Let me take the time here to say that I've thrown my share of Christina shade in the past, and I've been embittered by what appeared to be similarities to my fave as well as what I have perceived to be a negative and (to put it bluntly) bitchy attitude from Christina. She has never been one of my favorite people, and up until tonight when I took the time to once again listen to the album in question in full, she has not been one of my favorite musical artists.
However, Bionic is, in all honesty, a brilliant - if long - piece of work. It may not have caught on, and it may have been handled worse than most other albums in music history, but that only served to make it perhaps more legendary among pop fans than it ever would have been if it was to have obtained average success. You do not go into a single thread in which "flop" is mentioned without at least a subtle allusion to Bionic or its successor.
So, I suppose my final answer is dual sided; the general public will never recognize Bionic for what it is, be that a great album or a flop album since it's both. However, it will live on for years to come in the pop music fandom as the classic example of a flop and it will attract a cult following of some sort for its quality. It's unfortunate that this is how it will be remembered, but in the end, remembered it will be, as opposed to some other girls' albums.
Looking back, I think what killed the album is the length and therefore inclusion of tracks that were not so much filler, but rather felt as though they belonged to a separate piece of work, and the poor promotion, starting with a good song but terrible single choice to lead off the album and a great but highly explicit song to follow it up. The lack of a tour probably also contributed. Had Bionic been treated properly, it would have done just as well as many other albums of the past few years.
And to those who bitch and complain about "essays" on ATRL when someone writes one paragraph, this is what an "essay" looks like.
tl;dr yes, I suppose.
It's so nice when you see people actually using their brains on ATRL and expanding on their opinions! Thank you. I really hate it when I see people paraphrasing the person who posted immediately above them or when people just say a very short blurb with no support. It adds no value to the discussion, and being intimidated by paragraphs is... pathetic, on a text-based forum.
[and not commenting because I haven't decided yet, just needed to give Apollo props]
• Artist(s): Mariah Carey
• Released: September 11, 2001
Is it a classic? Why or why not?
Already Done
Is 'Blackout' a classic? Result: No
Is 'Stripped' a classic? Result: Yes
Is 'I Am... Sasha Fierce a classic? Result: No
Is 'The Marshall Mathers LP' a classic? Result: Yes
Is 'Ray of Light' a Classic? Result: Yes
Is 'Jagged Little Pill' a Classic? Result: Yes
Is 'FutureSex/LoveSounds' a Classic? Result: No
Is '21' a classic? Result: Yes
Is 'Let Go' a Classic? Result: Yes
Is 'Supa Dupa Fly' a Classic? Result: Yes
Is 'Loud' a Classic? Result: No
Is 'The Fame Monster' a Classic? Result: Yes
Is 'The Velvet Rope' a Classic? Result: Yes
Is 'Homogenic' a Classic? Result: Yes
Is 'Teenage Dream' a Classic? Result: No
Is 'Pink Friday' a Classic? Result: No
Is 'Laundry Service' a Classic? Result: Yes
Is 'Breakaway' a Classic? Result: Yes
Is 'Missundaztood' a Classic? Result: Yes
Is 'Graduation' a Classic? Result: Yes
Is 'Daydream' a Classic? Result: Yes
Is 'Back to Black' a Classic? Result: Yes
Is 'Confessions' a Classic? Result: Yes
Is 'Songs in A Minor' a Classic? Result: Yes
Is 'Falling into You' a Classic? Result: Yes
Is 'On the 6' a Classic? Result: No
Is 'Impossible Princess' a Classic? Result: Yes
Is 'Dangerously in Love' a Classic? Result: No
Is 'Back to Basics' a Classic? Result: No
Is 'Loose' a Classic? Result: No
Is 'True Blue' a Classic? Result: Yes
Is 'Butterfly' a Classic? Result: Yes
Is 'Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814' a Classic? Result: Yes
Is 'In the Zone' a Classic? Result: No
Is 'Nevermind' a Classic? Result: Yes
Is 'OK Computer' a Classic? Result: Yes
Is 'The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack' a Classic? Result: Yes
Is 'Love. Angel. Music. Baby.' a Classic? Result: Yes
Is 'The Dutchess' a Classic? Result: No
Is 'Ready to Die' a Classic? Result: Yes
Is 'Speak Now' a Classic? Result: No
Is 'B'Day' a Classic? Result: No
Is 'Britney' a Classic? Result: No
Is 'Goodies' a Classic? Result: No
Is 'Spirit' a Classic? Result: No
Is 'The Emancipation of Mimi' a Classic? Result: Yes
Is 'PCD' a Classic? Result: No
Is 'The E.N.D' a Classic? Result: No
Is 'Funhouse' a Classic? Result: No
Is 'Rated R' a Classic? Result: No
Is 'Good Girl Gone Bad' a Classic? Result: No
Is 'My December' a Classic? Result: No
Is 'Circus' a Classic? Result: No
Is 'Animal' a Classic? Result: No
Is 'This Is Me... Then' a Classic? Result: Yes
Is 'Confessions on a Dance Floor' a Classic? Result: Yes
Is 'The Fame' a Classic? Result: Yes
Is '4' a Classic? Result: No
Is 'Oops!... I Did It Again' a Classic? Result: Yes
Is 'Bionic' a Classic? Result: Yes
** NEW DEVELOPMENT: After I've gathered 35 "classic" albums, I'll move on to songs. **
Yes, Glitter is a classic. A Classic flop from Queen Mariah. The Original Flop, tbh.
Co-sign.
The Bionic results surprised me so much that I decided to give Glitter a chance. I'm assuming all the people that voted Bionic as a classic will agree that Glitter is too.
Edit: Oh this is one of those threads that change, my bad.
That would have been so funny if this was a 88 page discussion on whether Glitter was a classic or not
But anyway, I don't think it is. Glitter was more about the breakdown and the movie flopping. I thknk those would be more iconic, but the soundtrack was kind of a footnote compared to them, and I don't think it's really been exposed on a cult level the way Bionic has been.
It was the definition of a flop era until Bionic came.
I agree, people still talk about what a flop it was. There is a reason why TEOM was so highly publicized, it's due to how badly Glitter & Charm performed. In comparison to Glitter, Bionic wasn't as highly publicized or crucified for its flopage.
The breakdown, movie flop, etc were all part of the Glitter era period. To argue that the material wasn't classic would be void seeing that Bionic's material wasn't either but y'all voted it as a classic.
Actually, Loverboy alone (the purple boots, the discount, the video, the remix, the bandana bra) >>>>> Bionic itself.
Already Done
this gif alone speaks how iconic glitter era is
@ this reaching 88 pages lol
That would have been so funny if this was a 88 page discussion on whether Glitter was a classic or not