Declining was inevitable, but to the point she did with Basic Instinct? That could've def be avoided 

9 minutes ago, brainmaniac said:

Well, let’s be realistic. Labels already hated releasing double disc albums because they were less profitable.

 

But a triple disc album?

And after Ciara’s previous album had already underperformed? 

She was in no position to be demanding anything like that 

I'm sure pseudo-double albums Raymond V. Raymond + Versus and I Am... Sasha Fierce being on the market at the time of her creating the album was some minor motivation, and she also worked on A LOT of tracks. I think maybe she should've done a 17-track album w/ an interlude to separate each movement. Her being frustrated with her vision not being realized was definitely the beginning of the end for Cici at Jive/LaFace.

 

She, Chris Brown and Usher were their last remaining marquee RnB legacy acts (Pink, JT, and Britney were the pop 3). I'm sure she thought it came with some clout. Interestingly enough, in their final move as a label, Jive also rejected Chris Brown's idea for a dual-disc album F.A.M.E. & Fortune (subsequently split into two parts). I'm sure she felt a little vindicated that is wasn't *her* per se, and it was more the economics behind it.

Now it's been 2 Chris Brown double-albums in a row w/ potential for an upcoming third.   

 

11 hours ago, L0verb0y said:

I don't know cause this is amazing and should have elevated her to the next level.
 

 

BUT I always thought that releasing ballads (Never Ever/Speechless) and singles that were too funky (Work/Gimme Dat) back to back was a mess. 

I forgot “Never Ever” ended up being the lead  That eta was such a mess. They definitely should’ve stuck with “High Price,” it would’ve been a big urban hit.

1 hour ago, Popboi. said:

Declining was inevitable, but to the point she did with Basic Instinct? That could've def be avoided 

That era was plagued with so much label sabotage. I still think it would've reached the top 10 if they hadn't delayed it from its original August 17th release date. They waited until the hype from Ride was dead and released it in December of that year.

1 minute ago, Attitude said:

That era was plagued with so much label sabotage. I still think it would've reached the top 10 if they hadn't delayed it from its original August 17th release date. They waited until the hype from Ride was dead and released it in December of that year.

Releasing in Dec was a death wish  the album wasn't some kind of stocking filler material to justify not releasing in the original date or push back again to Feb when there's less competition.