Thursday, March 28, 2024

One Direction: Can a Video Save “Drag Me Down” and Make it a Hit? See It Here

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So: One Direction’s PR machine responded to my story from the other day in an interesting way. It seems the reason “Drag Me Down” isn’t a hit is that it doesn’t have a video. Tomorrow a video may arrive and that will change everything.

I like One Direction. I liked their “Four” album. But “Drag Me Down” isn’t happening. It’s number 17 on the Top 40 radio airplay chart. On iTunes, it’s number 12. Forget Amazon. And on Billboard, they dropped it from number 3 to number 26.

My friend Michael Zilkha, who helped put Madonna on the charts and nurtured Kid Creole and the Coconuts, was very wise about hits. He used to say a hit “had the sound of triumph.” He was right. The sound of a hit is assured, confident, upbeat 99% of the time. One Direction’s “Story of My Life” was like that. “Drag Me Down” is a big negative. It’s not ebullient. It’s a drag.

Just something to chew. Maybe that video will turn the tide.

Here’s a Kid Creole video I love:

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
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