Devin Posted May 1 Posted May 1 bday music fit its time, back when hype and crunk r&b was huge. 4 was more risk-taking imo. bc the music was a return to the traditional r&b format (that the world moved on from) and she added a modern touch to it. self titled is when things got experimental.
ShouldersSideways Posted May 1 Posted May 1 11 minutes ago, Iyanla, Fix Me said: B'Day is a more exciting and experimental album. 4 is a well rounded body of work but in a lot of ways is not experimental or forward thinking (outside of RTW which sucks). I Miss You isn't all that exciting, but I do think it was a bit experimental at the time. A lot of R&B that came out later sounds like it because of Frank so it doesn't seem so unique in hindsight.
ToraeGilt Posted May 1 Posted May 1 CC predicted to stay top 5 on billboard 200 with 56k. I'm genuinely shocked because where are these sales/streams coming from? 1
ariesgroove Posted May 1 Posted May 1 thought we was album ranking again it's just bday vs 4 talk WHEW
AxelFox Posted May 1 Posted May 1 2 hours ago, Lose My Breath said: ironically she ruined both albums with those terrible updated tracklists Hell no, the only reason there's even an argument for 4 over B'Day is BECAUSE of the expanded version Take Dance For You out and it's arguably her weakest album. Dead serious. I know it might sound silly because it's just one song but it really brought more structure to the album and made the entire thing sound and work better as a whole. Not only is it the best track by a huge margin, but it was marvelously placed in the middle of the tracklist making it the centerpiece of the project. The album slowly builds up towards it, peaks with it and then slowly descends again from its highs making for an incredible listening experience. 4 radiates outwards from Dance For You in a similar way that Renaissance radiates outwards from Virgo's Groove. 1 1 1
verzden Posted May 1 Posted May 1 1 hour ago, ToraeGilt said: CC predicted to stay top 5 on billboard 200 with 56k. I'm genuinely shocked because where are these sales/streams coming from? Where do the old people stream music? Is Spotify more the kids?
kimberly Posted May 1 Posted May 1 1 hour ago, AxelFox said: Hell no, the only reason there's even an argument for 4 over B'Day is BECAUSE of the expanded version Take Dance For You out and it's arguably her weakest album. Dead serious. I know it might sound silly because it's just one song but it really brought more structure to the album and made the entire thing sound and work better as a whole. Not only is it the best track by a huge margin, but it was marvelously placed in the middle of the tracklist making it the centerpiece of the project. The album slowly builds up towards it, peaks with it and then slowly descends again from its highs making for an incredible listening experience. 4 radiates outwards from Dance For You in a similar way that Renaissance radiates outwards from Virgo's Groove. updated tracklist meaning, I'm hoping, the shitty re-ordered streaming tracklist for 4. any tongue that rises against Dance For You and Schoolin Life shall rot in the depths of hell. however 4 is a much better listen using the original tracklist, with the bonus tracks at the end. it flows better. 2
yonsé Posted May 1 Posted May 1 Just now, kimberly said: updated tracklist meaning, I'm hoping, the shitty re-ordered streaming tracklist for 4. any tongue that rises against Dance For You and Schoolin Life shall rot in the depths of hell. however 4 is a much better listen using the original tracklist, with the bonus tracks at the end. it flows better. I agree. I don't like the updated tracklist
BGKC Posted May 1 Posted May 1 So is anybody here actually streaming II Most Wanted like that? I see people fixating on the stagnancy of it on streaming, but what are we even truly doing about it? All I see the hive doing is that ungodly Drea Kelly dance for II Hands II Heaven on TikTok.
Kristie Kuwa Posted May 1 Posted May 1 24 minutes ago, BGKC said: So is anybody here actually streaming II Most Wanted like that? I see people fixating on the stagnancy of it on streaming, but what are we even truly doing about it? All I see the hive doing is that ungodly Drea Kelly dance for II Hands II Heaven on TikTok. The more time passes, the clearer it becomes to me that Bodyguard is truly the Cuff It of CC. 2 Most Wanted just does not have what it takes to become a smash on its own like that
AxelFox Posted May 1 Posted May 1 1 hour ago, kimberly said: updated tracklist meaning, I'm hoping, the shitty re-ordered streaming tracklist for 4. any tongue that rises against Dance For You and Schoolin Life shall rot in the depths of hell. however 4 is a much better listen using the original tracklist, with the bonus tracks at the end. it flows better. No, the re-arranged one on the expanded edition, which is on streaming Which I am also pretty confident was re-arranged around Dance For You. One does not just throw a bonus track in the middle of a tracklist, it was definitely re-worked around it. How does the original flow better for some of you? It's all over the place. I Miss You into BTINH into Party is some katy perry level tracklisting. Rather Die You into Start Over makes no sense whatsoever either. And how do Schoolin Life and Dance For You work as closers? The re-arranged one has a lot more thought put into it. It starts with the feel-good, carefree songs which represent the initial euphoria of falling in love, which culminate with Dance For You as the ultimate love-confession, from which it descends into the more soulful tracks showing the rocky side of a relationship and finally ends with the bit around the mark she want to leave. The only mole here being BTINH but I've deleted this one from my library so I forgot it's even there. Should've never made the cut anyway. 1
Alex Posted May 1 Posted May 1 the way I just found out I can stream this on my Spotify now another 4 highlight! 2
ICLDXU4HS Posted May 1 Posted May 1 Cuff It's ugly sis Lay Up Under Me being snubbed from 4 (Random Shuffle Edition) and me realizing only just now, I have to laugh.
Cbreezy Posted May 1 Posted May 1 5 hours ago, ToraeGilt said: CC predicted to stay top 5 on billboard 200 with 56k. I'm genuinely shocked because where are these sales/streams coming from? Right! I really think it's the 27 songs. It's essentially a double album, which = more streams. That along with Texas doing well as a handful of other tracks holding well. Overall, the sustained success is such a catch-22 for me because as Chart Hive, I love to see our girl perched up there and there is a small part of me that lives for how effortless it all is / comes across as. However, I can't shake my belief that we would have received more from her in the way of promo, visibility, and effort had she had to push for the album's longevity. Granted there's also a part of me that thinks she'd have been surface-level "ok" with a #1 debut with big first-week sales (and a "whatever" approach after that), Bey and her team are actively plugged into and massage the narrative around her success. I especially clocked it this era when they (Columbia, Parkwood, etc) made a big song and dance on socials about her holding at #1 for a second week. So, they definitely care (contrary to the "she doesn't care about sales" / "she sabotages on purpose" brigade. It's just clear that with her sales being relatively automated, she/they take on a "why lift a finger?" approach. It makes sense fiscally, in the respect of" why spend to promote something that is actively selling itself? At the same time, we get the short end of the stick in terms of content.
Kristie Kuwa Posted May 1 Posted May 1 Instead of these essays, can you guys start flooding Parkwood and Columbia with making Bodyguard the next song off CC? Like, be at least productive with ur typing skills and kink 1
Kristie Kuwa Posted May 1 Posted May 1 Bodyguard has the potential to sustain the CC era well over the entire summer tbh 2
Cbreezy Posted May 1 Posted May 1 Just now, Kristie Kuwa said: Instead of these essays, can you guys start flooding Parkwood and Columbia with making Bodyguard the next song off CC? Like, be at least productive with ur typing skills and kink Beyond the fact I know artist teams read forums like this, I (speaking for self) am tired af. I'm a stan, so will always be in the mix, lap up everything we get...from crumbs to genuine gags to of course the music. But, it's objectively, becoming less and less "fun" to stan Bey. And there are loads of reasons but sticking with the topic... Bodyguard being the universal bop everyone is gagging over should make its selection as a single pretty automated. Yet here we are essentially having to group together to lobby for thee most obvious move. The same thing happened with the Church Girl/Cuff It. Like, what gives? There usually ought to be something rewarding and satisfying about the success of a "fan-demanded" release. Yet, even if they go all out with Bodyguard, the fact it took persuading and is essentially a pivot from another selected track is wild to me. Manifesting a tour, Sphere, or festival announcement soon, because this is all becoming really meh. And I say this as Optimist Hive. 2
Beyoncei Posted May 1 Posted May 1 I can't listen to the reworked tracklists for B'day and 4 as I feel it's not the way Beyoncé intended for us to listen. I just feel like her team updated the track listing and I wanna hear the artists vision. As I couldn't find the original 4 track list - I made my own. That said, I know Beyoncé controls her art so maybe she likes the updated versions but the original 4 is still that b*tch
Pepo Posted May 1 Posted May 1 4 is actually much more experimental if we take into account tracks like I Miss You (a Trip-hop song in 2011), 1+1 (a ballad with a long guitar solo and no hook), Countdown (crazy and innovative vocal production), End Of Time (the first song ever by Beyoncé having a strange structure), and Run The World of course. In fact both 1+1 and Countdown were critically-acclaimed in a time when Poptimism wasn't even a thing. Anyhow, I'm certain that the new tracklist was released just because her team had to get rid of LUUM for some reason.
Pepo Posted May 1 Posted May 1 34 minutes ago, Kristie Kuwa said: Instead of these essays, can you guys start flooding Parkwood and Columbia with making Bodyguard the next song off CC? Like, be at least productive with ur typing skills and kink I'm afraid the era is already over
Kristie Kuwa Posted May 1 Posted May 1 25 minutes ago, Pepo said: I'm afraid the era is already over It honestly doesnt feel different from Rennie, only difference is we always had hope the visuals would come soon. At this point, I still hold out for hope that they eventually (and I hope within the next month at least), realize Bodyguard is the ONE to be pushed. Then we'd potentially have another Cuff It holding us over, cause Bodyguard has all the ingredients to be a staple on radio 5
Tangane Posted May 1 Posted May 1 Oh yeah no! For Beyoncé's standards, this era is definitely not over! It's fun because since there is nothing happening, she could release Bodyguard during summer 2025 and I wouldn't be surprised! She can do whatever she wants and we will seethe/eat it up (you pick!).
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