Why was Arabesque not more successful?

**Nadia** · December 9th, 2002, 11:34 PM

I'm not sure if this group would qualify as disco...I think along the lines of disco/dance/pop.

But anyway, I think they are a fantastic group. I cannot understand why they didn't experience success worldwide. Was it just not enough publicty and/or exposure in other countries? I don't get why they didn't try exporting them to more markets.

By the way, I strongly feel that Arabesque was a precursor to Aqua. One of their songs in particular strikes me as *very* Aqua-esque. The song "Peppermint Jack" has the high pitched female voice with the low pitched male voice, and a great dance beat in the background. It really struck me as the kind of song Aqua does (did). In fact if I were very drunk and were hearing that song for the first time, I would probably have assumed it was Aqua. (side note: I also think they sound quite a bit like Abba at times too!)

But I digress back to my original question...why were they not a smash hit around the globe? I know they were kind of cheesy, but come on, they had the potential to make millions in the US alone....so why no exposure here? Or any other countries besides Japan and Germany for that matter? Did they not believe that they'd be popular anywhere else? It doesn't make sense to me. What a failed opportunity for a goldmine.

Okay, I'll stop my rant now, teehee :-)

**JussiK** · December 10th, 2002, 01:24 AM

Japan apparently had the biggest fanbase for Arabesque, judging by all the cds by the group they have available there. The girls were big all over continental Europe as well. And happily of course the delightful group sort of survives with the continuing new realeses and sales chart success of Sandra the lead vocalist.

My personal Arabesque faves are Midnight Dancer, High Life and Bye Bye My Love. I also try to collect all of the 7-inch realeses due to the cover images - those poses and those fashions!

**Nadia** · December 10th, 2002, 01:51 AM

Ahh...so they were popular in other countries across Europe? I was lead to believe it was only Japan and Germany, but I may have been misled.

And as for Sandra, I'm a fan of her solo stuff too....I think she has a great voice. ....I kind of wonder why she was not a big hit in the US too. :-?

Hey, while we're on the topic, would you have any idea as to where I could find videos by Arabesque? I am assuming they made videos, I could be wrong though.

**BrunoRepublic** · December 10th, 2002, 05:28 AM

Originally Written by Nadia

But anyway, I think they are a fantastic group. I cannot understand why they didn't experience success worldwide.

Well, in the rock-dominated North American music market, sugary Euro-pop/disco/cheese has never been a big seller. It seems that anything without the pretense of "seriousness" doesn't stand a chance here. Add to the fact that the lyrics are often quite silly and fluffy, and that pretty much excludes them from any radio playlist. Occasionally you get boy/girl bands in, but these are almost always American, and have a shelf-life of only a couple of years.

By the way, I strongly feel that Arabesque was a precursor to Aqua.
... (side note: I also think they sound quite a bit like Abba at times too!)

Actually, I also found them to have borrowed more from Abba than anything else, and the same goes for Aqua. I remember browsing in a record store that was playing the new Aqua CD (the one that followed their debut), and I couldn't help but to notice how every other song used the same basic chord progression as "The Winner Takes It All".

But I digress back to my original question...why were they not a smash hit around the globe? I know they were kind of cheesy, but come on, they had the potential to make millions in the US alone....so why no exposure here?

You could ask the same thing about any number of Euro groups like Boney M or Abba (who, although somewhat successfully in North America, didn't have the massive success that they had everywhere else). Like I said, if it doesn't have the façade of seriousness, it won't get anywhere here.

**Nadia** · December 10th, 2002, 07:47 PM

Like I said, if it doesn't have the façade of seriousness, it won't get anywhere here.

Not that I am really disagreeing with those sentiments, but if that were true all the time, then how can the huge success of Britney Spears and N'Sync be explained? They are definitely lightweight pop...I'm sorry but I can't take "I'm a Slave 4 U" or "Tearin' up my Heart" as seriousness. (I like the songs, but I certainly can't take them as being remotely serious)

**BrunoRepublic** · December 10th, 2002, 11:14 PM

Originally Written by Nadia

Not that I am really disagreeing with those sentiments, but if that were true all the time, then how can the huge success of Britney Spears and N'Sync be explained?

They are designed to appeal to a very specific audience, and have a short shelf-life. You will notice that practically all the boy/girl acts that have made it big in the USA are *from* the USA (Milli Vanilli is the only exception that I can think of, although there are probably others). There are loads more boy/girl acts in Europe that are massive, but none of them get very far here. It's kind of hard to explain, but with these acts, their supposed personalities are marketed just as much, if not more so, than any of their records. The folks that design these acts know that their audience needs to believe that they have a special bond with them, and that these are people that they can relate to. As America is a somewhat isolationalist place, it is a lot harder to imagine that link with someone from a far-off country.

**Nadia** · December 11th, 2002, 01:07 AM

Hmm, I suppose you do a have a point. I guess there *are* a lot of teen pop singers in other countries that get nowhere in the States. I remember talking to a girl who was originally from the Phillipines, and she said to me, "You don't have a lot of the singers we have back home". At first I thought it was strange when she said that, but then as she began to name some of them off to me I realized that she was right, a lot of the people she named I had heard of, but I knew they were not big in the US.

But it still doesn't make sense to me, I guess I will never understand it. I mean I like serious music as much as the next person, but sometimes it's good to just cut loose and listen to some dance/disco/pop. I mean damn, the world out there is depressing enough, sometimes it's necessary to put on something with a good beat and just float away for a little while.

Makes no sense to me at all why the US can't accept so many wonderful dance groups.

I am also a big fan of freestyle, and that is something that I have not seen to be very popular of late either.

**JussiK** · December 11th, 2002, 02:10 AM

The boundaries between "serious" and "fun" in all culture started to gradually disappear since the advent of postmodernism and continue to diminish. Look at Kylie, she's now offically the biggest star in the universe having walked off with the best pop prize at the annual MTV Europe music awards last month. She is everywhere, shimmering on the cover of every magazine, being hailed as A Disco Diva, yet she is respected even by the most rockist and most "serious" of music press.

What's interesting is that like Madonna before her Kylie is an actual mature woman and not an underage piece of packaging in ho-low pants like Christina A. Again, the 20-something runner-up Sophie Ellis Bextor presents a more traditionally glamourous image with sure mature sexuality and no pierced nostrils. The trashy nymphets are everywhere of course, but luckily for us gentlemen of a certain age there's more on offer than just the crappy Christina and her kind!

**QUINNY** · December 11th, 2002, 03:11 AM

Being a 50 year old, I find bands such as Aqua and Arrabesque irritating, but any 12 year old girl would have loved 'em (for 5 minutes). I'm sure 12 year old American girls could have loved them too. Just like all girls love Barbie and Sindy dolls. I personally find it incredibly strange that the country that gives/gave the world Hollywood, Barbie, McDonalds (which has everything to do with packaging and promotion and little to do with content) excludes anything like Europop because it is considered bland and/or lightweight. It's like the pot calling the kettle black.
Having said that, I fully endorse the U.S. in its stance when it comes to trashy Europop. Having suffered boy and girl bands for the past 10 years or so, all I can say is that you haven't missed anything of any real significance. Trouble is, that you've most likely also missed out on the good European music too, by having such an insular attitude to the rest of the world. It was only recently that there were no English records in the US top 100. None....Zero.....Nada.....Zilch..... I personally could never imagine an English top 40 without any American records.

Perhaps it's simply that average American record buyers are more mature than European ones? Over here the 'Pop' market appeals to 7 - 14 year olds, Dance music appeals to the 15 - 25 year olds and then people mysteriously vapourise into cool Jazz or Classical freaks or worse still, retro heads (according to our radio demographics). Tell me, in the U.S., is it old farts buying AOR rock radio's output or young kids a la Bill & Ted?

**Nadia** · December 11th, 2002, 10:36 AM

Tell me, in the U.S., is it old farts buying AOR rock radio's output or young kids a la Bill & Ted?

Forgive me for sounding ignorant, but what does AOR mean?

**Outsider** · December 11th, 2002, 10:53 AM

Originally Written by Graham Start

They are designed to appeal to a very specific audience, and have a short shelf-life. You will notice that practically all the boy/girl acts that have made it big in the USA are *from* the USA (Milli Vanilli is the only exception that I can think of, although there are probably others).

The Spice Girls, who were very popular in America, are British. :evil:

**Outsider** · December 11th, 2002, 10:59 AM

Originally Written by Nadia

Forgive me for sounding ignorant, but what does AOR mean?

I believe "AOR" stands for either "Album Orientated Radio" or "Adult Orientated Radio". :evil:

**BrunoRepublic** · December 11th, 2002, 11:32 AM

Originally Written by Outsider

The Spice Girls, who were very popular in America, are British. :evil:

You are right, but I must add that their popularity in the US was nowhere near the levels that they reached in the UK. I'm pretty sure they will be regarded here as a one-hit wonder in a few years time (if they aren't already!), but they broke several sales and chart records in the UK if I'm not mistaken. And I think North America has already forgotten about them, whereas I still see regular updates on the BBC's news site about what they're each individually up to.

**BrunoRepublic** · December 11th, 2002, 11:38 AM

Originally Written by QUINNY

Tell me, in the U.S., is it old farts buying AOR rock radio's output or young kids a la Bill & Ted?

Both, although a lot of young kids need to hear music that annoys their parents, so they also listen to rap.

**Nadia** · December 11th, 2002, 01:41 PM

I wouldn't exactly say that the Spice Girls are considered a one hit wonder in the States, but their 15 minutes of fame have definitely ended. When their last album came out I think I saw MTV play their video for "Holler" a handful of times and then it's like they were shuffled away somewhere, never to be heard of again. (but that's fine by me, cause I never liked them, lol)

BUT here is something, BBMak (a light rock/pop group from I think Ireland) has been somewhat successful here for a while now...I've seen their videos get voted onto the top 10 on more than one occasion.
And Robbie Williams has occasionally had a video on American MTV...a while back I saw his video for "Angels" get voted onto their top 10 video countdown. (though admittedly, he is NOWHERE near as popular in the US as he is elsewhere)

**Outsider** · December 12th, 2002, 11:05 AM

I've admitted to liking the Spice Girls. It seemed like their last album got little or no promotion. But then again, I don't pay attention to those things. It's too bad they broke up, but those things happen. Since I don't have cable, I don't watch MTV (I wouldn't watch it if I did), so I have absolutely no idea who they play.

By the way, I think that "AOR" stands for "Album Oriented Rock". I gave the wrong information on an earlier thread. :evil:

**Nadia** · December 12th, 2002, 11:19 AM

What would classify as "album oriented rock"? Any type of rock music off an album?

**QUINNY** · December 12th, 2002, 12:25 PM

AOR is Adult Orientated Rock. Album Orientated Rock would be tracks from albums other than singles I guess. Another word for both is BLAND.

**Nadia** · December 12th, 2002, 06:08 PM

Originally Written by QUINNY

AOR is Adult Orientated Rock. Album Orientated Rock would be tracks from albums other than singles I guess. Another word for both is BLAND.

I guess for me it would depend on the band, cause I do listen to a lot of rock music...but there really are some groups out there that are just terrible. I swear if I have to hear The Dave Matthews Band one more time I'll go on a spree, lol!

**InvisibleMan** · December 11th, 2009, 05:51 PM

Lots and lots of great tunes, easy to dance to and sing along. And some nice slow songs on top of that. I love this band, they were like a more fun disco version of ABBA. Or a more bubblegum version of Silver Convention (who were also German). I like a lot from them, but "In the Heat of a disco night" is probably one of my faves.

Arabesque was essentially a project of one German producer/composer Jean Frankfurter, he wrote pretty much most of their songs.

I would not compare them to Spice Girls though like some here have, unless I missed some good catchy Eurodisco tunes from Spice Girls

**PierreConstantin** · December 12th, 2009, 01:18 AM

Originally Written by Nadia

Ahh...so they were popular in other countries across Europe? I was lead to believe it was only Japan and Germany, but I may have been misled.

And as for Sandra, I'm a fan of her solo stuff too....I think she has a great voice. ....I kind of wonder why she was not a big hit in the US too. :-?

I've never heard of Arabesque until this year :icon_smile:. If they were popular in Europe, it wasn't in France/Spain/Italy. Sandra of course was a huge hit from the beginning and all over the 80's.