Tbh this is the best choice. I think his plans sort of backfired and he is pulling an 8701 on us. Plus he always releases his best albums when he takes 3-4 years off.
Good move. I think he needs to re-evaluate his work for the new album because it's astounding he hasn't come up with a strong single yet... I mean, I like all songs he's released but none of them have made or will make an impact as they sound weak to me.
So keep the Drake collabo to smash on Urban radio, Ed Sheeran/Skrillex ( ) for some new and interesting stuff, get an A-list act on a good song and record strong Pop/R&B material.
On another hand, I don't want to be too pessimistic but he doesn't have to wait, in the end. I think it'll flop anyway unless he has a real smash hit... hope I'm wrong, though.
There was nothing wrong with Looking 4 Myself. It's my favourite album by him which is surprising considering a lot of other r & b artists who try the electronic music route fail miserably. Sonically the album was good and I hate that the reception from his fan base likely made him regress. He should focus on evolving that sound IMO
He's in a tricky predicament, but I think he'll come out ok if he and his team play it right.
Like someone above said, "Looking 4 Myself" was a great album, but he didn't pick right singles after "Climax". He should have followed with another edgy R&B number and then dropped 'Scream' or even "Euphoria" to show that he could do edgy, progressive Urban-EDM too.
Instead, he was chasing Billboard hit in 'Scream' by dropping it at same time as "Lemme See", but putting strongest push behind 'Scream'. The end result saw his core, Urban-loving audience just assume album was full of "Screams" and turn their noses up.
With this campaign, the music - by and large - has been fine. He just set an iffy tone by releasing "Good Kisser". It was a worthwhile risk musically, but one that clearly didn't pay off. To come off a bad selling previous album, the lead single for this one shouldn't have been a "grower". It should have been a sure-fire smash.
It's confusing, because he clearly has an army of producers and writers that would ensure he has hit after hit. I sense that he's over-thinking things (in general and because of JT's success with the overrated "20/20") and falling short in the process.
Thankfully, the tour will keep him in spotlight (and out of it too, if that makes any sense) - which will be good. Then he can bounce back with bang early next year...pretend everything from "Good Kisser" until this point never happened and then hit us with his new "first single" lol.
Good and bad. Bad because I want new music, good for him though.
The tour should keep his buzz up. The problem here is that no one even knew he had new music out. Good Kisser took a while, and by then, no one cared. She Came to Give it to You had no push, therefore no one cared.
The only bad thing here is that whatever material he worked on, we probably won't get. I remember back when Raymond v Raymond leaked in 09, all those demo tracks had a ton of views on YouTube. No one is really checking for him at the moment.
I guess he tried to go for a mysterious approach and it just didn't work. He needs exposure.
) for some new and interesting stuff, get an A-list act on a good song and record strong Pop/R&B material.
