base talk Would a "Teenage Dream" era in terms of success ever happen in the streaming era?

[naval23]

Teenage Dream was released in the pre-streaming era where the GP didn't devour her album when it first came out the way we do now, so Katy was able to more expertly time the release of each single to make sure they all got due attention and still felt fresh.

 

Even if the songs were a year or two old, they were "new" to the GP. And lots of radio play def helped sustain momentum.

 

Do you think it could've been pulled off in the streaming era?

 

[Asscatchem]

SOUR did it

[Strawberry Bubble]

No, everything is so quick and fades so fast in the streaming era. I think only Rihanna would be capable of doing a "Teenage Dream" if she released the five singles before the album was published.

[Cheers]

2-3 pre-album singles that go #1. New single dropping with that album that goes #1. Another single after.

[Sailor Moon]

Would be really hard to smash with singles after the album release.

[fridayteenage]

well the last album with 4 songs that lasted a month in the top 10 was 1989, which was 10 years back.

[liquiddiamonds]

This type of rollout is no longer a thing. People don't use videos as much and not every single needs to smash on radio either in 2024.  In the streaming era smash albums are stuff like SOUR, SOS and Midnights with multiple album tracks going viral and crossing the hundreds of millions, even reaching billions status

[MatiRod]

Sabrina is in the process of doing it right now. I bet she will have a third single out in early August. Then another track will blow up with the album release. Then all she needs is a remix for another album track later on. Boom that's five hits right there.

[Sadie Saxton]

Honestly all it would take these days would be if Taylor or Rihanna did a Journals type era and just lead their album with a bunch of singles

[PerfectCure]

Yes, people just like blaming everything on streaming. Just release like 4 good singles before the album drops + good promo.

[Illuminati]

If it was put it out like Smile over a period of like two years and the artist got rid of all of the flops inbetween, essentially making a playlist album then sure

[Sannie]

Sure, with the same type of payola.

The only thing TD had going for it was the singles. The album didn't sell a lot in context, it won 0 big awards, had no cultural reverance, and the tour didn't sell amazingly. One of these other singles girlies could do it if they had the right team.

[umich]

Not people bringing in awards and relevance when the OP asked from a perspective of numbers  

 

—

 

No. It's harder to pull off 5 #1s (even 3 #1s) in this day and age. Even labels know that won't happen again.

[Saintlor]

Sabrina's album could possibly get 5 #1's if Espresso went to number 1 and then she released 2 more songs before the album comes out that the GP love

 

then all it would take is one more hit 

[Josh]

44 minutes ago, MatiRod said:

Sabrina is in the process of doing it right now. I bet she will have a third single out in early August. Then another track will blow up with the album release. Then all she needs is a remix for another album track later on. Boom that's five hits right there.

People like Espresso more than they care about Sabrina

[Flames2Embers]

I feel like Doja Cat's Planet Her was a pretty good attempt at this — more longevity than peaks, but:

SONG TITLE #Peak (WoC)

Kiss Me More #3 (43)

You Right #11 (43)

Need to Know #8 (48)

Woman #7 (52)

Get into it (Yuh) #20 (37)

—Standalone Singles during the album run—

I Like You (A Happier Song) #3 (36)

Vegas #10 (30)

 

I know most of Katy Perry's went number 1, but this felt like a really strong album campaign and the songs lasted so long.

[Sazare]

Yes, especially given that 2 of the 5 TD number ones were bolstered by guest remixes, which are still tactics in use today

 

The streaming era has affected the singles charts considerably but I don't think it's made Katy's feat any less attainable

[fridayteenage]

24 minutes ago, PerfectCure said:

Yes, people just like blaming everything on streaming. Just release like 4 good singles before the album drops + good promo.

 

50 minutes ago, Sadie Saxton said:

Honestly all it would take these days would be if Taylor or Rihanna did a Journals type era and just lead their album with a bunch of singles

while Taylor *could*  I don't think she has any desire to; she doesn't even like having 1 single pre-album anymore.

[greento]

Sabrina could with her current era

 

Taylor could if she actually did a proper era with pre album singles, promo, (choosing the right singles like with 1989) etc.

 

even artists like Olivia, Billie or any with dedicated fan bases could do it

[CaptainMusic]

Taylor could do it if she releases 4 singles before the album and then 1 could go #1 with the album release. A remix could also go #1 like Bad Blood. 

[Princess Aurora]

Of course. That album is iconic

[spree]

1 hour ago, MatiRod said:

Sabrina is in the process of doing it right now. I bet she will have a third single out in early August. Then another track will blow up with the album release. Then all she needs is a remix for another album track later on. Boom that's five hits right there.

but Teenage Dream had 8 hits.  Getting a 5th hit is just above halfway there. 

[thatsmydemi]

They can attempt to do it but eras have changed a lot. TD had 4 singles post-album release (not counting POM and WA). That's almost impossible to think now. Eras are shortlived and as we see, it's extremely hard to get a hit months after the album drops unless it suddenly goes viral.

 

So maybe if an artist releases like 4 singles before the album drops, then tries to get two more and/or releases a deluxe edition or something. Idk but it won't seem as impressive as TD.

[DevilsRollTheDice]

No, the industry is totally different now. The only way to replicate something like this is treating an album more like a playlist and constantly adding songs/tacking on lots of pre-release singles. 
 

Streaming obviously has other virtues, people are more likely to actually listen to the entire album if it's good for one, but we need to kiss that type of era goodbye. 

[bad guy]

In terms of chart domination? No, but that's because the Hot 100 is no longer the arbiter of success and has become entirely antiquated at this point. Back then you just needed to sell on iTunes and have airplay. Now there's multiple variations of sales, streaming from multiple platforms, and then airplay which itself is antiquated. So success now is much more spread out and not as culturally dominant unless you're an already established artist. Songs can now "feel" like #1 songs because you hear them everywhere but won't even go Top 5. Songs can get 1B streams and not even chart. The point of singles was to sell the album because you had to buy it to hear it. Now you can hear the singles and the album all at once so there's no incentive to push 6 singles. It's just different.

 

Also I noticed that singles back then had a much shorter life on the charts than they do now. California Gurls and Teenage Dream (s) were released just two months from each other, and then the album was released in August. Another example is Only Girl and What's My Name being released just over a month apart and then a month later Loud dropped. Once the album dropped a new single would be pushed every 2-3 months. Now songs can chart for like 9 months because radio only has less songs to play and doesn't let things go