base talk Significant musical risks that paid off

[Fastlane]

I'll start.

 

 

Paula Abdul - "Rush Rush" (1991)

 

Paula Abdul became widely known for her dance tracks and clips with strong choreography. All the singles in her discography were popular dance club hits, and her debut album at the time of release was the most successful in history. 

 

The release of "Rush, Rush" as the first single from the second album was a huge risk – it was her first ballad in her career, moreover, released at the peak of popularity of strong vocalists in the person of Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. 

 

The risk paid off completely: "Rush, Rush" broke records on the radio and a few weeks after its release took first place in the US Hot 100 for 5 weeks. It was the longest-running hit since 1985. And the song became the most successful in Paula Abdul's career.

[Taylor fanboy]

Lover. She pivoted from the pop sounds of Red, 1989 & reputation and still got success.

[mercurialworld]

Addison Rae releasing 4 leaked songs a year later and still outstreaming many of my other flop faves!

 

[Polgg48]

cher believe

[Hiatus]

[Miichael]

Gaga following up her backlash/underperformance era with a jazz era with Tony Bennett, which made the locals and GP view her as a true talent rather than just another pop artist, and helped lay the groundwork for her smashing in later years

 

 

[Cain]

12 minutes ago, Taylor fanboy said:

Lover. She pivoted from the pop sounds

 

[KatyPrismSpirit]

12 minutes ago, Taylor fanboy said:

Lover. She pivoted from the pop sounds of Red, 1989 & reputation and still got success.

? Lover is literally pop. 

 

ot;

 

Madonna with literally every album she ever released until 2005

[Taylor fanboy]

2 minutes ago, Cain said:

 

 

1 minute ago, KatyPrismSpirit said:

? Lover is literally pop. 

 

ot;

 

Madonna with literally every album she ever released until 2005

That was sarcasm to get Loser dragged. Maybe Cain got it.

[Virgos Groove]

Beyoncé surprise-releasing ST and shifting to an alt-R&B sound.

 

Kanye abandoning the college trilogy and releasing 808s, a fully-sung album.

 

Timberlake releasing SexyBack instead of My Love as the lead single of FS/LS.

 

Rihanna releasing WFL, a song with an EDM drop instead of a standard chorus (ATRL swore this was gonna flop, you can check the old threads).

 

Mariah releasing the Fantasy remix and, eventually, the Butterfly album.

 

Edited August 20, 2023 by Virgos Groove

[wastedpotential]

 

[Solaria]

 

Releasing this during a time when everything on radio was downtempo, urban and slow was a risk that paid off massively. Oh Discoua 

Edited August 20, 2023 by Love Again

[MidnightsAtPeace]

Taylor's decision to leave her country audience behind and embrace her inner popstar persona was so risky, especially when you know how conservative and annoyingly weird those who enjoy country music are.

[Virgos Groove]

13 minutes ago, wastedpotential said:

 

The downvote already... hoes mad (x24)

 

[vuelve88]

 

Shakira went from being a guitar playing singer-songwriter often called the “Latin Alanis Morissette” to being a global Pop star and dance sensation. 
 

She pulled it off so convincingly. She has Grammy and Latin Grammy Awards in Rock, Pop, and Alternative categories. 
 

 

 

Edited August 20, 2023 by vuelve88

[NEX]

Re-recording crusade by Taylor. The normal outcome with any other artists would have gone like this: they'd record their albums with new vocals and extra unreleased tracks; the albums debuts in the lower ends of the top 10 at best; falls off the face of the charts the next wee; the public continues to stream the original material, while the artist gets to call their work as their own again. If that's what would have happened with Taylor it would have been quite embarrassing, very expensive and Scouter would have still won. It was a risk and a risk that paid off so so so much better than anyone could have ever imagined in their wildest dreams. 

[RihRihGirrrl]

ANTI....it was described by several outlets as 'Rihanna without the hits' 

[RideOrDie]

lanallah del rey's career

 

[joannna]

Manjobi 

 

[EmailMySwift]

Taylor going full Pop. 

[Devin]

Rolling Stone: Beyonce Surprises With New Album Release

 

[Rebel Lion]

Britney introducing both dubstep and threesomes with religious figures in two pops songs, respectively, and having them both go #1.

 

[WokeEqualist]

Taylor with folklore and evermore, especially coming from ultra pop albums like reputa and Lover. They revitalized her career, made people see her as a more serious songwriter and made her fanbase even more massive

 

[Symmetra]

Nicki releasing Starships. she got drag by her Brazilian Bundles that year by the rap community. She gain a whole new audience with starships so she won.

[Onyxmage]

Melanie with PORTALS.  she completely killed off her alter ego and changed her sound and it paid off.