10 Exact Moments Musicians DESTROYED Their Careers

WatchMojo

These musicians imploded. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’ll be looking at the most pivotal moments that single-handedly sent an artist’s career spiraling right down the drain.

Transcript

00:00Once again, Ashley Simpson.

00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we'll be looking at the most pivotal moments that single-handedly

00:10sent an artist's career spiraling right down the drain.

00:16B.o.B. promotes flat-earth theories.

00:21With chart-topping hits like Nothing On You and Airplanes, B.o.B. seemed poised to dominate

00:27the rap scene in the 2010s.

00:36But then he fell down a rabbit hole of conspiracy theories and just never resurfaced.

00:41His wildest belief made headlines in 2016 when he boldly declared online that the Earth

00:48is flat.

00:55This earned him widespread ridicule, not only from fans, but also from renowned scientists

01:00like Neil deGrasse Tyson, who went as far as dropping a diss track with his nephew to

01:05debunk the claims.

01:09Unfortunately, after expressing such bizarre conspiracy theories online, it was tough for

01:16anyone to take the rapper seriously.

01:18His once-rising career simply crashed and burned afterwards.

01:25Iggy Azalea accusations of cultural appropriation

01:35Following the massive success of Fancy, many pegged rapper Iggy Azalea as a one-hit wonder.

01:41However, she defied those expectations, putting out more top-ten hits like Problem and Black

01:47Widow.

01:54But just as her star rose, Azalea came under fire over accusations of cultural appropriation.

02:01As a white Australian rapper, her use of Black American vernacular and an exaggerated Southern

02:06accent raised eyebrows, as many felt she was profiting off Black culture without acknowledging

02:12its roots.

02:16When Black artists and fans called her out, Azalea responded rather defensively instead

02:21of addressing the criticisms in a constructive manner.

02:24As the controversy took center stage, her chart success only continued to decline.

02:29By 2024, Azalea announced that she was retiring from music.

02:40Natalya Kills and Willie Moon's atrocious judging

02:44Most people understand that every talent show panel needs at least one brutally honest judge.

02:49Simon Cowell has practically built an entire career out of that.

02:56But the critiques from said judge still need to be reasonable, and that's where Natalya

03:01Kills and Willie Moon fell short.

03:04The married singers joined the judging panel of The X Factor New Zealand, only to destroy

03:09their careers in the very first live show.

03:24Kills and Moon humiliated contestants Joe Irvine, accusing him of copying Moon's style

03:30and lacking originality, even though Irvine was simply wearing a suit with slicked back

03:35hair.

03:36Their harsh comments were met with immediate backlash and led to their dismissal from

03:45the show, ending any chance they had of musical stardom.

03:52Michelle Schacht's shocking rant Once regarded as a gay icon, this singer's

03:57remarks at a 2013 concert took many fans by surprise.

04:09While performing in San Francisco, of all places, Michelle Schacht lived up to her name

04:15and left everyone shell-shocked with a bizarre homophobic rant against same-sex marriage.

04:21This led many fans to walk out in protest, prompting the club to cut off her microphone

04:26and end the show abruptly.

04:28She faced widespread condemnation from the LGBTQ plus community, and the remaining dates

04:33of her tour were cancelled as a result.

04:36Despite her attempts to clarify her statement and downplay the incident, the damage was

04:41already done.

04:52Following this debacle, Schacht largely faded from the spotlight and has released no new

04:57music since.

04:59Milli Vanilli's Lip Sync Fail When you market yourself as a music artist,

05:04fans naturally expect you to sing your own songs.

05:13So many were rightfully disappointed when it was revealed that R&B duo Milli Vanilli

05:18had hired other vocalists to sing on their records.

05:22The scandal first gained traction in July 1989 during a live performance on MTV.

05:27While singing their hit song, Girl You Know It's True, the pre-recorded track began

05:31to skip, causing the chorus to repeat endlessly.

05:40Unable to lip-sync over the malfunctioning track, Rob Pilatus panicked and fled the stage.

05:46This was the beginning of their end.

05:48Once the scandal fully broke, Milli Vanilli lost everything, including their Grammy Award,

05:53their record label deal, and whatever was left of their music career.

06:04Ashley Simpson's SNL Gaffe Performing as the musical guest on Saturday

06:09Night Live can either propel you to stardom, like it did for Adele, or completely ruin

06:14your prospects, as Ashley Simpson can testify.

06:23In October 2004, Simpson was still early in her career when she landed the gig, a prime

06:29opportunity to establish herself with a broad audience.

06:32After her first performance went well, things quickly unraveled when she climbed the stage

06:37a second time.

06:44The pre-recorded track from the previous song began playing, revealing that she had lip-synced

06:48the performance.

06:50Simpson froze, then broke into a strange hoedown, before awkwardly walking off the stage and

06:55leaving her band to continue playing.

06:58Just like that, her music career ended before it could even begin.

07:12Billy Squier's Cheesy Music Video For most of the early 1980s, Billy Squier

07:18did everything right.

07:19He put out a string of platinum-selling albums, top ten hits, and beloved music videos.

07:25But then one misstep changed everything.

07:36In 1984, Squier released the music video for his hit single, Rock Me Tonight, which didn't

07:42quite rock his fans as much as it left them cringing.

07:46His offense?

07:47Wearing a pink tank top in one scene and prancing around in a pastel-colored room in another.

08:00Today it may not seem like a big deal, but back then, it cost Squier his rockstar credibility.

08:12While the song remained pretty successful, the accompanying clip put off many fans, who

08:18stopped buying his music and attending his live shows.

08:20Ultimately, Squier retired from the business altogether.

08:28Cee Lo Green's Controversial Tweet After going on a date with a woman in 2012,

08:34singer Cee Lo Green faced accusations of sexual battery.

08:46This ultimately led to him pleading no contest to furnishing a controlled substance.

08:51But Green disagreed with this outcome and he took to Twitter to express his frustration.

08:56In his tweet, he attempted to redefine sexual assault by suggesting it is invalid if the

09:02victim is unconscious.

09:06Needless to say, this was incorrect and deeply insensitive, and many online users did well

09:13to let him know that.

09:15The backlash from Green's comments led to his reality show, The Good Life, being canceled

09:19just days later.

09:21If there was anything his tweets succeeded in redefining, it was his public image.

09:27DaBaby's Derogatory Tirade People attend music festivals to unwind and

09:39have fun.

09:40However, those who were present at the 2021 Rolling Loud Festival in Miami saw that mood

09:46shift quickly after DaBaby took the stage.

09:57For some reason, the rapper launched into a bizarre tirade mid-performance, making disparaging

10:02remarks about gay men and spreading disinformation about people living with HIV.

10:20This was sure to have some effect on his career, but had he issued a sincere apology afterwards,

10:26the damage might have been mitigated.

10:28Instead, DaBaby doubled down on his remarks and even lashed out at his critics.

10:33When he finally apologized days later, he was already being dropped from other festivals

10:38and his response was seen as too little, too late.

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11:08Tory Lanez Shooting Incident After a July 2020 party in Hollywood Hills,

11:14rapper Megan Thee Stallion revealed that she had been shot in the foot.

11:22At first, the shooter's identity was unclear, but it later emerged that fellow rapper Tory

11:27Lanez was responsible.

11:28Initially, Lanez denied the allegations, even releasing an album that alluded to his innocence

11:34and launching a smear campaign against Megan.

11:40However, as more details surfaced, public support shifted decisively towards her.

11:48In October 2020, Lanez was indicted and arraigned on charges related to the incident.

11:54Ultimately, after losing in the court of public opinion, he ended up losing in an actual court

11:59and was convicted of three felony charges.

12:10This earned him a 10-year prison sentence, effectively gutting his once promising trajectory.

12:15Do you think any of these musicians will be making a comeback anytime soon?

12:20Let us know in the comments below!

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