Chris Brown, Julianne Hough & Ne-Yo at Nokia Theater, NY for Wrigley

Technically this story is off topic because I don’t cover RnB. However, I’ve been remiss in posting about the topic of corporate sponsored urban music, largely because I’ve made the classic blogger mistake of saving links for a more comprehensive post in the future, and need to start writing about what has become a major marketing trend in both rap and RnB.

Months have passed with a steady stream of relevant links [to which I will return, he said, LOL hysterically] and developments have reached the point where it turns out that a popular single, Chris Brown’s Forever, is an extended version of a new Doublemint jingle written by Mr. Brown that is "scheduled to begin airing next month in 30-second spots for Wrigley’s green-packaged chewing gum":

"Mr. Brown was commissioned to write and sing both the pop song and a new version of the Doublemint jingle…Mr. Brown updated the jingle and recorded it with hip-hop producer Polow Da Don. Then, during the same Los Angeles recording sessions in February, paid for by Wrigley, Mr. Brown added new lyrics and made a 4½-minute rendition of the tune, titled ‘Forever.’"

"In April… Jive, released the song to radio stations and digital download services as a single. After the song became a hit, Jive added it to his 2007 album, ‘Exclusive,’ and re-released the album in June. ‘Forever’ reached No. 4 on Billboard magazine’s Hot 100 chart last week."

Some folks are upset about this turn of events including Hashim Warren who feels that the single should have been released with some form of disclosure.

I’m not sure what to think though this does feel like a rather shady moment in music-related marketing.

Jay-Z’s partner in Translation Advertising, Steve Stoute, is given credit for the campaign:

"The idea was to connect the hit song and the jingle in listener’s minds. That way, Mr. Stoute says, ‘by the time the new jingle came out, it was already seeded properly within popular culture.’"

Wow.  Hashim got seeded by Steve Stoute!

For Chris Brown, there was no need to break a sweat:

"Mr. Brown said in an email that he wrote ‘Forever’ and the related jingle in about 30 minutes each. ‘I actually thought it would take longer to write a jingle they would like,’ he wrote. ‘But they said it was a perfect fit after the first try.’"

Over at Hip Hop Press
Recording Superstars to Remake Iconic Doublemint,
Juicy Fruit and Big Red Gum Jingles

[Photo Courtesy Business Wire]