifically him without N Sync.. MJ wouldn't work with someone he didn't respect..

[Edited 5/16/14 15:46pm]

Replica said:

BlaqueKnight said:

Never has there been a more mediocre imitator to rise to such heights.

Comparing him to MJ is a joke. There is no comparison.

Michael Jackson rose to where he was because he was phenominal.

Like Prince, he was a talented person given opportunity and no limits.

Justin was and is pure pop product.

Everything about him is manufactured. He is where he is because he has classic American white male LOOKS and can carry a tune well enough to sell merchandise while singing and dancing without being booed off stage.

Michael wasn't a pop star. He BECAME a pop star because he became a musical force that couldn't be denied.

Justin was made into a pop star because he has marketable looks. He looks like the son-in-law/boyfriend/brother that middle class white American families want. His so-called talent is forgettable. He is influenced by R&B but has never excelled at it.

Example. Who ever says they are influenced by Justin Timberlake?

He's been around since the 90s and hasn't influenced anybody.

Michael was influencing people in the 70s.

Enough of this nonsense.

Q: Does Justin Timberlake think he's Michael Jackson?

A: It doesn't matter what Justin thinks he is.

This thread is full of Justin apologists. Defend somebody worth defending.

Justin has only been good at exploiting and imitating.

[Edited 5/16/14 11:03am]

I'll always rank MJ way over JT, but can you seriously say that this song sounds like MJ



It's just as much Marvin Gay, Al Green, Prince etc... than Michael. D'Angelo sounds more like Prince than JT does MJ, R.Kelly sounds a duplicate of MJ on the Love Letter album compared to this. If we're talking about the new MJ album, then yeah, he's actually showing how much of an influence he is to honor him. Anyways Justing is not the strongest live artist, but he is creative in the studio. Delivers funky background vocal arrangements etc that are some of the most exciting in pop rnb today. I'm not just a pop dude. I listen to punk, underground hip hop, and the biggest part of my vinyl record collection is funk/soul. I have heard a bit. I own anything important by MJ. JT is not on his level, but if you compare him to whatever else that is popular right now. Can you name one artist that deliver a better total package? Besides maybe Bruno Mars, which I think is a bit too soft imo, although a huge talent!

exacly. Justin can make great songs without even sounding like MJ. His second album sounded more like Prince than Mj and was a great followup. and the fact that he's able to write great songs and hit the charts is a big talent itself.. Prince with all the talents in the world can't even get a hit nowadays..

And many music heads like us enjoy his work. Even guys like Questlove who is a reknowned big music head enjoys his work. His first album alone is arguably a mordern day classic pop album (and I'm gona get flamed for saying this ).

He's far from the manufactued N Sync days which he frowns upon. He genuinely enjoys the music he makes and most people do too. Nobody is acting like he's changing music or is the greatest at anything but at the end of the day he is one of the best music entertainers of our time..

[Edited 5/16/14 15:42pm]

I just saw a news story about the new song released from MJ's album. Why did the news call it "Justin & Michael'' instead of Michael & Justin? The original song itself doesn't feature JT, so why are they making a big deal out of JT?

TrueFunkSoldier2 said:

Replica said:

I'll always rank MJ way over JT, but can you seriously say that this song sounds like MJ



It's just as much Marvin Gay, Al Green, Prince etc... than Michael. D'Angelo sounds more like Prince than JT does MJ, R.Kelly sounds a duplicate of MJ on the Love Letter album compared to this. If we're talking about the new MJ album, then yeah, he's actually showing how much of an influence he is to honor him. Anyways Justing is not the strongest live artist, but he is creative in the studio. Delivers funky background vocal arrangements etc that are some of the most exciting in pop rnb today. I'm not just a pop dude. I listen to punk, underground hip hop, and the biggest part of my vinyl record collection is funk/soul. I have heard a bit. I own anything important by MJ. JT is not on his level, but if you compare him to whatever else that is popular right now. Can you name one artist that deliver a better total package? Besides maybe Bruno Mars, which I think is a bit too soft imo, although a huge talent!

exacly. Justin can make great songs without even sounding like MJ. His second album sounded more like Prince than Mj and was a great followup. and the fact that he's able to write great songs and hit the charts is a big talent itself.. Prince with all the talents in the world can't even get a hit nowadays..

And many music heads like us enjoy his work. Even guys like Questlove who is a reknowned big music head enjoys his work. His first album alone is arguably a mordern day classic pop album (and I'm gona get flamed for saying this ).

He's far from the manufactued N Sync days which he frowns upon. He genuinely enjoys the music he makes and most people do too. Nobody is acting like he's changing music or is the greatest at anything but at the end of the day he is one of the best music entertainers of our time..

[Edited 5/16/14 15:42pm]

>

Yeah you did just say that!

CynicKill said:

TrueFunkSoldier2 said:

exacly. Justin can make great songs without even sounding like MJ. His second album sounded more like Prince than Mj and was a great followup. and the fact that he's able to write great songs and hit the charts is a big talent itself.. Prince with all the talents in the world can't even get a hit nowadays..

And many music heads like us enjoy his work. Even guys like Questlove who is a reknowned big music head enjoys his work. His first album alone is arguably a mordern day classic pop album (and I'm gona get flamed for saying this ).

He's far from the manufactued N Sync days which he frowns upon. He genuinely enjoys the music he makes and most people do too. Nobody is acting like he's changing music or is the greatest at anything but at the end of the day he is one of the best music entertainers of our time..

[Edited 5/16/14 15:42pm]

>

Yeah you did just say that!

dosen't sound like you agree with me

so you don't believe that being able to write hit songs is a talent?

even Prince who is clearly more talented than he is can't come up with one anymore.. that's what i meant.

[Edited 5/17/14 2:56am]

TrueFunkSoldier2 said:

MotownSubdivision said:

TrueFunkSoldier2 said:

dosen't sound like you agree with me

so you don't believe that being able to write hit songs is a talent?

even Prince who is clearly more talented than he is can't come up with one.. that's what i meant.

That's an irrelevant comparison. Of course Prince, an artist who's been making music since the 70s and is associated with the 80s isn't going to have a song on the charts today. JT is strictly a singer from this generation. In 10 or so years his name will slide off the charts just like any other standard artist's does.

Prince hasn't had a hit song since early 90s though.

He didn't lose that ability just now

with the amount of music released and attempts at being relevant again you would expect him to get at least one in the past 20 years.

Also, MJ had hits in 3 different decades. that was not an excuse for Mike.

ALl i'm saying is it takes talent (obviously) whether some like JT's songs or not to get hits even in today's charts...

and even if JT stops having hits in a decade he's gona be have a longer period of having hits than Prince.

[Edited 5/17/14 14:56pm]

Stop that nonsense. You know very well what type of artists have had a chance in radio during the last 10-15 years. Prince has not been completely excluded from the mainstream, but he resides too much in the "grey area" between pop and alternative music for him to get so much airplay that he'd get his singles in heavy rotation.

novabrkr said:

Stop that nonsense. You know very well what type of artists have had a chance in radio during the last 10-15 years. Prince has not been completely excluded from the mainstream, but he resides too much in the "grey area" between pop and alternative music for him to get so much airplay that he'd get his singles in heavy rotation.

Many rnb artists and rock artists have had hits in the past 20 years and Prince can do both genres.

and let's not act like Prince hasn't tried to have a hit in the past 20 years. He even tried recently with the techno influenced song "Fallinlove2nite"

[Edited 5/17/14 5:08am]

You know damn well that once you're out of the airwaves it's really hard to get back there for any older artists. The few names that have made "a comeback" have been treated as if their music would possess some sort of novelty value (Cher's "Believe" comes to mind).

My point is not that Prince has not failed in his efforts to get his songs in the radio, but that his focus has obviously been elsewhere for a good while now. Just like it has been with most of the artists of his generation that have managed to preserve their artistic integrity.

Have David Bowie or Radiohead had massive radiohits lately?

Replica said:

BlaqueKnight said:

Never has there been a more mediocre imitator to rise to such heights.

Comparing him to MJ is a joke. There is no comparison.

Michael Jackson rose to where he was because he was phenominal.

Like Prince, he was a talented person given opportunity and no limits.

Justin was and is pure pop product.

Everything about him is manufactured. He is where he is because he has classic American white male LOOKS and can carry a tune well enough to sell merchandise while singing and dancing without being booed off stage.

Michael wasn't a pop star. He BECAME a pop star because he became a musical force that couldn't be denied.

Justin was made into a pop star because he has marketable looks. He looks like the son-in-law/boyfriend/brother that middle class white American families want. His so-called talent is forgettable. He is influenced by R&B but has never excelled at it.

Example. Who ever says they are influenced by Justin Timberlake?

He's been around since the 90s and hasn't influenced anybody.

Michael was influencing people in the 70s.

Enough of this nonsense.

Q: Does Justin Timberlake think he's Michael Jackson?

A: It doesn't matter what Justin thinks he is.

This thread is full of Justin apologists. Defend somebody worth defending.

Justin has only been good at exploiting and imitating.

[Edited 5/16/14 11:03am]

It's just as much Marvin Gay, Al Green, Prince etc... than Michael. D'Angelo sounds more like Prince than JT does MJ, R.Kelly sounds a duplicate of MJ on the Love Letter album compared to this. If we're talking about the new MJ album, then yeah, he's actually showing how much of an influence he is to honor him. Anyways Justing is not the strongest live artist, but he is creative in the studio. Delivers funky background vocal arrangements etc that are some of the most exciting in pop rnb today. I'm not just a pop dude. I listen to punk, underground hip hop, and the biggest part of my vinyl record collection is funk/soul. I have heard a bit. I own anything important by MJ. JT is not on his level, but if you compare him to whatever else that is popular right now. Can you name one artist that deliver a better total package? Besides maybe Bruno Mars, which I think is a bit too soft imo, although a huge talent!

Stop. Just stop. You sound like you don't know jack about R&B right about now.

In no corner of and circle of hell does Timberlake sound like Marvin Gaye. Have you ever even heard Al Green? [img:$uid]http://s27.postimg.org/furmjzvlb/cmonson.gif[/img:$uid]

That shit is absurd. You invalidate any opinions you have when you say something like that.

That is like saying Carly Rae Jepsen sounds like Whitney Houston.

Secondly, I didn't say everything he does sounds exactly like MJ. IHe is STRONGLY influenced by MJ. Even in Pusher Love GIrl, the chorus sounds like something he thinks Mike would have done. He tries to cleverly mask some of what he does but people who really know Mike's vocal style know when he's masking. I never said MJ was his only influenc e but he is obviously his biggest influence.

For the record, I don't blame him for being influenced by MJ; many artists are. I blame him for being so mediocre and I blame mass marketing for making him acceptable without being ecxeptional.

[Edited 5/17/14 5:39am]

novabrkr said:

You know damn well that once you're out of the airwaves it's really hard to get back there for any older artists. The few names that have made "a comeback" have been treated as if their music would possess some sort of novelty value (Cher's "Believe" comes to mind).

My point is not that Prince has not failed in his efforts to get his songs in the radio, but that his focus has obviously been elsewhere for a good while now. Just like it has been with most of the artists of his generation that have managed to preserve their artistic integrity.

Have David Bowie or Radiohead had massive radiohits lately?

so what does that mean? Prince can't get back on the airwwaves because of radio or because he can't write songs that deserve to be hits anymore? I choose the latter

I agree that he dosen't focus mainly on having hits but when he tries to he dosen't succeed.

Rave .. that didn't go too well..

He tried to have one with "Black Sweat" and didn't..

I think David Bowie had a top 10 hit single in the uk with "where are we now".. as for Radiohead they were never known to have hits unlike Prince..

[Edited 5/17/14 6:22am]

TrueFunkSoldier2 said:

novabrkr said:

You know damn well that once you're out of the airwaves it's really hard to get back there for any older artists. The few names that have made "a comeback" have been treated as if their music would possess some sort of novelty value (Cher's "Believe" comes to mind).

My point is not that Prince has not failed in his efforts to get his songs in the radio, but that his focus has obviously been elsewhere for a good while now. Just like it has been with most of the artists of his generation that have managed to preserve their artistic integrity.

Have David Bowie or Radiohead had massive radiohits lately?

so what does that mean? Prince can't get back on the airwwaves because of radio or because he can't write songs that deserve to be hits anymore? I choose the latter

I agree that he dosen't focus mainly on having hits but when he tries to he dosen't succeed.

Rave .. that didn't go too well..

He tried to have one with "Black Sweat" and didn't..

I think David Bowie had a top 10 hit single in the uk with "where are we now".. as for Radiohead they were never known to have hits unlike Prince..

[Edited 5/17/14 6:22am]

It probably means both.

The way I view his career is that Rave was pretty much his last chance to return to the radio, but since he failed with it the focus shifted elsewhere. The few efforts his had at trying to come up with "hits" have seemed to be of secondary importance to him. You know what the fans have already commented on that issue.

Bowie's recent "hit" with "Where Are We Now" had nothing to do with the song as such, but because it was the first thing he released in ages and people had been missing him. With a more normal release schedule that song would have been no doubt overlooked completely. It had no intrinsic hit value as such.

Radiohead was mentioned as an example because they've also chosen to release their music in unorthodox ways after record sales started declining. They did have hits in the UK and Europe in the 1990s. Their videos were certainly in heavy rotation then. I'd say very much like when Prince was at his peak as the critics' favourite.

The point was just that once you're out, you're generally out. Nothing to be ashamed of it. It's not a sign of "failure" for older artists.

[Edited 5/17/14 6:52am]

novabrkr said:

TrueFunkSoldier2 said:

so what does that mean? Prince can't get back on the airwwaves because of radio or because he can't write songs that deserve to be hits anymore? I choose the latter

I agree that he dosen't focus mainly on having hits but when he tries to he dosen't succeed.

Rave .. that didn't go too well..

He tried to have one with "Black Sweat" and didn't..

I think David Bowie had a top 10 hit single in the uk with "where are we now".. as for Radiohead they were never known to have hits unlike Prince..

[Edited 5/17/14 6:22am]

It probably means both.

The way I view his career is that Rave was pretty much his last chance to return to the radio, but since he failed with it the focus shifted elsewhere. The few efforts his had at trying to come up with "hits" have seemed to be of secondary importance to him. You know what the fans have already commented on that issue.

Bowie's recent "hit" with "Where Are We Now" had nothing to do with the song as such, but because it was the first thing he released in ages and people had been missing him. With a more normal release schedule that song would have been no doubt overlooked completely. It had no intrinsic hit value as such.

Radiohead was mentioned as an example because they've also chosen to release their music in unorthodox ways after record sales started declining. They did have hits in the UK and Europe in the 1990s. Their videos were certainly in heavy rotation then. I'd say very much like when Prince was at his peak as the critics' favourite.

The point was just that once you're out, you're generally out. Nothing to be ashamed of it. It's not a sign of "failure" for older artists.

Rave might have been his last chance but he's the only one to blame for it not having the impact he hoped for. None of the songs on that album sounded like a hit. You and I probably agree on this

and even if being on the radio was of first importance to him he wouldn't end up on it anyway

because he has lost the ability to write popular songs for a while now.. and i do believe he somewhat cares bout his new music not being played since he complains about it

I admittedly don't follow David Bowie's career very closely but i doubt he's been nearly as interested as Prince in having more hits in the past 2 decades.

As for Radiohead.. cmon they have never been considered a pop act like Prince

[Edited 5/17/14 7:47am]

TrueFunkSoldier2 said:

None of the songs on that album sounded like a hit.

and even if being on the radio was of first importance he wouldn't end up on it anyway

What exactly does a hit sound like? All types of songs became hits. Did Don't Worry Be Happy by Bobby Mcferrin sound like a hit? It was a acapella song in the mid 1980's. How about La Bamba by Los Lobos which was in Spanish or Rock Me Amedeus a German rap song or Natalie Cole overdubbing her voice on her father's Unforgettable. Getting radio play has more to do with payola and sometimes luck. Carl Douglas' Kung Fu Fighting was the b-side of the song that was being promoted to radio, but DJ's flipped it over. Barry White first got radio airplay because some club DJ's in New York City started playing Love's Theme and it became really popular in the clubs. Disco Inferno was released as a single in 1976, but was mostly ignored. Then a year later it was put on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack and became a hit. When I'm With You by Sheriff originally came out in 1982 and didn't do anything. The same exact song was re-released in 1988 and became a big hit (USA). It wasn't re-recorded, it was the same version. I don't think the group still existed in 1988. Why did songs like this fail, and then later became a hit?

.

There's also songs that became hits more than once like The Twist by Chubby Checker, What A Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong, Stand By Me by Ben E. King, and The Contours Do You Love Me. Most of them were decades after they first came out. Then there were remixes of old songs that became hits: It's Like That ~ Run DMC, A Little Less Conversation/Rubberneckin ~ Elvis Presley, Farewell My Summer Love ~ Michael Jackson

TrueFunkSoldier2 said:

Rave might have been his last chance but he's the only one to blame for it not having the impact he hoped for. None of the songs on that album sounded like a hit. You and I probably agree on this

and even if being on the radio was of first importance to him he wouldn't end up on it anyway

because he has lost the ability to write popular songs for a while now.. and i do believe he somewhat cares bout his new music not being played since he complains about it

I admittedly don't follow David Bowie's career very closely but i doubt he's been nearly as interested as Prince in having more hits in the past 2 decades.

As for Radiohead.. cmon they have never been considered a pop act like Prince

[Edited 5/17/14 7:47am]

Don't be c'mon'ing me on Radiohead

I know that many people automatically view their type of alternative rock as somehow opposed to the idea of popular music, but there's a huge buying audience for it. Moreso than there has existed for funk-based music in decades. Is Kid A really more uncommercial than TRC? I don't think that's the case. They had their hits back in the day at least with "Creep", "Paranoid Android" and "Karma Police", and I've always considered them pretty easy to digest. There's actually a big US grunge influence there.

But again, the comparison was made on the basis of them having favoured unorthodox release methods after gaining a solid listener base. That's what's similar there with Prince.

Had Prince wanted to maintain his "skills" as a hit-maker it probably would have meant that his music would have changed a lot in the 00s. There's barely anything similar with Madonna's 80s output and the singles from "Hard Candy", right? It's not what I would have wanted from him. Not even a Pharrell collaboration, or anything like that.

[Edited 5/17/14 8:45am]

Derek1984 said:

mjscarousal said:

JT is a phony overrated 2014 Elvis. He is not that deep and folks need to stop drinking the white media's kool aid because that is all it is. The thing about JT that turns me off specifically is his fakeness. He is SO fake and contrived. He TRIES to have soul. He TRIES to dance. He TRIES to imitate black music. There is nothing organic or natural about anything he does. He has a handful of catchy songs but nothing groundbreaking. He is pretty average all around and there are a more talented, organic, pop artists. Ex. Bruno Mars

Really? Because Bruno Mars completely ripped off a Breakbot song with Treasure. Bruno Mars asked his for permission, the label said no, and he went ahead and did it anyways.

I don't think Bruno is "original" either but it doesnt seem like he "tries hard". His talent, performances etc seem more natural.

SeventeenDayze said:

Of course he's gonna say that he's not on MJ's level, he's not going to just outright admit that he's a copy cat. I will never understand why some people are in denial about JT and his questionable relationship with black artists. Some people haven't done their homework I see. Do a google search on Pat Boone and Little Richard. The white artists studied the black artists and then would perform the same song that was able to get airplay whereas the black artists could not do the same thing. All I am saying is that Justin clearly enjoys imitating the black sound but has absolutely no other connection besides that. When has he ever stood up against racism? Does he produce young black artists himself? The answer is no.

[Edited 5/16/14 12:40pm]

Great post!

MickyDolenz said:

TrueFunkSoldier2 said:

None of the songs on that album sounded like a hit.

and even if being on the radio was of first importance he wouldn't end up on it anyway

What exactly does a hit sound like? All types of songs became hits. Did Don't Worry Be Happy by Bobby Mcferrin sound like a hit? It was a acapella song in the mid 1980's. How about La Bamba by Los Lobos which was in Spanish or Rock Me Amedeus a German rap song or Natalie Cole overdubbing her voice on her father's Unforgettable. Getting radio play has more to do with payola and sometimes luck. Carl Douglas' Kung Fu Fighting was the b-side of the song that was being promoted to radio, but DJ's flipped it over. Barry White first got radio airplay because some club DJ's in New York City started playing Love's Theme and it became really popular in the clubs. Disco Inferno was released as a single in 1976, but was mostly ignored. Then a year later it was put on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack and became a hit. When I'm With You by Sheriff originally came out in 1982 and didn't do anything. The same exact song was re-released in 1988 and became a big hit (USA). It wasn't re-recorded, it was the same version. I don't think the group still existed in 1988. Why did songs like this fail, and then later became a hit?

.

There's also songs that became hits more than once like The Twist by Chubby Checker, What A Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong, Stand By Me by Ben E. King, and The Contours Do You Love Me. Most of them were decades after they first came out. Then there were remixes of old songs that became hits: It's Like That ~ Run DMC, A Little Less Conversation/Rubberneckin ~ Elvis Presley, Farewell My Summer Love ~ Michael Jackson

that's a tough question.

one thing that seems common with the songs you mentioned is strong choruses but different eras have different criterias i guess.

They have a classic feel to them so it's not surprising they became hits.

You kinda know when you hear a song for the first time that it has potential.

with most recent Prince songs I don't really hear a potential that it will blow up.

A song that takes more than 1 listen to be enjoyed nowadays probably isn't gona be a hit

I think the first time in a while many Prince fans really thought had a hit again was with "fallinlove2nite" but that didn't do it.

[Edited 5/17/14 9:36am]

TrueFunkSoldier2 said:

that's a tough question.

I didn't go through all the song titles you mentioned but one thing that seems common with the songs you mentioned is strong choruses but different eras have different criterias i guess.

They have a classic feel to them so it's not surprising they became hits.

You kinda know when you hear a song for the first time that it has potential.

with most recent Prince songs I don't really hear a potential that it will blow up.

A song that takes more than 1 listen to be enjoyed nowadays probably isn't gona be a hit

I think the first time in a while many Prince fans really thought had a hit again was with "fallinlove2nite" but that didn't do it.

Those Gregorian chant records in the early 1990s were really popular and there were no strong choruses. Intrumental songs have no choruses at all, and some have become hits. Many acts have songs with catchy hooks, but are on small labels that don't have the funds to get them on the radio. There's thousands of records released each year, they can't all get on the radio or become hits. There's also the case where I mentioned that some songs failed to catch on when released, but happened to become a hit years later. It's the same song, why didn't it become a hit the first time? Lots of songs get played on the radio too, and they don't become hits either. There's songs that are popular but were never big hits, like Bad To The Bone by George Thorogood and Stairway To Heaven by Led Zeppelin. Gospel and blues records often have strong choruses, but they rarely become hits.

.

This was a hit, but does it have a catchy chorus?:

The 00s have had a loooot of #1's that have not really been catchy. It's often been more about the production style or the performers having a quality to them that young audiences could idenfity themselves with easily.

BlaqueKnight said:

Replica said:

It's just as much Marvin Gay, Al Green, Prince etc... than Michael. D'Angelo sounds more like Prince than JT does MJ, R.Kelly sounds a duplicate of MJ on the Love Letter album compared to this. If we're talking about the new MJ album, then yeah, he's actually showing how much of an influence he is to honor him. Anyways Justing is not the strongest live artist, but he is creative in the studio. Delivers funky background vocal arrangements etc that are some of the most exciting in pop rnb today. I'm not just a pop dude. I listen to punk, underground hip hop, and the biggest part of my vinyl record collection is funk/soul. I have heard a bit. I own anything important by MJ. JT is not on his level, but if you compare him to whatever else that is popular right now. Can you name one artist that deliver a better total package? Besides maybe Bruno Mars, which I think is a bit too soft imo, although a huge talent!

Stop. Just stop. You sound like you don't know jack about R&B right about now.

In no corner of and circle of hell does Timberlake sound like Marvin Gaye. Have you ever even heard Al Green? [img:$uid]http://s27.postimg.org/furmjzvlb/cmonson.gif[/img:$uid]

That shit is absurd. You invalidate any opinions you have when you say something like that.

That is like saying Carly Rae Jepsen sounds like Whitney Houston.

Secondly, I didn't say everything he does sounds exactly like MJ. IHe is STRONGLY influenced by MJ. Even in Pusher Love GIrl, the chorus sounds like something he thinks Mike would have done. He tries to cleverly mask some of what he does but people who really know Mike's vocal style know when he's masking. I never said MJ was his only influenc e but he is obviously his biggest influence.

For the record, I don't blame him for being influenced by MJ; many artists are. I blame him for being so mediocre and I blame mass marketing for making him acceptable without being ecxeptional.

[Edited 5/17/14 5:39am]

Exactly! He's the product of marketing and heavy production. He does have some talent but he's not the second coming of MJ. I cringe sometimes when I see how he's a brazen copy cat. I remember a beer commercial he was in a while back and it was playing one of his tracks while he was trying to dance in a black night club or something. I guess it must be fun to have only a recreational relationship with those that you imitate and then be offered up to the masses as some kind of extraordinary RnB singer......

MickyDolenz said:

TrueFunkSoldier2 said:

that's a tough question.

I didn't go through all the song titles you mentioned but one thing that seems common with the songs you mentioned is strong choruses but different eras have different criterias i guess.

They have a classic feel to them so it's not surprising they became hits.

You kinda know when you hear a song for the first time that it has potential.

with most recent Prince songs I don't really hear a potential that it will blow up.

A song that takes more than 1 listen to be enjoyed nowadays probably isn't gona be a hit

I think the first time in a while many Prince fans really thought had a hit again was with "fallinlove2nite" but that didn't do it.

Those Gregorian chant records in the early 1990s were really popular and there were no strong choruses. Intrumental songs have no choruses at all, and some have become hits. Many acts have songs with catchy hooks, but are on small labels that don't have the funds to get them on the radio. There's thousands of records released each year, they can't all get on the radio or become hits. There's also the case where I mentioned that some songs failed to catch on when released, but happened to become a hit years later. It's the same song, why didn't it become a hit the first time? Lots of songs get played on the radio too, and they don't become hits either. There's songs that are popular but were never big hits, like Bad To The Bone by George Thorogood and Stairway To Heaven by Led Zeppelin. Gospel and blues records often have strong choruses, but they rarely become hits.

.

This was a hit, but does it have a catchy chorus?:

there is no definitive answer to what a hit sounds like.

As i said you gotta consider different periods too. The song you posted was at a time the dirty south dumbed down rap songs was trending. It reminded me of the horrible "Laffy taffy" (thx for that )

but in many many cases radio choruses are very catchy (obviously)

did MJ the king of pop ever have any hit songs without a catchy chorus.

ANd yes some songs can be unfairly treated by the radio but do you really feel that's the case

with the music Prince has been putting out for the past 20 years??

As i said generally you know based off one listen if a song has potential.

A song like "Breakdown" for example won't become one because it's supposed to be one of those grower songs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecw7dVKb8A4 This is a video of the Charlie Wilson tribute at the BET awards last year. JT is about three minutes into this. The crowd didn't seem to react once he started singing, unlike the others (Pharell and Snoop). By the way, I don't know how to properly upload Youtube videos on here so if someone could repost the video with the properly display that would be great

[Edited 5/17/14 11:29am]