I've seen, for the past couple of months, a disturbing trend popping up.

People bemoaning Mariah for not doing promotion/sloppy releases/not making hits.

People legitimately expecting anything from Kiss Me Once to be/to potentially be a 'smash.'

People anticipating a commercial comeback for Gwen akin to L.A.M.B.

People wondering why Jennifer Lopez keeps releasing 'promo singles.'

You guys have to realize that it's not in the cards for any of them, right?

I say this as one of ATRL's biggest fans of Kylie and Mariah, a fan of Gwen, and a conscientious objector of Ms. Lopez.

They're all 45/46. (Miss me with that 1970 bs lambs!) Their days of achieving any sort of real, tangible, success on pop radio are OVER.

No one here is getting another On The Floor or We Belong Together or Can't Get You Out of My Head ANYTIME SOON.

Like, you guys have to come to grips with facts. Pop music is inherently ageist.

Am I right, or am I not keeping enough 'hope' in our 'faves?"

(Don't even get me started on the Madonnanation. Please don't ....)

You are spot on.

Yes. Simply because most of the people here were not born yet or hasn't gotten the grasp of the world yet when these artists were at their reign.

You make a lot of points, although I do think if any of those girls you mention have a chance for a decent hit, it would be Gwen. But for the most part you are right pop music is fickle and are always looking for whos the next it girl no ones worried about Mariah, Kylie, Madonna or Jlo other then their casual fans and fanbase. I still think Madonna has touring power

Mariah does a ton of promotion, moreso than others. Lambs have the right to not only be upset by her actions, but also confused that she has been "delaying" her music while chasing a hit. She has been in the game far too long to be doing these kind of J.Lo shenanigans. She has nothing to lose from just giving her fans new music.

Right. Madonna and Kylie, like Cher, are TOURING ARTISTS, so they'll always be good. But this insane belief that they're still somehow "relevant" in the current scheme of the popsphere is ultimately toxic.

When Britney and Christina have trouble getting solo singles off the ground, how is it rational to expect women 10-15-20-25 years older than them to do it?

I mostly agree. I think it's not impossible for the older ladies to get a single hit here or there, but none of them will ever have another blockbuster era.


Faith Hill has the same issue. She's allegedly scrapped like 2 album's worth of material because her "comeback" singles were miserable flops.

The ladies should focus on quality since they'll never have the success they used to enjoy. Or they should aim for AC radio. Celine seems to be doing okay there, and Cher has a top 20 hit at the moment.

This thread will be short lived because nobody can combat what you said. I agree 100%. And if you love these ladies, you'll stop building them up to be something they can't live up to. Just love the music the way it is, "smash" or not. Good for you for making this thread

LadyDiana, I saw your post. #perksofbeingamod

You do understand that Believe was the exception to the rule, and not the rule itself, right?

How did follow up single Strong Enough do in the US? (I believe it peaked around #57.)

What about lead single from the next album, Song for the Lonely? (In the 60s IIRC.)

On the Floor was an EXCEPTION. Every other single Lopez has put out has been the RULE.

I only wish they would stop chasing current trends and start making quality music, especially madonna and Mariah. I am not ageist, sexist or whatever but I find it sad when they strip naked and parade like some kind of cheap Vegas *****s... sorry but they can do so much better than that...

All SO true.

I'll focus on Gwen since I know her best...

No Doubt and Gwen are my everything, and I want Gwen's comeback to do well, but realistically I know it's gonna flop. I think she could get one hit like On The Floor (JLo's one successful post-40 single, boosted by Idol) but after that, nothing.

Just because they all look good doesn't mean people + radio forget that they're over 40. Everyone needs to pay attention to how non-stans react on Twitter or wherever else outside of ATRL. When No Doubt actually bothered to promote Push and Shove in 2012, all the comments on Twitter were either "why is Gwen Stefani in a band now????" or "who/why is this old chick performing on _______?" which just shows how much their original demographic has grown up, and that teens don't want a 44 y/o mother of 3 singing to them.

And besides pop being ageist, all of these women have nostalgia/old hits working against them. When ND promoted P&S, literally all that happened was Tragic Kingdom, their singles collection, Don't Speak, and Hollaback Girl re-charting on iTunes. I'd assume it's the same for Mariah and the others. She's never going to escape All I Want for Christmas or her other big hits. Although this isn't all bad; at least it shows these women have left memorable music behind.

What's interesting to me, Vespertine, is how much these 90s nostalgia reunions have not worked.

No Doubt bombed. Garbage did worse. BSB had one hit in 2005 and that was it.

There was a reason why I deleted it... I didn't read ur full post and started defending my faves. When I read ur full post I realized that I actually agree with most of the stuff you said. As a mod maybe you should respect someones wish to delete their post, instead of replying to it.

Lol people expecting Fergie to slay with her comeback.

I don't think many people are expecting much from those you listed. It's understandable that those who are way last their peak would have a hard time trying to find success again.

I couldn't agree more.

And there are definitely double standards, at least in the country realm.

Garth Brooks debuted in 89 and released his last studio album in 01. Shania debuted in 93 and released her last studio album in 02. Garth released a Walmart exclusive box set last fall, and it's sold 850K already. Shania will be lucky if her comeback is half as successful has his.



George Strait and Tim McGraw still get hits and award show recognition. The oldest female consistently getting hits and nominations is Carrie Underwood, who debuted over a decade after Tim.

I think it's because people are noticing J.Lo and Mariah's mix and match of singles. It's like they want it to be commercially successful yet they do not do something.

If 'On the Floor' wasn't promoted, it wouldn't be that big of a hit. It has potential but 'promo' was basically the key to the success. Another thing about J.Lo is that she tried to replicate the success by releasing a couple of songs after On the Floor with Pitbull on it.

I'm not expecting success for their singles but I wish they'd stick to one and release their album on time. If they want a hit, do a few performances not release a bunch of singles and see which one hits the right spot.

Basically, I'm not expecting them to see success like in their peaks but from those singles they have released in the past year, I know they want the success. They should do promo and if it still flops, well I really don't care as long as they are good songs.

I wasn't impressed about anything Lopez had released after On the Floor. Mariah, I love Beautiful and Almost Home. I liked You're Mine but it got old fast for me. But Mariah still gets it right with the material, she just needs to put just a little promo on it.

I don't think fans are ageist but they surely root for these pioneers to have decent success with their nth eras. It's all about numbers on ATRL, let's face it and with all of them flopping, it'd be a boring forum. They want something to talk about.

2014 is shaping up to be a boring year for pop music. It's either the newbies like Ariana, and the Disney girls take over or the forum will become more diverse with music as the pop girls settle down. Or someone new might take over.