Why didn’t Mýa blow up? And did she deserve Beyoncé’s success?

The answer is yes. Mýa had some good songs, could dance her ass off and definitely had the look. 
The issue was that there wasn't much separating her from the other teen stars 
in the game around the time of her 98' debut. 

Aaliyah, Brandy and Monica were already dominating, and Mýa was just trailing behind. She didn't have the massive machine driving her the way Mathew Knowles did for his daughter. She was having issues with her record label before going independent, and in order to really shine in the entertainment industry, great PR, branding and management was required. Maybe much more in those times than it did now. Mýa's performances were awesome, but she just couldn't compete with the fire Beyoncé brought. She also didn't have the charisma required to make it as a really big star as talented as she was.


As Mýa turns 42 today, Beyoncé wishes her a happy birthday on beyonce.com.


9 Comments:

Seren said...

Its nice she wished her HBD and all, but it is possible to celebrate Mya and her career accomplishments without dwelling on why she as well as countless other R&B female artists were shafted compared to Beyoncé.

She's accomplished a lot since going independent, even a Grammy nomination. In fact a lot of the R&B female singers like herself who had to find different avenues after their peaks in popularity are enjoying success in those endeavors. Not becoming as big as Beyoncé wasn't the end of their careers, in fact they all seem much happier now compared to then.

Anonymous said...

I disagree Toya! Mya was on INTERSCOPE RECORDS at the HEIGHT of Eminem, Dr.Dre, 50 Cent, Gwen Stefani & No Doubt! They had the MONEY & THE MACHINE to PUSH Mya! I like Mya but let's not lie! After Lady Marmalade remake won the Grammy, she took time off but by 2003 Beyoncè, Alicia Keys, Ashanti & Monica all had albums out & My Love Is Like Whoa was a hit & Moodring came out but was overshadowed by the other ladies' albums!

Beyoncè was told by Columbia Records THEMSELVES that Independent Women, Crazy In Love, Baby Boy & The Dangerously In Love album in general were going to FLOP! All of the songs made HISTORY & proved Columbia Records wrong! So was it "The Machine" or did fans really fuck with Beyoncè during that time & the demand was there for her as a live performer?

Same can be said for Kelly Rowland. You cannot convince me that after Dilemma became a #1 SMASH, winning a Grammy & dominating radio & Billboard that Columbia Records was not up her ass at that time. They gave Kelly Rowland THE BAG on the strength of a hit chorus!

Toya said...

Comparing her to Bey is not shade, it's just a show of gratitude and acknowledgement that her career deserved to be so much bigger than it is. Bey's name gets thrown in because she is the benchmark when it comes to unprecedented success and popularity.

Kelly's debut was released at the back of a smash Nelly song and her album still underperformed in the States. It did moderately well in the UK though after topping the album chart.

Anonymous said...

I understand that part Toya, BUT my point is, at Interscope, Mya had support, but we were blinded by Eminem's success but before Lose Yourself, he didn't get the radio push that Mya did with Case Of The Ex & being on Lady Marmalade 2001! Eminem was selling millions purely on the strength of TRL support & he built his own label & signed D12, Obie Trice & 50 Cent. His brand sold itself.

That was always the case. At Virgin Records, after the success of Try Again, they pushed for an Aaliyah album, BUT Janet's All For You success didn't really require much effort, it just happened & she had her biggest 1st week sales. Janet's Brand within Virgin was underrated!

At Arista Records in the 90s, their focus was Monica & Toni Braxton, but The Bodyguard soundtrack era, made Whitney Houston a BRAND within Arista, Clive Davis & them didn't focus on Whitney much, the My Love Is Your Love album basically sold itself while Monica's Boy Is Mine album had all the focus.


At Columbia Records, after the success of Dilemma, they pushed Kelly 1st, to ride that momentum! Meanwhile, Beyoncè was a BRAND within the label after the success of the Survivor era, Austin Powers Goldmember was a hit for Columbia/Sony Pictures & add her Pepsi/L'oreal endorsements. Beyoncè's projects basically sold itself back then & as a live performance artists, she was in high demand.

Sorry for the long post, but my point is, Beyonce/Whitney/Janet/Eminem were BRANDS within a major label that didn't really require much of a team. Beyoncè just had her cousin Angie, Whitney just had her Nippy Entertainment crew, Janet, Jimmy & Terry did most of the heavylifting, Eminem just had Paul Rosenberg, 50 Cent just had DJ Whoo Kid! Those don't have much of a MACHINE! That's the smoke & mirrors. Meanwhile, Kelly, Mya, Aaliyah, Monica, Amerie etc, the label is more invested in them because if those artists succeed, the bigger the bonuses for the suits, the label executives, as apposed to the Bigger "BRAND" Household name artists on those labels that get by on just name recognition in terms of promotion.

Toya said...

Do know what? You're absolutely right on everything. 💯

Anonymous said...

I wonder why Beyonce has never wished brandy a happy birthday & it's on the same day as her best friend birthday"KELLY"....It was rumors going around that Brandy tried to cause friction between her & beyonce back in the day, I don't know how true it is but the friendship did END.

Toya said...

I heard about that many eons ago. It was a combination of Brandy allegedly saying something bad about Bey or was encouraging Kelly to step out of her shadow. Either way, Kelly didn't like it and reportedly checked out. I also remember when 'Bow Down' was first released and Brandy publicly said she was not a fan of the song. I actually saw tweets on Twitter as they went live and the Hive got in her ass.

Anonymous said...

I love Brandy however I believe Brandy is shady.... I remembered a few years ago she was performing the boy is mine & at the end of the song she stated the "Song Is Mines"... Basically acting like Monica didn't bring life to the song....

Sam said...

No. She said the song is mine because I believe the label or someone was trying to take ownership of the song. Brandy even had the song removed from iTunes. It had nothing to do with Monica.