What’s up with the constant demand for new music? Comment sections, Twitter threads, and even IRL interactions with celebrities are dominated by the phrase “when’s the album dropping”, and it’s clear that artists aren’t loving the trend. From Frank Ocean’s Coachella performance to Ariana Grande’s breaking of the ‘album-cycle’, let’s take a look at why we might need to leave celebrities alone.
Ever since ‘Blonde’ blew all of our minds in 2016 we’ve been desperate for Frank Ocean to release his next album; but with the singer falling off the grid for the past few years, it started to feel like he never would. Then, in April this year, when Frank Ocean was finally brought back to headline Coachella, it seemed our prayers had been answered. We were actually getting a real life live performance – in fact, his first since 2017. And yet… well, you know how it went down.
According to those who attended, Frank started his set an hour late, apparently mimed along to some of his tracks, and left before cancelling his performance the following day. Basically, it wasn’t great. But can we really blame him? We’ve hounded him for the next ‘Blonde’ for almost seven years, and in the end it culminated in a Coachella performance that fans called disappointing (to say the least). Maybe “the next Blonde” just isn’t ready yet.
But what happens when an artist decides they’ll just ignore the crowds? Doja Cat’s an example who’s been all over Twitter outlining her plans for her new career trajectory – and many of her fans aren’t obsessed. Simply Tweeting “Pop isnt exciting to me anymore. I dont wanna make it,” about her upcoming album led to fans practically turning against her. All we can say is, at least we know that Doja’s doing what she wants.
Similarly, Ariana Grande’s another celebrity who’s decided to say “f*** you” to the pressure to release new music. The expectation of producing album after album got to Grande in 2018 when she told Billboard that her dream is to release music like a rapper. She said of the music industry: “I feel like there are certain standards that pop women are held to that men aren’t”, and to be fair she’s been pretty much releasing music like a rapper ever since.
So basically, asking celebrities to get back on stage or release new music when they’re not willing or ready is kind of a recipe for disaster. Obviously nobody’s telling you to stop encouraging your favourite artists; the dedicated fans and crowds at shows is part of what makes being in the music industry. But let’s agree to not be so desperate about new releases? Remember, good things come to those who wait.
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