Jo Dee Messina

By Michelle Flowers   March 30, 2009

For months we heard from Messina herself that Unmistakable would be the next first single off of her forthcoming release bearing the same name. The reason I say next first release is because as far as I am concerned this would be the third release from the CD. Biker Chick was of course the first, however, it was pulled from radio 7 weeks after its release to radio. Therefore, it wasn't really given much of a chance. And I'm Done the second single from the CD, had its highest chart position at #34. As far as Curb Records is concerned that makes it a flop. I disagree personally with that notion. I don't believe you can call it a smash hit at #34 but it's far from a flop. That being said, a label doesn't want to put a CD out until they have a Top Ten hit on their hands. The risk with doing so is that the album will flop because people won't know it's out there. What's worse than a single flopping? An entire album flopping. So they call the third single the first single. Why in the world would they do that? Well, I believe they think the listeners will forget about the other two not so successful singles. And if they can fool the listeners maybe they can fool radio as well. Also, from what I've heard neither I'm Done or Biker Chick will be on the release. Therefore, that technically makes the next single the first single.

So, less than a month before the release of Unmistakable to radio the fans got word that the next single due out March 24th would be Shine not Unmistakable. The date would change in true Curb fashion. In the past, single releases have always been done on Tuesdays. However, just recently it was changed to Mondays. I don't really know why radio made this change. But as far as I'm concerned, radio is King.....so, don't argue, just deal with it. So, the new add date became March 30th. March 30th is the official add date but radio stations actual get the physical CD weeks prior to the release. So we've actually seen Shine added as "early adds" to 26 stations. That's really a great start for a new single. It debuted at #58 on the Mediabase Activator chart. Last week it appeared at #52 on the Mediabase Activator Chart. However, many reviews have not been favorable. While the reviewers seem to love Messina herself they are far less enthusiastic about the song.

So what happened to Unmistakable being the next single? Well, you'd have to ask the Curb executives about that. However, I have my opinion on why they are doing what they're doing. I have seen more than one internet post from Jo Dee Messina fans claiming that Curb hates her for some reason. Messina tends to speak her mind about Curb and anything else. That has left some people with the idea that Curb and Messina don't like each other. While I don't claim to know all the ins and outs of their relationships I don't buy that for a second. Messina herself has said that her and Mike Curb have a great relationship. And Curb Records is a business. Mike Curb, President of Curb Records is one of the most respected men in the Music Business. While, Messina may have ruffled feathers I don't believe they are trying to sabotage her career. I believe that Curb Records is a business making what they believe are the best decisions at the time. The Music Business is a strange business.

A label chooses songs that they believe are the best chance for big radio hits. Of course there is never a guarantee that a song is going to do well on radio. So when they decided to release Shine as the next single instead of Unmistakable they did that for a reason. My guess is this..... Traditionally ballads don't do as well on country radio as upbeat songs do. They fare better with current successful artists. Jo Dee has certainly had her issues with radio over the past couple of years. She has released two singles (upbeat) that have not done well on radio. So, releasing a ballad would be a big risk. And I think Curb Records is very well aware of the gem they have with Unmistakable. They probably feel that it would have a far better shot if they had another single go top 20 before releasing Unmistakable.

Normally I would agree with that idea if it were any artist other than Jo Dee Messina. However, radio programmers across the country have many times said they wanted to see a softer side of Messina. Well, you won't get much softer than Unmistakable. Another factor is the way the Record Industry is suffering. People are not buying as much music as they have in the past. This has left Labels scrambling and trying to figure out how they are to continue to make money. The fact is that with so much illegal downloading the money from CD Sales is just not what it once was. The industry has really changed drastically. That leaves the labels trying to figure out what the consumer wants. I think in the case of Messina her label has forgotten about creative process. Instead of just releasing a great song they put so much thought into it. They analyze every detail before releasing a single. They have lost sight of the one reason that they as well as Messina probably all got into the business. For the music!

Michelle Flowers owns and operates Flower Power Muzik, a Marketing/Promotion/Management company. You can find more information on Michelle and Flower Power Muzik at www.flowerpowermuzik.com
and www.myspace.com/flowerpowermuzik