Resurrecting a Pop Single
From the Bill Lamb blog at About.com:
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.