have collaborations been overdone?

[Dean Winchester]

earlier I was listening to Queen & David Bowie's "Under Pressure" and it led me to ponder, do you think the "collaboration" has been overdone too much in the past five years? Back in the day, a duet was something special, like when Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer teamed up to do "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)", it was something special, because Barbra and Donna were both established superstars at the time, and the two of them together was magical. Same as when Bowie and Lennon teamed up to do Fame, it was two rock legends in the same studio, and many other duets as well..

Nowadays, it seems like every artist out there who has one song is doing collaborations with every artist out there. For instance, Ashanti had appeared on three or four rappers albums before she released her own solo track. IMO, people having other guests on their albums has been done way too much and frankly it questions if the artists even have what it takes to carry an album or song on their own. I love what Kelis said about how she is only having two guests on her upcoming album, one being her HUSBAND (Nas), because she wants people to listen to her music for her, not because of the guests she has.

It seems like these days, the magic of two stars in the studio together has been diminished because it's commonplace, as opposed to the past when people must've gone "wow, Diana Ross and Lionel Richie have a new song together" or "Queen and David Bowie? this is going to be good", etc...

[vashti1999]

Originally Posted by HUNG UP!

Back in the day, a duet was something special, like when Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer teamed up to do "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)", it was something special, because Barbra and Donna were both established superstars at the time, and the two of them together was magical. Same as when Bowie and Lennon teamed up to do Fame, it was two rock legends in the same studio, and many other duets as well...

I agree with this point. You're too young to remember (like not being born yet), but it was a big deal for me for Donna Summer, who was my favorite artist at the time, to do a song with someone like Barbra Streisand. Donna was the hottest act at that time, so having two major singers record together was big.

The specialness has gone away, but I think it has more to do with the quality/level of the artists. Ashanti doing a duet with anybody wouldn't get me excited. There was a little of the specialness when Mariah and Whitney duetted a few years ago, but today's duets aren't like back in the day with Barbra/Neil, Barbra/Donna, Paul/Stevie, Diana/Lionel, Bowie/Jagger etc.

[Steve M.]

And then there are duets between (state name here) and late pop stars through the magic of mutlitrack overdubbing. . . .

[Dean Winchester]

Originally Posted by vashti1999

The specialness has gone away, but I think it has more to do with the quality/level of the artists. Ashanti doing a duet with anybody wouldn't get me excited. There was a little of the specialness when Mariah and Whitney duetted a few years ago, but today's duets aren't like back in the day with Barbra/Neil, Barbra/Donna, Paul/Stevie, Diana/Lionel, Bowie/Jagger etc.

one that surprises me that wasn't released as a single and turned into a big deal was "Love Song" by Madonna and Prince. Granted it was one of the weaker tracks off Like A Prayer, but Madonna and Prince together on the same song in 1989 would've been a huge deal and I think the song would've been a huge hit considering they were two of the biggest icons of the decade.

I was really shocked at how anemically "When You Believe" did, Whitney was still A-list at the time and Mariah has a very high percentage of her songs that hit #1, and yet the song performed terribly. I thought the song was going to be one of the longest running #1 singles in history when you consider that Mariah holds the record for longest-running #1 hit with "One Sweet Day", which was a record that Whitney originally held with "I Will Always Love You"

[vashti1999]

Originally Posted by HUNG UP!

one that surprises me that wasn't released as a single and turned into a big deal was "Love Song" by Madonna and Prince. Granted it was one of the weaker tracks off Like A Prayer, but Madonna and Prince together on the same song in 1989 would've been a huge deal and I think the song would've been a huge hit considering they were two of the biggest icons of the decade.

That was a weird case. I remember when I got Like A Prayer, I liked that song but I realize now that it was more due to the fact that here's Madonna and Prince on the same song than it being a great song or a great collaboration. Madonna and Prince together should have generated more excitement than what we got with "Love Song"

Originally Posted by HUNG UP!

I was really shocked at how anemically "When You Believe" did, Whitney was still A-list at the time and Mariah has a very high percentage of her songs that hit #1, and yet the song performed terribly. I thought the song was going to be one of the longest running #1 singles in history when you consider that Mariah holds the record for longest-running #1 hit with "One Sweet Day", which was a record that Whitney originally held with "I Will Always Love You"

I was surprised by that too. I expected that song to probably debut at #1 and stay there for a while. It was similar to the types of ballads they both recorded and it had a movie connection. How that song wasn't a smash single is very strange. When that didn't blow up you start to wonder if hit superstar duets was a sure bet anymore. Not to mention after that Whitney got a little high and Mariah got a little crazy, but that's a discussion for another thread...

[Dean Winchester]

Originally Posted by vashti1999

Not to mention after that Whitney got a little high and Mariah got a little crazy, but that's a discussion for another thread...

http://www.youtube.com/?v=BlAboXaEmtQ this duet between the two of them was infinately better than "When You Believe"