Kanye West And Rihanna Prepare New Albums Even As Singles Perform Poorly
Kanye West’s Swish and Rihanna’s R8 are two of the most anticipated albums this year. Both Kanye West and Rihanna have constantly delayed their albums, and it could be because the singles aren’t exciting many people.
Kanye West’s “Only One” was released on January 1, 2015, and only climbed high enough on Billboard’s Hot 100 to reach No. 35. For other artists, that number wouldn’t be so bad. For Kanye, who is used to having new singles chart in the top five, it was a musical disaster. Luckily, his next single “All Day” did slightly better and climbed to No. 15 on the Hot 100.
Like Kanye, Rihanna hasn’t been setting the charts on fire either. She started off the year well enough with “Four Five Seconds,” but the two singles that followed barely made a dent on the charts. “B*tch Better Have My Money” peaked at No. 15 — not bad, but bad for Rihanna’s usual standards. Her single “American Oxygen” climbed to No. 78 on Billboard’s Hot 100, and part of the failure for the song was blamed on the fact it premiered on Jay-Z’s poorly received Tidal network.
Despite the poor reception of their singles, Kanye West and Rihanna aren’t slowing down. According to TV Newsroom, Kim Kardashian’s husband is about to debut a new video.
“The music video for ‘All Day/I Feel Like That’ will have its United States premiere at the LACMA this weekend for a four-day run and it will be shown in a gallery during normal museum business hours.”
The video is directed by Twelve Years a Slave director Steve McQueen. According to Consequence of Sound, Kanye West is in negotiations to pull a deal with Apple Music for the release of his album Swish. There has been no official announcement of a deal yet.
Rihanna is working just as hard as Kanye and keeps recording new music. According to Music Times, a snippet of the song “Nothing’s Promised” has leaked. They think the new song blends the hardness of “B*tch Better Have My Money” with some of the lyrical honesty of “FourFiveSeconds.” Fans are patiently waiting for the full song to be released.
While many are screaming “Flop!” at Kanye West and Rihanna, they may be misguided. No big artists are selling a lot of records these days — this includes Madonna, Janet Jackson, Prince, Bruce Springsteen, and even Britney Spears. As long as Kanye West and Rihanna deliver albums that both fans and critics like, they will be fine.
[Photo Credit: Consequence of Sound]
