That sounds good to me! :D No matter when it’s released, I’ll just be glad when we get the final confirmation one way or the other! :)

What Pam said:D I still love HMW and the live version of it too. I was just listening to it again on my i-pod, and swear I do not get tired of hearing it or singing to it. So *Happy Dance* over here:)

I know I am sounding a bit critical today, but an image update may be in order. Madonna went from what became the ’80s caricature of dress to the sleeker look for Vogue and the Blond Ambition tour. JT went to sharp looking suits to lose his boyband image and fit with sexier sounding music. These examples are not meant to imply a tailored sleek look is being requested. But some kind of change to show the audience he has grown from the time he was on American Idol.

Ok, I do have one request - let the Amish beard go!

he might want to play the guitar during the AI performance to keep him grounded and focused on the music and lyrics

I do like him with the guitar. Understand what you are saying Eileen, I really think the guy just looses himself in the song.

Some of the stuff I’ve heard has hurt my feelings a little, but the show must go on!It’s nice here at TeamPlaid we are all fans, and love the Boy still. I’m going to have some hot chocolate, and think nice thoughts while I watch this AOL vid. Thanks for posting it!

*hugs mods*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMSBe2tdnP0

It’s goddamm depressing, the lack of fan-fair. (Are people really so fickle?)

I know what you mean Bully. I haven’t really looked at a lot of sites, just IDF, and that has really slowed down. As well as his myspace. That is why he needs this second single to kick butt. To get people interested again. Please, please, please let the label be fully behing this next single. By that I mean major radio push, a much stronger video, and of course the AI performance. Like I said before, my fingers and toes are crossed for Blake. If it is true, and the next single in not released until the end of next month, is album will be off the top 200 by then…and will most certainly have to make the climb back up. Though I know it can be done:)

Glad someone got me. I know my image needs updating. I want to provide constructive advice. Image is just part of business, so I hope Blake would not be offended. Even executives and partners in big law firms go to these executive coaches and stuff on a regular basis for updating their personal image. (e.g. how to dress and sound like you have a little remorse when you are going to layoff a couple of thousand Americans to raise the stock price a nickel.)

He was dressed it looks like, for his one JBB concert.(Black shirt with vest and tie.) I really didn’t know he had had SUCH a long day, as he had, release day! Up at 2:45am to do satellite interviews, and then after go go go all day, he had the JBB in Tacoma! wow.

And Nic? He talks about doing BA and the punk vibe they put on it, Live.:-) I know you’ll appreciate that.

I’m really curious what people think his people should be doing for him other than what they’ve already BEEN doing. Keeping in mind that payola is ILLEGAL, of course. He’s gotten a hell of a lot of promo, especially on TV, and the fact that he’s getting an appearance on AI is pretty telling that they’re not giving up on him. A successful first single would obviously have helped sales thus far. But from my limited knowledge of radio, you push a song to radio, and if stations are unwilling to play it, there’s only so much you can do. You can’t MAKE a PD add it to his or her rotation.

Also, “How Many Words” and “Break Anotha” are romantic songs?? *befuzzled*

He has to expand that fanbase. That’s where the general public comes into play, and it’s more about what THEY want and will respond to that’s most important.

You are spot on there Sarah. And yes, he has gotten a lot of promo on TV. No question.

You can’t MAKE a PD add it to his or her rotation

Well then here is hoping that the PD’s will want to add his next single to their rotation.

That is why he needs this second single to kick butt. To get people interested again. Please, please, please let the label be fully behing this next single. By that I mean major radio push, a much stronger video, and of course the AI performance. Like I said before, my fingers and toes are crossed for Blake. If it is true, and the next single in not released until the end of next month, is album will be off the top 200 by then

Anne,

I strongly suspect Blake wasn’t given a big budget promotion-wise when it comes to pushing the song to radio. People can debate it all they want, I guess, but I still believe there’s NO way “Tattoo” would have received the massive airplay it did with OUT a major push from her label. JMHO. Let’s hope the second single fares better anyway, and it’d be f-king nice if huge markets like Chicago or NYC actually gave the new song at least ONE spin too.

Yes, a better budget for the next music video would be nice too. The BA video did come off as cheap, which didn’t help.

Glad to hear that B will be on Idol!! WOOO!! :D But won’t the single be officially coming out BEFORE March if that’s its impact date?? Like hopefully uh, in February sometime, pretty please? Then he can perform the song on an Idol results show in March-April or something.

I have to add my thoughts to the discussion of HMW live. First of all, we must remember that on the CD, Blake harmonizes with himself. I love, love, love the vocal layering. It’s not going to sound the same when he harmonizes with the guys b/c they have different voices.

I agree he sounded off in parts of the AOL sessions, but he was coming off the bronchitis and the band was just starting to gel with the songs from ADD. I don’t think we’ve had enough opportunities to hear it live in a polished form to make real judgments on its potential for a live audience.

Many peeps were saying that “Break Anotha” was more of a live show song and that hurt it on radio. Well, if anything, it could be said that “How Many Words” is the opposite of that. However, I still think it could sound great live now that the band has had more time to work on the ADD songs.

Of course, I may be biased. I love the song.

And Nic? He talks about doing BA and the punk vibe they put on it, Live.:-) I know you’ll appreciate that.

Bully,

Ha! :) I will have to check that interview out, I’ve been so busy with work lately, ugh.

Many peeps were saying that “Break Anotha” was more of a live show song and that hurt it on radio. Well, if anything, it could be said that “How Many Words” is the opposite of that. However, I still think it could sound great live now that the band has had more time to work on the ADD songs.

PJ,

considering people will likely get exposed to the song more on the radio or TV (in the form of a music video, I hope he gets one!!??), it’s probably a little more important for the studio track to catch the public’s attention at this point. And I still think the live version of HMW, what I’ve heard of it, is pretty.

WHEN the hell is the Kimmel site ever posting Blake’s HMW performance anyway? Is there some e-mail contact where we can ask about that??!?!?

Like HMW on the CD. Hate it when Blake flaps his arms like a bird. I did not like the arm pivoting when he did YGLABN in the finale. It’s not cool looking. Sorry, JMO. Sometimes he overacts the song when he’s been doing these BA TV performances. Got to watch out for that, particlarly in the AI performance. Always be yourself, just show the better parts of yourself. If anything, he might want to play the guitar during the AI performance to keep him grounded and focused on the music and lyrics (ala the Today Show SWBL performance). Sell the song, so people will buy the album. Don’t distract from it with irrelevant, odd gestures, particularly during a romantic song.

Eileen, I feel exactly the same. I love the song, but he has to work on the performance. Those flapping arms have got to go, it would be really cool of he could perform this song with his guitar, it looks so cool. I always remember how great he performed She Will Be Loved on the AI tour. He needs something like this to captivate the TV audience and people stop and pay attention. Totally agree sell the song, avoid odd gestures……
I am nervous about the single, I wanted it to be KMN or H2LH but hey the label knows more than I do I guess. I am just worried about the beatboxing in the song, I was hoping for a non-beatboxing track because it’s more safe…. Some people just don’t care for the noses. Anyways,
I am just crossing my fingers everything works out for Blake this time. Hopefully the radio gives him a chance, Geez..

A stronger more professional music video would be good too, exposure on MTV or VH1 would help him a lot. He never go that with BA because the video was just cheap looking. JMHO.

Yes, I hope if they do a second video that it will be more professional. Particularly if the second single is How Many Words, a strong focused performance of him singing the song (and playing a guitar) may be a good way to make a compelling video on a low budget.

I have heard people say “put your glasses on, you will hear better.” I suggest a video that brings the eye to Blake (looking very cute like when he sang “Imagine”), but don’t distract the eye too much, so viewers are focused into listening to the song instead of it being pushed to the background by a visual rollercoaster. Sort of the anti-BA approach. Go for audio over visual. You want the viewers to have the chorus humming in their heads afterwards, rather than splattered colors. No actors please.

I love H2LH too.

Also, did he get a million dollar record deal like Jordin? Or what is the going value of a record contract for new artists at a major label? And what does “a million dollar recording contract exactly mean? Does it mean the record company fronts a million dollars for producing and promo or just producing? Does Blake get any money out of that just for his time in working on the record? My understanding is that the artist sees no profits from the CD until the record company recoups its costs? I assume that means at least the million and anything else they spend on it, right?

How much does an appearance on the Tonight Show cost the record company? Do guests pay fees? Anyone in the know out there about these things?

Thanks, Anne, for the vid. I had forgotten about the small clip of HMW on R&K.

I have to add my thoughts to the discussion of HMW live. First of all, we must remember that on the CD, Blake harmonizes with himself. I love, love, love the vocal layering. It’s not going to sound the same when he harmonizes with the guys b/c they have different voices.

I agree he sounded off in parts of the AOL sessions, but he was coming off the bronchitis and the band was just starting to gel with the songs from ADD. I don’t think we’ve had enough opportunities to hear it live in a polished form to make real judgments on its potential for a live audience.

Many peeps were saying that “Break Anotha” was more of a live show song and that hurt it on radio. Well, if anything, it could be said that “How Many Words” is the opposite of that. However, I still think it could sound great live now that the band has had more time to work on the ADD songs.

Of course, I may be biased. I love the song.

pj -

I am one of those that has reservations on the live version of HMW. I love the song on the album, and all the points you bring up here are more than valid. I totally agree with you on all of those. Funny enough, I prefered BA live to the studio version, but with HMW, it’s the opposite. But as you mention, maybe that’ll help in getting radio airplay? I really hope so!

I never expect a live version of a song to sound the same as on the album. I actually usually expect it won’t. Sometimes it works for some songs, some other times, it doesn’t. As I’ve said before, I am going to reserve my “judgment” for when I hear the song live myself, not a recording of a live version. :)

I love the song… Heck, I love all the songs on ADD except for one that I am neutral on. All I hope for Blake is to get more air play and be successful. In that regards, his AI appearance will be great!

But enough about me… YEAH about Blake releasing a new single, and YEAH on the AI appearance! :)

I have a question if anyone knows the answer….if Blake’s single doesn’t impact until the beginning of March, do you think radio stations will play it before that? How did Jordin’s No Air get radio time so soon before its impact date? Do songs usually get played before their impact date?

BTW, we didn’t get our info from Lisa

I was curious about that;)

I hope that is has so much success that it’s coming out of the Wazoo, Blake deserves it!

Butet I know what you mean. I’m just so happy right now that he is getting a second single:)

And I think HMW will sound fantastic on the radio:)

I am just worried about the beatboxing in the song, I was hoping for a non-beatboxing track because it’s more safe…. Some people just don’t care for the noses.

Mara,

to be honest, I’m not so sure the beat boxing in HMW is that big of a deal since it’s not like it’s pervasive through the WHOLE song. I hear songs with weird-ass noises on the radio quite often - that “Clumsy” Fergie song for one comes to mind, WTF is some of the background on that???! LOL.

if Blake’s single doesn’t impact until the beginning of March, do you think radio stations will play it before that? How did Jordin’s No Air get radio time so soon before its impact date? Do songs usually get played before their impact date?

EOTW,

usually a song gets airplay before the actual impact date. I thought Blake’s was in early December but his song was released around October 30th? It does seem like Jordin’s songs got airplay well before they went for adds though, in both cases (for “Tattoo” and “No Air”). I would imagine alot of that had to due with a major push from her label to the radio stations, however.

peace out!

usually a song gets airplay before the actual impact date. I thought Blake’s was in early December but his song was released around October 30th? It does seem like Jordin’s songs got airplay well before they went for adds though, in both cases (for “Tattoo” and “No Air”). I would imagine alot of that had to due with a major push from her label to the radio stations, however.

Nic,

You are right. BA was released on October 30th and the first station to play it that day was Kiss 106.1 in Seattle and it was by request but they did play it. In fact, some of you may remember Shayne. She called the station and requested BA and they played it earlier that afternoon. Later on that day, they got ready to play it again and I got a message from her on MS and I couldn’t get to the website fast enough to hear it! LOL If I remember correctly, BA got 9 spins on 10/30.

As for him needing to change how he sings/performs to gather new fans. I personally hope that he NEVER changes something he does for that reason, or to sell records. I too feel like he needs to change somethings, and I’ve said as such, in order to appeal to more people. But that is the wrong reason to do that. He is all about staying true to himself.

I’ve decided not to worry if he sells more records, or if more fans get into his music. I think it’s more important to him as a person that he feels his music is HIS and not someone elses, whether it be the fan he’s trying to win or the suit that’s trying to make him do this or that. He’s very happy sharing it with us, and I’m thrilled he is, but I don’t want him changing it to suit the masses.

As for updating his look. Again, you need to do things for the right reasons and if he changes style to try to win new fans…that ain’t it.
duck

I’m in the let Blake be Blake camp as well. After all, that’s how he got to where he is today. :)

That’s exactly right pj. The very same Blake we saw on Idol and in these TV appearances was the very same Blake that Clive signed knowing full well that Blake was who he was so I say why should he change now. I want to see Blake be able to be the Blake we know that he is if that makes any sense? I say as long as he isn’t hurting anyone and he’s able to enjoy himself on the stage and live out his dream then that’s what makes me happy. :)

Sue..you rock! Agree with EVERYTHING you said. That is why I liked him so much on Idol. I never knew what to expect from his performances. He took risks. They told him not to do Time of the Season, but he did, and it was great! Bon Jovi didn’t like YGLABN, but Blake didn’t care, and the song ROCKED! I don’t want him to conform to anyone! I trust his instincts and I am ecstatic that the next single is the song that Blake wanted. Can’t wait, can’t wait, can’t wait for this song to hit the radio! (By the way, did I mention that I can’t wait?)

If this track is successful on the radio, hopefully sales will pick up again.
I don’t want to see Blake being the next idol dropped from his label. HE deserves a chance for stardom.

He said on The View that he is hopeful to do a second album with a major label. I am rooting for him, I love the record.
He deserves a chance to be in the spotlight. He better plan a good strategy and bring interest to a mass audience this time.
JMHO.

those of you who didn’t like the spazzing in his live performances of BA won’t get that with HMW if he performs it for TV appearances. :D

I realize that some of you dislike the arm waving stuff (doesn’t personally bother *me*), but at least he’s not jumping all over the stage. LMAO. It’ll be much more subdued and he can focus on the vocals more.

I also agree that this song is going to translate to radio exceptionally well. I take it as a good sign that I can listen to it over and over without tiring of it. And, even the people who aren’t Blake fans had praise for this song.

Bring it on baby!

Just chiming in with the image debate - there are professionals on the label that take care of these things. And it looks like they like Blake as he is. And as a matter of fact, so do I.

And if Blake wants to demonstrate his flight capabilities while singing, I think it’s in keeping with his slightly unconventional personality. Blake wouldn’t be Blake if his actions aren’t slightly ridiculous - it’s what makes him so thoroughly endearing.

As for the live performances, I think they have the potential to be awesome. I think the early ones suffered from the bronchitis. Now that he’s better, I firmly believe it’ll sound great and an AI performance is about the best promotion he could get. So many people watch the show, and fickle fans may remember him, experience Blake nostalgia, and buy the CD. I think some of his performance mannerisms are dorky, but they’re part of what makes him different and interesting. I wouldn’t want him to lose the quirks that make him Blake. And really, Justin Timberlake did some geeky stuff when I saw him live: it was still an awesome show.

Just chiming in with the image debate - there are professionals on the label that take care of these things. And it looks like they like Blake as he is. And as a matter of fact, so do I.

And if Blake wants to demonstrate his flight capabilities while singing, I think it’s in keeping with his slightly unconventional personality. Blake wouldn’t be Blake if his actions aren’t slightly ridiculous - it’s what makes him so thoroughly endearing.

Okay, Isabel, you are awesome. Just sayin’.
I don’t know if Blake put up a fight to get HMW, but I think the feedback speaks for itself. He had a fanbase informal poll to show as well as iTunes, that people are liking it.(even if most of us can’t agree on choice! LOL)Blake also really liked this one, and I believe it was you or Lisa who said, Blake had already been sort of “testing” it when he’d play it as a follow-up with BA.

Mostly, the image-thing is what I wanted to weigh in on. Let us not forget, he HAS been using a stylist…it’s just not a stylist than we are liking so much! LOL. Ashton has been dressing him in the boy suits and caps and bandannas. I think Blake on his own would err towards the cool t-shirts, perhaps the funky jacket. I prefer the t-shirts and funky jacket, to be honest. I don;t think he needs the Ashton-treatment, which makes sense only in Ashton’s universe maybe. I want Blake to express himself, and wear what he likes. If he’s comfortable–and not dated-looking– we’ll like it too. The image right now seem to me to be a walking expirey date, IMO.

And “flight capabilities” has me giggling inside! So thanks for that!
Yes, he *is* endearing, as-is.

Personally, I like it. It’s original, like him.

Second it has been driving me crazy trying to think of whos movements Blake reminds me of when he does HMW. And then it me. Michael Stipe from REM. The guy gets so into his songs, and well…moves. Here is a video of them doing Losing My Relgion, and he is actually pretty toned down here. Love Michael because he gets so lost in his songs. One of the best concerts I have ever seen was REM.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gO19TKrgWt8

I hope my gut is wrong but I strongly suspect this will be a second single much like Kat, Bo, Clay and Taylor all saw their second singles fly. If BA was a song Clive supposedly loved so much and wanted for the first single, how much support will something Blake wanted get?

She seemed to really think it was great, that I thought he was adorable, and wanted to just squish him. (She also asked me if I liked anybody yet for S7 and I said no. WHY must we be trading loyaty to S7?) I got on the radio and everything! Fangirl FTW!
WOO! hee!

I’m in the let Blake be Blake camp as well. After all, that’s how he got to where he is today. :)

I totally agree with that… He can do whatever he wants, I’m pretty sure I’ll still love him… But there are things he does that I like better than others, is all. :)

And yes! Being himself is what got him to where he is at now - so I hope he remains that way!

And I am excited that a new single will be launched soon. I have feeling this one will be better received than the first.

I know negativity is frowned upon here but lets be logical.

Negativity isn’t frowned upon here. We welcome all opinions. We just don’t like seeing dead horses beaten.

To be honest I’m not very hopeful, but every situation is different. Who knows what could happen if Blake comes through will a brilliant performance on AI? There should be enough copies of ADD out there left over from the initial shipment to handle any surge he might get from his AI appearance. And Blake was at Z100, what two weeks ago? They didn’t play BA but maybe they agreed to play HMW. We’ll just have to wait and see how it all plays out…

And Blake was at Z100, what two weeks ago? They didn’t play BA but maybe they agreed to play HMW. We’ll just have to wait and see how it all plays out…

Star, that’s what I’ve been hoping. And I think until I know differently I’ll just think positive (and try not to worry - which is very hard).

I think How Many Words should fit in very well in the current radio station formulas. I have nothing against McPhee or some of the other Idols, but I don’t think McPhee had songs that fit in strongly enough with the current formulas of radio stations. While I undestand the concept of payola and the major role that payola plays, I still think that radio programmers ultimately play what fits their station formula and profile. I joke that the ultimate goal of a radio station is to sound like it is playing the same song all day.

While I personally love BA and most of the songs on ADD, the more realistic part of me had doubts from the start that stations would want to play BA because the song seemed to be just a little bit out of the current formula. Not off by much, but just enough to not get picked up by radio stations. I tried to have faith in the people who made the decision to pick BA as the first single and I had hoped that knew what they were doing, but I get the impression that they are just guessing most of the time, despite how much demographics research they claim to do.

Second it has been driving me crazy trying to think of whos movements Blake reminds me of when he does HMW. And then it me. Michael Stipe from REM. The guy gets so into his songs, and well…moves.

I love Blake’s hand movements, they are hypnotizing, it makes me focus on Blake and not notice anyone else on stage when he performs like that!!! So much emotion comes through those hands!!!

I guess I just always notice a guys hands, it is one of the first things I look at besides well his overall features, lol.

Love your analysis and I had to laugh about this part:

I joke that the ultimate goal of a radio station is to sound like it is playing the same song all day.

I hate to say that it does seem that way. Sometimes where you hear songs for example say 8 hours a day on the job at your work from a certain station it will begin to seem like some songs are running together and do start sounding alike even though they are different songs. I guess that is the downside of top 40 radio and why I quit listening and went to HAC instead for so long. LOL

I do agree that possibly BA was off the mark just a tad for top 40 airplay but it was great for live TV and of course this was brought up in the previous thread yesterday and I do have to agree with that. I think HMW has a better shot than BA did. We can’t predict what it will do ultimately chart wise but at least it will get a shot. :)

She seemed to really think it was great, that I thought he was adorable, and wanted to just squish him. (She also asked me if I liked anybody yet for S7 and I said no. WHY must we be trading loyaty to S7?) I got on the radio and everything! Fangirl FTW!

Bully - Along with your point about “trading loyalty,” that is just too funny and too cute ! You deserve a big squish yourself for that! ::squishes::

I joke that the ultimate goal of a radio station is to sound like it is playing the same song all day.

Haha Soapbox, if it had been a snake, it would have jumped up and bit me! Good point. Maybe the same 2-3 songs all day?

if the rumored March date is the official “ADD” date and songs have played sooner..

Joyce and others, that was exactly what I figured - early March as the impact date, but hitting radio much sooner. Of course, I’d like to see it out there now, and not wait until after Valentine’s Day though.

I know the mods here are good at allowing normal discussion and I appreciate it, but last week there were cries of “we’re starting this negativity again” and someone even saying they were going to start lurking if the negativity kept up. Things like that may prevent lurkers from posting fearing they’re walking on eggshells with opinions.

I do agree that possibly BA was off the mark just a tad for top 40 airplay but it was great for live TV

I don’t know about that. There were lots of complaints, even from huge fans that thought his performances were too manic. There is such a thing as going overboard sometimes and IMO Blake tried too hard when it came to selling the song. It couldn’t have been that great for TV if sales only went down. Not being negative, I’m stating a fact.

I loved the BA performances too, but my favorites were ultimately the last 2. I don’t know why, but to me, they were the best of the bunch. I agree with you about Blake being himself. I think we have truly seen in the promo appearances who Blake “truly” is. I wish we could have seen more “sit down” type interviews with Blake kind of what we saw on Ellen because it was really cute to see the banter back and forth. To me, it was just like looking at 2 people having a normal conversation and I thought that was nice. :)

As far as the negative aspect goes, we’ve seen what has happened with BA and yes it was unfortunate and I think we all know what the prospects could be for single #2. I don’t think it’s an issue with anyone in here particularly being unrealistic because I think most of us know what the possibilities are, but most just want to enjoy Blake’s music and expressing our joy about being a fan with others. I don’t think anyone in here does object to a fan expressing concerns because everyone does have a right to their opinion and should feel free to express those concerns but at the same time if fans want to be optimistic and want to express it, then they should be allowed to do that as well and that’s the great thing about Team Plaid. :)

I hope no one took offense to that, just putting in my .02. :)

The only Idol on the chart without cheering tidings (except that he’s still on the chart, unlike so many of his compatriots) is Blake, who falls 118-161 thanks to a 27% drop to 4,000 copies. His total is now 255,000, and with airplay for his single having pretty much vanished, the prognosis can’t be overly optimistic.

That’s why “How Many Words” has to be a hit, he needs massive airplay to keep ADD on the charts.
Look what it did for Jordin, she is still in the top 50. Come on Arista, push the single to radio for god’s sakes!

I suppose my natural inclination in this instance is to be a little jaded, and not assume stations like Z100 will even play the next single when they absolutely REFUSED to ever play BA. Several of us had called and requested over the months, only to get nowhere.

I do think HMW potentially has more crossover appeal, though, as far as it comes to Top 40 AND HAC station formats. But I do think it is a riskier song than either KMN or H2LH.

Are we even 100% sure HMW is the actual single? I haven’t seen any verfication, even from the so-called ’secret source.’

I do think HMW potentially has more crossover appeal, though, as far as it comes to Top 40 AND HAC station formats. But I do think it is a riskier song than either KMN or H2LH.

I agree with this. HMW is a bit risky IMO.
I would have go with KMN or H2LH, but hey let’s just hope this works. It needs to work.
Blake’s major label future depends on it. Crossing fingers!

Go vote for Blake.

Vicki,

What was the link to? I couldn’t get it to work.