Daenerys
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Post by Daenerys on Jan 12, 2023 17:26:52 GMT -5
There's a difference between a song that becomes an artist's last major hit and a song that becomes a hit but somehow hurts the artist's credibility or reputation. I noticed this too. Most of the songs mentioned were just artists' last hit, not "career killing hits". This made me reconsider Jessica Simpson, and what song "killed her career" for Pop. Initially I thought it was Public Affair, but now I think it may have been With You. The song pretty much pigeonholed her entire brand and identity as a blonde housewife, and she never was able to be anything different after that even though she had later hits (Take My Breath Away, These Boots Are Made For Walkin', and Public Affair). Christina's Not Myself Tonight also comes to mind, just the amount of flack she received for releasing that song severely damaged her reputation, and status as a hit maker.
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theflying
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Post by theflying on Jan 12, 2023 22:44:21 GMT -5
I noticed this too. Most of the songs mentioned were just artists' last hit, not "career killing hits". This made me reconsider Jessica Simpson, and what song "killed her career" for Pop. Initially I thought it was Public Affair, but now I think it may have been With You. The song pretty much pigeonholed her entire brand and identity as a blonde housewife, and she never was able to be anything different after that even though she had later hits (Take My Breath Away, These Boots Are Made For Walkin', and Public Affair). Christina's Not Myself Tonight also comes to mind, just the amount of flack she received for releasing that song severely damaged her reputation, and status as a hit maker.Β But those werenβt career killing hits. Those songs just flopped. Iβm a Christina stan since she debuted - Not Myself Tonight is just a bad song. And With You pretty much revived Jessica Simpsonβs career for a bit. Nothing to be regretful about for that song.
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Joe1240
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Post by Joe1240 on Jan 12, 2023 23:17:39 GMT -5
I noticed this too. Most of the songs mentioned were just artists' last hit, not "career killing hits". This made me reconsider Jessica Simpson, and what song "killed her career" for Pop. Initially I thought it was Public Affair, but now I think it may have been With You. The song pretty much pigeonholed her entire brand and identity as a blonde housewife, and she never was able to be anything different after that even though she had later hits (Take My Breath Away, These Boots Are Made For Walkin', and Public Affair). Christina's Not Myself Tonight also comes to mind, just the amount of flack she received for releasing that song severely damaged her reputation, and status as a hit maker. Jessica Simpson's career got killed with the lead single from her country album in 2008 called "Come On Over" and she never recovered from it. Jessica hasn't a Major Studio album[Not counting the Christmas album] since that was released back then. Christina still had major hits up until 2013 and won a Grammy for "Say Something" also during that time. Burlesque did okay for a pop star film and has gained a cult following since the release in 2010.
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mkarns
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Post by mkarns on Jan 12, 2023 23:19:17 GMT -5
If anything established Jessica Simpson's image as a "blonde housewife" it was probably the Newlyweds show with Nick Lachey, from around the same time as "With You", which also established her as a ditz in the minds of many due to moments like her evident confusion over buffalo wings and "Chicken of the Sea" tuna. Which wasn't a fair image, even if the attention helped her get more hits; while her recording career faded (she hasn't released a non-holiday album since 2008), she has since established herself as a successful businesswoman.
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Daenerys
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Post by Daenerys on Jan 13, 2023 12:56:09 GMT -5
Maybe I am misunderstanding the point of this thread, but I thought we were looking for pyrrhic victories here. Where the songs are hits, but ultimately, they cost more than they are worth, and the artists career is significantly injured after the song is successful.
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tekkenguy
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Post by tekkenguy on Jan 13, 2023 13:34:45 GMT -5
Wake Me Up by Avicii was a monster hit here in the US, and cut off a lot of oxygen for Hey Brother. Itβs easy to see why he didnβt become a consistent pop hitmaker like Guetta, Harris, or Zedd.
Wrecking Ball. The entire Bangerz era turned Miley into a punchline.
As It Was seems to be making Harryβs follow-ups struggle.
Dark Horse, killed not one but two follow ups.
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Post by Devil Marlena Nylund on Jan 13, 2023 16:19:42 GMT -5
Maybe I am misunderstanding the point of this thread, but I thought we were looking for pyrrhic victories here. Where the songs are hits, but ultimately, they cost more than they are worth, and the artists career is significantly injured after the song is successful. We were. People just arenβt getting it and making up examples because they seem to think every situation has to somehow apply to as many artists as possible, even if it actually doesnβt work.
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Post by Devil Marlena Nylund on Jan 13, 2023 16:22:14 GMT -5
Wake Me Up by Avicii was a monster hit here in the US, and cut off a lot of oxygen for Hey Brother. Itβs easy to see why he didnβt become a consistent pop hitmaker like Guetta, Harris, or Zedd. Or maybe because he passed away? Wrecking Ball. The entire Bangerz era turned Miley into a punchline. Her career continues and sheβs been doing well since this. As It Was seems to be making Harryβs follow-ups struggle. Heβs still huge. Dark Horse, killed not one but two follow ups. She cut her hair. None of your examples apply.
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tekkenguy
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Post by tekkenguy on Jan 14, 2023 4:56:33 GMT -5
Wake Me Up by Avicii was a monster hit here in the US, and cut off a lot of oxygen for Hey Brother. Itβs easy to see why he didnβt become a consistent pop hitmaker like Guetta, Harris, or Zedd. Or maybe because he passed away? Wrecking Ball. The entire Bangerz era turned Miley into a punchline. Her career continues and sheβs been doing well since this. As It Was seems to be making Harryβs follow-ups struggle. Heβs still huge. Dark Horse, killed not one but two follow ups. She cut her hair. None of your examples apply. Avicii didnβt pass away for another four years. Miley and Katy havenβt had huge eras since. It is probably too early to say that about Harry though.
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Post by Devil Marlena Nylund on Jan 14, 2023 13:08:58 GMT -5
Or maybe because he passed away? Her career continues and sheβs been doing well since this. Heβs still huge. She cut her hair. None of your examples apply. Avicii didnβt pass away for another four years. Miley and Katy havenβt had huge eras since. It is probably too early to say that about Harry though. Those songs didnβt kill their careers though, which is what the thread is about.
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rainie
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Post by rainie on Jan 14, 2023 16:09:32 GMT -5
^^ while i wouldn't say any of those songs killed careers persay (with the wrecking ball video probably being the closest, as it resulted in massive buzz but seemed to pigeonhole miley as an artist whose entire appeal was shock value) i do think they could lend themselves to an interesting spinoff thread of massive hits that stunted an era's long term success. might be hard to determine the difference between followup singles that underperformed, resulting in longevity for the previous single, vs previous singles that were so huge they cause their followups to underperform, but i'm inclined to see as it was as an example of that, at minimum
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kcdawg13
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Post by kcdawg13 on Jan 14, 2023 18:23:04 GMT -5
Idk if someone mentioned this but Downtown by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, it was their last hit (#12 on the Hot 100) but I remember it being very divisive when it came out. Some people really loved it but many people really hated it, it's a bizarre song for sure especially compared to their previous hits.
That follow-up to their huge era was really the last chance to capture the publics imagination and it really didn't do that, didn't help that the entire album was radically different from The Heist. It seemed like they sacrificed commercial success for critical success but even critically it didn't do well, so they pretty much alienated everyone and the project was forgotten in no time.
Funny to think that Mack would drop the whole critical acclaim thing and go back to trying to get pop hits with his 2017 album, but at that point it didn't matter. His 15 minutes were over and now his name seems like a punchline despite the fact that The Heist is still a great album and has many great songs (Can't Hold Us bangs hard).
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Daenerys
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Post by Daenerys on Jan 16, 2023 11:35:34 GMT -5
i do think they could lend themselves to an interesting spinoff thread of massive hits that stunted an era's long term success. might be hard to determine the difference between followup singles that underperformed, resulting in longevity for the previous single, vs previous singles that were so huge they cause their followups to underperform, but i'm inclined to see as it was as an example of that, at minimum I think that's what I was coming around by the later pages of this thread. Not necessarily 'career killers', but songs which were initially somewhat successful, but later provided harmful to the longevity of the artist's career.
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Au$tin
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Post by Au$tin on Jan 16, 2023 11:48:28 GMT -5
Dark Horse, killed not one but two follow ups. She cut her hair. Bitch π
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johnm1120
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Post by johnm1120 on Jan 21, 2023 10:55:01 GMT -5
What killed fun's career was Nate Ruess' ego. Alanis Morissette - Unsent Ja Rule - Mesmerize (although it was more the video) Toni Braxton - Hit the Freeway (the song/album was just too R&B for pop's taste and she never really went back although she's had more R&B success since then)
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woods
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Post by woods on Jan 21, 2023 13:18:44 GMT -5
"First Class" is a possibility.
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Post by Choco on Jan 21, 2023 14:08:12 GMT -5
Way too early to tell, but "Unholy" might be a possibility too.
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Nasarati
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Post by Nasarati on Jan 21, 2023 22:37:24 GMT -5
Some of y'all need to learn the difference between a "hit that killed an artist's career" and "an artist's last hit." The two do not necessarily correlate!
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mkarns
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Post by mkarns on Jan 21, 2023 23:15:10 GMT -5
What killed fun's career was Nate Ruess' ego. Alanis Morissette - Unsent Ja Rule - Mesmerize (although it was more the video) Toni Braxton - Hit the Freeway (the song/album was just too R&B for pop's taste and she never really went back although she's had more R&B success since then) I don't think "Unsent" was really a career killer, but it probably ended Alanis' "imperial phase". The song's concept was interesting--a bunch of pieces of communications unsent to former lovers--but it didn't really have a clear hook or chorus and really wasn't a great choice for a radio single. Maybe "Mesmerize" wouldn't be seen as such a career killer or "jump the shark" type moment if Ja Rule hadn't taken so long between releases. There were two less successful album releases in 2003-04, then nothing for many years, and when he did release another album (Pain Is Love 2) he was in prison and so wasn't able to promote it. Now there's a generation of people who probably know him, if at all, as the Fyre Festival guy.
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Post by Devil Marlena Nylund on Jan 21, 2023 23:28:50 GMT -5
Yeah, I really donβt think most of these killed careers. Some may have come at a time when the artist said or did something that ruined their career, but then it wasnβt the song that did it. And some artists just donβt last. People lose interest. Not the effects of a single song.
I just donβt think there are that many actual examples and I think thatβs fine.
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sbp17
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Post by sbp17 on Jan 22, 2023 0:58:44 GMT -5
Live Forever definitely killed The Band Perryβs career though one could argue whether it was a βhitβ. It did make Top 30 on the country airplay chart. They seemed to have everything going for them and inexplicably completely changed their image and sound with this song. They received a lot of backlash. They didnβt help themselves by digging their heels in.
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johnm1120
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Post by johnm1120 on Jan 22, 2023 1:29:25 GMT -5
I noticed this too. Most of the songs mentioned were just artists' last hit, not "career killing hits". This made me reconsider Jessica Simpson, and what song "killed her career" for Pop. Initially I thought it was Public Affair, but now I think it may have been With You. The song pretty much pigeonholed her entire brand and identity as a blonde housewife, and she never was able to be anything different after that even though she had later hits (Take My Breath Away, These Boots Are Made For Walkin', and Public Affair). If a single song ruined Jessica's career, it would be "These Boots Are Made For Walkin." It killed her momentum. It was her 3rd cover song (although more interpolated) in a row in a time when covers weren't very popular. It also seemed like it was a phoned in recording. The music video also did not help. While the "With You" video may have been the start, this was the final nail.
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rainie
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Post by rainie on Jan 25, 2023 22:59:16 GMT -5
with the news of them breaking up, i think there's a serious arguement to be made that high hopes (along with the rest of pray for the wicked to a lesser extent) is a true career killing hit. it was panic's biggest ever song by a massive margain, and yet set off the chain of dominos that resulted in much of their fanbase turning on them, their next album doing pretty poorly, and brendan urie calling it a day to save face
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Snowbeast
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Post by Snowbeast on Jan 31, 2023 22:20:19 GMT -5
This made me reconsider Jessica Simpson, and what song "killed her career" for Pop. Initially I thought it was Public Affair, but now I think it may have been With You. The song pretty much pigeonholed her entire brand and identity as a blonde housewife, and she never was able to be anything different after that even though she had later hits (Take My Breath Away, These Boots Are Made For Walkin', and Public Affair). If a single song ruined Jessica's career, it would be "These Boots Are Made For Walkin." It killed her momentum. It was her 3rd cover song (although more interpolated) in a row in a time when covers weren't very popular. It also seemed like it was a phoned in recording. The music video also did not help. While the "With You" video may have been the start, this was the final nail. I literally just started humming With You the order day and added it to my library. Her eating those ribs (hot wings?) in the hallway is forever the mood.
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Post by Glove Slap on Mar 17, 2023 12:51:08 GMT -5
Way too early to tell, but "Unholy" might be a possibility too. I just looked at the UK album chart and I hadn't realized this, but their album is already out of the chart . This is (was?) their biggest market by far. ITLH is still on and was the biggest album of the decade not released by Adele or Ed Sheeran (along with Buble's Christmas album) there. 1 - 13 - 19 - 35 - 73 is its run so far. The previous album returned to the top 10 despite not producing a single that got higher than #11.
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Dylan :)
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Post by Dylan :) on Mar 18, 2023 9:38:29 GMT -5
Itβs funny looking back now and seeing people mention Look What You Made Me Do
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jenglisbe
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Post by jenglisbe on Mar 18, 2023 14:06:31 GMT -5
Way too early to tell, but "Unholy" might be a possibility too. Isn't that more of a one off in Sam's favor, though? It's not like Sam was collecting hit after hit and then it stopped after "Unholy." If anything "Unholy" was a brief revitalization for Sam after the new singles from their previous album flopped. (I say all of that as someone in the U.S. Worldwide it might all be a different story.)
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Choco
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Post by Choco on Mar 19, 2023 17:26:49 GMT -5
Way too early to tell, but "Unholy" might be a possibility too. Isn't that more of a one off in Sam's favor, though? It's not like Sam was collecting hit after hit and then it stopped after "Unholy." If anything "Unholy" was a brief revitalization for Sam after the new singles from their previous album flopped. (I say all of that as someone in the U.S. Worldwide it might all be a different story.) Album sales completely tanked in a way none of their previous albums did. Album #2 actually sold amazingly well for how little love it got. Unholy felt a bit like a meme hit in a way. They got that #1 and that Grammy though and I think sales were going to tank regardless of Unholy or a more conventional song being released.
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Caution
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Post by Caution on Mar 22, 2023 8:56:00 GMT -5
Roar - Katy Perry
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SabrinaFan
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Post by SabrinaFan on Mar 29, 2023 21:55:56 GMT -5
I would argue "Chained to the Rhythm" would be the one that fits here. "Roar" was extremely successful and she had "Dark Horse" afterwards (and even "Birthday" was moderately successful), so I'm not sure how "Roar" would have killed her career.
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