Unconditionally is not a flop by any means but it's safe to say the song is not going to smash the way we expect a Katy single to. Even though the PRISM era had a great start with Roar, uncle sort of proves that not everything Katy touches turns to #1.
So why didn't it smash? It's the typical Katy formula of catchy & radio friendly with general appeal. What happened?
It essentially was in the same situation as Rihanna with Umbrella & Shut Up And Drive. Except Shut Up And Drive only had one song stealing it's airplay away from it. Unconditionally had both Roar AND Dark Horse stealing its airplay.
It essentially was in the same situation as Rihanna with Umbrella & Shut Up And Drive. Except Shut Up And Drive only had one song stealing it's airplay away from it. Unconditionally had both Roar AND Dark Horse stealing its airplay.
ddd airplay is definitely NOT to blame If there's one thing Katy doesn't ever need to worry about now, it's airplay.
To me that's proof that people don't normally look around for Katy Perry songs right after they come out. There is no thirst for her. I think her insistent airplay makes people look for her songs (that tend to be good) online.
It was released way too early. They should have given Roar room to breathe and waited until December to quietly release Unconditionally so it could build up in the top 10 and smash Q1 2014.
If there's one thing Katy doesn't ever need to worry about now, it's airplay.