So... hopefully something new in 2023. Because, outside of initial sales/charts, this felt like a bomb. Only one real single. Didn't even break 50K... even her Christmas album sold more.
I’m really mystified by how it was promoted. All this talk of pushing for a pop crossover, but you’d never know it from the singles they chose. Felt like she was everywhere in the week or two leading up to the album and then nothing. Really strange.
Yeah, I'm guessing based on the elaborate rollout and lush production that this thing was expensive too. Look for a "back to basics" approach on the next one I'd guess.
It’s too bad, high key loved this album and seeing star crossed tour made me love it more, the shows production was dope af
I like the record still. Probably her worst, but there are some great songs. Feel like "What Doesn't Kill Me" should have been the lead-off single.
Promotion definitely felt off. When she performed “Star Crossed” at the VMAs, a show no one cares about, but still. It was obviously not the song you’d want as your introduction to the pop world. Album never really connected for me either.
I tried listening to it again tonight and couldn't get through more than a minute on maybe 80% of the songs on the album. Just did a listen through of the first three albums instead which are just so damn good.
I see the picture disc for this everywhere and I just feel bad. Listened to Golden Hour the other day though and that album slaps. Hoping for a return to that sorta energy
Also not a fan of this album though there are a few decent songs. Literally everything else she's put out is fantastic.
Golden Hour is a classic imo, I’ll enjoy the rest of her discography as is. Really love this album still, it’s due for a re-assessment
There are really only a few songs that miss, for me. "If This Was a Movie" is pretty dull, and I have trouble taking "There Is a Light" seriously because it just makes me think of the jazz flute scene from Anchorman. And I usually just skip the closer, which feels pretty self-indulgent. But that still leaves 12 songs I either like or love. It's just not really the album I was expecting. Neither as sad, nor as poppy, nor as epic and tragic as it was touted.
I think it's pretty good. It's definitely not my favorite from her, but it also wasn't done any favors by following from Golden Hour. That's a tough act to follow especially with a pretty lengthy wait between the two. Something does feel kind of off about it to me though
Exactly, that’s why I want her to continue down this route, since it feels “unfocused” as it doesn’t truly commit to any specific direction. There are glimpses of what this album could have been (Cherry blossom/simple times and the run from Angel ->camera roll) but there’s some momentum stalling in the tracklist, and some of the choices towards the end are questionable, even within the context of the record.
feels very much like an album she had to get out of her system as a react to her personal life, cant fault that. Hoping the next ones better and fairly confident it will be
comparing this to Golden Hour or Solar Power to Melodrama is like looking at what Michelangelo painted after the Sistine Chapel and being like I guess it's alright
In terms of the rollout, I think she did this album a disservice by presenting it as a Lemonade-style concept album and then not following through (or not being popular enough with the public to pull it off, depending on your view). When Justified and the movie trailer dropped people were excited but the whole thing ended up feeling a little hollow. She pulled some punches in terms of lyrical content, and so the album ended up feeling a little less personal than what a lot of people seemed to expect. That and the lack of video/promo support for songs like Breadwinner made it feel like a flop, even though it’s a solid follow up to GH.