r/decadeology • u/slow-saturn • Jun 15 '26

Discussion 💭🗯️ Musicians whose careers stalled after Covid

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Camila Cabello was huge 2017-2019, but her popularity really dwindled post Covid. What other musicians were popular in the 2010s but fizzled after 2020s? 

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202

u/Hizam5 Jun 15 '26

Lil Nas X

Luis Fonsi (“Despacito”)

Lewis Capaldi

Juice WRLD (for a “different” reason)

Halsey

140

u/shoestring-theory Jun 15 '26

Lil Nas X had a huge 2021 though, and went on tour and everything. His issues didn’t start until 2023-24ish.

23

u/LeiDeGerson Jun 15 '26

What issues?

80

u/artifexlife Jun 15 '26

He had a mental breakdown

16

u/Hizam5 Jun 15 '26

i didn't know about that. I was only referring to his commercial success after Old Town Road. He had one more semi-hit in 2021, but that was 5 years ago

44

u/dmolin96 Jun 15 '26

Lol. Montero was not a "semi hit"

-2

u/Hizam5 Jun 15 '26

that was 5 years ago though. right after covid. my mistake for using "semi-"

10

u/esushi Jun 15 '26

haha not sure which of his two #1 hits from 2021 you're referring to as "semi". But yeah definitely dropped off from the mental breakdown

7

u/B-Train_ATL Jun 15 '26

His problem in part was he became popular for one type of song and then threw a switch into doing way different songs.

-1

u/klapanen Jun 15 '26

Country rap sucks ass anyways.

105

u/urbanlife78 Jun 15 '26

Halsey is a fucked up one. She put together a new album, but the label decided it wasn't pop enough and won't release it but also won't release her from her contract, so nothing new can come out from her

34

u/empire_of_the_moon Jun 15 '26

Except that fulfills a contractual requirement to deliver an album. So she is not in breech.

It’s an important distinction.

30

u/urbanlife78 Jun 15 '26

I was just rewatching the interview, apparently she is barred from making any new music with her label because they don't like the experimental alternative music she wants to make

37

u/MyNameIsJakeBerenson Jun 15 '26

That sucks you can just be put in creative jail after signing a deal and then just can’t do anything

25

u/Hizam5 Jun 15 '26

I've heard some similar stories from actors/actresses who signed multi-picture deals with a studio, and couldn't get out of the contract till they fulfilled the allotted requirement, which included -- in their cases -- a couple of bad movies with scripts they knew were awful from the get go. And because of that, they missed out on opportunities to do other movies that were extremely successful.

3

u/MyNameIsJakeBerenson Jun 15 '26

And it kills their reputation and star power to do the bad movies

5

u/Hizam5 Jun 15 '26

100%. Many can bounce back if it's just a blip among a summer filled with blockbusters, but some cannot afford to get the bad reviews / low box office.

One of the instances I heard was Emily Blunt, who signed a deal with a studio. I think a few of her movies did well, but there was another one that she really didn't want to do (possibly Gulliver's Travels?). Marvel approached her about being in the Avengers (cant remember if it was as Black Widow or as Scarlet Witch in Age of Ultron), and she couldn't accept because of her deal with 20th Century. She said she's happy and it turned out fine, but she missed out on beyond potentially one of the richest actresses in hollywood

3

u/geekydonut Jun 15 '26

Prince famoulsy had a contract like this with warner brothers and just threw a bunch of unreleased music on albums to get out of it and start going as TAFKAP. I think record labels try to avoid that kind of situation again.

1

u/WatermelonDrips Jun 16 '26

side note - animorphs fuck yeah!!

3

u/empire_of_the_moon Jun 15 '26

That will be an interesting resolution once they reach one.

If you want to see how wonky these things can get, Google up Neil Young and Geffen Records. Geffen wanted a “rock record” after Young made Trans and Neil delivered - well you’ll see.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 16 '26

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1

u/urbanlife78 Jun 16 '26

What? I didn't know this...gonna have to go listen to that

2

u/Top_Ladder6702 Jun 15 '26

Yeah that interview was pretty one sided from her end. She switched sounds to do an industrial rock album about pregnancy that sold well her first week because people thought it’d be pop Halsey, and it was not good. She personally killed her brand by making this, and her next album with her new label in 2024 suffered as well. Shes not barred from music, her old label just saw that the stuff she wants to make now is crap, and her latest album vindicated them.

3

u/urbanlife78 Jun 15 '26

Oh interesting, so less of a being barred and more of a unwilling to make any more of her music and probably no other label willing to do so either

0

u/Personal-Writer8455 Jun 19 '26

she didn't kill her brand or career by making album with nin, she wanted to expand her sound and experiment a little bit, it's a fan favourite album, it was the best thing she could do as an artist... but her label holds her to old expectations when she did the most mainstream pop music that she doesn't do anymore, also it's not a realistic for any artist - it's a genre shift that's all and she'll find her more niche audiance

16

u/Hydro033 Jun 15 '26

Each album she put has been progressively worse. I loved Badlands, but man, her music is so different now.

13

u/36degrees_ Jun 15 '26

her album produced by Reznor and Atticus Ross was so good

1

u/tsunomat Jun 15 '26

It's great. And, honestly, the only thing from her I listen to. The rest is kinda meh.

54

u/AllAlo0 Jun 15 '26

Lewis Capaldi has been dealing with mental health issues and getting his Tourette's under control. He is back to releasing music and touring, he hasn't lost it.

2

u/Guilty-Scale-1079 Jun 15 '26

Yup! Putting Capaldi on this list is nuts. Lewis’ career is only getting bigger. His shows sell out.

1

u/Pretend_Train_ Jun 20 '26

I just went to his concert in April.

1

u/AllAlo0 Jun 20 '26

We went this year too, he was really great

1

u/Pretend_Train_ Jun 20 '26

I could’ve done without the f-bomb every other word, but the singing was great lol

5

u/pdt666 Jun 15 '26

lil nas does not belong on this list at all because of industry baby !!

3

u/Connection-Is-Cool Jun 15 '26

Luis Fonsi is well known, just not to the English-speaking crowd.

2

u/Hizam5 Jun 15 '26

He is. It’s just that his music career has stalled since then, at least commercially

2

u/Connection-Is-Cool Jun 15 '26

Ah I misread the question.

3

u/20-20beachboy Jun 15 '26

Luis Fonsi has been popular in the Latin world for a long time before despacito, not really a fair comparison.

3

u/1heart1totaleclipse Jun 15 '26

Luis Fonsi doesn’t compare to any of these other artists lol.

2

u/annaleemac Jun 15 '26

Ohhhh Lewis Capaldi got me through 2021 I forgot all about him

3

u/neimad81 Jun 15 '26

He’s still massive in Ireland and the UK. Regular number 1 singles, albums and sold out tours.

2

u/annaleemac Jun 16 '26

Oh I love that for him, truly! He’s very talented imo

3

u/Educational_Cow111 Jun 15 '26

This is the most accurate list

2

u/Hizam5 Jun 15 '26

Thank you 🙌