Single That Killed Someone's Career

[joao]

Duffy - Well Well Well ?

That was the first thing that came into my mind when I read the topic´s title.

I think people are confusing "Single That Killed Someone´s Career" with "flop singles from big popstars".

Madonna´s, Mariah´s, and Whitney´s careers where not exactly dead (altough the latter is literally dead now).

And just because an album flopped, it doesn´t mean it was the single´s fault.

For example, Dido´s 3rd album flopped big time, but I think it´s not because of the single. It has everything to do with her coming back after 5 years without any promotion (except 3 tv shows in the USA), no touring, and a very bad promotional strategy. She still had quite a big fanbase (which shows with the fact the album still sold 1 million worldwide, and shipped 1.5 million, and the album peaking in the Top 10 in almost every country, and even #1 in a few countries...). However, "Don´t Believe In Love" has never even been officially sent to US radio stations. It has never debuted on music channels (it had a music video which was shot AFTER the song was already flopping). You might think VH1 would be eager to play it, since to this day they still feature Dido among their "Top 100 females of all time". So, to blame it all on the single, is quite unfair. Any other single wouldn´t do miracles for her.

As for Emma Bunton - her career was never actually on fire, was it? If we´re going to mention solo spices, I think Geri´s Desire is a better example. She was quite a respectable hitmaker before that (every single off her first 2 albums went Top 10 and she had 4 solo number ones), but that song was so bad it managed to miss the Top 20, despite being a lead single from a comeback album. The album itself debuted at #41 and then left the charts, which probably destroyed the label´s hopes since there was no followup single. Had she released a more catchy tune she would get a Top 10 single and album, and would have the chance to release a followup.

However, there are singles that can really put the public off of someone, at least for one album era. I believe Duffy´s Well Well Well is the biggest example, and I believe Madonna´s GAYL will be the same. Never heard anything else that bad from her.

[Mack]

Cant Be tamed is so debatable

The single wasn't even a flop! Plus didnt she record the climb after all that and when I look at you

Nope. Both of those songs dropped in '09; 'Can't Be Tamed' was released in '10.

[Jonathan]

Vanilla Ice - Ice Ice Baby

This is a real career-killer

[denise]

Vanilla Ice - Ice Ice Baby

This is a real career-killer

Wsn't that the single that launched his career?

[CrazyCrazy]

Vanilla Ice - Ice Ice Baby

This is a real career-killer

Wsn't that the single that launched his career?

And his most well known one...it's still s*it though.

[crazyman324]

Madonna´s, Mariah´s, and Whitney´s careers where not exactly dead (altough the latter is literally dead now).

Oh that was cheap joao!


"Ambitions" killed Jow McElderry's career before it even really got started because it was an awful song for a first single.

Similar situation with Leon Jackson and "Don't Call This Love"... although I actually was quite fond of that one


Natasha Bedingfield - I Wanna Have Your Babies
The Ting Tings - Hands

and the saddest of all

411 - Teardrops
Their first two singles were absolute classics.

[NothingFails]

Madonna´s, Mariah´s, and Whitney´s careers where not exactly dead (altough the latter is literally dead now).

That is true, but all three of them had certain singles that underperformed and things suddenly were never the same afterwards. Madonna has had three top 10 singles since "American Life", but since that song things were never the same for her as they were pre-2003 when a song as out there as Die Another Day could go top 10. Same with Whitney, she has three top 40 singles in the US right now as a result of her death, but after Whatulookinat, she never saw the top 40 in her home country again in her lifetime, and she was a woman who used to live at #1 on the charts for many years.

[leoapp]

Slow killed Kylie Minoque's career in US imo, after a success with Fever era.

I don't think Bye Bye really killed Mariah's career, she did it with Loverboy (but i guess her movie and her behavior at that time gave more effect) and she made it again with TEOM. Bye Bye did killed E=MC2, but she could hit top 10 again with Obsessed. Although after Touch My Body, her chart success dropped a bit fast.

Xtina's NMT killed her career a bit but she made it with Moves Like Jagger although she was just a featured artist. I think her next era is truly a key point for her, can she make it or not.

I'm not sure but i think Beyonce's Run The World made her career a bit downgrade single chart-wise? Cos she failed to produce any hits after that flop lead single. Although 4 sold decent for an album without any big hits.

[Loveguru]

Not myself didn;t kill her career...

Noone remembered her PERIOD

[PosziMC2]

I'm not sure but i think Beyonce's Run The World made her career a bit downgrade single chart-wise? Cos she failed to produce any hits after that flop lead single. Although 4 sold decent for an album without any big hits.

Bey is having big success on the urban charts. Okay it's not crossover success but still

[Loveguru]

I'm not sure but i think Beyonce's Run The World made her career a bit downgrade single chart-wise? Cos she failed to produce any hits after that flop lead single. Although 4 sold decent for an album without any big hits.

Bey is having big success on the urban charts. Okay it's not crossover success but still

Once again how is 2.5 mil a killed career?

[joel77m77]

I'm not sure but i think Beyonce's Run The World made her career a bit downgrade single chart-wise? Cos she failed to produce any hits after that flop lead single. Although 4 sold decent for an album without any big hits.

I see what your saying as the single did under perform, but it didnt have a drastic affect on her career or the album, as like Poszi said, Bey is doing well on Urban but also Best Thing I Never Had was a massive hit in the UK and she still has had 2 more GOLD singles in the US after RTWG.

[leoapp]

Natasha Bedingfield - I Wanna Have Your Babies

I didn't get it how come she released this awful trash

[joao]

Madonna´s, Mariah´s, and Whitney´s careers where not exactly dead (altough the latter is literally dead now).

That is true, but all three of them had certain singles that underperformed and things suddenly were never the same afterwards. Madonna has had three top 10 singles since "American Life", but since that song things were never the same for her as they were pre-2003 when a song as out there as Die Another Day could go top 10. Same with Whitney, she has three top 40 singles in the US right now as a result of her death, but after Whatulookinat, she never saw the top 40 in her home country again in her lifetime, and she was a woman who used to live at #1 on the charts for many years.

I agree their careers have never been the same, but I don´t think it´s due to one particular single. That´s why I don´t agree to name theses songs as "single´s who killed their careers".

Madonna´s GAYL is flopping because THIS is a bad song, not because American Life was a bad song. It´s not American Life´s fault if Madonna´s new awful tune is flopping.

As for Mariah, she had at least one extremely sucessful era AFTER the Glitter era, including one of her most sucessful singles ever. Her last album flopped not because of Glitter... but because the album itself was bad.

That´s the natural decline of careers, people are not meant to be as popular as they have always been for 20 or 30 years.

[housezhang]

Not myself didn;t kill her career...

Noone remembered her PERIOD

i think you are right

[GetBack]

That´s the natural decline of careers, people are not meant to be as popular as they have always been for 20 or 30 years.

I agree with this. No one is going to have a perfect chart run throughout their career.

[JimJim]

The tracks that immediately come to mind for me are...

- Leona Lewis // Happy
- Jordin Sparks // S.O.S. [Let The Music Play]
- Ashlee Simpson // Outta My Head [Ay Ya Ya]
- Ciara // Go Girl ft T-Pain
- Aldous Snow // African Child

These all mark a point where everything beyond that single was a struggle, even if some had more successful singles later.

[NothingFails]

Madonna´s, Mariah´s, and Whitney´s careers where not exactly dead (altough the latter is literally dead now).

That is true, but all three of them had certain singles that underperformed and things suddenly were never the same afterwards. Madonna has had three top 10 singles since "American Life", but since that song things were never the same for her as they were pre-2003 when a song as out there as Die Another Day could go top 10. Same with Whitney, she has three top 40 singles in the US right now as a result of her death, but after Whatulookinat, she never saw the top 40 in her home country again in her lifetime, and she was a woman who used to live at #1 on the charts for many years.

I agree their careers have never been the same, but I don´t think it´s due to one particular single. That´s why I don´t agree to name theses songs as "single´s who killed their careers".

Madonna´s GAYL is flopping because THIS is a bad song, not because American Life was a bad song. It´s not American Life´s fault if Madonna´s new awful tune is flopping.

I'm not talking GAYL, it did what her leadoffs do, top 10 in the US, it served its purpose already and I don't think anyone cares that its freefalling down the chart because it added to her reign of top 10 singles. But it seems like American Life soured her to radio. Before AL she could get Die Another Day in the top 10, after it a song as tailor-made for US radio as Give It 2 Me had to settle for a #57 peak largely due to itunes sales for one week before it fell off the map because the word "Madonna" doesn't mean anything to programmers anymore. Without "American Life" the song and video, I bet COADF and HC would've gone over better stateside, especially HC as it was so meant for US radio consumption but programmers don't respond to her anymore, so she needs people like Nicki and Justin to even make a dent anymore, and it all changed over one song and video from 2003 that Americans perceived as "unpatriotic".

[Pawlu84]

I think this topic applies more to artists who have been around for a couple of years than for those who have a 20yrs + carrer.

[Mylostlenore]

Rihanna featuring Chris Brown - Cake Cake Cake Cake Cake

Would have been massive with Lil Wayne.

[Hype]

Eternal - Whatcha Gonna Do
All Saints - Chick Fit

[BLover]

I'm not sure but i think Beyonce's Run The World made her career a bit downgrade single chart-wise? Cos she failed to produce any hits after that flop lead single. Although 4 sold decent for an album without any big hits.

"Best Thing I Never Had" was a huge hit in the UK, so you can't say that.

[NoAngel]

I'm not sure but i think Beyonce's Run The World made her career a bit downgrade single chart-wise? Cos she failed to produce any hits after that flop lead single. Although 4 sold decent for an album without any big hits.

"Best Thing I Never Had" was a huge hit in the UK, so you can't say that.

[Loki0012]

Rihannas - WHere Have you been - wtf is this? a 2.0 of WFL but its not good. same formula all about the beats no lyrics just phrases....but in this it doesnt work

[Timmy94]

Rihannas - WHere Have you been - wtf is this? a 2.0 of WFL but its not good. same formula all about the beats no lyrics just phrases....but in this it doesnt work

It couldn't have killed her career because it hasn't even been released yet ...