Just a few weeks ago it looked like Madonna's single "Celebration" would be distinctly disappointing in its chart and sales performance. In the UK BBC Radio 1 had failed to playlist the song with comments indicating the powers that be thought she was not appealing enough to a younger demographic. In the US the story was not much better. "Celebration" opened at #71 on the Billboard Hot 100 and then quietly disappeared. The song has been a #1 dance hit, the 40th for Madonna, but it seems the pop music world was unimpressed.
What a difference a few weeks makes. In the UK the BBC elected to move "Celebration" from the BBC Radio 2 playlist to the BBC Radio 1 "B" list. With a bit more support, it could move up to the top playlist. With the official release this week it looks like Madonna may roll into a top 3 debut on this week's UK pop singles chart. Back on the other side of the Atlantic in the US, it's still an open question whether the song can be turned into a pop hit, but a clever new video could help considerably. Jonas Akerlund, director of the official "Celebration" video, has put together a "fan version" featuring a wide range of Madonna fans edited in with the star herself. It is being heavily promoted on MySpace and quite possibly could regenerate interest in the single. Don't give up on "Celebration" just yet.
- Watch "Celebration" fan version
- "Celebration" review
Single cover courtesy Warner Bros.
Comments
It will never perform well in the U.S. where radio is populated almost exclusively with rap, hip-hop and other urban crap.
I sure hope that one day this changes because I can’t listen to the radio without feeling nauseous and a little ashamed of my generation and their “music” tastes.
US is actually the only country that have stopped playing Madonna on radios. she’s right now n 8 in the united world chart.
This is so bad and weird when you consider the fact that she just broke the record of the biggest grossing tour ever by a solo artist proving that she is still the queen of pop. I guess she’ll be played again when she’ll be dead…
Let me first start by saying that I am a huge, life long Madonna fan. However, I’ve never ever been more anxious for a new Madonna album..I’m not talking about her upcoming greatest hits, I’m talking about what will be her first release under her new Live Nation contract. Allow me to explain:
Hard Candy and the two new songs, “Celebration” and “Revolver” are hardly inspiring, ground-breaking works of great pop music on par with her past releases. Remember, part of the genius of Madonna was that she was all about starting the trends, not following them. The new greatest hits songs as well as Hard Candy sound like anything we could hear from Britney Spears or Lady GaGa or any number of other pop singers.
But this all makes sense. Think about it. If you’ve been signed to Warner Bros. since the very beginning. You’ve spent the last 20 years of your career recording music for them. You’ve made them A LOT of money. Just as your current contract with Warner Bros. is coming to a close and is up for renewal, here comes Live Nation offering up a great multi-million dollar deal for your future recordings and touring. Now Warner Bros. COULD have said, “no we are keeping Madonna on our label, so whatever Live Nation is offering, we’re going to beat it.” But, they didn’t do that. So Madonna signs up with Live Nation, but before the deal can begin she has to finish up her contract with Warner Bros. She owes them one more album (Hard Candy) and a greatest hits (Celebration).
Given this scenerio, if you’re a smart business woman on her way out the door from one record label to another, you’re not going to give the label that you’re LEAVING some amazing, hot, ground breaking, album. You’re going to save that for the NEW label. So, I think that’s why Hard Candy and the Celebration songs sound so generic. There’s nothing distinctly “MADONNA” about them. They sound like she just phoned it in! Probably because she did.
But, that’s why I look SO FORWARD to the first release from her Live Nation deal. Because as we’ve seen with Ray of Light, just when Madonna get’s counted out, that’s when she drops something brilliant!
As A MADONNA FAN>. IM VERY HAPPY TO SEE MADONNA FAIL THIS TIME..LOOK AT THE STOOOOOPID VIDEO TO SUCH A GREAT TRACK.. I DONT CARE IF LOLA IS IN IT. SHE FEEL LIKE SHE DOESNT HAVE TO WORK TO PUSH HER SONGS PROMOTE THEM,TIMES HAVE CHANGE FOR HER.
MADONNA LOST HER CREATIVE EDGE, LIKE SHE DOESNT WANT IT NO MORE,IF THATS THE CASE GIVE LIVE NATION THE 120MILLION BACK AND RETIRE. GO AWAY!