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Latest Posts
- More on “Selfless”
- “Selfless” from Darude on iTunes. Tour Date Confirmations.
- New Bulletin
- New Chat Thread and Tour Dates!!!
- Vote for Lupe
- Weekly Chat, 8/10 - 8/16 + Pop Culture Video #4
- Pop Culture Video #3
- Pop Culture Video #2
- Blake’s Hollywood Pop Culture Video #1
- Sir Diddimus
- Weekly Chat, 8/3 - 8/9
- Weekly Chat, 7/27 - 8/2
- Happy Birthday, Blake!
- Weekly Chat, 7/20 - 7/26
- Weekly Chat, 7/13-19
Sweet keyboard!! Thanks Star!
I did not know B played so well until seeing this video on his myspace. Swoon!!
Bully,
Just bringing this part of your comment from the previous thread. That’s encouraging to see that some stores are still getting shipments of the CD in and to know it continues selling! :) Nah, you aren’t nuts and I love the explanation to your girls trying to hide the “fangirl.” Hee! Speaking of Blake’s smiling face, other than the masterpiece which is this vid, the last 5-10 seconds of the vid with that grin on his face his too cute! :D I hope we get more gems like this from Cisco in the future! :)
I checked at my Wal-mart yesterday too. They had 7 copies left, still on the end cap of new releases. I didn’t check under “L” because I was in a hurry. The label said Q13 I think.
Thanks Pam and Vicki! :-) Yes, i DO think it’s good to pay attention the grass roots level selling of the album. It helps build a bigger picture than our own lonely selves.
Thanks Star, for the EW vid posting. It is a beautiful thought, amidst our worrying about tomorrow. He’s happy, and continues to be.
Anybody reading Rickey.org, and paying attention to the stuff coming in about S7? I can’t imagine an album taking 2 yrs to complete, unless simply they are stringing it out as long as they can, or don;t know WHAT the heck to do with it. Blake couldn’t get his album out to us fast enough.He was and is as anxious for us to hear it and enjoy it as any other aspect of the opportunity. We need to remember that happiness about ADD, and not detract from it, I think. We are lucky, having such a good first album, and such a happy personality to follow. He’s glad to be here.:-)
Maybe next year we’ll be hearing about him going to Sundance film festival and all that–and who knows, maybe he’ll be at the Grammy’s this year right?? That is an awesome thought, the thought of all the More there is, ahead.
His voice is a dream, plain & simple. I love this clip so much!
I was skipping around the internets, doing the voting stuff etc, when i checked that seattle blog guy at earcandy.(he’s the one that writes the happenings there about Blake and was even a co-worker/friend at one time)
This is a guy who is supposedly a fan, who didn’t even bother to give the album a listen before talking about it. It makes you wonder, when a media guy who had REASON to listen and didn’t want to, what the average radio guy or newspaper guy in America thought.
That might be part of the reason why there’s been lag time, right there.
Bully,
I’ve rarely seen anything positive come out that Seattle paper in regards to Blake lately. I get the Google alerts of course and anything I get that comes from that paper is almost always negative.
Just catching up with all the posts from yesterday. I was really glad to see this post from Big D! New single soon and tour in March sometime! I am really looking forward to a new single. I wish Break Anotha would have done better, but I think it did OK for a first single (#40) from a new artist. But at the same time, I am excited for a new single because I want more people to hear all the other great songs from the album. They are all so different, that the more songs I think people hear from the album, the more they will want to buy the album. Really successful singles are great, but they don’t necessarily sell albums as we have seen with Jordin. I think when people see how diverse and fun all the different songs are on ADD, they will get to know Blake more as an artist. I don’t know if I am explaining this well, but when I like an artist’s album and want to introduce my friends to it, I will play them a couple of songs and they will get the feel of the album. But with Blake, I feel the need to play a LOT of songs to them. I’ll say listen to this one, but wait….listen to this one also because it’s so different, but wait…you have to hear this one also. I feel the need to play almost every song to them. It is just such a different concept for an album. If I had not heard Blake before, and heard Break Anotha on the radio, I honestly don’t know if I had bought the album based on that one song. But when I hear it with the rest of the songs on the album, I love it all. I like the fast funky songs along with the more swooney ballad songs. It just somehow all fits together.
I have a friend at work and we both followed Season 6 of Idol. When Break Anotha was released, I emailed him the song. He replied that he didn’t really care for the song. He said he liked Blake better on AI. When Blake’s album was realeased, I lent it to him. I told him to listen to the WHOLE album. He did and he said that he surprisingly liked a lot more songs than he expected. I have not gotten the CD back. LOL. I think he expected the whole CD to be like Break Anotha. I think my friend represents the thinking of a lot of the music listeners. That is why I think it is important to get another single out there. And I am excited about it!!!!! Sorry if I rambled.
Bully - I’m so glad your WalMart is stocking up. I went to a different WalMart yesterday and zero, zip, nada.
EW Vid - I never can get enough of that!
EOTW - I get what you are saying. I like BA, but if it were the only song I heard, am not sure I would have bought the album as a “normal” person who hasn’t heard B before. It usually takes a LOT of love for a song or two from a CD for me to buy it. And now with my finances so tight, even more. So, yes, more singles will give people an idea of the variety on this CD.
Haha - reminds me that the first CD I EVER bought was “The Joshua Tree” based on my love for WOWY alone. And, was lucky to have loved the whole CD. I even went out and bought a CD player for it too.
EOTW,
Wow! I must tell you what a great post that truly is! I wouldn’t worry so much about it being too long because I think you might have just summed up there why the CD is what it is and what it takes to make people we know give it an honest listen. There are songs that folks instantly connect with once hear it and with others, it takes longer. I got a review in my inbox sometime back from the Google Alerts that was a CD review and I don’t remember who it was from but the guy basically said it was a good album, but BA shouldn’t have been included on the CD. I have to disagree with that particular comment in the review because as a fan, I love the song whether on the CD or with a live performance. It does seem like the majority of folks who saw the appearances on TV that maybe BA just didn’t click with them and that does happen and the same thing can be said for hearing it for the first time on the radio as well in some cases, but I think if the right single is released the 2nd time around and people are allowed to see a side of Blake that maybe they feel comfortable with, then it could turn the negatives into positives. I think all it takes is the right single, whatever that might be. :)
That Seattle PI blog is hardly negative. I guess all my years in the Clay fandom has made me bulletproof towards negativity, but that blurb is mild compared to shit I’ve read over the years. This was written the day ADD dropped so I cut the guy some slack if he didn’t listen right away, its not like he wrote some scathing review before listening. Didn’t the PI write something nice when he had the CD party? I don’t recall them being a newspaper that’s constantly badmouthed Blake.
Yeah, I’m pretty sure they did. I think that same guy also wrote the fluffy piece a few weeks back about working with Blake at Circuit City, and how Blake was such a big Duncan Sheik fan. I don’t recall seeing much negativity from that site at all.
ETA: I’m digging through the archives there…check out this quote from an entry about their most popular posts of 2007:
And here’s the post the blogger wrote about working with Blake back in the day and their bonding over Duncan.
Squeee! I adore his piano playing! You know, when a lot of pop singers “play the piano,” what they really do is bang the same 3 keys over and over, while the backup band does the heavy lifting. Blake is actually really good. He has so much all-around talent.
I agree with this. I love BA, but it’s possible that he could better capitalize on his AI advantage with a song that shows off his voice more. It’s why I’m not hugely worried about his future success. It’s not like BA is the best and most representative song on the album. If BA didn’t strike a chord, there are plenty of songs with a wholly different vibe on ADD that might.
Thanks for that vid! Love it!
I really like that side of Blake, he is so talented with the piano.
I hope he does something like that for future records.
Anyways, I still think a second single will help Blake reach a broader audience. He needs airplay for sure, the most important thing for the label right now is to choose the right song and support it.
I hope everything works out. Also an AI performance would be great.
That EW video is one of my favorites along with the She Loves the Way video. Both were filmed by Cisco. He does have an eye for good film making. He and Blake make a good team. Hope to see more vids like these.
OT Does anyone know if the DVD that could be downloaded from Walmart has ever been put on You Tube or anywhere else for that matter? I downloaded my copy but Media Player would never let me view it. I really want to see it.
Hey Star– Yeah, i loved that article from the seattle blog about how he worked at CircuitCity with him and all–but my point was:
Here was a guy who had every reason to be excited to hear this album, and he was all ho-hum, I’m sure it’ll be alright whenever I get around to listening to it, whatevs. The rest of us who only knew Blake in passing, we couldn’t get the wrapper off fast enough to hear it play! LOL.
I think that attitude is “telling” in the lukewarm reception of the world, where they are all like, “Aww, the pop tv star! How cute.” ie MileyCyrus. This guy *did* have a reason to be interested and excited to hear it, and yet we are hearing his First Response to it here,(which frankly he should have kept to his damn self, if he was going to take back some of what he said later on)in the clip I gave.
Yes, he later on has said some good things, and maybe has come back around to some fan-love. But initially, the response of the jaded mass public may be that whole looking-down negative view. They hafta HEAR IT, to like it. Like EOTW’s friend, who now won;t give back the cd! LOL! LOooved that story.
That’s all i meant by what I quoted. I didn’t say the guy was negative or even an aass, but rather, his lukewarm reception was surprising to me. The only reason he mentioned the record in-hand, is because he wanted to comment about the funnyordie vid! THAT was actually the reason for the writing, that day…which is odd promotional push for sure, to get people talking! ;-)
Bully,
that’s exactly why I got upset over the big markets refusing to play Blake’s song at all. If people can’t even *hear* something, how can they be expected to like it? There is no way Jordin’s “Tattoo” would have gone Top 5-10 if not for MASS airplay and people getting ‘used to’ the song over time.
Now, perhaps “Break Anotha” wasn’t the best choice for a first single, but I truly hope the second single gets significantly more airplay than BA did. We’ll also have to really make an organized effort to vote online and request the song at our stations too, not get complacent.
Bully, I was actually responding to Pam’s comment that most of the Blake news/commentary she sees from Seattle PI is negative, when in fact the opposite is true. They’ve been very supportive of Blake.
Speaking for myself here but my point was to say the PI has not been saying nothing but negative things lately like Pam said. The last few mentions have been far from negative. I’m still not getting what the big deal is either because the guy didn’t rip the celophane off the CD and listen right away. Of course hardcore fans will do that, not everyone will *shrug*
Bully,
With all due respect I think you are really overreacting and picking apart some meaningless blog.
This sounds like he hasn’t got around to listening, nothing more, nothing less. If this guy is a journalist of course it would be too logical to assume he didn’t have the time to listen to the CD within 5 minutes of having it in his hands.
Can someone show me what’s so bad about this? I guess I’m missing something. As mentioned above - if you think that’s bad you haven’t seen scathing mentions.
Blake had some not so good reviews from publicatons more widely popular than the Seattle PI, it happens. You can’t blame negative mentions for the problems. King Daughtry even saw some lousy reviews. I think you’re really reaching.
Terry–I’m not overreacting at all, quite taking it in stride. I was just clarifying my point for posting what I did.
star– I understand what you mean.
Nic– ITA.
I was one that was “against” the Jordin album, I’ll admit that. Call it knee-jerk loyalism, I dunno. But Blake being in the video made me listen to it (repeatedly! hah!) and now I actually really like the song/album. I was swayed, once I took the time to hear it. Yup.
Nic, I agree with everything you said here. I just think (IMHO) that Jordin got the airplay because she won American Idol and because the record label paid for it. I’m sorry, but I do believe the money thing. I think due to the track record of the second place finishers, the big radio stations weren’t going to jump on board with Blake until he proved himself somewhat. I still think Break Anotha was a good first attempt. 40th was pretty good for a first single. 260,000 album sales was good in 8 weeks (like Big D stated). I think if his next single does equally well or better and his record sales improve, then the big stations will come on board.
I agree we as a fan group have to keep up with the station requests etc. and not be complacent. I think the stations are also looking for this. Idol fans can be a fickle group LOL.
*swoons*
That acoustic version (even though he forgot some of the words) is beautiful. And he plays really great piano.
I forgot somewhere posted a listed of songs that Blake recorded.. I know the BT/Blake version of SWBL and this (EW) was on that list, but I believe there was something else. I think it was a lists that Blake re-did and they wanted it to be put on the internet.. I cant seem to find it. Just wanted to know what was the last thing, because I never heard of it, or remembered it.
SWBL actually means SLTW.. Im srry no coffee today
More people have probably heard at least some of A.D.D. than is reflected in sales numbers through a) You Tube and other internet channels b) borrowing it from friends c) having friends burn the CD and giving it to them, etc. There’s less and less incentive to buy a physical CD if so much of the music is available through some other means, and at no cost. That has to have an impact on CD sales in general.
None of that takes away from the fact that A.D.D. is a really good CD from a very talented young artist that makes me a happier person every time I listen to it. That’s what I think gets lost when the focus turns to sales and radio play and media opinions.
Here is a the latest bulletin from Kristi at the Blaker Girls MS. I know this has been discussed a lot, but it would be a good idea to share your opinions at this blog if you have a page. :)
Kristi’s blog
Kristi posted that as a blog that everyone can see, so I edited your post with a link to the blog. PLEASE use good judgement when copying and pasting content from other sites.
I was just checking the AI site for the answer to the questions posted. The interview will be posted “live” in a couple of weeks. See here towards the end of the page for Miles’ posting.
Maybe we should do our own vote of which song here on this site.
Mine is for How Many Words. Other songs are good too, but it just edges others out by a few percentage points. I think it is because he can perform it with real feeling as it means something to him (the honesty factor always distinguishes art as being a cut above what else is around). Maybe I am getting hung up on the whole truth is beauty thing from Keats.
Good Night.
Sigh, I’m in school right now and all videos are blocked ):
Which video is this, is it the one of Blake playing Emotional Waterfalls on the piano??
Yes Vanessa - that is the one!
Vanessa
you lucky at my school I’m nbot alout to got to forums or anythigng liek this liek a blog.. totally wouldn’t be aloud to use the school computer if I did…
Eilleen
Totally agree with you.. when Iliste to the song in his voice you can tell it really means something to him!
Arista needs to push a new single…NOW. Not yesterday. NOW. I’ve been lurking for awhile on this site and I’m really happy people are still enthused, but it’s obvious that BA is done (and no, singles don’t usually drop and then come back up barring very extremely unusual circumstances ala. the artist’s untimely death). I think “Know My Name” needs to be the next single. I think it’s catchy enough.
The thing Blake needs to do is make a decent video. I’m not joking about this. If some of the songs on ADD weren’t “old”, the video certainly put that stamp and killed the song before it even had a chance.
The only reason I am concerned is that RCA/Arista really appears to be “cleaning house”. It’s not a matter of giving people a chance. There are just far too many talented undiscovered artists out there to think anyone is more special than another. With the recent bootings of Taylor Hicks, Ruben and Katharine, I think it’s safe to say that simply being part of a big reality show isn’t enough to translate into the real world. I don’t think he’ll be dropped just yet, but the next single needs to fly.
Great minds think alike Dani.