charts discussion U.K: CUFF IT #5

[Jude]

One of the most effortless hits ever.

Edited October 15, 2022 by Jude

[Starshine]

She was already a touring monster while lacking those top 5 singles the past decade, I can't imagine what she can do with a smash album + singles. 

[Dula Peep]

Another effortless hit

 

[naval23]

2 hours ago, Timber said:

I think it was all because of her absolutely legendary Glastonbury performance. One of the things that made me fall in love with her as an artist and performer.

She was amazing I totally forgot about that 

[Soda Pop Queen]

thread's mighty quiet

 

 

 

[PrudenceHCharmed]

4 hours ago, Doogle said:

The UK is a disaster of a country that doesn’t even support its own female artists for more than one era unless they get big WW like Adele or Dua (and even then Leona didn’t get that luxury)

 

But we are seemingly loyal to the big American/Canadian/Australian etc artists  Bey has been huge in the UK since her debut and even when she wasn’t charting well I heard Lemonade songs in clubs and on the radio anyway. And her touring speaks for itself. 
 

To see her as a chart force again is a joy. Shame I’m not even there to be hearing her out in the wild all the time. 

This is a very very huge accomplishment because Beyoncé's music comprised of primarily R&B/Urban songs and the UK is never supportive of those genres but somehow B managed to do really well there because Dangerously In Love is 4x Platinum (this is her most R&B record ever); then 4 selling almost 800K while Bday/Lem/ST being urban records selling more than 500K each. 

[GoodGuyGoneGhetto]

48 minutes ago, PrudenceHCharmed said:

This is a very very huge accomplishment because Beyoncé's music comprised of primarily R&B/Urban songs and the UK is never supportive of those genres but somehow B managed to do really well there because Dangerously In Love is 4x Platinum (this is her most R&B record ever); then 4 selling almost 800K while Bday/Lem/ST being urban records selling more than 500K each. 

This isn’t true at all. 

 

The U.K is very supportive of Contemporary R&B/Urban music and has been for decades. 

 

As a matter of fact, the U.K (namely England) is one of the few European countries (alongside Holland and perhaps France) where R&B music is actually enjoyed and appreciated here. 
 

 

Chart-wise, especially during the golden-age of R&B (1995-2005), most R&B songs performed very well here and were/are still popular on the radio and in the clubs, not to mention that, especially in the early 2000’s, we had our own styles of R&B merged with Funky-House/Garage/Dance that was popular here too.
 

Now if you’re referring to the new age of R&B that emerged in the early 2010’s and its new artists ala. SZA, Summer Walker, Jhene Aiko etc. - Well, how many of these acts promote their work here or have labels that are willing to market them to WW audiences?
 

Even then, when they tour here they gather crowds. Just look at Summer Walker in London last summer and how she cried because she wasn’t expecting her music to be so loved internationally.

Edited October 15, 2022 by GoodGuyGoneGhetto

[GoodGuyGoneGhetto]

4 hours ago, LesFleur said:

It seems more difficult for homegrown female (especially black) artists in the UK to have prolonged succcess in the UK. They often debut big and then fall off, even  if their subsequent albums are just as good if not better.

 

To name a few:

- Mica Paris

- Corinne Bailey Rae

- Leona Lewis

- Alexandra Burke

- Laura Mvula

- Emeli Sande

 

Beverley Knight managed to buck the trend and have hits throughout the 90s and 2000s from R&B to Pop-Rock. But Duffy couldn't with one of the biggest debut eras.

 

5 hours ago, Doogle said:

The UK is a disaster of a country that doesn’t even support its own female artists for more than one era unless they get big WW like Adele or Dua (and even then Leona didn’t get that luxury)

 

But we are seemingly loyal to the big American/Canadian/Australian etc artists  Bey has been huge in the UK since her debut and even when she wasn’t charting well I heard Lemonade songs in clubs and on the radio anyway. And her touring speaks for itself. 
 

To see her as a chart force again is a joy. Shame I’m not even there to be hearing her out in the wild all the time. 

I absolutely see your point, and mostly agree, however every artist mentioned here either had major label issues, didn’t receive enough support from their labels (which, ultimately, affected their commercial returns) or disappeared for some time and weren’t able to re-transition thereafter especially with them losing half their original audience. 
 

That said, this should be a case study because it only seems to happen with British acts and audiences unless they become major WW stars. 

 

For example, countries ala. France, Spain, Italy, Japan will forever support their homegrown acts and that love affair will last for years. 
 

I think the only non-White British acts that have been able to remain relatively stable over a period of several decades are Gabrielle and Craig David, especially Gabrielle. She scored her first top ten hit in 1993 and her last in 2008. Every album she’s released between 1993 to 2021 has also peaked in the top ten of the U.K. albums charts which is a great feat. 

[Doogle]

1 hour ago, GoodGuyGoneGhetto said:

This isn’t true at all. 

 

The U.K is very supportive of Contemporary R&B/Urban music and has been for decades. 

 

As a matter of fact, the U.K (namely England) is one of the few European countries (alongside Holland and perhaps France) where R&B music is actually enjoyed and appreciated here. 
 

 

Chart-wise, especially during the golden-age of R&B (1995-2005), most R&B songs performed very well here and were/are still popular on the radio and in the clubs, not to mention that, especially in the early 2000’s, we had our own styles of R&B merged with Funky-House/Garage/Dance that was popular here too.
 

Now if you’re referring to the new age of R&B that emerged in the early 2010’s and its new artists ala. SZA, Summer Walker, Jhene Aiko etc. - Well, how many of these acts promote their work here or have labels that are willing to market them to WW audiences?
 

Even then, when they tour here they gather crowds. Just look at Summer Walker in London last summer and how she cried because she wasn’t expecting her music to be so loved internationally.

Yeah I wanted to reply to that post with something similar but you managed to express my thoughts better than I could  London especially has a large black population and are very receptive to R&B. We had a lot of home grown acts too in the 90s and more recently girls like Mahalia and Ella Mai might not be truly mainstream but they have dedicated audiences. 
 

Beyoncé always managed to transcend that box though