Comments on: Kelly Clarkson, Fleetwood Mac and the “Moment Of Truth” Single

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 17:38:23 +0000

Actually I think Rick Astley’s “Moment of Truth” single was “She Wants to Dance With Me” in late ’88/early ’89. Pleasant enough song, and it did make top 10, but then came “Giving Up On Love” which barely made top 40 and “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” which was a total flop. I like “Cry For Help” but I think the song’s hit status had largely to do with Adult Contemporary radio picking up on it and the fact that it was quite different from most of what he’d done previously.
As for Cyndi Lauper, I think radio wanted her to stay in “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” mode and turned its back on her when she didn’t. I also think that from “True Colors” onward, she continued to present herself as “quirky” but at the same time she wasn’t really making fun, upbeat or instantly catchy or poppy music any more. In a way I kind of see the same thing going on with Kelly Clarkson now as happened then with Cyndi – as the music becomes darker and moodier, the fickle teen audience loses more and more interest.
Also, re: Hootie & The Blowfish – perhaps some of the reason the singles from their second album didn’t catch fire was that at the same time they released “I Go Blind” from the “Friends” soundtrack album. Unlike anything from H&TB’s second album, “I Go Blind” seemed to click more with the masses and is today played as much as most of the songs from their debut. I remember WKQI in Detroit (a Hot AC) giving only scant airplay to “Old Man & Me” and “Tucker’s Town,” which were added and removed from their playlist very quickly, while jumping on “I Go Blind” – in fact they may have been one of the stations to break that song, as I don’t remember it showing up on the R&R charts until a couple of months after WKQI added it.

By: Darryl T

Darryl T — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 15:01:26 +0000

Styx’ “Mr. Roboto” was a strange follow-up to the successful Paradise Theatre. They fortunately held on with a minor second hit “Don’t Let It End.” Otherwise, the nail was hit a bit further in the coffin.
Are we purposefully leaving out Tone Loc’s “Funky Westside” from 1991′s Cool Hand Loc?
Ron, I forgot how much “Baby Talks Dirty” sounds like a re-write of “My Sharona.”

By: Gilbert Neal

Gilbert Neal — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 00:44:43 +0000

Don’t forget Blue Jean – Bowie. This qualifies as it is the first single after his first flush of megastardom on a commercial level.
Ballad of You Me and Pooneil – Jefferson Airplane

By: Gilbert Neal

Gilbert Neal — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 00:38:11 +0000

Sowing the Seeds of Love – Tears for Fears (wonderful!)
Stone Blue – Foghat (crap)
Crash and Burn – Pat Travers (meh)

By: Richard

Richard — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 12:14:05 +0000

Actually, Gerry Rafferty’s moment of truth song would be “Days Gone Down” off the Night Owl album rather than the “Royal Mile” off Snakes and Ladders, if you’re looking for the follow-up to City to City.

By: John Rashotte

John Rashotte — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 23:02:12 +0000

If you’re from Canada “You Oughta Know” was Alanis’s “moment of truth” single. She had a huge pop record that went gold here in the early 90′s before Jagged Little Pill.
Very good article.

By: Jeff Winfield

Jeff Winfield — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 17:10:21 +0000

Sean,
Great article! In regard to Kelly Clarkson, I have to wonder if the issues with Clive Davis have much more to do with killing this record on the chart than the actual song (per Eric’s comments on Never Again being in the Top 10 on I-Tunes).

By: KJ Carson

KJ Carson — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 14:21:30 +0000

Fun Subject…it’s like hearing the breaks schreetch! I remember Run DMC’s “Pause” as one of those “tire burners”!
As always, great stuff Sean!
KJ

By: Ron Gerber

Ron Gerber — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 17:10:09 +0000

Sean – Good comments! I completely forgot about “Digging In The Dirt,” just like most people forgot about the whole “Us” album. (“Up”? “Us”? Can’t remember; I lost interest after “So”.)
I was so inspired by your article that I did a whole 90-minute show of these unfortunate Moment Of Truth singles, and all without even mentioning the second Milli Vanilli album, prophetically called “Moment Of Truth” in some countries.
Here’s a link – http://www.archive.org/details.php?identifier=cftp-2007-06-15
Keep up the good work!
Ron G

By: Marcus Chapman

Marcus Chapman — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 02:33:08 +0000

Here’s one from each of the past 4 decades:
70s: “Give It What You Got” by BT Express. Not a bad song, but not on the level of anything on the classic “Do It Til You’re Satisfied” album. The more adventurous flip side, “Peace Pipe” is the better song and should’ve been the lead single from their 2nd album. They never really got back on track.
80s: “I’m That Type of Guy” by LL Cool J. I liked it, but most hip-hop fans didn’t think much of it. Russell Simmons later said that the second single “Big Ole Butt” should’ve been the first single. It’s the only song from the “Walking With a Panther” album that holds up to LL’s other hits.
90s: “Trippin” by Total. How this single went gold is beyond me. Has anyone played this since 1998? The group disbanded after this album, nuff said.
2000s: “Mezmerize” By Ja Rule featuring Ashanti. Many think 50 Cent ended Ja Rule’s hit streak, but this song was the real culprit. A ridiculous attempt to recapture the magic of “Always On Time” and the “Grease” inspired video only made things worse. This was the only song they performed at that year’s NFC Championship Game in Philadelphia. Neither Ja Rule or the Eagles have ever recovered.
BONUS: Ashanti “Rock With You (Aww Baby)” Forgive me if I have the title wrong, but who cares? This may be the most annoying song of the decade thus far. Her next single “Rain” was a hit, but it couldn’t repair the damage done by “Aww Baby”. That song, and the Soul Train “Aretha Franklin Award” for best female entertainer of the year (that many didn’t think she deserved), pretty much ended it for her.
MC