“Blonde” is more mainstream pop. The type of audience that Alizée gained from DALS is not necessarily into mainstream pop. I have a feeling that her DALS popularity has not significantly contributed to sales of “Blonde”. Looking at the numbers, sales of her new CD appear to be about what you would expect from her small but loyal fan base that has stood with her through it all. Hopefully, the DALS audience will show up for the live performances where she has promised to do a lot of dancing.
When Alizée burst on the scene, she was a phenomenon. A combination of the right girl, the right music and the right timing, along with many other factors, allowed it to happen. When you look at sales from her second album, you can see that the phenomenon was already starting to fade. You can’t engineer a phenomenon because there are too many variables out of your control. All you can do is to do your best and hope you hit the timing right. Of course, the changing realities of the music industry are also playing a big part in all of this. And unfortunately for me, the whole "Blonde concept" promo has not been very inspiring for me.
The public generally does not like returning someone to the pedestal that they once occupied previously. They prefer someone new. That’s why DALS was such a good thing for Alizée because it exposed her to a different subset of the public that was willing to look at her as if she was new. I just don’t think her album has appealed to this subset of the public. As I mentioned before, hopefully her concert tour will draw these people out. But my guess is if they come, they will come for the dancing, and not as much for the music.
The last thing I will say is that I have liked Psyche, UEDS, 5, and the current music. They are all different styles, but I have found things to like in all of them. My interest has always been mainly for the music and I would defend all of her albums as having been worth the effort.
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