Opinion: Ghosttown was wasted potential

[null 2,303]

Ghosttown has to be one of the greatest ballads in Madonna's recent discography (from 2008-present). It's really a shame she didn't bother promoting it as much as she should have. Honestly it was wasted potential to be something greater than it actually was. Everything about the song was perfect and is,in my opinion,probably my top ten favorite Madonna songs of all time.

 

 

 

Do you agree or disagree?

[Fighter 28,797]

I don't think its top 10 for me but it's really good..

 

Madonna and her team let a lot of things slip in the last 10 years which hurt the chances for any song no matter how good to be successful, adding to the obvious ageism in radio and the media and the rise of new artists. So promotion probably wouldn't have changed things.

 

But at least we got a great video out of it. Maybe it would do better now that people aren't that oblivious to the world and the song fits these times very well. Plus I think her popularity has gone up a bit.

[Guest ArthurBadin]

Totally agree, my dear @.

But we can understand for sure it was an Interscope's fault. And no more else's.

Warner would promote it to hell around the world, just like happened to You'll See and I'll Remember (to name only 2 ballads where she had developped so much as in Ghosttown).

See you!

 

I don't think its top 10 for me but it's really good..

 

Madonna and her team let a lot of things slip in the last 10 years which hurt the chances for any song no matter how good to be successful, adding to the obvious ageism in radio and the media and the rise of new artists. So promotion probably wouldn't have changed things.

 

But at least we got a great video out of it. Maybe it would do better now that people aren't that oblivious to the world and the song fits these times very well. Plus I think her popularity has gone up a bit.

 Of course, @@Fighter. Especially after MDNA era and its singles.

[Askeroff 8,072]

Nor she or her team cant did nothing.

Music market is changed. Sales of singles and albums are dead.

 

Now all charts it's all about the streaming (spotify/radio/youtube)

Madonna is in category that too old for this . 

Radio dont play songs of artists over 40, not only Madonna any artist!

Gwen Stefani in last year was a first female singer who reach top 20 on US pop radio (20 place!)  since Hung Up ! And she only 45!

Britney Spears struguling to have hit in her 35, radios also don play her songs and she dont have streamng power.

If Cher released her Believe today radio will not give her a single damn chance.

 

-  "She created the world we live in," Diplo said of Madonna in the latest issue of Rolling Stone.

 

"She sold out her tour in minutes, but no-one seems to want her to succeed - 'Madonna, we've been there, done that, now we're about Kim Kardashian'.

 

"Her song 'Ghosttown' was a guaranteed number one for anybody else, but she didn't get a fair shot.

 

 

 

 

She did a great video with a main star from popular tv show, even did a perfomance with Swift, and song not even enter top top 150 on Itunes.

 

Drake or Bieber or Rihanna could may not give a single perfomanse or make music video but their songs will chart anyway.

[Fighter 28,797]

Rebel Heart brought back a lot of musical credibility so let's hope the next album continues in the vein of it with good music. That's what I care about... but it would be fun to see more focus on internet viral promotion and more and better imagery like videos and shoots. No point in complaining about radio if she can fight the system in more clever ways. Things could get better.

[Dazedmadonna 16,406]

Should have been the lead single, as it was also the only song that wasn't hacked (with Queen, but that went unreleased). It had such great potential..

[Guest ArthurBadin]

And to think she was considering releasing Devil Pray as a follower single to Living for Love, but she heard our voices and released Ghosttown instead... But anyway more than seeing it as a very commercial successful single, I's rather see it having been performed on RHT as a regular act - but it was crystal clear than, despite of major preference of GP for the sad, touchy ballads on RH, she preferred to include the most funny, enjoyable tunes to be sung on tour... Only Devil Pray (which seems to be a favourite of hers) and HeartBreakCity survived to early rehearsals time. If only Ghosttown became shot for the DVD...  Instead of LAP - if it appears on it - for instance...

[madenis 915]

I think that Ghosttown suffered from the living for love fail (bad coordination between leak, video, radio release etc) and should have been the lead single because of the leaks and released the week after the leaks.

 

But it's our role, as fans, to ask radios to play it and to listen it on spotify so it will rise one the charts. Katy's, Gaga's, Ariana's fanbase are going it

[Andymad 10,319]

I dunno. I mean it had a great video, she DID in fact promo that song a few times, almost as much as LFL. She even performed it with Taylor Swift, who at the time was huge. I truly think it's a matter of the general public who are "over Madonna". It makes me sad but I truly do think with Ghosttown, she did it right as far as promo goes. Maybe not enough but it was out there enough for people to see.

[MerBoy13 577]

It was wasted but not by the potential it had. Its two things in my opinion, the music scene has changed unfortunately for the worse. There is no consistency the charts are a mess and streaming is one of the worst things to have happened too the charts. I have always believed the Billboard 100's inclusion of radio play was a joke as any station can play the song over and over sound familiar? Streaming is just as bad as that. Plus the change in social attitudes over the last 10 years has affected her and her singles from hitting the charts. I do realise I come off contradictory as Madonna would not have got to where she has in her career without radio play but I believe that in this day and age things have worsened.

[Enrico 15,788]

She didn't promote the song??

Jonathan Ross

Che tempo che fa

Le Grand Journal
Ellen

IHeart Music Awards

 

The thing is radios are not playing the song, Interscope is not pushing the song...

Charts are totally changed by streaming, sales are destroyed by leaks and downloads...

 

I really wonder what would have happened if it was a single by Taylor Swift or Adele...

 

Such a pity, I think the song ranks in my personal Top 10 or maybe even Top 5!

[NowRadiate 3,331]

What I absolutely dread since a decade is the sense of rushing the art, running behind on trends and the overall lackluster or even desperate approach to M as a product.

and the same goes for ghosttown.

it's a good song but it's certainly not great. and not number one material.

you'll see was. frozen was. take a bow was. ghosttown, sadly, is only a pale imitation of a great ballad. the production ruined this one too.

 

I miss the sovereignty, some carelessness in regards to "what's trendy" or "who's hot". just her. mature. sovereign. not desperate. her real vision, not diluted by a million collaborators as happened with the previous records. but one collaborator as a producer and one or two songwriters to focus on. maybe not too many youngsters just riding on the trends.

 

who's madonna today? for real, what is she about? that's what is interesting to me and should be interesting to the world. an icon. aging. maturing. with a strong personality and strong views. not a product that just convinces instragrammers for having a plump face at her age.

 

i feel we haven't been getting her artistic side for ages. perhaps because the industry people also make her feel insecure, including her management.

 

she should make people see that art can become better with age.

or have i been expecting too much from madonna all this time? was she always just about hiring the "right people"?

why do i feel like her team around her is shit?

[Fighter 28,797]

Yes she did perform the song but she didn't promote the single. The video came out and 2 days later she moved on to her Bitch i'm Madonna persona on Jimmy, and then TWO MONTHS LATER the Bitch I'm Madonna video came out and she moved on to the RHT rehearsals. What kind of messiness. How do you build momentum? 

[tifenn 99]

I dunno. I mean it had a great video, she DID in fact promo that song a few times, almost as much as LFL. She even performed it with Taylor Swift, who at the time was huge. I truly think it's a matter of the general public who are "over Madonna". It makes me sad but I truly do think with Ghosttown, she did it right as far as promo goes. Maybe not enough but it was out there enough for people to see.

I totally agree with you, i have nothing to add

[Enrico 15,788]

@@Fighter yes I have to agree, it's not real promotion...

 

@@NowRadiate I feel M is acting differently.

 

The thing is with this new music business it's like she's not confortable, she doesn't really know which way to go, young or adult?

 

From the many messages to Patrick Leonard on IG, she should focus on songwriting with messages and do it the oldfashioned way for her fans, and not these trends which lead nowhere...

[Fighter 28,797]

From the many messages to Patrick Leonard on IG, she should focus on songwriting with messages and do it the okdfashioned way for her fans, and not these trends which lead nowhere...

 

 

RH was full of that though. I do wish she would try working with him again since their collabs were so good. I don't care who produces as long as the songwriting is solid. 

[o_g_c_x 2,785]

The best M songs come from Leonard- Ciccone tandem.

Hope she focus on real music and forget about things like Bitch I'm Madonna, S.E.X or Best Night that are below M standards and are only ego.

[Adrian 706]

Having such a "big" album with over 19 songs in it and to promote it with only 3 music videos is a shame.

Leak did lot of damage. Everyone knew "Ghosttown" it was not anything new it was already available officially even 3-4 months before video was out (pre-sale).

And her fanbase is "older". Kids are streaming and we "old folks" are downloading it once and then play it offline or we buy a cd or vinyl. Kids don't do that, they stream it every time they want to hear the song. SO imagine just listening Madonna from youtube or spotify not from your cd-s or PC.  If you get my point.

[Fighter 28,797]

A lot of Madonna fans dont feel the incentive to help her with streaming. Young fanbases organize streaming campaigns, its not just that they wanna listen to the songs through streaming, they wanna up the numbers of their favourite artist to maximize success. Some of us do try to help but others are stuck in their ways lol "i already bought the cd so whatever". its not like spending your days streaming is a good use of our time, and the chart rules are bullshit but it is what it is.

[Enrico 15,788]

Actually we buy like 6 different editions of the cd (single, double, deluxe, vinyl, fnac, german) which is more than enough!

Yes I am not into streaming but I won't feel guilty fir not spending my day trying to get M back on the charts! Although I'd realky want to see her no 1 again.

But maybe also I realized how this chart thing is impossible to manage and makes no sense anymore.

[Fighter 28,797]

Actually we buy like 6 different editions of the cd (single, double, deluxe, vinyl, fnac, german) which is more than enough!

 

 

 

I don't do that, I only bought it digitally at first  I ended up buying it physical to help her even though I didn't prefer the version I bought (red cover). When I found the vinyl I bought it cos it had the artwork I wanted. but yeah I'm not too enthusiastic about having 6 slightly different versions. Different folks 

[NowRadiate 3,331]

RH was full of that though. I do wish she would try working with him again since their collabs were so good. I don't care who produces as long as the songwriting is solid. 

 

i would care a lot about production. it can truly ruin even the best songwriting. (imagine Kanye butchering all songs. Diplo is not very far form that kind of production.)

[NowRadiate 3,331]

@@Fighter yes I have to agree, it's not real promotion...

 

@@NowRadiate I feel M is acting differently.

 

The thing is with this new music business it's like she's not confortable, she doesn't really know which way to go, young or adult?

 

From the many messages to Patrick Leonard on IG, she should focus on songwriting with messages and do it the oldfashioned way for her fans, and not these trends which lead nowhere...

 

that's the dilemma.

do stuff "for her fans" (and would that really mean) or try to do stuff "for the general public" who seem to be over her as Andymad said (which is sad)?

 

i would say, none of both.

better to find your own way. maybe she is still searching.

(better to never ask guy oseary or the kids for ideas/opinions)

[Fighter 28,797]

i would care a lot about production. it can truly ruin even the best songwriting. (imagine Kanye butchering all songs. Diplo is not very far form that kind of production.)

 

what did kanye butcher? the songs he touched became better in my opinion. *

 

kanye is a minimalist, diplo not so much

 

 

*edit: except for autotune baby  

[rebelheart29 329]

definatly in my top favorites.