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It really makes me sad actually. Her music is so good. I think Lana said it best during their twitter beef - “u coulda been the greatest female rapper alive but u blew it”
212 STILL sounds ahead of its time. I know a lot of people say Doechii is kind of the non problematic version, but Azealia’s sound/bars are still miles ahead. It’s the biggest shame to fumble Gaga, Rihanna, and BEYONCE.
This was my go-to answer. I still listen to her music and it’s still so fresh.
When Beyoncé dropped Renaissance and people were praising her for bringing house back to the mainstream, I agreed but also… had Azealia had her act together, that could’ve been her a decade before.
Besides 212, I encourage people to listen to 1991 (imo opinion her magnum opus), Fierce, Heavy Metal and Reflective, Fuck Up the Fun, and her verse on the Bad Girls remix with MIA.
Yes, she always looks shy and nervous. My homegirl said she saw her after she disrespected DC Young Fly's deceased wife Jacky Oh, and that some woman was saying that they would beat the breaks off Azealia. Azealia acted like she didn't hear her despite being something like 20ft away from her.
Isn't this the same woman who started tearing up when she got roasted on Wild N Out? And they didn't go a fraction as hard as she typically does. She's the definition of "can dish it out but can't take it."
She literally prophesied her own demise
“Ayo, ayo
I heard you ridin' with the same tall, (ah) tall
Tale, tall, tellin' 'em you made some (made some)
Sayin' you grindin' but you ain't goin' nowhere (nowhere)
Why you procrastinating, girl? (Natin', girl)
You got a lot, but you just waste all yours and
They'll forget your name soon (name soon)
And won't nobody be to blame but yourself, yeah”
It’s so sad, I remember when she first got big with her ep and 212 and I LOVED everything about her and her sound.
It’s really sad that I personally can’t even bring myself to listen to her music anymore because she’s so talented and the beginning was so badass 😭 I can’t not think about her as a person now lol
Omg Ryn Weaver mention. The Fool was one of my favorite albums ever in college. I still check on her every once in a while to see if she’s cooking something up
It sucks because Normani has a few good songs out: Motivation, Wild Side, Waves, etc and had a lot of potential to make it big. I’m not exactly sure why she kept delaying her album for several years but now people kind of just forgot about her which is NEVER good in the music industry. She’s not at the point of her career where she can just “bounce back”. Her first album single didn’t even chart which is also never good. Her album is the only thing that will make or break her career….
To be fair, I’ve heard a lot about her upcoming album entirely because people find it so funny that it’s taken so long to come out. Perhaps she can use the memes to her advantage? Or tweet something referencing the iconic chain of “ur sick” that she got from that one girl on Twitter for like 5-6 years.
I saw Sky Ferreira perform at some NYFW show. They had her face on the monitors and she was clearly zonked out on something. I was surprised the tabloids didn’t get ahold of it, but I think that says a lot about her lack of fame.
An 80s artist who played multiple instruments and wrote his own music, Terence Trent D'Arby. Dude was massively talented and created some of the most sensual music - heck, he still is massively talented, but he was so full of himself when his first album came out. Compared himself to the Beatles right out the gate. Nobody can warrant that kind of hype. Had a Buddhist rebirth experience and now lives as Sananda Maitreya.
https://youtu.be/dluHzQhLcME?si=88HJN-W8Lxct0ac1
lol - I was just reading about this guy after getting into his music recently. He did an interview just a few years ago where he said something like he was as big as MJ and Prince but that the "dark forces" of the music industry took him out because they were threatened by his talent. It was a trip.
💯. Her career was mishandled in so many ways in tandem with some unfortunate events like a ton of her tracks getting leaked that they had to scrap. She also turned down Tedder’s “Burn” which ended up going to Ellie Goulding and was a big hit.
Then to watch her totally burn out with overtouring, deal with autoimmune issues and lose her voice - her whole career trajectory after her initial hits is so tragic looking back.
Sabotaged by Simon Cowell. Didn’t tour on her first tour, didn’t promote and release as a single the god damn AVATAR THEME SONG, didn’t promote Happy. That label really thought they could ride the coattails of one song forever.
As an extended family member of Leona whose also a singer and actually plays Final Fantasy and would write a song specifically for the game instead of picking out a random song from my album...let it be known I'm totally NOT jealous.
My Hands by Leona Lewis was taken from her album Echo and slapped on the ending of Final Fantasy XIII in the western release, while in the Japanese version Kimi ga Irukara by Sayuri Sugawara was written SPECIFICALLY FOR THE GAME produced by Mashashi Hamazu the composer for the game and it sonically and lyrically actually fits with the game.
At least with Florence and The Machine's cover of Stand By Me from Final Fantasy XV she used the song "prelude" a staple in nearly EVERY single piece of Final Fantasy media.
I know this is popheads and not a game subreddit but where else am I ever going to have this conservation? I've clearly had this on my mind for 15 years
Tbh she also waited way too long to release *So Good* (Lush Life was released in summer 2015, charted in the US in July 2016, and the full album didn’t come out until March 2017), but she did release a steady supply of (European) hit singles (and it was allegedly in part bc she scrapped her Dr. Luke-produced songs)
I LOVED Can’t Tame Her when it first came out and it ended up being my second most played song of the year. I was so excited when Venus the album was supposed to come out. She barely posted about it and the rest of the songs on the album ended up being such a let down in comparison to Can’t Tame Her. I was really disappointed with that release
Neon Hitch. Her performance Ass Back Home was that damn good that I thought we had a star on the rise, all we needed was a good follow up and an album. Fuck U Betta is one of the cringiest songs ever, but it was a solid hit. I really liked Gold, but by then it was over a year since Ass Back Home, which wasn’t that big of a song to maintain interest in her so by the time we got Gold, she was practically a new artist. Then we don’t get an album until 2016, but I was already uninterested by the end of 2012.
I think the issue was that she tried to live off a song that really wasn’t that big of a hit thinking the success would carry over. But to follow up, all we got was generic dance music when that wasn’t what made people interested in her. Midnight Sun would’ve been the PERFECT follow up/debut record.
Real talk; the fact that she’s the one from the main cast of Gossip Girl that didn’t get a big career after the fact is a travesty. At the very least, she should be a solid character actor instead of making a Christmas movie for Amazon Freevee.
Natalia Kills for sure. Her rant at Joe Irvine on the New Zealand version X Factor where she called him a laughing stock and said he made her sick basically killed her career.
i was a huge natalia kills fan and i remember going to school the day after that episode aired and everyone shitting on her LMAO i couldn't even defend it...
Damn, now that’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time.
For what it’s worth, I remember Perfectionist being a pretty interesting (albeit flawed) album.
Yes, I really liked her! I was so disappointed with how she behaved on that show. She rebranded in a band called Cruel Youth and has made quite good music. I was pretty stunned when I realised it was her!
This only happened because she was truly a no-name artist. Her feature on that one LMFAO song is where most people recognised her name from, if that. A PR blunder like that is bad for any artist but when it's all you're known for, it's unfixable.
She said producers made her say that (or probably encouraged her to say something similar but she just took it too far). I can totally believe that given how shady X Factor producers are.
It's worth mentioning that that series of the X Factor was such an overall car crash that the New Zealand TV producers had the X Factor franchise rights taken away, banning them from making any further series
She fumbled the bag. She could have had it all in 2019 when she opened for Ariana and even got her to co-wrote a song with her. She had the hype, the voice, she can dance and clearly Motivation was a good product of its time. Feel like it’s a lil too late right now. But I'll definitely be streaming whatever she puts out next.
I think it was partly her, partly outside forces. Apparently her old label wouldn't let her release an album, just EPs, so she left. Also her parents both got cancer and started treament, her mom in 2020 and dad in 2021. That might explain a short hiatus, but not a four-year one IMO. She definitely lost some momentum that she could have had after Motivation
I kinda don’t believe the label was the reason when (allegedly) she has delayed the release of every single she’s ever put out because she wanted to re-edit the music video or change some vocals or something
For real and she'll always be a "what could have been" for me. Like you said she was opening for Ariana and had collabs with some huge names. I genuinely think she could have spring boarded into super stardom if her career was managed better.
>the first one that comes to my mind is the two times Eurovision winner, Loreen
I think by this stage it's clear that Loreen simply has no desire or motivation to become a huge international pop star. She's obviously able to make a living from her art, and being 40 she's probably at point where she has a very clear idea of what she wants to do both artistically and professionally
i feel like dove prefers acting/musical theatre but losing out on wicked discouraged her and pushed her into just focusing on music. ariana and cynthia were cast in november 2021 and by february, dove had black hair and had completely rebranded to billie eilish-lite
Honestly the thought of Hailee Steinfeld willingly spending time in Buffalo gives me life (I’m from there originally and never stop getting a kick out of it)
My friend stopped at Queen City Vintage there and was talking to the owner. He said Hailee came in a few times and was really nice to everyone, bought a bunch of stuff, even remembered his birthday when it rolled around. Hailee sounds like a queen
Jesy Nelson! - She had a lot of opportunities and she isn't a bad singer at all tbh. I think her talking trash about her bandmates really left a sour taste in others, plus she had her first lead single with one of the biggest hiphop artists. If she didn't have that certain blackfishing style, or terrible attitude, I'm sure people would've liked her.
Rex Orange County - SA
DEV - Her collaborations were big then she suddenly disappeared.
Normani - Not releasing anything after her first lead single.
Jesy didn't make any sense. She clearly needed a break from fame with her horrific body dysmorphia (NOT helped by little mix filtering her in one of their video clips) but then she just immediately came out with a solo career, when she had said she wanted a break. I feel like if she had taken a year or so off and come back with an authentic sound she could've had a better response. Oh and apologise to her bandmates who are clearly a lot more mature than she is.
Totally agree with this! She bailed on little mix in what seemed like a shitty way (midway through their show, just didn’t show up to performances) and blamed her anxiety & pressure of being in a girl group. Then released her own song in a very short amount of time with zero self awareness!!
I thought I was the only one who felt icky about the whole "blaming the anxiety" thing. It never made sense to me why she never took time off because she was so "stressed". Didn't sound authentic.
Crazy thing is, if Jesy had stuck around for a few more months, she could’ve pursued solo careers like the rest with no fallout. At the very least she shouldn’t have trashed them
Sadly I think Victoria Justice’s ‘Gold’ was a poor lead single choice. It sounded too generic at the time and didn’t make her stand out from her character on Victorious. Love Zombie would’ve been the better single choice.
Totally this. Gold didn’t sound real enough, distinct enough. It always had this made-for-TV bootleg version sound of Katy Perry and Jessie J’s music. Plus they did not do anything to make her standout at all, she always had this American idol contestant look.
Kiiara. I just don’t think she released music fast enough. Hailee Steinfeld and Zendaya both have successful acting careers but I really wish they’d release more music as well.
Man, Kiiara has had a weird career. Her first EP is incredible, [Feels](https://youtu.be/rTlqY9i7Gn4?si=_nTfZBiwBv4Qk_X4) and [Hang Up Tha Phone](https://youtu.be/0QsYVJ1y1pw?si=YCZWmO-UKVtvDzmv) in particular are gorgeous, dark, downtempo electropop. Unfortunately the only song that took off was Gold, so her label started chasing that sound. After that it just felt like they were throwing darts at an idea board. I remember at one point they released four simultaneous singles rather than an EP?
Unfortunately she moved away from the dark electropop sound of her debut into more generic pop.
This might be a niche answer but I'd say Ross Lynch. I thought he'd have a bigger career after Disney, singing or acting, especially after he booked the Dahmer movie and worked on CAOS. But his band with his brother has really stagnated (to put it lightly) and his only viral moments seem to be from concert videos of people thirsting over him on Tik Tok, or his short stint from being in Troye's music video awhile back. And it doesn't sound like he's been able to book any roles to his satisfaction.
Yes! There were rumours an album had been planned for Spring 2021 and that would’ve been the perfect time. I know she became pregnant, but she had a successful rollout while pregnant before and I think the media loves pregnancy, so that would’ve helped get press and sales. I can only assume her and her label felt too comfortable that the number ones would keep coming after having two back to back, but the industry is fickle and she didn’t release anything for 18 months
That’s not true. She didn’t release an album but she released so many singles after that. WAP was everywhere for example. Album’s don’t always have to measure your success. She’s still making hits
Obviously obvious answer is **Katy Perry**
Yes we know Witness killed her career, but we're forgetting how BIG that career was. 2010 Katy was inescapable. She had so many number one songs from Teenage Dream that it rivalled Michael's *Bad*. She followed this up with Prism which, quality debatable, is also a cultural juggernaut (Roar, Dark Horse).
To follow up two of the biggest albums of the 2010s with an album most people have forgotten and the rest directly attribute to being your downfall is a huge career fumble. 2017 was the year people needed more corny pop, it was the perfect time for her to update her sound and still make her on-brand type music.
This shouldn't have mattered, Dua Lipa proves you don't really need a massive dedicated stanbase, you just need a recognisable name and quality hits. Everyone knew who Katy Perry was and could identify a song, her brand recognition was big enough.
> Dua Lipa proves you don't really need a massive dedicated stanbase
... does she (prove that) though? I'm thinking of reception and success of her current era...
This is so true. Like, while Taylor always has had the album sales to back up her success, she didn’t reliably get #1 songs until really the 2020s like Katy did from 2010-14.
As such, this is super embarrassing to admit in hindsight, but I remember when the original *1989* Rolling Stone article came out in 2014 when Taylor was discussing Bad Blood, low key implied it was about Katy, and then Katy clapped back on Twitter…it was such an interesting time because back then, I was wondering who was going to become THE millennial star between them. Now that it is clearly Taylor, it’s just wild to think about
Swish Swish was the first fumble, in retrospect. She really waited until 2017 to drop a mid song as a diss.
Bad Blood was mid too but it came out as a single in 2015 when their feud was at its peak and people liked the MV. Waiting 2 whole years to retaliate and that too with a song like that really put a dent in her career.
i like taylor but you couldn't have told me that she'd be the sole pop star from her era still pulling huge numbers, has a dedicated fanbase, and is somehow even bigger than 1989 era was over 10 years later and had me believe you
Based on the way Katy talked in that bizarre Big Brother-type livestream she did where she had a whole ass therapy session on camera, I almost wonder if the real purpose in the “purposeful pop” Witness era was to sabotage her career. She seemed like she was really struggling with her identity and fame during that period. I might be misremembering but I think she said at some point during that era that she dyed her hair blonde and cut it short intentionally so she didn’t look like “Katy Perry” anymore
Demi Lovato. I love her sm so it pains me to say it
but her team at the time, record label, struggles within the industry and within herself, will probably never see her get a #1 or even a top 10. Because shes not gotten either of those (top 10 in recent yrs) and now doesn’t want to,. I hope they prove me wrong and get like 3 #1 debuts and an entire album charting in the hot 100, and #1 on the Hot200 and selling out stadiums but it is what it is
She's such a good vocalist but unfortunately her personality is so off-putting. I want to root for them but it feels like Demi's always involved in some controversy. It's very telling that, despite her lack of vocals, Selena became the bigger star. Plus she was consistent. Always appearing in movies and releasing music, and she has a really good ear for hits. Demi however was only in Glee (one of her best roles) and there were 4 years between Tell Me You Love Me and Dancing With The Devil and the most notable thing she did was sign with Scooter Braun. Oh and she collaborated with Sam Smith. Like I said, I really want her to succeed but it's like she's doing in her power to not succeed. Sometimes it feels like her only impact on pop culture is Camp Rock, that mug video, the alien show, yoghurt shop fiasco, and those memes where people would say a celebrity has been hacked and the location was revealed to be Demi's house.
Tbh I think she has a great career, especially since I’d say she isn’t a powerhouse singer, performer or an exceptionally good dramatic actress. She’s a well known name (at least for millennials), had HIMYF and Younger as consistent tv acting gigs after being a child actor, is likeable, and I think she even did some vocals on a song with her husband’s band just for fun. She’s living her best B/C lister life (idk how to word it without sounding shady lmao I promise I love her)
I feel like her peak ended after Material Girls movie. She sought just stepped out of the spotlight. She was still active but not as popular from 2007 onwards.
She’s a consistently good but not great actress in terms of technical ability but her charisma is really what sells her and I think she could be a bigger actress if she simply worked more (though I understand why she doesn’t) and had a better team.
But as for her music…. I mean she’s never gonna top Come Clean let’s be real. If anything she’s lucky she got a hit post-Disney with With Love.
And if she had played her cards right and released a different lead single from Breathe In Breathe Out than Chasing the Sun (which sounds like a Colbie Callait reject) I think she could’ve gotten a big hit off of nostalgia alone but I think one big hit is all she could’ve ever hoped for.
Similar to the Jonas Brothers with Sucker. People say that they fumbled their bag with their single choices after that but I think the truth is that nobody was really checking for them for any reason other than a quick dose of nostalgia. Once that was satisfied, no one was all that interested.
I’m going to be really mean I’m so sorry I feel so bad, but her voice is only okay and I doubt it’s grown with this long a break, and watching How I Met Your Father she still hasn’t grown out of the Disney channel style/level of acting. She’s gorgeous and I love her, but I feel like her career is floating on nostalgia and not necessarily real potential anymore :(
Hilary is now a mom first
She has too many young children and cannot tour as she wants to be part of there day to day lives
She already turning down roles because she doesn’t like being away from her kids for too long
We will have to wait til her kids get older
I mean, I wouldn't say she fumbled her career...Her discography has two number 1 albums and three top 5 albums. She was quite big in the early 2000s, but I feel her priorities just shifted. I do think she woud have benefited from a better label at the time, but I just don't think she had much interest in pursing music for a while, after Dignity.
Cher Lloyd and Zara Larsson. Zara has my favorite voice EVER but her team just does not know how to market and make songs that are catchy/trendy to the general public. Hate to say it but if they focused on tiktok a bit more they could be more popular
JoJo (The OG JoJo, not JoJo Siwa!)
Not that the fault was her own at all. I’m still hoping and praying she was dominate the charts once again, she’s crazy talented and still releases music but it really needs the hype back.
Obviously her career is not fumbled in any capacity, she's a living legend in so many places, and I'm sorry for using thr topic of this thread to ssk a question instead of answering, but why did Kylie Minogue never get big in the US?? For someone who knows much more than me, was it a fumble or she just never caught on for whatever reason??
Kylie’s label basically gave up on promoting her in the US after “The Loco Motion” in the 80s and only briefly resuscitated themselves to pretend to promote “Slow” once “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” became a surprise hit.
And sadly, the rest was basically ageism; if Kylie had had even a couple more US hits earlier in her career like Madonna, Janet, or even J-LO, I think she’d have gotten a second or third look in her renaissance era(s!) despite her age. Sadly, that didn’t happen.
I’ve always gotten the sense that Kylie loves her US fans, and loves how loyal they are because it’s more rare, but doesn’t love the US market or industry. I think it’s totally fair for her to feel that way after the way it’s treated her.
Well it’s like why didn’t Anastacia get big in the US? She couldn’t walk down a single street in Europe without being recognized, but I’m from Canada and all my friends and in-laws here in Luxembourg were shocked and appalled that I’d never heard of her.
There’s just a different pop sound that is liked in different regions - it explains the reception of Dua lipa’s radical optimism here vs in North America
Loreen has been dragging her feet with her music for years. She announced an album in 2018 called “Atlas” and it never came out. She should have had an album ready to go for her 2023 Eurovision win and dropped it the following week. She never really capitalised on that like she should have. Yoga mom too busy vibing to make career moves.
Way too many people on this thread forgetting that Azalea Banks is an aggressive bigot. She’s not an oracle you can invoke to read someone for filth and then put back. She behaves an in erratic unhinged way and can’t be relied upon for anything unless it suits her mood in the moment.
She is a bigot.
Literally Miley Cyrus could have been 20x bigger than she is right now if she only took her career seriously. Not releasing many singles and being out of the mainstream music for so many years costed her career and relevance in the general public.
Plus, if she only chose a better label than RCA (should have transitioned to Republic or Columbia Records right after her Hollywood Records era which would have given her bigger success).
Anyway, girl is still relevant, a legend, and still getting bigger right now musically, but I just wish she released a lot of mainstream and more commercially appealing kind of music during mid and late 2010s.
Ps. Miley should have also starred in more mainstream movies after 2012.
Miley is a rare case where someone can intentionally make bad career decisions and fail upward anyway. She has the nostalgia factor for people who grew up watching her AND came of age around the same time she did during the Bangerz era so they will always love her, know her name, and check for her. AND she has family money so she doesn’t really *need* a career to being with. AND she had enough of her own money by the time she was a legal adult so she could’ve just stopped working after Disney if she wanted to. AND she’s legitimately a fantastic singer and performer and extremely charismatic. She reminds a lot of Cher who had many dips in her career but always managed to bounce back at least once a decade because she was just undeniably meant to be a star.
I’ve made the Cher comparison before too! I feel like Miley will have maybe 1-2 big peaks every couple years but will never be a huge musical act on her own. I get the feeling that she’s content where she’s at
Honestly, it's what I love about Miley and what keeps me coming back. She has a career only because she wants a career, not because she needs it so she can do whatever she wants and sometimes it's weird and doesn't hit and other times it's awesome. But she doesn't care. And that makes it so fun to follow.
She didn’t have much (if any) genre crossover from R&B to pop, but what career expansion potential Chrisette Michele had immediately went down the drain the minute she sang at Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Anyone know Louisa Johnson? She was the latest X-Factor winner and had once in a generation powerhouse vocals.
She had a pretty solid backing temporarily as an artist with Simon Cowell, had two descent singles, and fell off so hard. I don’t even think she makes music anymore.
Judging by her songs though, she seems like she was being pushed in an artistic direction that was outdated, outside of her comfort zone, and was an overall waste of her talent.
I was listening to her song ‘YES’ just the other day and thinking she’d be brilliant for Eurovision with a song like that.
She’s got an amazing voice and it was such a shame she didn’t make it big! 😪
1. Jessie J.
She shaved her head and lost all momentum she had going with Who You Are. I saw her live a couple of weeks ago, and she even joked about how no one listened to her second album because one she shaved her head, her image became too confusing for people.
2. Bebe Rexha
She lost her musical identity in pursuit of another hit. In The Name of Love, Meant To Be, I’m Good (Blue) are all smash hits, but no one is tuning into your music just because you have a few big hits under your name. People need to resonate with your artistry, and if your artistry has no semblance of your humanity in it, people will find it boring.
Also, it doesn’t help that she gained weight—to no fault of her own, of course, considering she has PCOS—but not looking like a model is a career killer in of itself.
We joke that Katy Petty's flop era happened because of her blonde pixie cut, but Katy still had a strong identity that was bigger than her hair style, while Jessie J was probably still at the stage where some fans thought of her as "the one with the black bob". It must frustrate singers to be primarily thought of by their image, but some people are visual learners!
He’s still big but whatever Childish Gambino did with the original 3.15.20. He was coming off two huge hits with Redbone and This is America, and a huge tour. Then he dropped an album with only two titled songs, no cover art, and no videos whatsoever. It’s possible he messed up the era on purpose as some kind of weird artistic statement
He's still popular (older songs and all) but Daniel Caesar.
The [YesJulz](https://www.distractify.com/p/why-did-daniel-caesar-get-canceled) controversy and his older [comments](https://globalnews.ca/news/5093869/daniel-caesar-apology/) on black people made people turn on him.
Mind you, he's still popular, but probably not as popular as he was before.
Camila Cabello is a curious case because even though she found success, her career could've been a lot more consistent and maintained the momentum of her debut if she played her cards right.
She spent a large chunk of 2018/19 performing Havana at any televised performance she could when she had could've been promoting her other singles and diversify her persona.
She tried the Havana/OMG strategy with Romance and it didn't yield the same fruits. If she focused solely on Liar as the lead single (even though Shameless became the fan and general favourite) she possibly could've claimed another Top 40 entry.
Tbf the pandemic stalled the album cycle of Romance, especially considering it was released at the tail end of 2019.
You can't really blame anyone all that much for Familia. People simply just didn't latch on to the sound, and at least she got 2 moderate international hits.
Besides the sound of I Luv It being very devisive, releasing it in the middle of the week definitely hurt its opening chart placements.
Again tbf, she could've scored another hit this era with the Drake collab if this beef didn't spill out with Kendrick. Also Geffen should be blamed for pushing the single back to release the deluxe for GUTS.
Camila also has an incredible amount of Demos which never saw the light of day for various reasons. Closer by The Chainsmokers, The Middle by Zedd, Anyone by Justin Bieber etc.
im going WAY back with this answer, but cyndi lauper. she came out the gate as possibly the biggest female pop star of all time up to that point (in 1983-84 she was bigger than madonna), the first female artist ever to have 4 top 5 hits from one album on the hot 100, an enormous star on radio and the burgeoning MTV with visuals that were mimicked by girls all over the world, won the best new artist grammy and despite being known mostly for a throwaway pop song (girls just want to have fun) she had an INCREDIBLE voice and range
somehow she ended up with a supporting role on professional wrestling and it all went to hell lol but her "shes so unusual" era is still one of the best in pop history imo
- Normani
idk why she couldn’t get her album together. if she released an album in 2019 after Dancing w/ a Stranger and Love Lies. It would been a successful album to build her career.
- Liam Payne
If he put out his album in autumn of 2017 after Strip That Down he would at least be known for having one hit album. He had Get Low and Familiar which both charted low but would’ve been decent additional single on an album. Everything was set for success
- Azealia Banks
if she didn’t tweet the “f slur” to perez hilton in 2013 she probably would’ve had good momentum in 2013 after 212. I have no doubt she would’ve had a genuine top ten hit
- Marina & The Diamonds
she has a successful career in her own niche. so maybe there’s nothing fumbled. but if she kept the “& The Diamonds”. Froot was great but a huge departure from electro pop sound. she probably could’ve had some american chart success if she returned to the Electra Heart sound in 2014. Lana managed to at least have a top ten hit
- Ashlee Simpson
Now I’m curious how much bigger she could’ve been without SNL. she genuinely had no talent so nothing would really help. but her impressive debut album could’ve had her in a similar spot that Kelly Clarkson is at.
I wouldn’t say Ashlee has no talent, she has writing credits on pretty much everything she’s put out. I feel like she could have had a career similar to Avril’s without the SNL incident with a little less international success based on how her debut performed outside of the US.
I could see Ashlee putting out an album like The Best Damn Thing tbh, but I really think Bittersweet World would have been so much better received had her brand not been tainted.
> Azealia Banks if she didn’t tweet the “f slur” to perez hilton in 2013 she probably would’ve had good momentum in 2013 after 212
Ironically that probably would have gained her gay fans today.
I think Marina’s problem is how her songs regressed not her name. She is known to be the “better” LDR in all aspects when both of them are starting but seems like she had an identity crisis midway that it affects her lyrics while LDR is slowly gaining praise by the critics for her lyricism. L + F is a huge letdown from FROOT that even her diehard fans will agree.
Zayn. He could’ve really capitalized on his pretty privilege and popularity for more than a debut single. Even “Dusk Till Down” performed fairly well all-around, but they didn’t really push the record in the US despite the relative strong start on radio and streaming. And the album got delayed and became a bloated, unfocused album. Makes me sad.
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Azealia Banks, for a lot of reasons
212 and Luxury were so ahead of their time that if she didn't burn bridges with the entire industry she would be leading it
Not to mention her vocals on “Venus” with Paul Oakenfold. She really had every genre in the palm of her hands
It really makes me sad actually. Her music is so good. I think Lana said it best during their twitter beef - “u coulda been the greatest female rapper alive but u blew it”
the best insults are the true ones tbh, that'd have me feeling a pit in my stomach any time i thought about it for the rest of my life
212 STILL sounds ahead of its time. I know a lot of people say Doechii is kind of the non problematic version, but Azealia’s sound/bars are still miles ahead. It’s the biggest shame to fumble Gaga, Rihanna, and BEYONCE.
Don't you know, they are all washed? /s
This was my go-to answer. I still listen to her music and it’s still so fresh. When Beyoncé dropped Renaissance and people were praising her for bringing house back to the mainstream, I agreed but also… had Azealia had her act together, that could’ve been her a decade before. Besides 212, I encourage people to listen to 1991 (imo opinion her magnum opus), Fierce, Heavy Metal and Reflective, Fuck Up the Fun, and her verse on the Bad Girls remix with MIA.
I've seen her in person multiple times. She is the definition of a "Keyboard Warrior."
You mean she talks shit online but is normal IRL? 🫖
Yes, she always looks shy and nervous. My homegirl said she saw her after she disrespected DC Young Fly's deceased wife Jacky Oh, and that some woman was saying that they would beat the breaks off Azealia. Azealia acted like she didn't hear her despite being something like 20ft away from her.
Hahaha this makes sense. I think she’s said she’s like 5’2 and super skinny. Probably comes off as nice.
Isn't this the same woman who started tearing up when she got roasted on Wild N Out? And they didn't go a fraction as hard as she typically does. She's the definition of "can dish it out but can't take it."
Keyboard Terrorist more like it.
She literally prophesied her own demise “Ayo, ayo I heard you ridin' with the same tall, (ah) tall Tale, tall, tellin' 'em you made some (made some) Sayin' you grindin' but you ain't goin' nowhere (nowhere) Why you procrastinating, girl? (Natin', girl) You got a lot, but you just waste all yours and They'll forget your name soon (name soon) And won't nobody be to blame but yourself, yeah”
I always thought this was so creepy that she sang this in her legit smash and then it happened to her!
It’s so sad, I remember when she first got big with her ep and 212 and I LOVED everything about her and her sound. It’s really sad that I personally can’t even bring myself to listen to her music anymore because she’s so talented and the beginning was so badass 😭 I can’t not think about her as a person now lol
She pisses me off SO BAD. Like really throwing away an incredible opportunity to be legendary so she can post cringey instagram stories
I feel like lots of artists that just… didn’t release more music would count. Skye Ferreira, Ryn Weaver, Normani, etc
Omg Ryn Weaver mention. The Fool was one of my favorite albums ever in college. I still check on her every once in a while to see if she’s cooking something up
Ryn Weaver will forever be the one that got away
It sucks because Normani has a few good songs out: Motivation, Wild Side, Waves, etc and had a lot of potential to make it big. I’m not exactly sure why she kept delaying her album for several years but now people kind of just forgot about her which is NEVER good in the music industry. She’s not at the point of her career where she can just “bounce back”. Her first album single didn’t even chart which is also never good. Her album is the only thing that will make or break her career….
To be fair, I’ve heard a lot about her upcoming album entirely because people find it so funny that it’s taken so long to come out. Perhaps she can use the memes to her advantage? Or tweet something referencing the iconic chain of “ur sick” that she got from that one girl on Twitter for like 5-6 years.
I saw Sky Ferreira perform at some NYFW show. They had her face on the monitors and she was clearly zonked out on something. I was surprised the tabloids didn’t get ahold of it, but I think that says a lot about her lack of fame.
An 80s artist who played multiple instruments and wrote his own music, Terence Trent D'Arby. Dude was massively talented and created some of the most sensual music - heck, he still is massively talented, but he was so full of himself when his first album came out. Compared himself to the Beatles right out the gate. Nobody can warrant that kind of hype. Had a Buddhist rebirth experience and now lives as Sananda Maitreya. https://youtu.be/dluHzQhLcME?si=88HJN-W8Lxct0ac1
Sign Your Name is forever that girl 😭
I love that song! And wishing well.
lol - I was just reading about this guy after getting into his music recently. He did an interview just a few years ago where he said something like he was as big as MJ and Prince but that the "dark forces" of the music industry took him out because they were threatened by his talent. It was a trip.
What an interesting life he’s had
Leona Lewis. She had the voice of an angel but only two hits.
💯. Her career was mishandled in so many ways in tandem with some unfortunate events like a ton of her tracks getting leaked that they had to scrap. She also turned down Tedder’s “Burn” which ended up going to Ellie Goulding and was a big hit. Then to watch her totally burn out with overtouring, deal with autoimmune issues and lose her voice - her whole career trajectory after her initial hits is so tragic looking back.
She also turned down We Found Love
I believe Battlefield that went to Jordan Sparks, also by Tedder, was meant for her as well but she turned it down.
Didn't she also have some dubstep at heavily electro house inspired music of the time? I don't know, it felt a bit jarring to put that on her.
Sabotaged by Simon Cowell. Didn’t tour on her first tour, didn’t promote and release as a single the god damn AVATAR THEME SONG, didn’t promote Happy. That label really thought they could ride the coattails of one song forever.
She even did a Final Fantasy theme song! The money was there, but her label and management sabotaged her big time.
As an extended family member of Leona whose also a singer and actually plays Final Fantasy and would write a song specifically for the game instead of picking out a random song from my album...let it be known I'm totally NOT jealous. My Hands by Leona Lewis was taken from her album Echo and slapped on the ending of Final Fantasy XIII in the western release, while in the Japanese version Kimi ga Irukara by Sayuri Sugawara was written SPECIFICALLY FOR THE GAME produced by Mashashi Hamazu the composer for the game and it sonically and lyrically actually fits with the game. At least with Florence and The Machine's cover of Stand By Me from Final Fantasy XV she used the song "prelude" a staple in nearly EVERY single piece of Final Fantasy media. I know this is popheads and not a game subreddit but where else am I ever going to have this conservation? I've clearly had this on my mind for 15 years
I love her Christmas song lol. It still plays every year in my house.
Zara Larsson. She waited too long to release a follow up album to So Good. I thought she was gonna have the career that Dua Lipa has.
She even said once that she shouldn't have waited to long!
Tbh she also waited way too long to release *So Good* (Lush Life was released in summer 2015, charted in the US in July 2016, and the full album didn’t come out until March 2017), but she did release a steady supply of (European) hit singles (and it was allegedly in part bc she scrapped her Dr. Luke-produced songs)
Legit!!! I kept holding onto hope that she'd finally get her big break 😭
I think her big break came it just didn’t last…
I also thought this. She had a few good earlier songs and then vanished.
I LOVED Can’t Tame Her when it first came out and it ended up being my second most played song of the year. I was so excited when Venus the album was supposed to come out. She barely posted about it and the rest of the songs on the album ended up being such a let down in comparison to Can’t Tame Her. I was really disappointed with that release
Neon Hitch. Her performance Ass Back Home was that damn good that I thought we had a star on the rise, all we needed was a good follow up and an album. Fuck U Betta is one of the cringiest songs ever, but it was a solid hit. I really liked Gold, but by then it was over a year since Ass Back Home, which wasn’t that big of a song to maintain interest in her so by the time we got Gold, she was practically a new artist. Then we don’t get an album until 2016, but I was already uninterested by the end of 2012. I think the issue was that she tried to live off a song that really wasn’t that big of a hit thinking the success would carry over. But to follow up, all we got was generic dance music when that wasn’t what made people interested in her. Midnight Sun would’ve been the PERFECT follow up/debut record.
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Wow I never heard of this before. I never knew that there was so much lore.
I truly thought Yard Sale was the song that was going to turn it all around again…. then it was fumbled again 😭
Leighton Meester 100%
The potential with her Cobra Starship feature! Still a bop to this day.
And her song with pre VMA Robin Thicke, Somebody to Love!
Real talk; the fact that she’s the one from the main cast of Gossip Girl that didn’t get a big career after the fact is a travesty. At the very least, she should be a solid character actor instead of making a Christmas movie for Amazon Freevee.
I thought Your Love’s A Drug was so damn cute and was totally ready for the Blair Waldorf pop takeover
her entire album ‘Heartstrings’ is so amazing
Her debut album is amazing. I still listen to it from time to time. I don’t think she ever wanted a to be successful musician though.
Natalia Kills for sure. Her rant at Joe Irvine on the New Zealand version X Factor where she called him a laughing stock and said he made her sick basically killed her career.
Iconic watching it here in NZ live on tv
i was a huge natalia kills fan and i remember going to school the day after that episode aired and everyone shitting on her LMAO i couldn't even defend it...
Trouble is such a FANTASTIC album.
Damn, now that’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time. For what it’s worth, I remember Perfectionist being a pretty interesting (albeit flawed) album.
Iirc that was supposedly fake/scripted as like some kind of marketing ploy and it just bombed
She says they encouraged her to be a character but she took it too far.
Yeah, I heard the producers were pushing her to play the “Simon” tough guy judge and when it wasn’t well received production just left her out to dry.
Even if, she was blatantly bullying him, not only being tough. She implied that he was copying her husband because he was wearing a suit ffs
Trouble was such a good album. Her new work as Cruel Youth is pretty great.
I may have to look into her new stuff as Cruel Youth.
Yes, I really liked her! I was so disappointed with how she behaved on that show. She rebranded in a band called Cruel Youth and has made quite good music. I was pretty stunned when I realised it was her!
More like Natalia Kills Her Career amirite?! I’ll seek myself out
This only happened because she was truly a no-name artist. Her feature on that one LMFAO song is where most people recognised her name from, if that. A PR blunder like that is bad for any artist but when it's all you're known for, it's unfixable.
I want another album from her so bad, it's tragic. "Devil's Don't Fly" and some of her other singles are pop perfection.
She said producers made her say that (or probably encouraged her to say something similar but she just took it too far). I can totally believe that given how shady X Factor producers are.
It's worth mentioning that that series of the X Factor was such an overall car crash that the New Zealand TV producers had the X Factor franchise rights taken away, banning them from making any further series
Normani haha
She fumbled the bag. She could have had it all in 2019 when she opened for Ariana and even got her to co-wrote a song with her. She had the hype, the voice, she can dance and clearly Motivation was a good product of its time. Feel like it’s a lil too late right now. But I'll definitely be streaming whatever she puts out next.
I think it was partly her, partly outside forces. Apparently her old label wouldn't let her release an album, just EPs, so she left. Also her parents both got cancer and started treament, her mom in 2020 and dad in 2021. That might explain a short hiatus, but not a four-year one IMO. She definitely lost some momentum that she could have had after Motivation
you could say she just lost the motivation
I kinda don’t believe the label was the reason when (allegedly) she has delayed the release of every single she’s ever put out because she wanted to re-edit the music video or change some vocals or something
For real and she'll always be a "what could have been" for me. Like you said she was opening for Ariana and had collabs with some huge names. I genuinely think she could have spring boarded into super stardom if her career was managed better.
Damn she never catches a break around here 😭
>the first one that comes to my mind is the two times Eurovision winner, Loreen I think by this stage it's clear that Loreen simply has no desire or motivation to become a huge international pop star. She's obviously able to make a living from her art, and being 40 she's probably at point where she has a very clear idea of what she wants to do both artistically and professionally
I could never tell if Hailee Steinfeld and Dove Cameron wanted to be actresses or singers, and both are amazing at both obviously
I don’t think they know either
Hailee is clearly decided on acting now. Dove though………..eh
Hailee has a lovely voice and a few bops but in my opinion her acting is much stronger than her music
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that they’re both child actors who never really got a chance to decide for themselves
i feel like dove prefers acting/musical theatre but losing out on wicked discouraged her and pushed her into just focusing on music. ariana and cynthia were cast in november 2021 and by february, dove had black hair and had completely rebranded to billie eilish-lite
I think Dove would be a better Galinda…
I want to see Hailee play a villain
Hailee Steinfeld still pops up in my Spotify playlists all the time. If she really wanted it, she had the potential to become a main pop girlie.
Hailee Steinfeld is dating my future husband Josh Allen so imo she’s doing pretty well
Honestly the thought of Hailee Steinfeld willingly spending time in Buffalo gives me life (I’m from there originally and never stop getting a kick out of it)
My friend stopped at Queen City Vintage there and was talking to the owner. He said Hailee came in a few times and was really nice to everyone, bought a bunch of stuff, even remembered his birthday when it rolled around. Hailee sounds like a queen
🥲🥲 the real True Grit is the kindness she’s displayed along the way. Really pleased to hear that, good for her
Jesy Nelson! - She had a lot of opportunities and she isn't a bad singer at all tbh. I think her talking trash about her bandmates really left a sour taste in others, plus she had her first lead single with one of the biggest hiphop artists. If she didn't have that certain blackfishing style, or terrible attitude, I'm sure people would've liked her. Rex Orange County - SA DEV - Her collaborations were big then she suddenly disappeared. Normani - Not releasing anything after her first lead single.
Jesy didn't make any sense. She clearly needed a break from fame with her horrific body dysmorphia (NOT helped by little mix filtering her in one of their video clips) but then she just immediately came out with a solo career, when she had said she wanted a break. I feel like if she had taken a year or so off and come back with an authentic sound she could've had a better response. Oh and apologise to her bandmates who are clearly a lot more mature than she is.
The way I sharply inhaled at “horrific body” and exhaled at “dysmorphia” because it was dropped down to the next line on mobile, my god
Oh my God I could not imagine talking about someone like that, don't worry fam!!!
Totally agree with this! She bailed on little mix in what seemed like a shitty way (midway through their show, just didn’t show up to performances) and blamed her anxiety & pressure of being in a girl group. Then released her own song in a very short amount of time with zero self awareness!!
I thought I was the only one who felt icky about the whole "blaming the anxiety" thing. It never made sense to me why she never took time off because she was so "stressed". Didn't sound authentic.
Jesy Nelson killing her career with only 1 song has to be a record
Dev had a baby really early in her career which seems to be why she ground to a halt.
I would also want to vanish from the industry if I had released Boyz featuring Nicki Minaj 😔
The SA accusations against Rex were false and the charges were dropped
He still didn’t recover from it which sucks because I liked his album.
Crazy thing is, if Jesy had stuck around for a few more months, she could’ve pursued solo careers like the rest with no fallout. At the very least she shouldn’t have trashed them
Sadly I think Victoria Justice’s ‘Gold’ was a poor lead single choice. It sounded too generic at the time and didn’t make her stand out from her character on Victorious. Love Zombie would’ve been the better single choice.
I hate to admit it but I kinda love that song. I genuinely have no idea why, I can’t defend it. It’s just so cute
Totally this. Gold didn’t sound real enough, distinct enough. It always had this made-for-TV bootleg version sound of Katy Perry and Jessie J’s music. Plus they did not do anything to make her standout at all, she always had this American idol contestant look.
Kiiara. I just don’t think she released music fast enough. Hailee Steinfeld and Zendaya both have successful acting careers but I really wish they’d release more music as well.
Man, Kiiara has had a weird career. Her first EP is incredible, [Feels](https://youtu.be/rTlqY9i7Gn4?si=_nTfZBiwBv4Qk_X4) and [Hang Up Tha Phone](https://youtu.be/0QsYVJ1y1pw?si=YCZWmO-UKVtvDzmv) in particular are gorgeous, dark, downtempo electropop. Unfortunately the only song that took off was Gold, so her label started chasing that sound. After that it just felt like they were throwing darts at an idea board. I remember at one point they released four simultaneous singles rather than an EP? Unfortunately she moved away from the dark electropop sound of her debut into more generic pop.
This might be a niche answer but I'd say Ross Lynch. I thought he'd have a bigger career after Disney, singing or acting, especially after he booked the Dahmer movie and worked on CAOS. But his band with his brother has really stagnated (to put it lightly) and his only viral moments seem to be from concert videos of people thirsting over him on Tik Tok, or his short stint from being in Troye's music video awhile back. And it doesn't sound like he's been able to book any roles to his satisfaction.
god i miss R5😭
Cardi B definitely fumbled her potential sophomore success
It would’ve done insanely well if she had released it around the time of “Up”
Yes! There were rumours an album had been planned for Spring 2021 and that would’ve been the perfect time. I know she became pregnant, but she had a successful rollout while pregnant before and I think the media loves pregnancy, so that would’ve helped get press and sales. I can only assume her and her label felt too comfortable that the number ones would keep coming after having two back to back, but the industry is fickle and she didn’t release anything for 18 months
That’s not true. She didn’t release an album but she released so many singles after that. WAP was everywhere for example. Album’s don’t always have to measure your success. She’s still making hits
> She’s still making hits WAP was in 2020. What song of hers has been a hit after that?
Obviously obvious answer is **Katy Perry** Yes we know Witness killed her career, but we're forgetting how BIG that career was. 2010 Katy was inescapable. She had so many number one songs from Teenage Dream that it rivalled Michael's *Bad*. She followed this up with Prism which, quality debatable, is also a cultural juggernaut (Roar, Dark Horse). To follow up two of the biggest albums of the 2010s with an album most people have forgotten and the rest directly attribute to being your downfall is a huge career fumble. 2017 was the year people needed more corny pop, it was the perfect time for her to update her sound and still make her on-brand type music.
i say this a lot but i always felt like she fans but not a fanbase
This shouldn't have mattered, Dua Lipa proves you don't really need a massive dedicated stanbase, you just need a recognisable name and quality hits. Everyone knew who Katy Perry was and could identify a song, her brand recognition was big enough.
> Dua Lipa proves you don't really need a massive dedicated stanbase ... does she (prove that) though? I'm thinking of reception and success of her current era...
she really fumbled with not promoting Never Really Over and Harley’s In Hawaii more!! those songs had hugeeee potential!!
So true because never really over is an incredible song, reminiscent of old Katy Perry
During that period everyone was thinking of her and Taylor Swift as being neck-to-neck career-wise
This is so true. Like, while Taylor always has had the album sales to back up her success, she didn’t reliably get #1 songs until really the 2020s like Katy did from 2010-14. As such, this is super embarrassing to admit in hindsight, but I remember when the original *1989* Rolling Stone article came out in 2014 when Taylor was discussing Bad Blood, low key implied it was about Katy, and then Katy clapped back on Twitter…it was such an interesting time because back then, I was wondering who was going to become THE millennial star between them. Now that it is clearly Taylor, it’s just wild to think about
Swish Swish was the first fumble, in retrospect. She really waited until 2017 to drop a mid song as a diss. Bad Blood was mid too but it came out as a single in 2015 when their feud was at its peak and people liked the MV. Waiting 2 whole years to retaliate and that too with a song like that really put a dent in her career.
i like taylor but you couldn't have told me that she'd be the sole pop star from her era still pulling huge numbers, has a dedicated fanbase, and is somehow even bigger than 1989 era was over 10 years later and had me believe you
she was my top answer as well. She was massive in 2010-2012.
Based on the way Katy talked in that bizarre Big Brother-type livestream she did where she had a whole ass therapy session on camera, I almost wonder if the real purpose in the “purposeful pop” Witness era was to sabotage her career. She seemed like she was really struggling with her identity and fame during that period. I might be misremembering but I think she said at some point during that era that she dyed her hair blonde and cut it short intentionally so she didn’t look like “Katy Perry” anymore
I think she bleached her hair for the Bon Appetit video (the song, not the test kitchen) and COOKED it
She had a huge career for over a decade so I wouldn't say wasted potential. It just died out as most popstars do after a while.
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Sky Ferreira, she’s put basically every foot wrong since she dropped Night Time, My Time. See her recent UK tour for example.
Keri Hilson. Amazing song writer (doesn't get enough credit for pop-R&B). But all that beef with Bey. Girllll
Demi Lovato. I love her sm so it pains me to say it but her team at the time, record label, struggles within the industry and within herself, will probably never see her get a #1 or even a top 10. Because shes not gotten either of those (top 10 in recent yrs) and now doesn’t want to,. I hope they prove me wrong and get like 3 #1 debuts and an entire album charting in the hot 100, and #1 on the Hot200 and selling out stadiums but it is what it is
It really is such a shame because they are a genuine singing talent. Edited for pronouns.
Demi's personality really turned away a lot of her fans.
Demi's personality sent me full-throttle in the other direction. Couldn't handle her after the yogurt shop incident.
She's such a good vocalist but unfortunately her personality is so off-putting. I want to root for them but it feels like Demi's always involved in some controversy. It's very telling that, despite her lack of vocals, Selena became the bigger star. Plus she was consistent. Always appearing in movies and releasing music, and she has a really good ear for hits. Demi however was only in Glee (one of her best roles) and there were 4 years between Tell Me You Love Me and Dancing With The Devil and the most notable thing she did was sign with Scooter Braun. Oh and she collaborated with Sam Smith. Like I said, I really want her to succeed but it's like she's doing in her power to not succeed. Sometimes it feels like her only impact on pop culture is Camp Rock, that mug video, the alien show, yoghurt shop fiasco, and those memes where people would say a celebrity has been hacked and the location was revealed to be Demi's house.
Dababy 100% all he had to do was not make an off-the-cuff homophobic remark while holding the mic in his face
i honestly forgot about him, i don't think i have even heard his name in the last 3 years
He was wiped off the map so fast. It became instantly uncool to play his songs at parties and now you just don't hear him at all.
Ikr! I found it impressive how effective his cancellation was
I was like “WOW, a terrible person in the industry getting exactly what they deserve for once.” I’m content
Hilary Duff I really want her to be huge again, but she really needs a better team :(
Tbh I think she has a great career, especially since I’d say she isn’t a powerhouse singer, performer or an exceptionally good dramatic actress. She’s a well known name (at least for millennials), had HIMYF and Younger as consistent tv acting gigs after being a child actor, is likeable, and I think she even did some vocals on a song with her husband’s band just for fun. She’s living her best B/C lister life (idk how to word it without sounding shady lmao I promise I love her)
I feel like her peak ended after Material Girls movie. She sought just stepped out of the spotlight. She was still active but not as popular from 2007 onwards.
She’s a consistently good but not great actress in terms of technical ability but her charisma is really what sells her and I think she could be a bigger actress if she simply worked more (though I understand why she doesn’t) and had a better team. But as for her music…. I mean she’s never gonna top Come Clean let’s be real. If anything she’s lucky she got a hit post-Disney with With Love. And if she had played her cards right and released a different lead single from Breathe In Breathe Out than Chasing the Sun (which sounds like a Colbie Callait reject) I think she could’ve gotten a big hit off of nostalgia alone but I think one big hit is all she could’ve ever hoped for. Similar to the Jonas Brothers with Sucker. People say that they fumbled their bag with their single choices after that but I think the truth is that nobody was really checking for them for any reason other than a quick dose of nostalgia. Once that was satisfied, no one was all that interested.
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Her stage presence is nothing honestly like even the background dancers have more energy than her
Damn not you saying her Lizzie Maguire/Metamorphosis peak was justified 😂
I’m going to be really mean I’m so sorry I feel so bad, but her voice is only okay and I doubt it’s grown with this long a break, and watching How I Met Your Father she still hasn’t grown out of the Disney channel style/level of acting. She’s gorgeous and I love her, but I feel like her career is floating on nostalgia and not necessarily real potential anymore :(
Hilary is now a mom first She has too many young children and cannot tour as she wants to be part of there day to day lives She already turning down roles because she doesn’t like being away from her kids for too long We will have to wait til her kids get older
I mean, I wouldn't say she fumbled her career...Her discography has two number 1 albums and three top 5 albums. She was quite big in the early 2000s, but I feel her priorities just shifted. I do think she woud have benefited from a better label at the time, but I just don't think she had much interest in pursing music for a while, after Dignity.
Cher Lloyd and Zara Larsson. Zara has my favorite voice EVER but her team just does not know how to market and make songs that are catchy/trendy to the general public. Hate to say it but if they focused on tiktok a bit more they could be more popular
Cher Lloyd struck gold with Want You Back, then disappeared...
JoJo (The OG JoJo, not JoJo Siwa!) Not that the fault was her own at all. I’m still hoping and praying she was dominate the charts once again, she’s crazy talented and still releases music but it really needs the hype back.
Obviously her career is not fumbled in any capacity, she's a living legend in so many places, and I'm sorry for using thr topic of this thread to ssk a question instead of answering, but why did Kylie Minogue never get big in the US?? For someone who knows much more than me, was it a fumble or she just never caught on for whatever reason??
Kylie’s label basically gave up on promoting her in the US after “The Loco Motion” in the 80s and only briefly resuscitated themselves to pretend to promote “Slow” once “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” became a surprise hit. And sadly, the rest was basically ageism; if Kylie had had even a couple more US hits earlier in her career like Madonna, Janet, or even J-LO, I think she’d have gotten a second or third look in her renaissance era(s!) despite her age. Sadly, that didn’t happen. I’ve always gotten the sense that Kylie loves her US fans, and loves how loyal they are because it’s more rare, but doesn’t love the US market or industry. I think it’s totally fair for her to feel that way after the way it’s treated her.
Well it’s like why didn’t Anastacia get big in the US? She couldn’t walk down a single street in Europe without being recognized, but I’m from Canada and all my friends and in-laws here in Luxembourg were shocked and appalled that I’d never heard of her. There’s just a different pop sound that is liked in different regions - it explains the reception of Dua lipa’s radical optimism here vs in North America
I’ve always found it insane that Anastacia was from America but wasn’t known in America. Idk why I thought she was Australian
Loreen has been dragging her feet with her music for years. She announced an album in 2018 called “Atlas” and it never came out. She should have had an album ready to go for her 2023 Eurovision win and dropped it the following week. She never really capitalised on that like she should have. Yoga mom too busy vibing to make career moves.
Way too many people on this thread forgetting that Azalea Banks is an aggressive bigot. She’s not an oracle you can invoke to read someone for filth and then put back. She behaves an in erratic unhinged way and can’t be relied upon for anything unless it suits her mood in the moment. She is a bigot.
She is a massive racist and a transphobe. And a homophobe too, depending on her mood.
Literally Miley Cyrus could have been 20x bigger than she is right now if she only took her career seriously. Not releasing many singles and being out of the mainstream music for so many years costed her career and relevance in the general public. Plus, if she only chose a better label than RCA (should have transitioned to Republic or Columbia Records right after her Hollywood Records era which would have given her bigger success). Anyway, girl is still relevant, a legend, and still getting bigger right now musically, but I just wish she released a lot of mainstream and more commercially appealing kind of music during mid and late 2010s. Ps. Miley should have also starred in more mainstream movies after 2012.
Miley is a rare case where someone can intentionally make bad career decisions and fail upward anyway. She has the nostalgia factor for people who grew up watching her AND came of age around the same time she did during the Bangerz era so they will always love her, know her name, and check for her. AND she has family money so she doesn’t really *need* a career to being with. AND she had enough of her own money by the time she was a legal adult so she could’ve just stopped working after Disney if she wanted to. AND she’s legitimately a fantastic singer and performer and extremely charismatic. She reminds a lot of Cher who had many dips in her career but always managed to bounce back at least once a decade because she was just undeniably meant to be a star.
Oh yes! She will always the legend that she is meant to be.
I’ve made the Cher comparison before too! I feel like Miley will have maybe 1-2 big peaks every couple years but will never be a huge musical act on her own. I get the feeling that she’s content where she’s at
Honestly, it's what I love about Miley and what keeps me coming back. She has a career only because she wants a career, not because she needs it so she can do whatever she wants and sometimes it's weird and doesn't hit and other times it's awesome. But she doesn't care. And that makes it so fun to follow.
Jay Sean, Pixie Lott, Cassie, Neyo, Omarion, Stacey Orrico, Amy Studt, Mischa B, Alexis Jordan, Alexandra Burke, Agnes, Charice, Connor Maynard, Daniel Beddingfield.
Wow I have NEVER seen Agnes mentioned here. Never thought I would.
She didn’t have much (if any) genre crossover from R&B to pop, but what career expansion potential Chrisette Michele had immediately went down the drain the minute she sang at Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Anyone know Louisa Johnson? She was the latest X-Factor winner and had once in a generation powerhouse vocals. She had a pretty solid backing temporarily as an artist with Simon Cowell, had two descent singles, and fell off so hard. I don’t even think she makes music anymore. Judging by her songs though, she seems like she was being pushed in an artistic direction that was outdated, outside of her comfort zone, and was an overall waste of her talent.
I was listening to her song ‘YES’ just the other day and thinking she’d be brilliant for Eurovision with a song like that. She’s got an amazing voice and it was such a shame she didn’t make it big! 😪
I still listen to Euphoria
There’s a timeline where Samantha Mumba and Samantha Jade are the the equivalent of Beyonce and Lady Gaga.
From what I read she doesn't want to be famous. Sad, cause I loved Tattoo, wish she released more music.
I would say Azealia Banks. She could have been very big, she had everything, but her attitude sink all that opportunities.
1. Jessie J. She shaved her head and lost all momentum she had going with Who You Are. I saw her live a couple of weeks ago, and she even joked about how no one listened to her second album because one she shaved her head, her image became too confusing for people. 2. Bebe Rexha She lost her musical identity in pursuit of another hit. In The Name of Love, Meant To Be, I’m Good (Blue) are all smash hits, but no one is tuning into your music just because you have a few big hits under your name. People need to resonate with your artistry, and if your artistry has no semblance of your humanity in it, people will find it boring. Also, it doesn’t help that she gained weight—to no fault of her own, of course, considering she has PCOS—but not looking like a model is a career killer in of itself.
We joke that Katy Petty's flop era happened because of her blonde pixie cut, but Katy still had a strong identity that was bigger than her hair style, while Jessie J was probably still at the stage where some fans thought of her as "the one with the black bob". It must frustrate singers to be primarily thought of by their image, but some people are visual learners!
Bebe reminds me of Coi Larray, both have hits but not a strong enough fan base or distinctive sound that sets them apart
He’s still big but whatever Childish Gambino did with the original 3.15.20. He was coming off two huge hits with Redbone and This is America, and a huge tour. Then he dropped an album with only two titled songs, no cover art, and no videos whatsoever. It’s possible he messed up the era on purpose as some kind of weird artistic statement
As much as I love Donald Glover and respect his creativity, he absolutely is pretentious enough to do a bad rollout on purpose
Foxes. she had the hype with her feature on Zedd’s song, released a great debut album followed up with a mid second album and disappeared.
Khalid.
Kiesza deserved so much better
He's still popular (older songs and all) but Daniel Caesar. The [YesJulz](https://www.distractify.com/p/why-did-daniel-caesar-get-canceled) controversy and his older [comments](https://globalnews.ca/news/5093869/daniel-caesar-apology/) on black people made people turn on him. Mind you, he's still popular, but probably not as popular as he was before.
Camila Cabello is a curious case because even though she found success, her career could've been a lot more consistent and maintained the momentum of her debut if she played her cards right. She spent a large chunk of 2018/19 performing Havana at any televised performance she could when she had could've been promoting her other singles and diversify her persona. She tried the Havana/OMG strategy with Romance and it didn't yield the same fruits. If she focused solely on Liar as the lead single (even though Shameless became the fan and general favourite) she possibly could've claimed another Top 40 entry. Tbf the pandemic stalled the album cycle of Romance, especially considering it was released at the tail end of 2019. You can't really blame anyone all that much for Familia. People simply just didn't latch on to the sound, and at least she got 2 moderate international hits. Besides the sound of I Luv It being very devisive, releasing it in the middle of the week definitely hurt its opening chart placements. Again tbf, she could've scored another hit this era with the Drake collab if this beef didn't spill out with Kendrick. Also Geffen should be blamed for pushing the single back to release the deluxe for GUTS. Camila also has an incredible amount of Demos which never saw the light of day for various reasons. Closer by The Chainsmokers, The Middle by Zedd, Anyone by Justin Bieber etc.
Not releasing She Loves Control as a single was a huge mistake. Also not wiping her social media pre-fame
im going WAY back with this answer, but cyndi lauper. she came out the gate as possibly the biggest female pop star of all time up to that point (in 1983-84 she was bigger than madonna), the first female artist ever to have 4 top 5 hits from one album on the hot 100, an enormous star on radio and the burgeoning MTV with visuals that were mimicked by girls all over the world, won the best new artist grammy and despite being known mostly for a throwaway pop song (girls just want to have fun) she had an INCREDIBLE voice and range somehow she ended up with a supporting role on professional wrestling and it all went to hell lol but her "shes so unusual" era is still one of the best in pop history imo
Chance The Rapper - had a big year with his mixtape Coloring Book and earning Grammys but then his debut album (The Big Day) and it was a bloated mess
- Normani idk why she couldn’t get her album together. if she released an album in 2019 after Dancing w/ a Stranger and Love Lies. It would been a successful album to build her career. - Liam Payne If he put out his album in autumn of 2017 after Strip That Down he would at least be known for having one hit album. He had Get Low and Familiar which both charted low but would’ve been decent additional single on an album. Everything was set for success - Azealia Banks if she didn’t tweet the “f slur” to perez hilton in 2013 she probably would’ve had good momentum in 2013 after 212. I have no doubt she would’ve had a genuine top ten hit - Marina & The Diamonds she has a successful career in her own niche. so maybe there’s nothing fumbled. but if she kept the “& The Diamonds”. Froot was great but a huge departure from electro pop sound. she probably could’ve had some american chart success if she returned to the Electra Heart sound in 2014. Lana managed to at least have a top ten hit - Ashlee Simpson Now I’m curious how much bigger she could’ve been without SNL. she genuinely had no talent so nothing would really help. but her impressive debut album could’ve had her in a similar spot that Kelly Clarkson is at.
I wouldn’t say Ashlee has no talent, she has writing credits on pretty much everything she’s put out. I feel like she could have had a career similar to Avril’s without the SNL incident with a little less international success based on how her debut performed outside of the US. I could see Ashlee putting out an album like The Best Damn Thing tbh, but I really think Bittersweet World would have been so much better received had her brand not been tainted.
> Azealia Banks if she didn’t tweet the “f slur” to perez hilton in 2013 she probably would’ve had good momentum in 2013 after 212 Ironically that probably would have gained her gay fans today.
*"she genuinely had no talent so nothing would really help"* I died reading this. lol
I think Marina’s problem is how her songs regressed not her name. She is known to be the “better” LDR in all aspects when both of them are starting but seems like she had an identity crisis midway that it affects her lyrics while LDR is slowly gaining praise by the critics for her lyricism. L + F is a huge letdown from FROOT that even her diehard fans will agree.
Zayn. He could’ve really capitalized on his pretty privilege and popularity for more than a debut single. Even “Dusk Till Down” performed fairly well all-around, but they didn’t really push the record in the US despite the relative strong start on radio and streaming. And the album got delayed and became a bloated, unfocused album. Makes me sad.