Why were no singles from the Blue era on released commercially in the U.S.?
After “cassingles,” 3-inch CDs, and standard-size CD singles failed to reach the penetration and ubiquity that the 45 rpm record once had, recording industry concerns largely attempted in the late 1990s and early 2000s to phase out singles from the American market. Although in the short term this move resulted in a spike in album sales, the strategy backfired as many customers turned to illegal downloading as a means to “acquire” individual songs; largely eliminating the popular expectation for physical product in the process. Singles persisted a bit longer in international markets (where indeed, two singles from Blue saw commercial release), but trends eventually led to such releases becoming little more than curios throughout the world.
