Katy B - On A Mission (4 April 2011) - hype, anticipation &c

yawn

fart

challenge lawro

Finally gotten around to Katy B, which is great. However, talk of this singer Ny upthread made me seek out that Split Endz vol. 2 mixtape, and it kinda blows my mind as I'm sitting here.

yeah that's a pretty special mixtape. can't believe how little she's lived up to her obvious talent since, either in terms of attention or, to be honest, material, bar a couple of singles here and there

http://www.electronicbeats.net/en/features/interviews/katy-bs-real-guide-to-uk-funky/

i've been spending some time w/ this album lately... "i like you" is a jam!! overall the album's been slower to grow on me than the debut but i can't quite articulate why yet

I just listened to this whole album and holy smokes it is really good!!

"5 am" and the first track ("next thing"? or something) are two of my most played songs this year

5 am is breathtaking.

Apparently Still is going to be the next single which I really don't think is a great choice. Think she should have gone with a proper release of Aaliyah or maybe Everything. If it had to be another ballad she should have at least gone with Emotions which is a way better song.

Still is an amazingly great closer, but I cannot imagine it as a single.

(Also, why are all the singles from this album so... ballad-y, when ballad-y is not what she does best?)

"Emotions" is THE one for me now, the bit where she sings "so let me in and close the door / nothing really matters anymore" and it explodes into rudimental drums after several minutes of sparse, taut buildup is so cathartic

this album campaign is being managed hideously though i guess that's not new news, just reinforced news

was 5am a US single? i feel like that one and crying-for-no-reason are the songs most likely to become huge pop hits.

(asking about US cuz i imagine katy b's already a huge star in the UK)

those are the only two songs that have videos so far i think

i'm not sure she has singles specifically for the us at this point, she really has next to zero presence in this country. like her first album sold 6000 copies or something.

still is the next single?? good lord

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDE2OMZtExY

this album campaign is being managed hideously though i guess that's not new news, just reinforced news

― lex pretend

I feel like the campaign has been going quite well up until now. Crying was a big hit for her and was a perfect choice to help launch the album. Choosing Still as the next single is a big misstep though, two ballads in a row is now a good idea for her.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOboa27SHDE

Just realised I had forgotten the biggest mistake of this campaign which was putting some of the best songs as bonus tracks. Hot Like Fire would be perfect as the next single.

it's three ballads in a row after "5am". yeah by hideous campaign i mean three ballads in a row, appalling sequencing, bonus track fuckery...

i'm not sure she has singles specifically for the us at this point, she really has next to zero presence in this country. like her first album sold 6000 copies or something.

― dyl, Sunday, March 30, 2014

that is a shame because 5AM and cryin' for no reason are the kind of pop songs that can launch careers. cryin' for no reason is the second-best pop song i've heard this year, behind only one high-concept song that really touched the zeitgeist.

http://cdn0.dailydot.com/cache/e7/76/e776424bef1a7194e48d5ab1136187b2.jpg

I listen to Crying For No Reason daily. so good.

Guy Chambers. Just... no.

Crying For No Reason is fine for what it is, which is the sort of none-more-broad landfill pop ballad that songwriting guns for hire produce for artists when the record label suddenly has a lot of money riding on them and secretly little faith in them actually delivering.

It's obviously effective, because it was a hit and got played on Radio 2 and she now has a #1 album, but Katy is a better songwriter than Guy Chambers in her own right and Crying... has none of her personality or spark.

i really like "crying for no reason" though i think it's boilerplate pop songwriting taken to another level by the restraint and space in the production, and personality and warmth in katy's voice BUT the idea that it's peak little red or peak katy b let alone peak 2014 pop is completely nuts

bun guy chambers, bun sia furler, bun all of these super-rich pop hacks

It's just kinda depressing that some marketing team thought like Katy B "needed" Guy Chambers to get to number one in 2014. Given 2013 was the year when loads and loads of stuff around the edges of ~what Katy B does~ got to number 1 in the UK.

i'm not opposed to katy b balladry in principle and am v much a fan of "crying", but it seems rather thick to release "still" when the trend this year is skewed toward black butter or stuff that sounds like black butter - "my love", "rather be", "ready for your love", "i got you", etc etc etc (and there's more to come, that kiesza single is pulling extraordinary numbers on pre-orders and looks set to be one of the biggest singles of the year), AND it's not like the album is short on bangers.

i'm not opposed to katy b balladry, i'm opposed to guy chambers balladry that's only just saved because it's katy b.

it's odd that any old unknown duke dumont or route 94 can score number ones but katy herself has never really come close, though perhaps that just illustrates that getting to number one is overrated as a marker of success.

i suspect the entire hideousness of this campaign is down to them wanting to break her to a new audience rather than just score dance hits like they know she can.

if chart position is overrated as a marker of success, what's a better marker? genuine q, and i'm not sure i agree with the proposition in the first place but interested to explore what "success" means in the era of freemium

if chart position is overrated as a marker of success, what's a better marker?

ILM love.

ILM love basically means you're doomed, commercially.

Lots of prosaic reasons why one record might get to #1 and another might not. Katy's had four Top 20 singles. She's doing OK.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xdyav8r3mA

still sounds a bit better outside of the album but i'm definitely ready for her to turn towards some of the less maudlin tracks

tom shorterz remix of crying for no reason is the one

shorterz has gone back and done a superlative shuffle mix of 'lights on' as well now, kicks off the 26/03 0231 show

he is a splendid chap

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EDf9X3DYIY

i think i love her.

I like her a little bit.

more than i should

she's mentioned the title track that never made the main album a few times, it's ended up as a free download for carnival. it's pretty nice! katy takes to reggae surprisingly well.

https://soundcloud.com/katyb/littleredlight

Please, please, please, can someone (well, presumably someone who knows my regular email address) email me the new track? SoundCloud does not work on my antiquated laptop. :(

i'll email you when i'm near my hard drive

Cheers!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJ8jkSdr5C4

i'm sayin

(doesn't know if and when it'll come out)

this album holds up a lot better than i thought it would