Latest on MJJC

Is there any particular reason why “jam” failed on the charts?

filmandmusic

Proud Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2021
Messages
5,358
Points
113
It was only the 4th single of the album and it completely missed its goal. It only reached nr 26 in the US and nr 13 in the UK. It also failed to crack top 10 in Australia and in the broad European chart it peaked at nr 21.
More interestingly the albums 6th, 7th and 8th singles were much more of a global success.

4th singles of all of MJ’s other non Motown albums all became smash hits (bar invincible obviously).

The only reason I can think of is that the fans didn’t adjust to MJ’s new sound and that the general public felt the same. The trend was already noticeable with 3rd single “in the closet” also underperforming (still was a transatlantic top 10 but failed to crack the top 5).

Or maybe this sound was completely outdated in the charts by the time these singles were released?

We can’t speak of MJ fatigue as Dangerous overall sold very well and the tour sold lots of tickets too
 
Probably because Jam was too R&B sounding for Top 40 radio. It did make it to #3 on R&B radio & was also a maxi single hit. Most R&B did not cross over to Top 40. New Jack Swing in general was on the way out when Dangerous (the album) was released. New Jack had blew up in 1987 and was oversaturated on the radio 5 years later in 1992. A lot of NJS records sound similar, so listeners (in the US) got tired of it after awhile. The Jacksons' album 2300 Jackson Street had some NJS on it and so did Randy's album with his group Randy & The Gypsys. Both of those records came out in 1989. Mike was late to the party.

On a similar note, glam metal got overplayed too and started to die out in the early 1990s. Glam metal is kinda what Give In To Me is, the video in particular. It came out after grunge & alternative rock became popular. Give In To Me sounds similar to the song Alone Again by the glam band Dokken and that came out in 1984. A few of those 1980s bands still had some popularity like Aerosmith & Bon Jovi, but the majority of them seemed to fall off overnight, like the disco acts did in 1979.
 
You gotta understand that, by 1992, MJ had been a household name for 20 years. That’s twice as long as 99% of other artists. Eventually you see a decline in popularity in attention no matter how much effort you put in. And even then, his “decline” was still head and shoulders above what most artists could manage on their best day!

But also, on a more subjective level, “Jam” isn’t very commercially appealing. Excellent song, but it isn’t as accessible as, say, “In the Closet” or “Remember the Time.” Maybe the public just didn’t latch onto it.
 
I think it most likely cuz of the rumours that plagued mike through the 80s alot people lost thier interest in michael
 
It being "too R&B" for top 40 radio is a silly argument. "Remember the Time" and "In the Closet" were top ten hits in 1992. Although New jack swing may have been declining, it was still a popular genre at the time.

The real reason "Jam" flopped is probably because it was too aggressive, bloated and monotonous for radio. And MJ's previous two singles were New jack swing, so people were obviously getting bored of that sound from him. He should have switched things up by releasing "Give in to Me" instead. Nirvana was blowing up at the time, so it would have been smart for MJ to release a rock-ish song like that as the fourth single from Dangerous. "Who Is It" should have been the fifth, "Will You Be There" should have been the sixth and the seventh should have been the title track. Probably no need for any singles after that, at least not in America. If there needed to be an eighth single in other countries, then it could have been "Jam" or "Heal the World".
 
Last edited:
Is still think the instrumental and the overall mix of the Dangerous Tour live performance is so much better than the studio version. I just dont feel the studio version and I guess the mass thinks similarly.
 
I can only speak for myself but I never felt 'Jam' was a NJS song. At the time, I thought it was a bit too repetitive, the mixing felt a bit too 'sharp' and it just wasn't something you could sing or hum along with easily working at a factory or whatever (where most people hear music)
 
'Jam' failed on the charts mainly because:

- the song has a social theme

- the song has a very angry vocal delivery

- the song is not really a radio-friendly song

- the song lacks a strong melody that would easily stick to people's minds
Victorious said:
Ah yes I forgot this one.. Were they ever credited by MJ?
Click to expand...
Michael Jackson never credited them, as this was not the only time that Michael Jackson did not give proper credits for his songs.
 
I think calling It a "failure" is a bit harsh.

It's one of my fave songs from the album - great video too, and had some good remixes. I'd say perhaps the verses are great (deeper than a lot of people give it credit for) but the chorus is a bit simplistic.

Spaceship said:
It being "too R&B" for top 40 radio is a silly argument. "Remember the Time" and "In the Closet" were top ten hits in 1992. Although New jack swing may have been declining, it was still a popular genre at the time.
Click to expand...
Plus, you know, nobody actually knows what "new jack swing" is, lol.

Spaceship said:
The real reason "Jam" flopped is probably because it was too aggressive, bloated and monotonous for radio.
Click to expand...
Similar to my point above. Young people liked it, maybe not older people.

Spaceship said:
Nirvana was blowing up at the time, so it would have been smart for MJ to release a rock-ish song like that
Click to expand...
I'm not sure that would have made any difference. (1) MJ doesn't have any song that sounds remotely like Nirvana, and (2) mostly Nirvana fans simply aren't interested in MJ.

After all, the whole Grunge ethos was that it was AGAINST pop superstars like MJ (and even Slash). He is the opposite of what the underground culture stands for.

Can't please all the people all the time.
 
mj_frenzy said:
'Jam' failed on the charts mainly because:

- the song has a social theme

- the song has a very angry vocal delivery

- the song is not really a radio-friendly song

- the song lacks a strong melody that would easily stick to people's minds
Click to expand...
I agree with this. I like the song as an album and concert opener, but its really repetitive and lacking a catchy melody, theres just not much going on.
I actually like the this is it version the most with the prominent guitar and synth bass.

I also think some songs on dangerous (including Jam) are too long, repeting the chorus as an outro to much.
 
The fact that it is hard to hear what he is singing about did not help , far too much strained voice . Did the live version help , yes because of the sounds and ott noises on it. Not a good song.
 
mj_frenzy said:
Michael Jackson never credited them, as this was not the only time that Michael Jackson did not give proper credits for his songs.
Click to expand...
Yes, unbelievable actually.. I think that was what Quincy meant with 'Machiavellian': MJ wanted good songs, no matter what; even if he had to use already existing ones. And I think that's perfectly fine actually, but I don't see why he didn't credit them for their input or inspiration, I think the original artists would be very proud instead of angry or wanting money..

I mean he could even use John Williams' Jaws 2 ending titles for 'Heal The World' and Williams would probably have done the rest of the song with him too
 
Can't say why it failed, but as somebody who loves this song I'm really disappointed by the fact that his vocals are pretty buried in the mix... Would be amazing to hear that track with the vocals up front
 
I love Jam, it was the track I played the most when the album was released. But it's not a song you can hum easily, after you heard it on the radio. Of course, we, as fans, can hum every track Michael ever did, but try it. Humming Remember the Time is really easy. Black Or White too. But Jam... that's harder. The song focusses much more on rhythm than on melody. That's why it isn't "sticky" on first hearing. At least, for most people. I honestly think that's the difference... it's not easy to hum along.
 
R1chard said:
Plus, you know, nobody actually knows what "new jack swing" is, lol.
Click to expand...
You don't know what it is. I do and so do many other people. Just like I know what Latin Freestyle, house, electrofunk, neo-soul, dancehall, acid jazz, fusion, free jazz, reggaeton, southern soul, etc. sounds like.
640x640.jpg

Piek said:
But it's not a song you can hum easily, after you heard it on the radio. Of course, we, as fans, can hum every track Michael ever did, but try it. Humming Remember the Time is really easy. Black Or White too. But Jam... that's harder. The song focusses much more on rhythm than on melody. That's why it isn't "sticky" on first hearing. At least, for most people. I honestly think that's the difference... it's not easy to hum along.
Click to expand...
You can't really hum to a lot of hip hop songs and that was on the radio at the time and still is today.
Jump by Kris Kross was #1 for 6 or 7 weeks. New Jack Swing is basically singing to hip hop sounds. Mary J. Blige is called "Queen of Hip Hop Soul".
 
Spaceship said:
The real reason "Jam" flopped is probably because it was too aggressive, bloated and monotonous for radio.
Click to expand...
How did it get to #3 on the R&B chart then? Butterflies got to #2. Butterflies is neo-soul which also didn't have a lot of crossover.
 
DuranDuran said:
You don't know what it is. I do and so do many other people. Just like I know what Latin Freestyle, house, electrofunk, neo-soul, dancehall, acid jazz, fusion, free jazz, reggaeton, southern soul, etc. sounds like.
Click to expand...
I grew up on NJS too but never felt that vibe with Jam tbh, even if I guess it is NJS lol (and has Teddy's samples). I guess because of the haunting verses and the lack of funk in the beat, and maybe because it didn't start out as a NJS song..?
 
mj_frenzy said:
'Jam' failed on the charts mainly because:

- the song has a social theme

- the song has a very angry vocal delivery

- the song is not really a radio-friendly song

- the song lacks a strong melody that would easily stick to people's minds
Click to expand...
The same could be said about Shout.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top