Why Do You Think Stevie Peaked Commercially with Bella Donna?

[HejiraNYC]

Originally Posted by michelej1

This is interesting. It's something I'm going to watch. Although the reaction to Skyfall has been unjustifiably giddy and if she can start with a single people really like, I think that will buoy the album. I don't know Taylor Swift's album sales, but I don't think they're halving.

I don't know about Stevie, but for me Wild Heart was a much better album than BD and I was crazed over it at the time. Back then, I had no idea it wasn't as successful. I mean, we were getting into videos more and I think that really should have given her album an edge over its predecessor.

Michele

Taylor Swift, whether she realizes it or not, is doing exactly what she has to do while her career is white-hot: pump out an album every year and hire good publicists. Also, it remains debateable whether her latest album would have been so successful if she had cranked out another country pop album. She did a very smart thing by ditching country and jumping on the Rhianna-Katy Perry bandwagon at this point in time. It remains to be seen if she can sustain this level of success without changing genres again for her next project. My guess is that the bloom will be off her rose within two years. She will still be successful, but she won't be anywhere close to the phenomenon she is today.

Adele is taking a big gamble by taking the complete opposite approach- staying out of the spotlight and taking years between releasing albums. The longer she takes, the greater the possibility of diminishing returns.