“I Try” did well across all the charts that year. It was a laid back R&B song with a cool retro vibe and got lots of play on the pop and adult contemporary stations. The album itself went multi-platinum, won a Grammy for female vocal (back when it still mattered), and was nominated for album of the year. It was one of the few albums I bought that year. But, she kind of fizzled after that, and of course this woke stuff with the flag is pretty uncool.
I actually liked the song, but she did indeed “fizzle”. (That is the definition of a “One-Hit_Wonder, LOL).
Her fizzling could be the reason she came up with this uncool woke stuff.
The struggle to stay relevant is a powerful motive.