
Originally Posted by
Ben7
I'm pretty curious about this next era for Beyonce. Judging by the fact that she's doing the Super Bowl, the Brits, and is putting herself out there, I take it she has a new album coming out? I'm not sure..
Given that Beyonce is 31 years old and her last album and singles were not huge commercial successes (I say that as someone who supports her btw), I'm thinking that Beyonce has a lot riding on her next album. Its interesting that when Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" went to #1, that placed her in the top 10 oldest artists to have a #1 hit in the US, and she was only 35 years old. I think Beyonce's 4 kind of proved that she's not a sure bet in the music industry as far as being successful with singles, having everything she touches turn to gold, and being "hip" with younger demographic. It's been five years since "Single Ladies" became such a phenomenon. Most of the young people who made it such a huge hit have now graduated high school and have moved on. I work around a lot of high school aged kids, and most of them seem more interested in listening to a Rihanna single.
I think Beyonce's kind of at the point in her career where her industry standing (influence, respectability, etc) is maybe a notch below Janet, but still above the likes of Rihanna and Alica Keys. She has secured her place within the industry, and her name alone will open a lot of doors, but commercial success is not going to be guaranteed. A lot is made about how the Super Bowl is such a major promotional tool, but the fact is that if you look at a list of past performers, very few (if any) of them have made huge 'come backs' afterward. Sure, they get a surge in sales in the immediate week(s) following the performance, but most of them just went on with business as usual afterward.
With the right producers and promotion, she could make a great comeback. I'd love to comfortably be able to mention Beyonce's name in the same sentence as Janet and Madonna (and Mariah too I guess), but I kind of feel like she needs to really seize the opportunities that are coming up in the next couple months.