Man, there’s really no concrete explanation as to why any artist would ever name-drop another artist outside of wanting some press. But here we are, happily giving him it. At the same time, he is looking like a fool so it works out in either side of the let-me-say-something-degrading-about-an-artist spectrum.
Matt Healy, the douchebag from the brilliant band The 1975, just got me writing that adjective to describe him for the first time. I’ve always been okay with him. I think he is great. But this wasn’t cute. In a recent interview with Beat, he came after the innocent and equally talented Ellie Goulding. He says the hitmaker (which he really isn’t, but at least he does acknowledge that) is too much of a hitmaker. That she only does well in the singles game.
‘The artists whose single streams are in the billions, people don’t buy their albums, necessarily.’ he said. ‘Ellie Goulding: people will listen to her music at the gym and they will listen to it on playlists. They’ll put the pop playlist on and it will get out there. When it comes to her putting out a record, which is someone saying, ‘Will you invest in my lifestyle?’ or, ‘Do you want to invest in me, as an idea?’… I have a lot of ‘Yes, I want to invest in you as an idea’, and less, ‘I’ll pop this on when I’m doing whatever’.’
Whoa, easy there pal!
Ellie Goulding rightfully wasted no time returning a jab back. She went on Instagram and posted on her story: ‘I’ve had 3 multi-platinum albums so I feel like people have been fairly invested but ok I’ll let you have it.’
Yes queen!
And it’s true, her albums Lights, Halcyon, and Delirium all have a multitude of accolades deserving of a round of applause. However, unlike The 1975, she also has a number of singles that have garnered the kind of attention that a single song from the band probably would never. Again I’m not taking anything away from Healy and company, but don’t come for your musical counterparts like that.
You’re not completely wrong though, it is a singles game nowadays!
