THE DUCKS LINE UP: Adele’s album in progress is being mixed at a legendary Hollywood studio, and those who have been permitted to hear it say it’s as brilliant as hoped. It has yet to be determined which of the 20 songs still in play will make the final cut, or whether the album will make it this year; it’s hoped that it will get a pre-Thanksgiving release. Can Adele do 1m in her first week, given the fact that she won’t tirelessly promote it in the Taylor Swift manner?
The One Direction album expected this fall from SYCO/Columbia will be the last under the group’s current deal. The delivery of said album will immediately make the four remaining members free agents. Zayn Malik, who left the group before the fifth LP, was subject to the leaving-member clause built into 1D’s contract with SYCO, and he signed a multi-album solo deal with SYCO/RCA. Harry Styles is believed by many to have the best shot at a big solo career, as whispers of an impending Azoff management play with Styles grow louder. The fact that 1D’s latest single broke the one-day Spotify record strongly suggests the fan base will lap up any offering from any part of the group.
If Adele and a rumored Beyoncé album are released in Q4, along with 1D, Rob Stringer’s Columbia will be ensured another big year, perhaps the biggest since 2011, the year Adele’s 21 was released.
The Hot 100 Fest, set for the weekend of 8/22-23, is already being referred to as “The Nightmare at Jones Beach.” Among the reasons most expect the event to be an unmitigated disaster are (1) the bible overpaid by 50 % to get the talent; (2) ticket sales are terrible, with attempts at papering now underway; (3) the BB brain trust decided to go ahead with the fest knowing they’d lose nearly $2m even at 90% of capacity, ignoring the promoters and agents who warned that mounting the fest was a bad idea at this place and time; (4) the show and talent lineup were announced too late, leaving a perilously small window for on the on-sale during a crowded summer season; and (5) for all of the above reasons, it’s shaping up as a really bad look for the show’s headliners. And John Amato is taking the heat.
If Adele and a rumored Beyoncé album are released in Q4, along with 1D, Rob Stringer’s Columbia will be ensured another big year, perhaps the biggest since 2011, the year Adele’s 21 was released.
If the Beyonce era taught me anything, it's to not believe anything until Beyonce says it out of her own mouth. Granted Vogue, MIA, Global Citizens Fest, all point toward something new.
Adele
Girrrrl
It is time to release this album
Hoping it out this year but tbh wouldn't be surprised if it is not until Q2 next year.
If 1D only have this last album before their deal expires Zayn definitely should've just stuck it out I vaguely remember reading a year or two ago that the leaving member clause meant that if nobody left by the time 1D5 dropped they'd all receive a huge payout at the end of the deal? He should've just waited, left on good terms, received the payout and then signed a solo deal.