Strategies have changed...
We all watch charts and get impatient with release of singles (or lack of in the U.S.), marketing of U2 music (they messed up with POP IMO), and the fact that crap musice can race up the Billboard Hot 100 while a great rockin' tune like Vertigo seems stuck on that chart.
However, I remember getting into the chart watching for ATYCLB and BD. (Let me thank DoctorWho, Sting2, WomanFish, and all the folks that kept us all updated back then!) BD really took a similar path to what's happening with Vertigo, except that it was a much slower mover on the charts. BD was released in the States well before ATYCLB, and it was released to radio only, so airplay was it for that song. It peaked on Modern Rock and Mainstream Rock first, as Vertigo seems poised to do now. Videos are late bloomers these days, and VH1 is about the only format for Videos, as MTV is a joke. FYI, I watched VH1's top 20 videos this morning, and Green Day's Idiot America was up 4 spots to #8. It's been #1 on the Modern Rock chart for 8 weeks and on the charts for several months.
Going back to BD...it took forever to cross over, and the song had peaked at 26 on the Hot 100 just before it won the 3 grammies - great news at the time - and the song still only jumped back up to 21 - again, only on Airplay. The rest of the singles of ATYCLB really didn't have as much success on the charts, but they were played enough and all had videos, keeping the ALBUM sales consistent. That's what really matters these days, and BD carried ATYCLB. In fact, I really wish they'd stop playing it even now. When U2 is done and over many years from now, it's BD that may be the song that most people - the casual fans - identify with when it comes to U2. That could change with the new album.
Anyway, back to charts and strategies. U2 releases Vertigo after Bono threatens to release the album on I-tunes due to the mysterious theft of a copy...
I-tunes, and LEGAL digital downloading, happens to be a media worthy story right now, so we are seeing U2 doing very well with the e-tunes fans and they're even being used in an add...which is a well-done add for the song, too. Meanwhile, the song is perfect for modern rock and mainstream rock, and it's moved up those charts quickly, and history tells us that songs hang around these charts and radio stations for long periods of time, especially good ones like Vertigo.
So, Vertigo will be #1 on the Modern, Mainstream, and Digital Charts (already happened). That will play out eventually, but then you see the video start moving up new charts. VH-1 loves U2, and MTV2's top played video for 2002 (not 2001) was Beautiful Day. The Video success will help Vertigo cross over even more and hang around in the Top 100, even as it slips down the other three charts. Then, Vertigo peaks on Adult Top 40 in the top 5, and a popular remix or the song itself will chart in the dance/club mix charts. BD remix hit #1 on the dance/club mix charts, as did the Lemon remix. Surely Vertigo can match that success. Meanwhile, the album is out and knocks Eminem off the top (I'm hoping on this one...starting to beLIEve...). Vertigo gets some new energy once again.
Then, just like BD, Vertigo hangs around so long and the Album is a smash hit...bingo, Vertigo gets at least one grammy. U2 will be playing small one-off's like they already have in the UK, and I think they at least win the "best performance by a rock band or duo" grammy, with a legitimate shot of another clean sweep. It may not seem likely now, but BD didn't impress me as a multi-grammy winner, and it never charted high enough to make it a shoe-in...but it certainly did chart LONG ENOUGH to warrant the awards.
So, that's a long-winded ramble on what I think U2 and Interscope wants for their singles. As Edge has said before, actual single sales are mostly just vanity, as it's costly and doesn't make the band much money. Now, using e-tunes and getting paid for that format makes more sense, especially if it helps with chart success (I don't know if it's counted, and I also don't know if U2 will be releasing Vertigo as a CD single in the States).
Regardless, what U2 are interested in are Album charts, i.e., Album sales. The grammies for BD gave the album a lift after it had already had good chart success. Then, an entire year later, all the grammy nominations and then the next 4 from ATYCLB takes it all the way to #10 again in 2002. Vertigo, HTDAAB, and the tour are set up the exact same way this time around...to maximize album sales over the longest period of time.
The difference this time is that I think Vertigo will not be the song that carries the album with casual fans. While ATYCLB was a very good album and the additional singles and videos surely had some impact on it's success, it really was BD, an amazing tour, all the grammies, and even 9/11 that pushed sales - again, just my opinion, and speaking more from a U.S. standpoint.
This time around, though, I think that U2 just may have a couple of Hot 100 top 10 hits (not Vertigo), and, dare I even think it, maybe even a #1 single, that will cause HTDAAB to blow away the success of ATYCLB. And, it will win it's share of grammies, but this time U2 will finally get what they deserved with AB and ATYCLB - a grammy for Album of the Year.
Anyway, that was the dream I had last night, no doubt influenced by pain medicine (ruptured disc!!! and severe Vertigo) and my renewed obsession with U2.
Green Day's "American Idiot" has been #1 for some time, so it's quite possible the time is right for "Vertigo" to finally displace that song on top of the Modern Rock charts.
