Successful Albums That Damaged Careers

0:02 In the music industry, initial commercial success doesn't always lead to long-term impact. Sometimes even successful albums can ruin reputations. In this video, we look at eight albums that sold well, but damaged the artist's [music] brand. Witness by Katy Perry. Katy Perry's Witness arrived in June 2017 with massive expectations. Following the blockbuster success of Teenage Dream and Prism, Katy was still one of the biggest pop stars on the planet. The album debuted on number one on the Billboard 200 with 162,000 album equivalent units sold in its first week and produced a hit single Chained to the Rhythm. On paper, it looked like another successful era. However, [music] Witness quickly became a turning point in the

0:49 wrong direction. The album was widely criticized for feeling forced and [music] inauthentic. Katy's attempt to rebrand herself as a more woke artist did [music] not fit. The attempts at social commentary were shallow. The infamous Witness live stream event and her awkward public persona during the promotion further hurt her public image. She was in her cringey era. It signaled the beginning of a decline of her cultural dominance. Witness marked the moment Katy stopped being untouchable. In the years following the album, she has really struggled. But she had occasional hits. She dropped flop album after flop album and the public adoration she enjoyed in the early 2010s disappeared. The album is now frequently seen as a textbook example of a project that sold decently, but significantly damaged the artist's long-term momentum.

1:37 Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke. Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines, the album, was released in March 2013 and was an immediate commercial success. The title track featuring T.I. and Pharrell became a global phenomenon, spending 12 weeks on number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and becoming one of the biggest songs [music] of the year. The album itself debuted on number one on the Billboard 200 and was certified platinum in the US. At the time, it looked like Robin Thicke had finally broken through and gotten to true superstardom [music] after years of moderate success. However, the album and its lead single triggered massive backlash almost immediately. Blurred Lines was heavily criticized for its lyrics, which many viewed as promoting rape culture and misogyny. The music video featuring naked models only amplified the

2:24 controversy. What began as criticism of one song quickly ruined Robin's public image. He was also accused of being tone-deaf. The intense scrutiny turned what should have been a victory lap into a PR nightmare. The damage to Robin Thicke's brand was long-lasting. His follow-up album Paula, a desperate attempt to get [music] his ex-wife back, was a critical and commercial disaster. By 2015, Robin had become more known for the Blurred Lines controversy. His mainstream relevance never recovered and he has since been largely absent from the charts. >> [music] >> Invincible by Michael Jackson. By the time Michael Jackson began working on Invincible, he was already the most successful pop artist in history, coming off the legacy built on

3:10 Thriller, Bad, and Dangerous. However, the late 1990s and early 2000s were a complicated period for him. His relationship with his label Sony Music had deteriorated and there was increasing pressure to deliver a modern-sounding project that could compete with a new generation of artists. Invincible became one of the most expensive albums ever made with production reportedly costing over $30 million. The long delays and high expectations created a tense environment before the album even dropped in 2001. Despite these challenges, the album was a commercial success by [music] most standards. It debuted on number one on the Billboard 200, 360,000 first-week units, and eventually selling over 6 million copies worldwide. Singles like You Rock My World performed well and the

3:56 album benefited from MJ's global star power. However, compared to the [music] astronomical success of his earlier work, Invincible was underwhelming. MJ's public feud with Sony Music head Tommy Mottola also limited its long-term commercial impact. More significantly, Invincible marked a turning point in how Michael Jackson was perceived in the industry. Although the music itself had strong moments, the era felt fragmented and overshadowed by external issues. For the first time, his music dominance seemed uncertain. His inability to fully control the narrative around the album affected his brand. He was hated in the media around that time, which led to him stepping away from music for years. Avril Lavigne by Avril Lavigne.

4:42 Avril Lavigne's self-titled fifth studio album arrived after she took some time away from music [music] because of personal challenges and her marriage to Chad Kroeger of Nickelback. Following [music] the pop-punk energy of her earlier hits and the more polished sounds of The Best Damn Thing and Goodbye Lullaby, the 2013 record aimed for something different. It achieved solid commercial success, debuting on number five on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 44,000 copies. The album also moved units and reached platinum status in Japan. It did not have big radio hits, but it wasn't a failure either. The project's biggest flashpoint [music] came with the fourth single Hello Kitty, an upbeat track intended to be a tribute to her Japanese fans, but it was controversial. It was criticized for being cringeworthy and

5:29 some accused her of cultural [music] appropriation, an fetishization of Japanese culture with outlets like Billboard labeling it as an embarrassment. The Hello Kitty controversy significantly tarnished Avril's image at a time when she was already fading from the mainstream. Even though the album itself had its defenders, the controversy overshadowed the success. Britney Jean by Britney Spears. >> [music] >> Britney Spears' eighth studio album Britney Jean was heavily marketed as her most [music] personal album ever, a deeper look at the woman behind the pop icon. Coming after the dance-heavy success [music] of Femme Fatale and her time with the launch of her lucrative Las Vegas residency Britney: Piece of Me, Britney was credited as a co-writer

6:14 on every track and the project was supposed to be her best. It went on to debut on number four on the Billboard 200 with 107,000 first-week units and achieved gold certification carried by the single Work [ __ ] but it didn't live up to the hype. The songs felt like standard electro-pop, not really going deep into her personal struggles. Tracks like Perfume, aimed for introspection, [music] came across empty. The marketing raised the expectations, but the album ended up being disappointing. Fans felt short-changed, not getting what was promised. Ultimately, Britney Jean damaged her brand by highlighting a growing disconnect [music] between her marketed image and the reality of her output during that period. It served as a cautionary tale about overpromising and not delivering.

7:01 >> [music] >> Changes by Justin Bieber. Justin Bieber's Changes, released on Valentine's Day 2020, came after a five-year break [music] since the massive success of Purpose, so expectations were sky-high. The album debuted on number one on the Billboard 200 with 231,000 album equivalent units sold in its first week. It became Bieber's seventh number one album in the US, making him the youngest solo artist to reach that milestone at the time. The lead single Yummy came with a lot of controversy as he was determined to get a number one song by any means [music] necessary, which led to a cringey rollout, even asking his fans to inflate his numbers. Ultimately, he failed with the Box by Roddy Ricch blocking it from the number one spot. The album itself was also a disappointment as it sounded

7:47 boring and detached. [music] It was generic R&B with standout moments here and there. The desperation in the rollout hurt JB's public perception as he struggled to win that back. In the long term, Changes slowed down Bieber's momentum as a cultural force. While it didn't derail his career as the next album Justice got him back on track, the album highlighted a phase where his image seemed to overshadow the music. The project's lukewarm staying power and mixed legacy shows how commercial numbers alone couldn't fully shield an artist from brand erosion when the music fails to be exciting. Man of the Woods by Justin Timberlake. Justin Timberlake entered 2018 riding high off his reputation as a pop [music]

8:32 superstar with a squeaky-clean image. Because of his back-to-back era-defining albums FutureSex/LoveSounds [music] and The 20/20 Experience, including his acting roles, Man of the Woods was positioned as a return to his Tennessee roots, blending country and R&B elements. Commercially, it delivered. The album debuted on number one on the Billboard 200 with 190,000 album equivalent units sold in its first week, becoming Timberlake's fourth consecutive chart-topper in the US. It eventually achieved platinum [clears throat] certification. The Super Bowl halftime show, timed right after the release, also added to the exposure. Yet the rollout and musical direction damaged his brand. The rustic, outdoorsy Man of the Woods persona, complete with a flannel, came across forced and inauthentic. With the lead single Filthy

9:17 failing to ignite [music] major momentum and the Super Bowl performance getting mixed reviews, Timberlake was in a confusing era. The album itself was all over the place, getting a Metacritic score of 55 out of 100. It was not well received. It was meant as a mature evolution. Instead, it ruined JT's effortlessly cool persona. His reputation took a hit and he has never been the same since. While the numbers were decent, the cultural conversation was bad, showing how sales alone could not salvage a miscalculated artistic risk that falls flat. Revival by Eminem. Eminem, [music] the best-selling rapper of all time and the benchmark for technical skill in rap, [music] released Revival in December 2017 after a 4-year

10:03 gap since The Marshall Mathers LP2. The album attempted a conceptual approach with rock influence production and pop heavy features. He even addressed politics on the album. Commercially, it performed solidly by most standards as it debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with 267,000 first week sales becoming his eighth consecutive chart-topper. It achieved platinum certification and more than [music] two decades into his career. That was impressive. However, Revival was widely viewed as a disaster. Critics hated his lack of cohesion and dated production which felt out of step with the hip-hop landscape of 2017. Many of the songs were hard to listen to and it came off as preachy from a man that built his early [music] career on trolling. This branded him as an old

10:49 head unable to keep up. The rollout, including a single with Beyoncé and an infamous BET Cypher going at Donald Trump, became a meme not really [music] building up [singing] momentum. That's an awfully hot coffee pot. Should I drop it on Donald Trump? Probably not. Eminem himself acknowledged the hate on his very next project. The surprise 2018 album Kamikaze which hit back at the critics directly. The album damaged his brand by reinforcing perceptions of him as disconnected from modern hip-hop. It became one of his most hated projects and it took him a long time to recover from it. Which albums that sold well but damaged the artist's brand did I miss? [music] Tell me in the comments below.