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When careers hang in the balance, sometimes all it takes is one unforgettable performance to change everything! Join us as we count down the most incredible live shows that rescued struggling artists from obscurity. From prison concerts to iconic festival appearances, these performances didn't just entertain—they completely revitalized careers!

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Music
Transcript
00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most popular concerts
00:12that were considered the catalyst for struggling musicians' comebacks.
00:24Number 10. Billy Joel — Concert for Sandy Relief
00:27It didn't seem like Billy Joel's career needed saving by 2012.
00:38He had been mostly retired since 1999, living off his status as a classic rock figurehead.
00:44But after the shooting tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School,
00:47he felt compelled to participate in a benefit concert at New York's Madison Square Garden.
00:51It's the middle of the night, guys. I go walking in my shoes.
00:57Beyond the success of the charity, viewers of the broadcast singled out Joel's half-hour rendition
01:02of his most beloved classics. He himself would credit the event with renewing his passion for
01:06live performance. Just over a year later, Joel began his 10-year residency at the venue that
01:12affirmed his continued relevance as an artist to the world. It was a comeback for the ages.
01:17Only the good die. That's what I say.
01:24Number 9. Adele — The 54th Grammy Awards
01:28The world held its breath as pop phenom Adele underwent surgery in 2011.
01:32Yeah, I had laser surgery, yeah.
01:34And what did they actually do?
01:35Put a laser down your throat, cut off the polyp, and kind of laser your hemorrhage back together and fix it.
01:41She had just released her sensational second album when the discovery of a benign polyp on
01:45her vocal cords forced her to cancel the promotional tour. The momentum of her success
01:50would hang on a performance at the 2012 Grammy Awards following her recovery.
01:54There is a fire starting in my heart.
01:58Thankfully, Adele sang Rolling in the Deep more spectacularly than ever. She also gave her voice
02:04a little extra exercise with acceptance speeches for six awards that night. Many thought it was
02:10touch-and-go in light of Adele's medical issue. The Grammys wound up being a true victory lap to cement
02:15one of the towering pop careers of the era.
02:18But you paid it, you paid it, you paid it, you paid me to the beat.
02:258. Eric Clapton, MTV Unplugged
02:29Despite regular output and acclaim,
02:31blues rock legend Eric Clapton had lost much of his relevance by the 1990s.
02:36He regressed into privacy for a time following his four-year-old son Connor's death in 1991.
02:50Clapton then returned with the soundtrack for the film Rush and an acoustic set at Bray Studios in
02:56Windsor. The performance was filmed for what would be hailed as one of the best episodes of MTV Unplugged,
03:01highlighted by a moving tribute to Connor with Tears in Heaven.
03:04The song itself won three Grammys, while an album of the concert was named Album of the Year.
03:21Clapton's comeback began with a career bestseller and has sustained with both new and classic hits ever since.
03:277. David Bowie
03:38Glastonbury Festival
03:40One of the most revered musicians of his day was perhaps getting too experimental in the 90s.
03:45Time may change me, I can trace time
03:52Many critics and fans felt that David Bowie was overcompensating for the commercialism of the
03:56previous decade. They all agreed on his triumph as the Sunday headliner at the Glastonbury
04:01Festival in 2000 for two hours. Bowie dominated the pyramid stage with a mix of his greatest hits and new
04:08masterpieces. The BBC received serious backlash for cutting the broadcast short,
04:19per an agreement with the camera shy rocker. The world would eventually witness the full concert and
04:24embrace it as one of the greatest in the history of the festival. It was the comeback of the new
04:28millennium for an artistic visionary and pop idol.
04:406. Fleetwood Mac
04:42The Dance
04:43One of the most beloved and dysfunctional bands in pop rock was
04:47shattered after the 1987 album Tango in the Night.
04:50The departure of Lindsey Buckingham, then Stevie Nicks, spelled an uncertain future for the
05:02McVees and McFleetwood. Thus, the fans' favorite lineup reunited to record a concert special for MTV
05:09at Warner Bros. studio Burbank. The Dance was a ratings hit, and the accompanying album and video
05:15went platinum a total of 26 times. The subsequent promotional tour's success, and the rekindling
05:28of creative chemistry for the new material convinced Fleetwood Mac to make their reunion permanent.
05:33A new generation would get to enjoy these legends in concert, but the dance really put their resilient
05:39greatness into perspective. 5. Elton John
05:50The Troubadour
05:51With two albums, Elton John was a rising star in the UK, and mostly unknown in the States. Through
05:58much negotiating and a pay cut, he and his new band were able to hop the pond for a six-night stint at
06:03The Troubadour in West Hollywood. They only needed the night of August 25 to make history.
06:08John's elaborate and eccentric performance prompted Robert Hilburn of the LA Times to write,
06:13he's going to be one of rock's biggest and most important stars. The critics were right this time,
06:18as John's costly gamble propelled him onto the world's stage and boosted his self-titled sophomore
06:24album into a mega-hit. This would-be flash in the pan has been the music world culture ever since.
06:294. Live Aid
06:32It's hard now to imagine that Queen was slowing down by 1985.
06:365. Goodbye everybody, I've got to go
06:41Their last two albums were so critically and commercially disappointing that they opted
06:46out of a North American tour. It's believed they were considering breaking up when they booked Bob
06:51Geldof's benefit concert for famine relief in Ethiopia. Queen's half-hour set at London's
06:57Wembley Stadium was immediately praised as the highlight of Live Aid.
07:08Over time, it's become popularly recognized as one of the most important concerts in rock history.
07:13It certainly was for Queen, who then scored the film Highlander and released the album,
07:17a kind of magic to wide acclaim. Of course, Live Aid alone dismissed any doubt that Queen would ever
07:23fall from the peak of rock.
07:253. Johnny Cash
07:34Folsom Prison
07:35Folsom Prison Blues was hardly autobiographical, but it established Johnny Cash as a uniquely edgy voice
07:42in country music. His status was nonetheless devastated by substance use disorder in the
07:51latter 1960s. After briefly retreating from the public to get clean, he mounted a comeback that
07:57played on both his bad boy image and the setting that first made him a star. Cash performed at Folsom
08:02State Prison on January 13, 1968, reviving his old trend of holding concerts for prison inmates.
08:09This time, he delivered a grit that stunned the world when a recording of the show was released
08:14four months later. Cash, formally taking control of a dark brand, thus cemented his critical and
08:20public renown for generations.
08:222. Tina Turner
08:28The Ritz
08:29In 1976, R&B superstar Tina Turner went solo after leaving her creative partner and abusive husband,
08:35Ike.
08:44The scandalous divorce corrupted the image that made the Turners, while painting Tina as a victim.
08:49She got by as a touring nostalgia act, until photographer Bob Groon captured a 1983 show at
08:56the Ritz in New York. An audience, which included David Bowie and Keith Richards, was blown away by a
09:01performance that photos couldn't do justice. Word of mouth led to a deal with Capitol Records that
09:06kicked off with Private Dancer the following year. The groundbreaking album earned Turner the title
09:11of the Queen of Rock and Roll. This reinvention was inevitable, but the Ritz is considered the site
09:17of an independent woman's great triumph.
09:19The people proclaimed me rock and roll, and so it was just forced. So it didn't matter what the radio
09:26stations were saying or were playing.
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09:421. Elvis Presley
09:48The highest-paid actor in Hollywood was more upset than the true fans about his absence from
09:53the stage throughout the 1960s. Record sales were also plummeting amidst a new age in rock music.
10:04Manager Colonel Tom Parker thus lined up a one-hour NBC special to air on December 3rd, 1968. The show
10:11simply titled Elvis was filmed at NBC Studios in Burbank with dazzling production values.
10:172. Elvis Presley
10:22More importantly, it featured a legendary showman still in his prime. 42% of television audiences
10:29tuned in to watch Elvis Presley's first concert in seven years, which really just saved his credibility
10:35and youth appeal. But the commercial resurgence on top of that makes his comeback special the
10:40definitive example of what a single concert can accomplish.
10:53Which live performances do you think best encapsulated your favorite artist's resilience?
10:59Work up the crowd in the comments!
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