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Post by martindn on Jul 29, 2013 19:27:44 GMT
Quite a few people have sat through Twinkle in my car, and none have tried to escape yet! It is actually one of my favourite tracks. I think it is one of Hayley's favourites too.
But yes, I get your point Jillian. Any guy who heard you playing that would probably think you are obsessed with babies.
Martin D
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Post by Bamafan on Jul 29, 2013 22:24:32 GMT
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Post by Libby on Jul 29, 2013 23:42:08 GMT
If I had it in the car, I'd be skipping straight to Dream a Little Dream. But, if I had a companion in the car, and I was playing a Hayley CD, I wouldn't be playing Hushabye. I'd be playing her next album, probably. LOL I'll be surprised if I get that opportunity anytime soon, though. I'm starting to lose hope about that, being in my late 20's, but as Jillian says, I'm not getting started on that, either!
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Jillian
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Post by Jillian on Jul 30, 2013 3:25:17 GMT
Hi Libby,
Yeah, and without sending this thread off on another scary tangent, it gets to the point with women of a certain age where they almost start dividing into two 'clubs' -- those with children and those without.
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Post by Libby on Jul 30, 2013 4:31:52 GMT
Going back to Martin's comment about how the members most vociferous about not being crazy about Hushabye are female, let me clue you in a bit, Martin. Well, it's a long story. Young women our age tend to like female singers because they look up to them, admire them, possibly identify with them, especially if they themselves enjoy singing (which is why I personally started enjoying CC sopranos to begin with). To me, she had the perfect soprano voice, and now, the perfect voice and singing style, in general. Besides her beautiful singing, we admire her beauty, poise, and great fashion sense. i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif For those who weren't necessarily into the crossover genre before discovering Hayley, it seems that young women especially seemed to have been attracted to the light pop side of her repertoire, like Who Painted the Moon Black, Across the Universe of Time, etc. The songs she herself writes, like Summer Rain and All With You, are very pretty and feminine-sounding to me. She writes her songs from a young woman's perspective, and again, maybe that's what really makes us hope for more of her own material. So, you see a big reason why young girls/women might appreciate Hayley as an artist and person. Now, when this fabulous female singer that we so admire suddenly starts singing lullabies, and nothing that's really personal to her, we're not necessarily going to be very impressed. We don't need to be lulled to sleep with baby lyrics, and we don't have kids who need to be, either. So, why are we going to be thrilled with this sort of thing? If it had indeed been marketed much better for the Royal baby stuff, it would have made us much happier about it, but it wasn't, so to us the whole thing feels pretty pointless. Sure, it's great that lots of mothers are now appreciating it, but seriously, I'd like there to be an album that I could really appreciate for more than just its lulling capabilities and a pretty voice. Yes, Martin, I really do appreciate her artistic talents shown in the unique arrangements, but even with that, Twinkle will never get me excited. I'm glad she sang it so wonderfully, but it's still never going to be a song I'll go out of my way to play just for listenings' sake. The newer lyrics are lovely, but it always goes right back to Twinkle Little star, how I wonder what you are, which makes the song inexorably childish. On the other forum, you pointed out that I'm concerned about what she sings, and you're more interested in how she sings. I am very much interested in how she sings; that's what attracted me to her in the first place. But yes, I'm interested in her singing songs that will appeal to all kinds of people, and lullabies just aren't going to do that. It's too much of a specialized category. Lullabies aren't the type of song that most people go out of their way to find when they're looking for music. I feel a little left out, to tell the truth. A lullaby album wasn't intended for someone like me. Try as Hayley might to appeal to adults, the effort wasn't quite enough. It doesn't go much farther than the adults who have babies to put to sleep. It's just a fact that a large percentage of childless young women just aren't going to be excited about baby music. You keep saying it's not for babies, but if the album wasn't intended for the Royal baby, or any babies, there wouldn't be any lullabies on it! In fact, it wouldn't exist, and we'd be happily anticipating a real album... which we are even now, of course. That much more happily, believe you me.
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Post by Ross on Jul 30, 2013 8:21:39 GMT
This week Hushabye is 21st in the NZ charts for albums and No 6 in the NZ only albums.
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Post by martindn on Jul 30, 2013 22:10:29 GMT
Hi Libby,
Interesting post, and I can see where you are coming form. I suppose that having been a parent myself, even if a male one, I perhaps have an appreciation of what it means to get a baby to sleep, and how important it is, especially if the parents or one at least has to work the next day. I don't know what it is like to be a childless young woman, or even a childless couple really. But I'm sure you know that is not the point. Hushabye is Hayley, the finest singer I have ever heard. And even singing such uncomplicated and unexciting material, she is still better than most other singers at their best. Hushabye is pleasant and relaxing, as it was meant to be. Making it sound good was a challenge, and I think Hayley was equal to it. I cannot imagine many other singers doing anything like that, and if they did I don't think it would be half as well done. As to what is forthcoming in the future, who knows. Like you a hope for an album of original material by Hayley. But, for me the albums are much less of an issue than her live performances. Perhaps I stick to the old fashioned view that albums are only a pale reflection of the talent of a great artist. Hayley has always been much better live than on record. Some artists are the other way round, and when they are it makes me question their talent. It is too long since I saw Hayley live, but I have a ticket for the Union Chapel. It is now jjust a question of working out how to get there (getting back is less important).
Martin D
Martin D
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Jillian
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Post by Jillian on Jul 31, 2013 13:26:49 GMT
Hi Martind, Just to clarify, this isn't a response to what you said - just a general comment. Without getting too dramatic, the whole 'Hayley could sing the phone book and sound amazing' line makes me nervous. It was that kind of attitude that found Elvis Presley ending up recording 'Old MacDonald Had a Farm' www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGTdsCEKvEY. Admittedly, that's the best version of Of Old MacDonald that will ever exist and Elvis did a cracking job with what he was given, but it's no Jailhouse Rock and probably does more harm than good. I did hear that Elvis was furious about that at the time and it was one the things that led to him giving away the movies. Actually, I think that Elvis singing Old MacDonald Had a Farm is quite a good comparison with Hushabye -- lol the idea of it, don't worry I'm not comparing Hayley to Elvis! i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif It's just a bit of a slippery slope when a singer's repertoire isn't being taken seriously or considered necessary for it to be the best it can be. Just because Hayley has an amazing voice, Decca can't be complacent about the material they provide her with. An amazing voice can't reach it's full potential without proper songs. I mean, compare Old MacDonald Had a Farm to this one: www.youtube.com/watch?v=UR0b2-RbCtM and see what song choice can do for the same voice. Cheers, Jillian
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Post by susieverity on Jul 31, 2013 19:49:16 GMT
I see what you mean Jillian, I said in another thread that Hayley could release Hayley Sings the Phone Book and I would still buy it, but then I would literally buy any album of Hayley's even if I thought the material was going to be boring, which was my fear with Hushabye. However once I listened to this album it surpassed my expectations and I think the arrangements a great and it is really well produced and the song choices are excellent. But so many people didn't get to hear any of that possibly because they were put off by the theme or idea of a Lullabye album or the songs on the album so in order to get more fans I agree that Hayley needs amazing material that really shows her talent to other people who have not been a fan for the past 10 years, there needs to be a real incentive for people to buy her albums when they have never heard of her before. I think that one great song that gets radio play would be great for sales, Hushabye got barely any radio play and I think that is a big reason why it did not sell well, that is why I hope there will be more radio friendly songs on her next album that will be played by stations other than Classic FM which will help chart performance.
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Post by martindn on Jul 31, 2013 20:07:57 GMT
The problem is that even Classic FM, who have always supported Hayley, are selective about which songs they play. So her non-classical songs are never played on the radio. I think that a Sleep On/Bridge Over Troubled Water single could have got her noticed by Radio 2. Too late now though.
Martin D
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Post by Libby on Aug 2, 2013 4:14:04 GMT
Martin, you make it sound as if the album is not important, but it is extremely important! Nobody will attend a concert by someone they've never heard sing elsewhere before, unless it's just the radio. And we all know how good the chances are of anyone hearing Hayley on the radio for the first time. So, in order to attract fans who want to go to their concert, an artist has to put out something great that will make people want to go to the artist's concert in the first place. Hi Martind, Just to clarify, this isn't a response to what you said - just a general comment. Without getting too dramatic, the whole 'Hayley could sing the phone book and sound amazing' line makes me nervous. It was that kind of attitude that found Elvis Presley ending up recording 'Old MacDonald Had a Farm' www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGTdsCEKvEY. Admittedly, that's the best version of Of Old MacDonald that will ever exist and Elvis did a cracking job with what he was given, but it's no Jailhouse Rock and probably does more harm than good. I did hear that Elvis was furious about that at the time and it was one the things that led to him giving away the movies. Actually, I think that Elvis singing Old MacDonald Had a Farm is quite a good comparison with Hushabye -- lol the idea of it, don't worry I'm not comparing Hayley to Elvis! i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif It's just a bit of a slippery slope when a singer's repertoire isn't being taken seriously or considered necessary for it to be the best it can be. Just because Hayley has an amazing voice, Decca can't be complacent about the material they provide her with. An amazing voice can't reach it's full potential without proper songs. I mean, compare Old MacDonald Had a Farm to this one: www.youtube.com/watch?v=UR0b2-RbCtM and see what song choice can do for the same voice. Cheers, Jillian Exactly! This is the point we are making! Yes, Hayley would make the phone book sound pretty, but it would be frightfully dull. Even singing it in the prettiest melody possible wouldn't help, because you'd be thinking too much about how she's singing to phone numbers, and dull things like that. It's different than hearing someone sing in a different language. It's actually far better to listen to a song in a foreign language than one sung in a familiar language, yet with silly or meaningless (in the case of a phone book) lyrics.
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Dave
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Post by Dave on Aug 2, 2013 12:14:07 GMT
I think that one great song that gets radio play would be great for sales, Hushabye got barely any radio play and I think that is a big reason why it did not sell well, that is why I hope there will be more radio friendly songs on her next album that will be played by stations other than Classic FM which will help chart performance. Yes, exposure on the BBC Radio 2 playlist for a week or two on release would probably do the trick but sadly, to my knowledge (and I always check) no Hayley track has been chosen for their playlist since at least Pure. The producers who make the decision by committee seem far too set in their ways for my liking, they are very predictable and appear to have dismissed Hayley out of hand ever since the days of Pure, probably on the basis of perceived genre. Most other classical crossover artists suffer the same way - they don't really have any natural radio home. Classic FM is too much of a niche station for it to be able to belp much and anyway doesn't really play much Hayley outside of the odd interview, she's not really 'classical' enough for them - and unfortunately, neither do the local radio interviews help much (too low audience figures). Radio 2 does matter though but outside of the occasional interview, they just won't play Hayley and her ilk. TV exposure on peak hour TV is of course another way to sell a lot of albums but Hushabye's exposure, even on off-peak TV has been minimal this time, much less than usual, sadly. The food show she was on didn't even play a note of her music, the breakfast time interviews were just about it, this time. No UK daytime TV performances, no TV advertising to speak of, no availability in the UK's two biggest supermarkets, and the chart/sales underperformance is not really surprising. This week, as expected, Hushabye has dropped out of the official albums Top 200 so UK sales are down to perhaps 500 to 700 in the week. Cheers, Dave
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Post by susieverity on Aug 2, 2013 13:23:35 GMT
I agree Dave, I think radio or a song on an advert are the way forward. radio 2 has really helped the careers and sales of some people who are not mainstream pop artists such as Eva Cassidy, Katie Melua and even Katherine Jenkins because they played some of her pop covers regularly on radio 2. Then there is Gabrielle Aplin who did the song Power of Love for the John Lewis advert and that cover was a big hit and her album (which I have and is really good) sold quite well and was in all the supermarkets because of the exposure of that one song and her songs are not pop music, more like folk and easy listening.
I think Classic FM air play does not help so much as you are right that there is not a big enough audience. I often think that the should be a station specially for Classical Crossover music, but then there may not be that many listeners for that either!
Susie
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Post by martindn on Aug 2, 2013 21:03:27 GMT
Which is why Sleep On / BOTW might have cracked it. It has the royal baby connection, and a wonderful performance by Hayley on BOTW, I could imagine Radio 2 going for that. It would need some energetic promotion in the right circles by Decca, but I could imagine it taking off if done well. Those two songs would sell themselves if heard. Another opportunity missed in my opinion.
As for Kate and Wills, do they even know they have a copy of Hushabye?
Martin D
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Post by Libby on Aug 3, 2013 5:13:31 GMT
She was probably on the morning shows, because often I think stay-at-home moms are among the population that are likely to watch daytime TV... depending on how early it is, though. Working moms might see it before they head off to work, too!
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