AccioEmpireBuilder

It was just a tough time to be a relatively new pop act during the J Records / Jive Records merge into RCA. Budgets disappeared overnight, and all of the money gravitated towards teams with sure things: Britney, Usher, Pink, Alicia Keys, Chris Brown, Justin Timberlake. Ciara, Christina, Kelly Clarkson, and The Backstreet Boys were the B-team, with Jordin and Mike Posner beneath them. If Adam Lambert didn't get "Whatya Want From Me" from Pink, I think he would've struggled to get a second album.

One of my favorite demos of all time. How Jordin Sparks didn't make this second single always baffled me. Yes... it leaked, but it was worth it. This, "No Parade," and "Watch You Go" would've been a good singles run after title track "Battlefield" cleaned up on the charts.

Thank you! Added. I'm sure it would be fun as the A&R for a talent show winner to figure out the desired sound/genre and then just going out to acquire the best demos at the time for the budget you have.

"Hey Mama" is a BIGGIE! Thank you! I have added it next to "Wrecking Ball" in that 'written for others at Beyonce sessions' section and given credit to Ester Dean, who is the only person on the writing team potentially at the 2012 Hamptons Writing Camp. Also, in other updates: ... finally added "Feeling Myself" to the correct ST section, as that Nicki Minaj / SZA beef unearthed the truth from their own mouths that it was a Beyonce song (co-written by SZA) gifted to Nicki for The Pinkprint (with Beyonce's vocals on it) in return for Nicki's verse on the "***Flawless Remix."

You know what... if it can take the song to Platinum and 300M streams like "Alien Superstar"? I'll accept it. Let them speculate.

There was a period where I hungered for new Lana Del Rey music... but then I remembered her "Question for The Culture," "country club" imagery, and these strange characters she ends up dating. I quickly realized return-to-form songs "Taco Truck / VB" and "A&W" were suitable parting words for me, and I'm good with listening to her early run of albums (sans Blue Bannisters & Chemtrails ) and those only.

What I love is the controversy will start and then a historian will appear, explaining Asian trade routes and the subsequent Asian migration to the South (when California became unwelcoming), the Southern Indigenous roots (red bones), the African/Caribbean roots via Chattel Slavery (brown bones), and the French/Arcadian/White-settler mixed roots (yellow bones or "high color") of current Creole culture. I for one love when people publicly tell us they have no knowledge and made no effort to research something in real-time.

If anything... it should've replaced Billy Joel cover "Honesty" on the Platinum Edition. I love that she reunited with Scott Storch and it took on a life of its own in the Korean market, but that was a baffling move with "Control," "Stop Sign," "Waiting," "Forever To Bleed," "Slow Love," and "I'm Alone Now" right there.

I think we've found our first 'Dria bonus track.

RECORDS, LLC is an indie / artist-development label wholly-owned by Sony and former Sony Executive Barry Weiss if I'm not mistaken. Based on what I just read, other co-owners Matt Pincus (an executive on the Sony publishing side - SONGS, LLC) and Ron Perry (CEO of Columbia Records) were bought out by Barry in 2023. That would explain why Columbia isn't linked anymore.

I'd like to think the resurgence of B'Day began when attention suddenly increased on BBCs 15-year old upload of "Irreplaceable" (with insane crowd participation) from Glastonbury a few years ago.

Here is another outtake from the Battlefield sessions: "Face Drop," which ended up on Sean Kingston's second album.

That would be a classic playbook move from the book of Mr. Knowles. Between B'Day, I Am... Sasha Fierce, Ms. Kelly, Unexpected, and Sol-Angel & The Hadley Street Dreams, he was recruiting the best and brightest dance producers from both sides of the pond to remix their tracks, resulting in a crazy number of top 10s between them on the Billboard Hot Dance/Club charts. Their 2006-2009 stats: Solange - 6 Top 10s (3 #1s) Kelly - 1 Top 10 (1 #1) Michelle Williams - 2 Top 10s (1 #1) Beyonce - 12 Top 10s (11 #1s)

Today felt like a Cowboy Carter day so I spent some time exploring the internet to tease out any potential songs. Paul Cauthen spoke in articles (HERE, and the one above) about Beyonce's team pulling up in a Black Escalade to hear his songs, and his makeshift writing camp of him and co-writer Beau Bedford moving towards pop sensibility and wordplay for specific songs to impress her. His records didn't end up making the album, but it's looking like he put them in his 2024 album Black on Black based on co-writers. After listening... I'm now putting this trio of songs in the "hunch" category. There's a Simpsons Lemonade episode meets Lana Del Rey vibe. Was the song above in competition for the "Just For Fun" slot? "Flamenco?" Something about those claps in the background of the second verse I like. I'm surprised she didn't Frankenstein the "speaking in cursive, in bed with snakes" parts into some other song like 'Alligator Tears.' This one too. A very Lana Del Rey meets Imagine Dragons vibe. (The backing operatic vocals and belts near the end in the chorus? I see the B vision) This one above would probably go after "My Rose" or "Protector?"