Posted by scott_o_k on 2009/5/21 5:48:06

I've been busy with finals and then went on vacation; I see that "Come Back to Me" is now pretty much done on pop radio, so I think now's a good time to review Utada's US airplay history:

DEVIL INSIDE
Total Lifetime Spins: 597
Total Lifetime Audience: 2.412 Million

EASY BREEZY
Total Lifetime Spins: 247
Total Lifetime Audience: 0.290 Million

EXODUS 04
Total Lifetime Spins: 447
Total Lifetime Audience: 1.278 Million

COME BACK TO ME
Total Lifetime Spins: 9266
Total Lifetime Audience: 30.836 Million

The difference between the Exodus singles and CBTM is astounding. This is a direct result of IDJ and Utada's management team getting organized and not only taking advantage of but creating opportunities to get her name out there: splashing SIN, the Grammy interviews, the radio interviews, the TV appearances (yes!), the Ryan Seacrest performance, the meet-&-greets which led directly to her getting on Z100 (yes!). We've seen how these things can snowball into bigger and better things: she's met so many new contacts in the industry, who knows where they may lead her to? People are mentioning how they'd like to see her on Ellen, or other shows, and before that was just a pipedream; now they're closer to reality than ever!

That CBTM ultimately never did take off is a testament to the immense difficulty in becoming a superstar. You can do everything 'right'--- great talent, a major label, agressive marketing, radio-friendly produced songs--- but when you get right down to it it's all a matter of luck. Lightning struck for Utada in Japan; she's trying to get it to strike her again.

Utada's in good company: heard of Electrik Red, Trey Songz, or "LMFAO"? All are big-label acts that released singles around the same time of CBTM, and like Utada, didn't quite break out despite their best efforts. The difference though, is while their singles fizzled rather quickly, CBTM lingered on MediaBase for months while more and more curious radio stations tested the song out. Even last year's heavy hitter Lil' Wayne had a flop single come and go while CBTM continued to chug along. About 100 radio stations across the country have played CBTM, and a good number of them had put her into medium-to-high rotation.

The audience reaction apparently wasn't quite enthusiastic enough for CBTM to break through in the end, and there's a thousand possible reasons why not: perhaps listeners weren't in the mood right now for a piano-ballad, or perhaps it sounded just a bit too much like Stargate's other songs, we can go on forever and ever. But instead of fretting over things we and Utada don't have control over, let's recognize the things we did: because of Utada, IDJ, her management, and of course us, she is now a legit player on the American music scene and we all took her as far as we could take her.

Exodus, which got lost during an executive-change at IDJ at the time that later didn't know what to do with her, never had a chance. But because of everyone's determination, "Come Back to Me" did, and that's worth celebrating.

Oh, and IDJ: "Dirty Desire" next pls k thnks bye!

Posted by Truten on 2009/5/21 6:29:06

Utada has done a really good job with CBTM. Like you said Scott, it wasn't the ultimate song to turn her into the world's most famous superstar but it has definately done a lot for her. Its jus a case of luck, but Utada has certainly been treated very fairly and properly by her record company and management. Remember that Come Back To Me managed to debut in the Pop 100 charts.

And I absolutely agree with you Scott, Dirty Desire for the next single!

Posted by knitoe on 2009/5/21 8:06:31

lady gaga's just dance took 22 weeks to become a hit. i have not given up hope! but going from 54 to 70 on mediabase is quite disheartening...

if utada gets over her illness and starts promoting there is still hope for cbtm! (wishful thinking? =)

Posted by teiku5 on 2009/5/21 13:15:34

I agree too, Dirty Desire would be a good single, especially during the summer.

It would of been cool if EXODUS would of got a re-release along with TITO.

Posted by tomakun on 2009/5/21 13:35:17

i wonder she won't let any single come out, in my opinion :D
Because it's look like she has planed her work back at JP

Posted by TadakoXIII on 2009/5/21 19:23:50

My God, Scott. You always give me a great sense of hope and a fuzzy feeling in my stomach whenever you hand us breaking news on Utada's progress in the US -- info that would have passed by us without any of us ever noticing (i think?!). You really bring a lot of light into our questions that only continue to probe in the dark. I just want to sincerely thank you for everything. X'D

But yeah... this news brings me relief for some reason. I feel like since her new CD came out, the long awaited news of her progress had been slow (torture for us fans, keeps us at the edge of our seats) probably due to her postponing the in-store appearances and sickness... but yeah. THanks so much. @_@ It just... makes me feel sooo much better when her single is being compared to other artists' stuff in such a way as stated above. She's hangin' in there, even when sick!! GO, HIKKI, GO!! ;u;

Posted by Shurikid on 2009/5/21 19:47:36

Ha. I just posted something much shorter but similar in content in another thread as a response to something another user said. ^^;
I definitely agree. The best thing about CBTM is, if it's a sign of anything to come, Utada may do much, much better if she releases a single over the summer. I can definitely see "Dirty Desire" or "On and On" going places CBTM just never would have because of its slow ballad-feel and slightly generic lyrics. But both DD and "On and On" have a witty, fun sound to them that I think could be a major turn-on for American listeners right now, especially with the summer psychology being vamped up: now it's all about fun in the sun! So more than just celebrating the work CBTM has done, here's to hoping for an even better future for Utada and her work here! Because it's sure as heck not over 'till it's over. <3

Love & Life,
Shuri/Eli

Posted by scott_o_k on 2009/5/25 3:08:16

Quote:

Oh wow. That's exactly the kind of thing I wanted to do when I started the MediaBase thread: to shed some light on the how, the why, and the general goings on of the pop music business as it concerns Utada. The more people know, the less scary and nebulous things will seem, even if they don't go the way we'd want them to. And of course we can share in the excitement when things are going good. It's amazing to know that just posting on a message board can make other people's day. You're welcome!

Posted by driftingsymfony on 2009/5/26 17:27:11

"That CBTM ultimately never did take off is a testament to the immense difficulty in becoming a superstar. You can do everything 'right'--- great talent, a major label, agressive marketing, radio-friendly produced songs--- but when you get right down to it it's all a matter of luck. Lightning struck for Utada in Japan; she's trying to get it to strike her again."


--- It's not just about luck... the entertainment and media industry of the U.S. is more than luck, especially when it comes to race politics and Asian American visibility. The same troupes of race politics and Asian American non-visibility and consumption caused CBTM to not take off. Like many Asian American artist, Utada fell trap to these troupes. The U.S. is still not ready for mainstream Asian American talent to surface, this is seen in major film, video, media, and the lack of Asian Americans in them.
In any case, Utada has done miles, and we'll await her next single. But these days, it seems like "popular names" .. artist getting guest features from already high consumed artist, is what it takes to get on the map and "take off".

Posted by teiku5 on 2009/6/2 16:12:50

SE7EN is about to have his video premiere on BET on thier popular countdown show, Hikki should of at least done that with CBTM since TRL is gone.