Even the biggest names in pop have their bad days. Sometimes, even their best efforts fall entirely flat, and they end up flopping just as badly as yesterday's reality TV stars. Admittedly, even the most ardent pop fans take some guilty pleasure in seeing their favorites (and least favorites) plummeting down the charts once in a while. Today I've picked out eight total failures from artists who are either past their prime or had a major career blip at some point. First up is Madonna's most colossal career misstep, the ill-timed American Life album and single. With militant imagery and an incohesive set of songs, it scarred her radio prowess in America for good, and it took the blatant pop desperation of "4 Minutes" to get it back. Granted, the album contained some amazing songs outside of her normal pop-dance range, but its lead single just wasn't her best (check it out below to judge for yourself). Rachel Stevens will forever be the butt of countless jokes amongst pop music fans, but her cheese-tastic cover of "More More More" was actually a moderate hit. Everything that came after, perhaps deservedly, flopped harder than even Dannii Minogue's recent output. Garbage's most recent album Bleed Like Me was a bit of a forced return to roots, and didn't find much of an audience after its first single, leading the excellent "Run Baby Run" to get little attention and a cancelled release in most countries. Kylie Minogue, like Madonna and many before her, saw the damage that trying to become more credible could have on a pop career. Kicking off with the Manic Street Preachers-helmed first single "Some Kind Of Bliss," her Impossible Princess project, despite its overall excellence as a record, was a total mess everywhere except Australia. Speaking of the Manics, before their recent career revival with "Your Love Alone Is Not Enough," they were stuck in a bit of a rut both critically and commercially. 
While I personally love their single "Empty Souls," the public wasn't too crazy about it, and along with its parent album it rocketed down the charts with remarkable speed. Similarly falling on deaf ears were Primal Scream around the turn of the century. Their hits album, following on from the largely unsuccessful yet noteworthy Evil Heat, was ignored by the public, as was its single "Some Velvet Morning," featuring supermodel Kate Moss on backing vocals. Another British rock band with trouble late in their career, Pulp wound down with We Love Life and its singles, including the catchy "Bad Cover Version." To finish things off, Mandy Moore was set to mature in the pop world with "In My Pocket," but despite its TRL fame, it didn't go anywhere. I hesitate to call that one a guilty pleasure, though, as I have no shame dancing along to it! If you enjoy these failures, don't fret! I'll probably round up some more sometime in the next few months, since we all know for every great success, there are a dozen more flops!Rachel Stevens, “More More More” [YSI] (from Funky Dory)
Garbage, “Run Baby Run” [YSI] (from Bleed Like Me)
Kylie Minogue, “Some Kind Of Bliss” [YSI] (from Impossible Princess)
Manic Street Preachers, “Empty Souls” [YSI] (from Lifeblood)
Primal Scream & Kate Moss, “Some Velvet Morning” (New Version) [YSI] (from Dirty Hits)
Pulp, “Bad Cover Version” (Video Mix) [YSI] (from Hits)
Mandy Moore, “In My Pocket” [YSI] (from The Best Of Mandy Moore)
***Note: Links removed***
Save to del.icio.us!
Posts
2 comments:
It's interesting-- I do love a few of these. I thought the Evil Heat version of "Some Velvet Morning" was awful, but the remix you posted is one I've always really loved.
And no lie, there's something hella sexy and very mature about "In My Pocket". I've loved that song since I was in the fifth grade!
Oh come now! can anything by Garbage be a flop? I'll always love this band, her voice, that sound, regardless of how old and dated it sounds, I can't help it. Critics be damned! And thanks for sharing this single, even if the rest is horrible it makes me want to have it all. :)
Post a Comment