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Career-ending hits can happen to anyone in the music industry. Join us as we count down the most disastrous songs that sent promising artists into a downward spiral! From misguided image changes to controversial lyrics, these tracks didn't just flop—they effectively ended careers and legacies that once seemed unstoppable.
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo. And today, we're counting down our picks for the songs whose lack of success
00:09had the most detrimental effects on an artist's career.
00:19Number 20. Mo Bounce, Iggy Azalea
00:23In 2014, Iggy Azalea was on top of the world, thanks to the success of singles Fancy and Black Widow.
00:31However, backlash towards the Australian rapper was growing, particularly accusations of cultural appropriation.
00:39The chart performance of her singles gradually deteriorated.
00:42That brings us to Mo Bounce. It's an in-your-face EDM rap track that feels like it's at least three years out of date.
00:58It was also Azalea's first song since breaking out to fail to chart in the U.S.
01:04She's experienced middling success at best since then, and the odds of Iggy Azalea ever having another genuine hit seem slim to not.
01:17Number 19. Shock to the System
01:20Billy Idol
01:21It's hard to think of an artist who better exemplifies the flashy ethos of 80s popular music than Billy Idol.
01:28A fixture on the radio and MTV, Idol thrived in the era of new-wave dominance.
01:35But as tastes and trends changed in the early 90s, Idol went from hip to has-been.
01:46Shock to the System from Idol's ill-conceived concept album, Cyberpunk, was reportedly inspired by the Los Angeles riots of the previous year.
01:55It's a strange fit for an artist not generally known for protest music.
02:04Shock to the System did not chart in the U.S.
02:08Cyberpunk was a bona fide flop, and Idol wouldn't release another new studio album for more than a decade.
02:17Number 18. Ain't Never Gonna Give You Up
02:20Paula Abdul
02:21Some artists can go away for a few years and return to the same level of popularity as before.
02:28That wasn't the case with Paula Abdul.
02:37After seeing an incredible run of six consecutive number one singles,
02:42Abdul's subsequent songs started seeing weaker performances.
02:45The four-year gap between her albums Spellbound and Head Over Heels didn't help matters.
02:51Ain't Never Gonna Give You Up was the third and final single released from Head Over Heels.
03:01And to be clear, there's nothing particularly wrong with the funky dance pop song,
03:06but it also essentially failed to chart anywhere,
03:09making it clear that Paula Abdul's time as an A-list pop star was over.
03:14Number 17. Eat You Alive
03:22Limp Bizkit
03:23In the late 90s and early 2000s,
03:26there was no band more simultaneously reviled and popular than Limp Bizkit.
03:30But even if Nookie and Roland weren't exactly cerebral,
03:34they at least managed to be guilty pleasure fun.
03:37Eat You Alive, the lead single from the band's album,
03:40Results May Vary, is the opposite of fun.
03:42Hey you, Mrs. I don't know what the f*** your name is,
03:47I'm drawn to you, something's magnetic here.
03:50Instead, it's brooding, grim, and creepy, and not in a good way.
03:54Guitarist Wes Borland having left the band didn't help matters either.
03:58I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I said you so hard.
04:05It failed to chart on the Hot 100 and essentially indicated
04:09that we needed an extended break from Fred Durst and company.
04:13I need you alive!
04:15Number 16. I Hit It First
04:17Ray J featuring Bobby Brackens
04:20Though he saw decent success as an R&B artist,
04:23Ray J is arguably best known for his past relationship with Kim Kardashian,
04:28including their infamous sex tape.
04:30In 2013, cashing in on his ex's notoriety,
04:34Ray J released I Hit It First,
04:37a not at all subtle song about his previous romantic escapades.
04:46If it wasn't already obvious who the song is about,
04:50the video makes it painfully clear.
04:52I Hit It First managed to hit 51 on the charts,
05:00and no other Ray J song has since charted.
05:03If this was supposed to be a flex,
05:06it definitely wasn't earned.
05:12Number 15.
05:13Thank You the Shit
05:14Bart
05:15Ice Spice
05:16With collabs like Boys a Liar Part 2
05:19in Barbie World
05:20and an appearance on a remix of Taylor Swift's Karma,
05:23Ice Spice seemed poised to be the next female rap superstar,
05:26but the underperformance of her debut studio album Y2K
05:30slowed down her momentum considerably.
05:37It likely would have fared better
05:44if the lead single wasn't this.
05:46A blatantly low-effort boast track
05:48centered around a very juvenile title.
05:55It peaked at 37,
05:56and Ice Spice's chart fortunes
05:58haven't improved since.
06:00It may be too soon to say
06:01your time in the spotlight is definitely over,
06:03but we know a fading career when we see one.
06:09Number 14.
06:11Ninja Rap
06:12Vanilla Ice
06:13Though Ice Ice Baby made history
06:15as the first rap song to top the US Hot 100,
06:18it didn't make everyone fall in love with Vanilla Ice.
06:21Follow-up single I Love You
06:23only peaked at number 52.
06:25Less than a year later,
06:26Ice appeared in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2,
06:29The Secret of the Ooze,
06:31and provided a song for the film's soundtrack.
06:33Yo, it's the green machine
06:34Gonna rock the town without being seen
06:37But while the film itself was a hit,
06:39Ninja Rap completely failed on the charts.
06:42Get it to win it with a team of four
06:44Ninja Turtles that you gotta adore
06:46Not even the Ninja Turtles
06:47could make up for how uncool Vanilla Ice
06:50had become after his initial taste of fame.
06:52Go Ninja!
06:53Go Ninja!
06:54Go Ninja!
06:54Go Ninja!
06:54Go Ninja!
06:55Go Ninja!
06:56Go Ninja!
06:56Number 13, Hot Shower
06:58Chance the Rapper featuring Made in Tokyo and DaBaby.
07:02Chance the Rapper has built up immense goodwill
07:05with his early mixtapes,
07:06so when it came time for him to drop his debut studio album,
07:10The Big Day,
07:11expectations were understandably high.
07:13I got muscles like Superman trainer,
07:16real, real rare like Super Sam manga.
07:19But fans were largely disappointed,
07:22or in the case of second single Hot Shower,
07:24utterly baffled.
07:26Featuring an obnoxious beat
07:27and sub-mediocre rapping and lyricism from Chance,
07:31it feels like a prank on his listeners.
07:33Hot damn hot water hot shower.
07:36DaBaby then,
07:37at the peak of his popularity,
07:38admittedly turns in a good verse,
07:41but that wasn't enough to redeem this track.
07:44Chance has since released numerous non-album singles,
07:47none of which have made any kind of meaningful commercial impact.
07:52Tangerine, yeah,
07:53I call it sweet and sour,
07:54and my lawyer say it's urgent,
07:56I'ma call a man out.
07:57Number 12.
07:59Cleopatra's Cat,
08:00Spin Doctors.
08:02The success of Little Miss Can't Be Wrong and Two Princes
08:05made the Spin Doctors into radio rock stars of the early 90s,
08:09but while they achieved commercial success,
08:13it seems they were also aiming to be regarded as intellectuals.
08:17That's the only plausible explanation we can give
08:27as to why the lead single of their second album was a funky freeform song
08:31about ancient historical figures like Cleopatra and Julius Caesar.
08:35With no discernible hooks,
08:45the Spin Doctors lost their radio audience,
08:48and they didn't become critical darlings either.
08:51What they did become was a cautionary tale
08:54about the hazards of a band's ambitions outweighing its abilities.
08:58Egypt's biggest rivalry,
09:01Theopatra's Cat F.B.
09:03Number 11.
09:05White Privilege II
09:07McLemore and Ryan Lewis featuring Jamila Woods.
09:10There's no denying that White Privilege II is an audacious song.
09:14A nearly nine-minute-long examination of racism
09:23and its long-term generational effects,
09:25McLemore showed that he wasn't afraid to take chances as an artist.
09:29You've exploited and stolen
09:31The music, the moment, the magic, the passion, the fashion you toyed with
09:34The culture was never yours to make better
09:36Unfortunately, while well-intentioned,
09:39White Privilege II is overstuffed and self-important,
09:43feeling as though McLemore is trying to de-center himself
09:47while also having as much of the spotlight as possible.
09:50While the song spawned plenty of discourse,
09:53it didn't fare well commercially,
09:54while McLemore has continued making music.
09:57This marked a pretty definite turning point in his career.
10:01We take all we want from black culture,
10:03but will we show up for black lives?
10:06Number 10.
10:07I Admit R. Kelly
10:09The fact that R. Kelly recorded and released I Admit
10:13is itself evidence that his career was dead.
10:16I Admit I done made some mistakes
10:18And I had some imperfect ways
10:20After allegations and backlash against the R&B star grew,
10:25he dropped this 19-minute song
10:27where he denies the claims made against him
10:29and tries to regain his grasp of a narrative
10:32he's no longer in control of.
10:34I'm not convicted, not arrested,
10:37but drag my name in the dirt
10:39The release of documentary series Surviving R. Kelly
10:42would only further the anti-Kelly sentiment,
10:46and he was eventually convicted of multiple counts of abuse.
10:49He's now currently serving a 31-year combined prison sentence.
10:53Given its length and self-centered focus,
10:56it's hard to imagine anyone but R. Kelly wanting to hear this.
10:59Yes, dammit, I admit.
11:01I admit, I admit, I admit.
11:04Number 9.
11:05Literally I Can't.
11:06Red Food
11:07After the electro-pop duo LMFAO went on hiatus in 2012,
11:12Red Food kicked off his solo career
11:14and found success in Australia,
11:16where he became a judge on The X Factor.
11:19The party appeared to be rocking until 2014
11:22when he was featured on a song by production duo Playin' Skills.
11:26Party rocking
11:27You got a big old butt
11:29I can tell by the way you're walking
11:31Many found the lyrics and music video to be misogynistic
11:34and condemned the artist for seemingly promoting a culture of assault.
11:39Red Food received the brunt of that criticism,
11:41with a petition calling for his dismissal
11:44from the X Factor judging panel, amassing thousands of signatures.
11:48Don't talk about it, be about it.
11:51A few months later,
11:52Red Food announced that he would be departing from the music competition series
11:56after just two seasons.
11:58His once budding solo career never recovered.
12:01Trying to see what you got
12:03Not trying to hear what you think
12:05Number 8
12:05The Way You Love Me
12:07Carrie Hilson
12:08Carrie Hilson's career took a particularly racy turn
12:12with her 2010 sophomore album,
12:14No Boys Allowed.
12:15Love me, love me
12:16It's the way you love me
12:18Touch me
12:18Granted, she may not have been known
12:20as the most family-friendly artist in the industry,
12:23but many were stunned
12:24when they heard Hilson's collaboration with Rick Ross,
12:27The Way You Love Me.
12:28While it was intended to show her wild side,
12:31the song's explicit lyrics drew overwhelmingly negative reactions.
12:36Critics felt it lacked substance
12:37and was merely an attempt to generate controversy
12:40and boost her album sales.
12:42If that was the aim,
12:44then it was pretty unsuccessful,
12:46as sales of her sophomore effort
12:48paled in comparison to those of her debut.
12:50Hilson wouldn't release a new album until 2025.
12:58Number 7
12:59Every Time The Beat Dropped
13:01Monica
13:02R&B singer Monica rose to prominence in the mid-90s
13:06before achieving the biggest hit of her career
13:08with 1998's The Boy's Mind.
13:10She remained a staple in R&B afterwards,
13:13with many of her subsequent records
13:15peaking in the top 10 of the Billboard charts.
13:17However, in 2006,
13:23the Georgia-born singer released
13:25Every Time The Beat Dropped,
13:27bringing all of that success
13:29to a screeching halt.
13:30The lead single from her album
13:32The Makings Of Me,
13:33this track was a significant departure
13:35from her usual style
13:36and was seen by fans
13:38as a trend-chasing effort.
13:40As a result,
13:46the song barely cracked the top half
13:48of the Billboard Hot 100
13:49and left a lasting stain
13:51on Monica's once spotless career.
13:58Number 6
13:59Intuition
14:00When folk singer Jewel
14:03made a move towards dance pop
14:05with her 2003 album
14:060-3-0-4
14:07she was accused of selling out.
14:10I'm just a simple girl
14:11in a high-tech digital world
14:14While the lead single
14:15Intuition peaked at number 20,
14:17its modest success
14:19was greatly outdone
14:20by the backlash surrounding it.
14:22Though the song is ostensibly
14:24a critique of consumerism,
14:26the video feels like
14:27it's trying to make Jewel
14:28into the next Britney Spears.
14:30From your arms
14:32Your intuition
14:33And the song's topic
14:35was further undermined
14:37by its use in commercials
14:38for Schick Intuition razors.
14:41If Jewel really followed
14:43her intuition,
14:44she likely wouldn't have tried
14:46so desperately
14:47to keep up with the trends.
14:53Number 5
14:55Flatline
14:56B.O.B
14:57Once upon a time,
14:59B.O.B. was one of the hottest
15:00rappers on the block.
15:02The Decatur, Georgia artist
15:03earned a number one hit
15:04with Nothing On You in 2009.
15:10He followed that up
15:11with a string of top 10 singles
15:13featuring names like
15:14Hayley Williams,
15:15Eminem,
15:16and Lil Wayne.
15:17Then, in 2016,
15:19B.O.B. engaged
15:20in a heated Twitter debate
15:21with astrophysicist
15:22Neil deGrasse Tyson,
15:24in which the rapper
15:25claimed that the Earth
15:26is flat.
15:27As if that wasn't bad enough,
15:29he released Flatline,
15:31a single that not only
15:32dissed Tyson
15:33but also touched
15:34on other bizarre
15:35conspiracy theories.
15:41Needless to say,
15:42the song pushed
15:43whatever was left
15:44of B.O.B.'s career
15:45off the face of the Earth.
15:51Number 4
15:52Pumps and a Bump
15:53M.C. Hammer
15:54Following the success
15:55of his fourth album
15:56Too Legit to Quit,
15:58M.C. Hammer,
15:58or simply Hammer,
16:00took a three-year hiatus,
16:02during which rumors began
16:03circulating that he had
16:04quit music.
16:09In 1994,
16:11he made a comeback
16:11with The Funky Headhunter,
16:13which was preceded
16:14by the single
16:15Pumps and a Bump.
16:17Seemingly in a bid
16:18to shed his
16:18squeaky clean image,
16:20this song featured
16:21suggestive lyrics
16:22and a provocative
16:23music video,
16:24depicting Hammer
16:24in revealing attire.
16:31As a result,
16:32it received
16:32significant backlash
16:33and the video
16:34was banned by MTV.
16:36This caused the album
16:37to sell significantly
16:38lower than Hammer's
16:39previous efforts.
16:41His popularity
16:41declined rapidly
16:42afterwards,
16:43ultimately contributing
16:44to his financial
16:45troubles a few years
16:47later.
16:51Number 3
16:54Woman's World
16:56Katy Perry
16:57Katy Perry ruled
16:58the end of one decade
17:00and the beginning
17:00of the next,
17:01but then she
17:02started to stumble.
17:04Anticipation over
17:05a potential comeback
17:06in 2024
17:07was quickly
17:08dissipated by news
17:09that Perry was
17:11re-teaming
17:11with controversial
17:12producer
17:13Dr. Luke.
17:14Then,
17:15comeback single
17:16Woman's World
17:16dropped
17:17and people
17:18were stunned.
17:19She is heaven sent
17:21So soft
17:23So strong
17:25Tone deaf,
17:27obnoxious
17:28and painfully dated,
17:29it was able
17:30to get enough attention
17:31to hit number 63
17:32on the Hot 100
17:33before falling off.
17:35Perry's album
17:36143
17:37also flopped
17:38and her singles
17:38since then
17:39have stalled.
17:40She was born
17:42to shine
17:43To shine
17:45A proper return
17:46isn't out of the question,
17:48but with each passing year
17:49it feels less
17:50and less likely.
17:562.
17:57Get Her Back
17:58Robin Thicke
17:59Throughout history,
18:01people have gone
18:01to extraordinary lengths
18:03to win back
18:03their exes.
18:05Some end up
18:05being successful
18:06while others,
18:07like this one,
18:08further alienate
18:09their former lovers.
18:11And then some.
18:11Get Her Back
18:17released by Robin Thicke
18:18in 2014
18:19was directed
18:21at his estranged wife
18:22Paula Patton
18:23as an attempt to,
18:24well,
18:25get her back
18:26after their separation.
18:27The problem was
18:28the song
18:29and its music video
18:29were pretty uncomfortable
18:30and invasive,
18:32especially as the singer
18:33aired seemingly private messages
18:35between him
18:36and Patton.
18:37The song turned out
18:43to be a flop
18:43in every way possible.
18:45Not only did it fail
18:46to win him back
18:47his ex-wife,
18:48it doused
18:48whatever flames
18:49were left
18:49of his already
18:50flailing career.
18:51I gotta get her
18:53go, get her
18:53go, get her
18:54go, get her back
18:55Before we continue,
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19:11Number 1.
19:13Rock Me Tonight's
19:14Billy Squire
19:15Billy Squire saw
19:17phenomenal success
19:18as a rock musician
19:19in the early 80s.
19:20with two of his albums
19:21cracking the top 5
19:23on the Billboard 200.
19:31Whatever hopes he had
19:33of rising to the peak
19:34of the genre
19:35was dashed in 1984
19:37when he released
19:38the music video
19:39for Rock Me Tonight.
19:40The clip,
19:41which was helmed
19:42by future high school
19:43musical director
19:43Kenny Ortega,
19:45depicted Squire
19:46dancing around
19:46in a room.
19:50The cheesy choreography
19:54was a deviation
19:55from Squire's
19:56previously established
19:57macho image
19:58and didn't quite
20:00go down well
20:00with rock fans.
20:02Although the single
20:03still did pretty well,
20:04Squire's subsequent music
20:06plummeted in sales.
20:07Indeed,
20:08this was the video
20:09that killed
20:10the rock and roll star.
20:11Do you secretly love
20:17any of these songs?
20:19Let us know
20:20in the comments.
20:20Yeah, yeah, yeah!
20:22We'll see you next time.
20:22Bye!
20:23Bye!
20:23Bye!
20:24Bye!
20:24Bye!
20:24Bye!
20:24Bye!
20:24Bye!
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