PaulM1983

Not really. Whole Again was only their 5th single. Prior to that, they'd had 3 top 10s and a top 20.

Wow, this album has completely tanked in the US. He only sold 5000 copies last week to debut at number 99. That's shocking, considering he has done promotion in the US in the run up to the release. It's a pity, because it does deserve better than that, but I think that absolutely proves that even the vast majority of his core fan base have deserted him now.

I think the studio version is good, but it's this live performance which seals the deal for me. It's just EPIC! The vocal in the chorus is completely immense, and some of her dance moves are just crazy genius.

Severin I agree with pretty much everything you've said. However, we're incorrect and our facts are wrong apparently. The album's in for a big tumble this week, as it's sitting at 19 in the first midweek update. It certainly isn't looking good at all. Robgomm, what you fail to mention is that the BPI certification of 4xplatinum for The Fame was done on 7 January 2010. So it was certified at 1.2 million within a year of release. So you're either deliberately omitting facts from your posts in the hope we just go along with them and don't check on them, or you truly believe that she didn't sell another copy of that album in the 2 years since then. Either way, you're well and truly wrong on all counts. Just one thing Severin, I love Meat Loaf and have done since I was about 8 or 9, but I'm only 28. I don't want to be in the over 30 bracket yet!! :lol:

Don't record companies have to pay for BPI certifications? They also have to actually submit the song/album for certification in the first place as far as I was aware, so basing an argument purely on what has been certified is pretty pointless. I will stand corrected if that is wrong though. I am so confused as to how you are getting to those sales figures though robgomm, as Lady G's sales are widely publicised, and as Charlie has pointed out - 3 of her biggest hits have sold just under 3 million alone. Then she has Telephone, Born This Way, Edge of Glory and Alejandro, which have all sold 500,000 or thereabouts (Telephone and BTW are much higher now). I just cant understand why you are so adamant that she hasn't sold as many as she has. It makes no sense whatsoever. Where you work is completely irrelevant, as you clearly don't have anything to do with either Lady Gaga or Meat Loaf, as you would see the holes in your own arguments a mile away. Getting back to the main point though, Meat isn't as commercially successful as he used to be. Fact.

Well no, actually, you used incorrect figures in an attempt to argue that they prove the music industry is in decline. You say that if she was as big as she is claimed to be, she would have sold more than Meat. Fact is, she has sold more than him, in 10% of the time he has been selling records. So the initial arguement was factually inaccurate. I'm just slightly confused as to why you see unable to accept that Meat's record sales in the UK are abysmal. You can sugarcoat it however you want, but the fact is only 16,000 people decided to buy his new album last week. That's not down to declining sales in general, it just means that only 16,000 wanted to buy it. For a man who is responsible an album with reported sales of 40 million worldwide, that's a staggering drop, but it's one that has been reflected in his previous few albums too, so it's hardly unexpected.

I don't agree with that. It's fairly misleading to pick one album out of each artist's catalogue to compare them. The Fame + The Fame Monster has sold nearly 3 million in the UK, but Gaga has also sold upwards of 6.5 million singles in the UK alone. So including all singles and albums, she's sitting on over 10 million sales in the UK. That's only in the space of 3 years. Meat has sold roughly the same amount over 30 years. Yes people can get the songs for free if they want to. But yet, single sales are the highest they have been in years. More and more singles are selling a million copies than ever before. If people are willing to go and buy music from other artists, why aren't they doing it for Meat? My guess is it's because they're just not interested anymore.

I think it's admirable that you feel that way, but the fact is Meat's record sales have been in steady decline for many years. You can't get around that, and you can't really gloss over that with any kind of justification. And this is coming from a fan remember! I've seen him live and I own pretty much everything he's ever recorded. I love the man. Even if you consider that perhaps 10,000 people in the UK illegally downloaded or bought an import copy of the album before its release, this still doesn't convert to a stellar start to the album campaign. And more to the point, I firmly believe there is no way on this earth that many people went out of their way to get the album before last week. Further to this, I think it's highly likely that the album will completely disappear within a couple of weeks. I seriously doubt that it will add another 15,000 to it's total sales. You only have to look at the sales of some of the biggest albums in the last few years to know that the music industry is not dying a slow death. That statement is somewhat silly. People will buy records if they want them. The sales figures just suggest that not as many people want Meat's records as they used to. The Bat trilogy is a masterpiece in my opinion, but even I can see that the vast majority of people couldn't name one other Meat Loaf album if you paid them a million pounds. His presence, especially in the UK, is just not what it used to be. But listen, he's been doing this for a hell of a long time, and it couldn't last forever. If he wants to continue putting out albums, without worrying about commercial success, I'll remain interested. My statement that his best days, in terms of commercial success, are behind him, was based on fact. It doesn't intimate that I'm not a fan anymore.

I'm glad he got a good chart placing, but it's quite misleading really. The sales were pretty dire (just over 16,000). Even Hang Cool sold nearly double that, and that was one of his worst albums in my opinion. I can't see the album hanging about for very long, which is a pity, as it's a solid set. I think we can safely say that Meat's days as a force in the music business are long behind him. It's a shame, as I still love him, but his best days, artistically and certainly commercially, are definitely long gone.

It's far from his best album, but it's definitely solid. I really like his take on California Dreamin' much more than I expected to.

That last episode was superb. By far the best of the season. This is now firmly one of my all time favourite shows, I absolutely adore it. It has such a perfect cast, and the writing is just brilliant.

It'll be her third, after Love Don't Cost A Thing and On The Floor.

I forgot about Glee! I love their version of Alone, but probably because Kristin has the voice to pull it off properly. She's all kinds of amazing.

I don't find Alone Again all that offensive. However, that song needs a singer with a massive range and the ability to belt the bloody thing out. It just doesn't work as a more sombre, monotone affair. I'm not against cover versions or samples at all, but that is one song that I cannot think of one singer that can improve upon the original. Ann Wilson's voice was flawless (and still is actually). There are a handful of singers that have sung the song well (Carrie Underwood wasn't too terrible if I remember correctly), but there has never been anything close to a comparison to the original.

Yeah that's a bit cheeky of them. It's hardly a bloody gift, if it's been free to everyone for over a week. Cheeky buggers.

Not today only. I got them about 3 days ago for free.

I doubt it, as Cher has confirmed time and time again that it is on her new album as a duet. It wouldn't be very fair if Gaga just went ahead and leaked it regardless. I know she wrote it, but still.

Leona's performing it on X Factor.

Hmmm. I do know the song. I know it well. I'm not sure why you would question that. I therefore completely understand the emotional connection there is to both the original and Johnny's version. For different reasons of course. However, I still don't understand the issue with her covering the song if she wants to. Why should she be told what she shouldn't do? Her music could be considered her art, so even though you think it is trash, it's clearly not to her. I listened to her version and, while it's not entirely unpleasant, I don't personally rate it that highly. Probably for the reasons we've already discussed (emotional connection etc) but I still don't want her crucified for wanting to put out a version of a song she likes possibly just as much as anyone else. It just means that I'll go listen to Johnny's version again before I consider giving her's a spin in future. Also, how can you just assume that the song has no relevance to her? We don't know what's going through her head when she sings it. While it might not be a reflection of her own life, how are you to know that someone she knows hasn't been through hell and back? It can still strike a chord with her even when it's not actually about her.

First of all, I'm glad you added that part in brackets, as not once did I mention that Leona Lewis is comparable in any way, shape or form to Johnny Cash, so the insinuation I may have any kind of disorder was a bit random. I'm a massive fan of Leona, but only a complete moron would try to compare the two. That said, I still disagree with the stance in their being "no real point" in her covering the song. Why not? Isn't it possible that, like us, she finds the song moving and dark, and beautiful, and simply wants to pay tribute to it (while raising money for a charity I believe)? Actually, why does there have to be a point? She's a singer. She likes to sing songs. She obviously likes this song. What's to stop her? I just don't understand. Oh, and I just cannot fathom this notion that a cover version can "ruin" the original song. How is that possible? The original is still there, it's not damaged. In fact, usually a cover version works wonders for the original, regardless of the quality, as people naturally go looking for the original to compare them. I'd imagine it'll be the same with this song, as it's not a typically well known song.

Music snobbery - that's exactly what it is, I just couldn't find those exact words at the time I wrote my post. I absolutely agree with you. Her covering this is no different to anyone else covering any song in the history of music. Why is this song so sacred? It will be interesting. No matter what she does with it, it's going to raise some harsh criticism (regardless of how good her version might be). Iris should also be good, but it has been covered too many times now. Although, as it's still "out there" thanks to X Factor, it's definitely her best shot at a chart placing. However, I'm particularly looking forward to hearing Colorblind, as there's something about that song that just really resonates with me. It's not an arms aloft stadium anthem, so I'm sure her version will remain pretty low key, but I hope it's going to be beautiful. That piano riff needs to be remain 100% intact in my opinion, it's just too good to change.

I'm sorry, but are you serious? The last line in the blog takes away any respect it may have garnered from me. So nobody can sing that song unless they've overdosed on heroin now? What a load of pretentious nonsense. What's wrong with liking the damn song, and wanting to reinterpret it to reach an audience that may not have been aware of it before? I for one love the song, it's poignant and painful, but I certainly haven't come close to dying from drugs. Also, I certainly wouldn't let that stop me from singing it in front of people if I so bloody well wanted to. If the song's so precious, and shouldn't be ruined by anyone else, it shouldn't be in the public domain, it should remain private. Instead, by releasing it, Reznor immediately allowed anyone to listen, understand and take from it different things. I sincerely hope that Leona does a fantastic job with this, as it has the potential to be quite beautiful, but those kinds of posts and mindless backlash are nothing short of predictable narrow mindedness.

No she didn't mime. Her vocals were incredible, but audibly live. She changed up the verses and added a couple of extra little riffs here and there. It really was a fantastic performance, and she looked stunning!!

If it's I'm With You, it's probably because it was sung by the band on Strictly Come Dancing last night.

Gaga won Best Female, Song, Video and Fans. Good night for her. And while it's clearly not to everyone's taste, I thought her performance of Marry The Night was sensational. The vocal was stunning, particularly the opening verse and from the middle 8 onwards. This should hopefully get it into the top 1000 at least. If not, this release is really going nowhere. Katy Perry inexplicably won Best Live Act, which is about as ridiculous as it gets to be honest.