American opinions on UK R&B

Very good thread, most bases covered. I think the British audience has come to respect UK urban music styles a lot more over the last couple of years - whether that self-confidence will translate overseas I have no idea; it might just stay a profitable local niche, like hip-hop in Franc.

is it an advantage or a pitfall that the big 'urban' domain exists now having only really been defined in the last five years (in the UK at least)? i cant help but feel it can be damaging as well as beneficial, just thinking about how 10-15 years ago there was no such prefix really and artists ranging from Neneh Cherry, Mica Paris, Soul II Soul to even the Stereo MCs (cant think of any 'craig david' equivalent for the time!) were successful but kind of isolated. would they have benefitted more had they had a label as broad and vague as urban to attach themselves to like Miss Dynamite, Daniel Bedingfield, Craig David and such?

I like Dido, but everyone here hates her. (Just that one song, and I don't like it enough to buy.) Got a lot of play on Philadelphia's radio.

personally, i don't trust english people. english pop stars. normal english people are better, mostly. but english pop- i can't trust it. for the reasons people suggested in that forum. and i hear, say, daniel bedingfield or something and i don't understand what's going on or why it sounds like that. it's pretty good and all but it's confusing. i want to like daniel bedingfield but i don't understand him. i kind of understand ms dynamite but not really.

and the rest of it is totally garbage.

i really don't think americans need english r&b or any english pop. i think they're doing fine. if you get something really good you could try again but, really, there's no need to try to sell craig david and robbie williams to americans.

you're pretty good at that dreary starsailor/coldplay/travis stuff, though.

i wish ms dynamite would make it big here her songs are wonderful : (

I like the remix of Southern Hospitality with Miss Dynamite in it.

dk your comments alarm me a little - i understand the US has no need for British 'urban' music but you negate everything else as if all the UK produces is shoddy hip hop/r n b, robbie williams and similarly unamerican pop pap and dreary poprock - if only the american market was able to accommodate more than just its established behemoth genres then perhaps british music would export better - its certainly not a quality issue

Twenty minutes of my life that I will never get back were just spent on my first visit to the Velvet Rope. I am so happy that I don't work in the music biz.