Janet's latest album 'Unbreakable' was released last week with a refreshing marketing scheme: no promo or gimmicks to facilitate sales. The music on the record itself is more stripped back and introspective, and Janet chose to work with longtime collaborators responsible for her most appreciated material instead of current, trendy producers. The music stood at the forefront of this release.
This approach has really worked wonders for Janet as her album is set to open in the 100k-110k range and has been met with warm reception by music critics who recognized the album as a return to form.
Though 'Rebel Heart' saw a similarly successful opening week - perhaps less impressive considering she hadn't been on a 7 year hiatus - Madonna made several artistic compromises. Brash promotional tactics defacing the image of Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela among other historical figures were used to draw attention to the album release. Features from Nicki Minaj and Mike Tyson were shoehorned in for the same goal. Madonna opted to work with producers hot on today's charts over those from her heyday with hopes of adding another top 40 hit to her collection (hopes that were not realized as the highest peaking single topped out at #84 on the Hot 100). The album was deservedly met with mixed reviews, noted as a disappointing release from an artist with several acclaimed bodies of work.
Janet showed that an aging female pop star can find commercial and critical success separate from the standards set by the media/entertainment circus. Should Madonna take notes?
She's Madonna. She's doesn't want to go unnoticed, she wants to do scandalous things and be talked about. Let Janet be boring introspective, Madonna is doing her game her own way.
She's Madonna. She's doesn't want to go unnoticed, she wants to do scandalous things and be talked about. Let Janet be boring introspective, Madonna is doing her game her own way.
this...I would be so disappointed if Madonna would release something like unbreakable..ughh
Isn't Janet currently 50? Madonna managed to get a top 3 hit,$407M grossing tour and a 4M selling album at the age of 50.Call me when Janet manages to do the same.
Isn't Janet currently 50? Madonna managed to get a top 3 hit,$407M grossing tour and a 4M selling album at the age of 50.Call me when Janet manages to do the same.
But Madonna never had her career prematurely destroyed in the way Janet did.
Not much. They are both doing fine in their own veins and they want different things from their music. I do think that Madonna might want to consider releasing her next album during the tour rather than before it like Janet did (except hopefully with a proper promo break). She always gets so much acclaim and press for her tours and the visualization of album tracks through performances helps people connect with them (ex: more people like Body Shop and Holy Water thanks to tour performances).
Tour press for Madonna is usually full of praise and love whereas albums and sales press typically evaluate her career as a whole and are more negative. So surround the album with tour press and hype and it might sell better.
Not really. It can be argued that a hiatus should have theoretically worked in Janet's favor rather than being an inhibiting factor in sales, and in any case they're very different artists who will be affected differently by the same actions or conditions. I don't think Madonna can learn from Janet because what works for one will not work for the other.
Yep! 'Unbreakable' is yet another classic album from Janet! Madonna should stop focusing on what's hot right now and start making magic again. She still has it in her.
