Desperate times call for desperate measures. And after the last few years Brandy's lived through, it's safe to say she's starting back at 1.
First, in 2004 her critically-acclaimed album "Afrodisiac" disappointed commercially. The album eventually went gold, shipping 500,000 copies (which is like the new platinum in today's record sales climate) but ultimately the label wasn't pleased with its performance. Some say Brandy was dropped from Atlantic Records, Brandy says she asked to be released.
After the disappointment of "Afrodisiac," Brandy turned back to her other love, acting. Reports of Brandy shooting TV pilots began to surface, but the pilots were never picked up by any of the networks. Despite that setback, she did still manage to land a TV gig. In 2007, Brandy signed on as a judge for Simon Cowell's "America's Got Talent," giving her profile a much needed boost. Unfortunately, her profile got boosted in undesirable ways shortly after the show ended that season when she got into a car accident in LA and ended up killing a woman. TMZ covered the story heavily and many began to admonish Brandy as an irresponsible "killer." For a while after the accident, Brandy went into hiding, ducking and dodging the ugly questions surrounding the accident. But the following year, she re-emerged with a new label, Epic Records, and reunited with her former champion, Rodney Jerkins, for what was supposed to be her comeback album, "Human." Let's just save time and energy by saying, things didn't work out as planned and "Human" underperformed.
And so, we find ourselves here, with Brandy setting up a camera in the bathroom and baring her hopes, aspirations and soul to the tune of the Wizard of Oz classic "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." Brandy took this piece of footage and uploaded it to YouTube, igniting a spark around her name, the likes of which neither she or her record label has been able to do for the past two years. Watch the YouTube vocal below.
This clip has generated nearly 300,000 views in 5 days and has set Twitter and YouTube abuzz with glowing reviews about Brandy's voice. Other singers have been tweeting about the video and many people are remembering for the first time in a long time, that Brandy is an amazing singer.
The apparently impromptu video and the positive buzz it has given back to Brandy are the perfect example of how social media is giving power BACK to artists to engage with their fans and build their brand on their terms. Brandy is reportedly re-teaming with Timbaland for her next album, though it's unclear what her label situation is, and word on the Tweet is that she'll be making a guest appearance as a rapper, under the alias Bran-Nu, on his upcoming "Shock Value 2" album. After hitting a creative brick wall with "Human," it appears Brandy is hungry and ready to take risks with her career again.
People today are plugged into social media in a way that has radically changed the way celebrities interact with their fans. The internet isn't going away, no matter how much some record labels might wish it would. Marketing artists and albums in the manner they've been doing for the past 20 years isn't going to work. Direct human interaction is the modus operandi, and as this YouTube clip shows, the millions of dollars spent in marketing and high-glossy photo shoots can sometimes be trumped by simple, authentic, candid moments caught on film.
Ciara, are you listening?
