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Post by Q3 on Apr 18, 2018 23:45:29 GMT -5
I don't agree! Sam is doing things now that he didn't do from the beginning. He was already a major star and accepted for his music long before he started to really express himself. Adam on the other hand was attacked from the beginning on his sexuality. He wasn't given a chance by some once that was known. Don't know why his label let him down after that amazing first album and tour. He should have been non stop on our radio's , TV, award shows etc. Can't go back so forward it is and Adam has taken the bull by the horns and done it his way! Thank God for QAL. Barry Weiss was at the top at RCA and he was Adam's biggest champion at the start of his career. He even talked about Adam in Behind the Music. He left before Adam's second album and I really think that kind of support left with him. His radio team really worked hard to get Adam radio play. They were let go from RCA when Barry left. Barry went on to head the label that Frank Ocean was on. Frank said it was Barry who got him the money and support to make his debut album such a big success. I really think if Barry had stayed, he would have made sure Adam's #1 Trespassing album had support and radio support. But you are right, we can't go back. But I will be forever be grateful that Barry made sure that Adam went international at the beginning of his career. It really served him well even in harder times. ITA Barry Weiss leaving was when RCA shifted for Adam. December 2010. He became chairman and CEO of Island Def Jam and Universal Motown Republic Group. He stepped down from his position at UMG in 2104. Regarding Trespassing -- RCA wanted a mainstream pop album from Adam and Trespassing was not mainstream pop. That album contained some of Adam's best work to date but that is a different matter than being mainstream pop. Add in the dreary singles RCA shoved on that album and you get a mess. I have my own version of the album that excludes the two RCA mandated crap singles. Grrrrrrrrrrrr!
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Post by Q3 on Apr 19, 2018 0:28:45 GMT -5
It's interesting to me that Sam Smith ,from England ,has not faced the bigotry here in the states, that our own folks face. It hurts to think that so many talented American LGBTQ performers cannot break into music or the movies.. It's so time to end this bias.I watch ITunes a lot to see how gay singers do.. They appear for a short while and then seem to disappear pretty quickly..Don't see many if any at the TV music award shows .. Maybe because how many ever win. This is talent that we don't really get to hear and to support IMHO, It's America's loss ADA on AI ,the talk has a great deal to do with her persona,but of course She's a willing unicorn . and yes I sure hope she wins..A rare talent. To add, I also blame the LGBTQ Community for not supporting their own artists.....their support is so needed.. Actually Sam Smith has faced many issues in the UK and in North America. He was bullied as a kid for being gay, effeminate and fat. He was out and gay at 10 and attended Catholic school. He never even met another gay man until he was 18 and moved to London. He went through seven managers and tried to get signed by a major label from the time he was 12. And his songwriting and demos were bankrolled by his mom, not by a label. > He does not talk much about any of this but his friends and schoolmate have. It looks like he had an easy road because he was so young when he was had a huge album. And he still does not have an easy time. Not so much because he is gay but because he is white. He and other Brit soul signers have been heavily criticized for cultural appropriation by black artists. (There is some merit to this. Some of his songs are derived from work by black American artists who preceded them.) He also stumbled into a major controversy over his racism tweet in 2016. That just made the problem worse. *** Adam has had challenges but he grew up in a supportive environment. He parents seem to be very balanced, no aggressive stage mom making him sing at parties when he was 12. He went to a school where he was treating well. Yes, he struggled to get a label deal but he got one. And he got a second one. Adam seems to have affected many peoples lives in a positive way and been a real role model to many people - particularly young LGBT kids. I don't see the same kind of posts about Sam. So who has been more successful? Who has had an easier time? That depends on how you define things. I say Adam because he has a balanced life, great friends and family, and he has creative freedom (and a closet full of great clothes ) Regarding fame, we'll see what it looks like in 20 years. I think a couple songs from Lonely Hour might survive and still be played, but Adam will have a legacy of thousand of young people who were inspired by him and I still believe that he has a great, a truly great set of music to give the world. In the meantime, one of my favorite artists, Kendrick Lamar, got a Pulitzer Prize so anything is possible.
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Post by bridgeymah on Apr 19, 2018 0:30:53 GMT -5
Those pics with the blue jacket though .... HOT!!! Are we sure they are recent? He looks so youthful, handsome, and relaxed. Whatever Adam is doing right now, it works! Yes, they are from Bootsy Bellows last weekend. Hair for the win.
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petrajo
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Post by petrajo on Apr 19, 2018 1:24:11 GMT -5
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Post by sizzling63 on Apr 19, 2018 2:45:21 GMT -5
Barry Weiss was at the top at RCA and he was Adam's biggest champion at the start of his career. He even talked about Adam in Behind the Music. He left before Adam's second album and I really think that kind of support left with him. His radio team really worked hard to get Adam radio play. They were let go from RCA when Barry left. Barry went on to head the label that Frank Ocean was on. Frank said it was Barry who got him the money and support to make his debut album such a big success. I really think if Barry had stayed, he would have made sure Adam's #1 Trespassing album had support and radio support. But you are right, we can't go back. But I will be forever be grateful that Barry made sure that Adam went international at the beginning of his career. It really served him well even in harder times. ITA Barry Weiss leaving was when RCA shifted for Adam. December 2010. He became chairman and CEO of Island Def Jam and Universal Motown Republic Group. He stepped down from his position at UMG in 2104. Regarding Trespassing -- RCA wanted a mainstream pop album from Adam and Trespassing was not mainstream pop. That album contained some of Adam's best work to date but that is a different matter than being mainstream pop.Add in the dreary singles RCA shoved on that album and you get a mess. I have my own version of the album that excludes the two RCA mandated crap singles. Grrrrrrrrrrrr! When I list my all time favorite songs, most of them are from the Trespassing era I agree that it is a tremendous album, except for the singles.
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Post by lurleene on Apr 19, 2018 4:11:51 GMT -5
Barry Weiss was at the top at RCA and he was Adam's biggest champion at the start of his career. He even talked about Adam in Behind the Music. He left before Adam's second album and I really think that kind of support left with him. His radio team really worked hard to get Adam radio play. They were let go from RCA when Barry left. Barry went on to head the label that Frank Ocean was on. Frank said it was Barry who got him the money and support to make his debut album such a big success. I really think if Barry had stayed, he would have made sure Adam's #1 Trespassing album had support and radio support. But you are right, we can't go back. But I will be forever be grateful that Barry made sure that Adam went international at the beginning of his career. It really served him well even in harder times. ITA Barry Weiss leaving was when RCA shifted for Adam. December 2010. He became chairman and CEO of Island Def Jam and Universal Motown Republic Group. He stepped down from his position at UMG in 2104. Regarding Trespassing -- RCA wanted a mainstream pop album from Adam and Trespassing was not mainstream pop.That album contained some of Adam's best work to date but that is a different matter than being mainstream pop. Add in the dreary singles RCA shoved on that album and you get a mess. I have my own version of the album that excludes the two RCA mandated crap singles. Grrrrrrrrrrrr! I wonder why they signed off on it cause they had the power and the money. Labels have been known to not release if they don't get what they want. It still seems odd that they did not support Trespassing after saying they wanted to get him a #1 album. So many albums do well that are different when you look at Adele, Sam, Ed, Demi, Bruno, Amy Winehouse, Legend, Maroon 5 etc. I don't know if they are mainstream pop but none of them are alike other than all being supported. Do you remember that interview where some higher up at RCA (the new group that took over) said Adam saw himself as pop but they thought of him more as pop/rock and rock? I tried to find the interview but could not remember who said it. Not sure if it was Corson or Edge or maybe a VP. I remember the statement being very odd cause they did not seem to be on the same page with Adam. Then when they later asked for that Rock album of classics, it really seemed that they saw him as something totally different from what he wanted. But after that statement, I was disappointed but not completely surprised.
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Post by girldrummer on Apr 19, 2018 8:55:50 GMT -5
It's interesting to me that Sam Smith ,from England ,has not faced the bigotry here in the states, that our own folks face. It hurts to think that so many talented American LGBTQ performers cannot break into music or the movies.. It's so time to end this bias.I watch ITunes a lot to see how gay singers do.. They appear for a short while and then seem to disappear pretty quickly..Don't see many if any at the TV music award shows .. Maybe because how many ever win. This is talent that we don't really get to hear and to support IMHO, It's America's loss ADA on AI ,the talk has a great deal to do with her persona,but of course She's a willing unicorn . and yes I sure hope she wins..A rare talent. To add, I also blame the LGBTQ Community for not supporting their own artists.....their support is so needed.. Actually Sam Smith has faced many issues in the UK and in North America. He was bullied as a kid for being gay, effeminate and fat. He was out and gay at 10 and attended Catholic school. He never even met another gay man until he was 18 and moved to London. He went through seven managers and tried to get signed by a major label from the time he was 12. And his songwriting and demos were bankrolled by his mom, not by a label. > He does not talk much about any of this but his friends and schoolmate have. It looks like he had an easy road because he was so young when he was had a huge album. And he still does not have an easy time. Not so much because he is gay but because he is white. He and other Brit soul signers have been heavily criticized for cultural appropriation by black artists. (There is some merit to this. Some of his songs are derived from work by black American artists who preceded them.) He also stumbled into a major controversy over his racism tweet in 2016. That just made the problem worse. *** Adam has had challenges but he grew up in a supportive environment. He parents seem to be very balanced, no aggressive stage mom making him sing at parties when he was 12. He went to a school where he was treating well. Yes, he struggled to get a label deal but he got one. And he got a second one. Adam seems to have affected many peoples lives in a positive way and been a real role model to many people - particularly young LGBT kids. I don't see the same kind of posts about Sam. So who has been more successful? Who has had an easier time? That depends on how you define things. I say Adam because he has a balanced life, great friends and family, and he has creative freedom (and a closet full of great clothes ) Regarding fame, we'll see what it looks like in 20 years. I think a couple songs from Lonely Hour might survive and still be played, but Adam will have a legacy of thousand of young people who were inspired by him and I still believe that he has a great, a truly great set of music to give the world. In the meantime, one of my favorite artists, Kendrick Lamar, got a Pulitzer Prize so anything is possible. Thanks for the background on Sam. I didn't know much about his childhood, school life, etc. He has certainly had his struggles and setbacks. And that issue about his kind of infringing on black soul music is interesting. I will be brutally honest with myself and say that I guess I simply feel jealous that Sam has become so huge and fills arenas, etc. He has certainly worked for it. I just always and forever want the same thing for Adam.
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Post by sizzling63 on Apr 19, 2018 18:04:06 GMT -5
ITA Barry Weiss leaving was when RCA shifted for Adam. December 2010. He became chairman and CEO of Island Def Jam and Universal Motown Republic Group. He stepped down from his position at UMG in 2104. Regarding Trespassing -- RCA wanted a mainstream pop album from Adam and Trespassing was not mainstream pop.That album contained some of Adam's best work to date but that is a different matter than being mainstream pop. Add in the dreary singles RCA shoved on that album and you get a mess. I have my own version of the album that excludes the two RCA mandated crap singles. Grrrrrrrrrrrr! I wonder why they signed off on it cause they had the power and the money. Labels have been known to not release if they don't get what they want. It still seems odd that they did not support Trespassing after saying they wanted to get him a #1 album. So many albums do well that are different when you look at Adele, Sam, Ed, Demi, Bruno, Amy Winehouse, Legend, Maroon 5 etc. I don't know if they are mainstream pop but none of them are alike other than all being supported. Do you remember that interview where some higher up at RCA (the new group that took over) said Adam saw himself as pop but they thought of him more as pop/rock and rock? I tried to find the interview but could not remember who said it. Not sure if it was Corson or Edge or maybe a VP. I remember the statement being very odd cause they did not seem to be on the same page with Adam. Then when they later asked for that Rock album of classics, it really seemed that they saw him as something totally different from what he wanted. But after that statement, I was disappointed but not completely surprised. I can't recall that particular interview, but I do have some thoughts... Not to be confrontational, but wouldn't some of Adam's most ardent fans want him to have more of a rock edge? I actually get why the label felt a certain way, if that's how it was. Not to say that how they handled things was right. But even on Idol Adam was seen and promoted as more of a rocker - it started during the initial audition where it was BoRap that got him through, and not MJ's "Rock With You".
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marionm
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Post by marionm on Apr 19, 2018 20:54:27 GMT -5
Also a thanks from me @q3 for the backround on Sam Smith!
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