ABOY dead as of this Sunday (02/13)

[BEAL]

Reports are that U2 will perform Sometimes... at the Grammys.

I think it's a good move. I think something that "hurt" their other songs with the last record was that Beautiful Day was played to death. They played how many shows with that as the song? I do think that's the reason why BD had such staying power, but in the end, it hurt the other singles cause it wouldn't go away.

Now they're up for Vertigo, but they're playing a different song. None of the awards they are up for are real knockouts. So I don't think even if they won, a huge boost in radio play would happen (unlike if they won for the record of the year award).

But what does this mean for ABOY? I think it means it's dead in it's tracks. I don't think it got fair play though. But it's obvious (if the report is accurate) U2 wants to move ahead with Sometimes as the next single.

It's too bad. I like ABOY, and I think it would do great on radio with the right marketing. But it appears that won't happen. But I also don't want to see the band kill the other potential singles from this album. They are making a decision to go with a song, and I believe they should now put all their effort (or whatever effort they feel like) behind this song.

 

[beLIEve]

As much as I agree that ABOY wouldn't get a "fair shot" if U2 officially released Sometimes now and played it at the Grammies, I think this is a good move. I don't care about the logic or reasoning of different singles for different markets at the same time - it's confusing, charts are global, satellite radio plays both, etc. I do think Sometimes has the potential to do well on the charts...kicking it off at the Grammies needs to be the beginning of a solid marketing campaign for the song in N.A., with the same video released ASAP. There will be a large audience watching, and if U2 comes even close to the live performance they had for Sometimes on SNL, it will blow people away. Bono struggles to keep up with the Edge on Vertigo, and it only sounds decent live IMHO.

If this pans out, we're only talking about a 2-3 week lag for N.A., and this bodes well for global charts and a better global push for sales. Sometimes and OOTS was Bono's pick for potential "hits", so a global release makes more sense. I see this as positive news, really. I hope this really happens. If Vertigo sweeps that will make news, ABOY is still on the radio, and then Sometimes comes out and gets play across more formats than either of the other two, giving HTDAAB maximum exposure, which is exactly what Green Day is getting right now. Sometimes is better than Boulevard, IMO, so as you can tell from my long post, I really am hoping this happens!!!!

And just for Jick, Adam can write an open letter to U2 fans apologizing for a botched single release strategy, explaining to fans that:

"While the release of ABOY in N.A. while going with Sometimes in the ROTW was partly out of the band's control, it was partly in our control, too. We mistakenly misjudged demand for a 2nd rocking single in N.A. right on the heals of Vertigo, and the fact that radio failed to play it as a result is simply appalling to me.

I have been in the process of convincing my mates to make things right by playing "Sometimes" at the Grammies and subsequently releasing it to N.A. radio. There will be no refunds to anyone who downloaded ABOY, however, we will be releasing the actual Sometimes single in all CD & DVD formats in all markets, including the U.S.

ABOY is a great song, and for those of you who will not hear it as much on the radio, I apologize to you for that. What's done is done, though, and we must move on. For those of you who will accuse U2 of changing marketing strategies to help get HTDAAB maximum exposure to increase album sales and give more people a chance to listen to great music, I've got 5 words for you:

You're right. Now feck off!"

Slane rules,

Lord Adam Clayton

 

[WHYWHY]

lol

 

[stagman]

 

[D'oh!]

ABOY as a single, especially the second single was a rare error in judgement by U2 and everyone else involved in it's release....

the song is weak, and releasing it right after the barnstorming Vertigo only exposes ABOY's weakness further.......
Miracle Drug and SYCMIOYO should have alternated in USA and ROTW as the 2nd and 3rd single of HTDAAB followed by City of Blinding Lights as the 4th single worldwide.
and if there had to be a fifth single...... crumbs or OOTS could have done a job.....
I have a feeling that the length of the track (some 3 and a half mins) may have been an overwhelming factor in deciding to release it as a single.....but i don't think too much importance needs to be attributed to the length of a song.. even 4 and a half mins is acceptable

i genuinely believe ABOY's dissapointment as a single has contributed to the downslide of HTDAAB in the US

 

[doctorwho]

See, I completely disagree. Granted, we now have the advantage of hindsight here, but at the time, I felt ABoY was a great single. Should it have been the second single? That was questionable. I agree with the notion of fast, slow, fast (or medium) to mix things up. But I always felt ABoY was a great single.

Perhaps releasing it second was the mistake. It might have been a better third single. But I really see a total lack of marketing for this song. "Vertigo" was ubiquitous - on TV, on iTunes, online! But ABoY is pretty much ignored and that's a shame. It's bad for the song and it's bad for the album. Why bother releasing the song if you're going to ignore it?

 

[sue4u2]

With all that said, it did move into the top ten, from the #12 video on VH1 to #10. It dropped last week from 11 to 12, then bounced back. So that's not all bad. It's a great video and has practically promoted itself...

(If you want to help, just jump over to VH1 or MTV and request it. That's the only way is will get played over the horrible J-Lo thing as well as some other shit that is played every 1/2 hour. They count how often a video is viewed and the ABOY video was being played every hour for a few weeks there. I even caught it one morning on both MTV & VH1 at the same time. Then I saw Vertigo played in less than an hour later. But it has to be requested/and or viewed. Otherwise it Will! fall off the radar)

 

[Axver]

ABOY's problem was that U2 suddenly disappeared off the radar and did no promotion or anything. It would have done a lot better if it had just been promoted more. It might have been wise to have done ABOY on air and IWF off air on SNL, for instance.

 

[sensnucksfan]

ABOY still gets a lot of airplay in Canada. It is in the top 10 for airplay.

 

[caisenma]

i really don't think they should play aboy at the grammy's cause it's gonna raise a million questions, all of them being "where is that rythm guitar coming from?!"

bono - LEARN HOW TO PLAY IT!

 

[Axver]

ABOY may be dead in the water, but SYCMIOYO is standing tall on solid ground.

 

[beLIEve]

Now I can't wait to see what effect all this has on HTDAAB...this post is from EYKIW, but I went off about Sometimes being played at the Grammies in this thread so I'll follow up here, too.

*********************************************

U2 couldn't have asked for more out of this year's Grammies. To go 3 for 3, have Vertigo featured on several commercial cutaways, stun the crowd but moreso the media & at home viewers with "Sometimes", a chance to apologize AGAIN, etc.

The Chicago Sun-Times has already picked up the "Sometimes" story...

http://www.suntimes.com/output/music/13u2.html

They are by far the most photgraphed band in the Reuters "160 pic Grammy slideshow", and Reuters also picked up this story

Entertainment - Reuters
U2 Soars to Top of UK Pop Charts
Sun Feb 13, 3:28 PM ET Entertainment - Reuters

LONDON (Reuters) - Irish rockers U2 roared straight to the top of the pop charts on Sunday with their new single "Sometimes You Can't Make it On Your Own," fending off competition from the latest Elvis Presley re-release.

Reuters Photo

"Picture of U2"

The confessional ballad, U2's second track from their critically acclaimed album "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb," was reportedly performed by the band at the funeral of Bono's father.

It went to the top spot ahead of a re-release of Presley's "Wooden Heart," the latest of 18 Elvis number ones being reissued before the 50-year copyright protection on sound recordings in most European countries expires on his earlier hits.

This story is already on the wires, too:

Ray Charles Scores Posthumous Eight-Grammy Victory; Alicia, Usher, U2, Kanye Also Triumph

02/13/2005 11:00 PM, LAUNCH
Lyndsey Parker

Excerpt:

At the 47th Annual Grammy Awards (held Sunday, February 13 at L.A.'s Staples Center, and hosted by Queen Latifah), the late Ray Charles was definitely the star of the evening, winning no less than eight Grammys for his posthumous duets collection, Genius Loves Company, including Record and Album Of The Year. And while none of the other odds-on favorites and frontrunners--namely Usher, Kanye West, Green Day, and Alicia Keys--went home entirely empty-handed, there were a few Grammy surprises this year to keep things interesting.

...Performance highlights included...Bono's dedication of U2's performance to his late father; and an allstar tribute to the tsunami victims featuring Bono, Norah Jones, Alicia Keys, Tim McGraw, Velvet Revolver, Brian Wilson, and Stevie Wonder singing the Beatles' "Across The Universe."

Overall, the big Grammy champs this year were Ray Charles (eight trophies), Alicia Keys (four), Norah Jones (three), U2 (three), Usher (three), Kanye West (three), Ben Harper (two), Loretta Lynn (two), John Mayer (two), Tim McGraw (two), Prince (two), and Wilco (two). ...U2 swept all three awards they were nominated for...all for the song Vertigo of their new album HTDAAB...

BEST ROCK PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP WITH VOCAL: "Vertigo," U2

BEST ROCK SONG: "Vertigo," U2

BEST SHORT FORM MUSIC VIDEO: "Vertigo," U2