Non-Urban Music Katy Perry Closing In On Michael Jackson's #1 Singles Record

[Kobe]

Key words here are "Closing in" NOT that she has tied the record (yet?).

If Dream's fifth single, the just-released "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)", continues its climb to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 (it currently sits at #4, jumping 27 spots from last week), Perry will not only become the first female artist to ever have five #1 songs off one album, she'll be the first artist of any gender to accomplish the feat since Michael Jackson had five chart-topping singles off his Bad album in 1987 and 1988.

Anyway, I find it interesting that this is actually happening. I've always assumed that it wouldn't happen but, records are made to be broken, regardless of the field. In this age of social networking I can already picture her fans rallying to push her sales up (not that there is anything wrong with that).

I'm intrigued by some of the arguments that I've seen on the web about this. Its all about legacy. Needless to say the same arguments in music are similar to the ones brought up in sports. Interesting to note that MJ's 'Bad' LP was 6 X platinum (aplogies if that's wrong) by the time his 5th single went to #1. I think Perry's 'Teenage Dream' is now heading to 1.5mil copies sold..

 

[Casey]

these days it takes a much smaller amount of sales to get to #1. certainly less than 50k most weeks. in the 80's, it was much, much harder.

so let me know when Katy sells over 100 million albums like "Thriller" did.

 

[Pittsey]

That just shows how pants the music industry is.

 

[ArtsyGirl]

Yeah different era. Can't compare.

 

[Chronic]

It's not like Michael Jackson got that record because everyone buying his album was a music buff. Plenty of "it's so catchy" or buying it because people around them were. Just the numbers and record themselves aren't signficant.

 

[Casey]

The thing is that "Bad" was ahead of it's time, as was Prince's "Sign O' The Times" which also came out in '87, to the point where people where trying to replicate the sounds on them for at least 3 years after they were released.

"Teenage Dream" is a great record, no doubt, but it's very much of it's time. People were trying to replicate the sound in the 6 months after it came out, but no longer. Music moved on and even though Dr Luke worked a lot on Britney's album as well as Katy's, the sound of Britney's new album is fresh right now and the way "Teenage Dream" sounds isn't, really.

There's a bunch of people who had lots and lots of pop hits in the 80's and 90s, maybe they didn't have 5 number 1 records but overall they sold a lot more records than Katy has, but they don't have that special reverence that is reserved for the people that really CHANGED music, people like Michael, people like Prince, people like Kurt Cobain.

 

[Ristol]

Viva Morrissey, Casando Rain!

 

[Pittsey]

There's a bunch of people who had lots and lots of pop hits in the 80's and 90s, maybe they didn't have 5 number 1 records but overall they sold a lot more records than Katy has, but they don't have that special reverence that is reserved for the people that really CHANGED music, people like Michael, people like Prince, people like Kurt Cobain.

I don't hate Katy. But she is merely a singer. She isn't changing the face of music, nor is she pushing boundaries.

I love bands that created sub-genres. That pushed boundaries. That got banned from countries. Michael Jackson's music was too clean to me. But I remember finding a Thriller album tape in my mum's music collection and wacking it into my walkman. I loved that album and played it for about a year. I bought the Bad Album on CD (My parents did for me) and then they bought me his Dangerous album quite a few years later. I remember talking about Black & White at my first school, he was even popular amongst us younger kids. But his music doesn't get the same affection from me, as say - Nirvana.

 

[dilla]

Ah. Now I feel dumb for starting that thread in Our Block. Had no idea this thread even existed.