Top 20 Musicians Who RUINED Their Reputations with One Song

Top-20 Musicians Who RUINED Their Reputations with One Song

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the top twenty musicians who managed to do huge damage to their reputation as a result of a song they released.

#20: Right Said Fred

“I'm Too Sexy” (1991)

If you end up becoming a one-hit wonder, it makes it hard to truly make a real statement about your artistic intentions. For Right Said Fred, sure, they made a lot of money and gained a lot of exposure from their song “I’m Too Sexy”. However, the fact that the track was totally tongue-in-cheek seemed to go over a lot of people’s heads. The song is very clearly ironic and incredibly camp, but the group found it damn near impossible to be taken seriously afterwards. That song followed them for decades, making all other efforts on their part fall short by comparison.

#19: Gene Simmons“When You Wish Upon a Star” (1978)

One song that lands firmly in the category of ‘why does this even exist?’ is Gene Simmons’ version of “When You Wish Upon a Star”. Though the KISS musician’s ‘Demon’ persona was used as the cover for his ill-fated 1978 solo album, this song was a far cry from the hard rock that made his name. To this day, Simmons is a divisive figure, a guy who well and truly splits people down the middle. Even his biggest fans have a hard time defending this track, though. Simmons didn’t have the voice or the sincerity needed to make this cover work. It really begs the question of why he even did it in the first place.

#18: Seals and Crofts“Unborn Child” (1974)

Who knows what compelled the soft rock duo Seals and Crofts to make such a bold statement about abortion just one year after the landmark Roe v. Wade case of 1973. The United States had just opened up a very sensitive conversation about autonomy and a number of other subjects when the band’s sixth album “Unborn Child” dropped. The record’s title track was a very blunt anti-abortion anthem, which immediately alienated a huge portion of their audience. From that point on, their momentum took a large hit. They still had some chart successes, but with that track, they certainly pushed away some listeners who would never fully return.

#17: Lil Wayne“Karate Chop" (2013)

When Lil Wayne featured on the remix of Future’s track “Karate Chop”, it didn’t necessarily seem like a lot could go wrong. Yet, he somehow decided to write a lyric that would lose him millions of dollars. Comparing his prowess in the bedroom to the infamous lynching of the 14-year-old Emmett Till in 1955 was a truly bizarre misstep from the usually quick-witted rapper. The public were genuinely baffled that Wayne chose to go down this route, and though he did apologise, there was no taking it back. Even on a surface level, most people agreed that it was a pretty crappy line to begin with.

#16: Duck Sauce“Big Bad Wolf” (2013)

There was no avoiding Duck Sauce’s breakout hit “Barbra Streisand” when it first came on air back in 2011. It was a fun and simple dancefloor filler that did very little to try and disturb or offend anyone. However, the group’s follow-up “Big Bad Wolf” was something entirely different. The song itself wasn’t the issue, although it did fail to live up to the splash of its predecessor. It was the music video that really left this one with its reputation. We can understand going for shock value and gross-out humour, but this is truly the type of video that you only ever want to watch once. The duo never had any chart success of note ever again after this one.

#15: Kid Rock

“Don't Tell Me How to Live” (2021)

We’ll admit that there was something kinda funny about watching the 50-year-old Kid Rock complaining about people telling him how to live. This track, which was very aptly titled “Don’t Tell Me How to Live” didn’t really tell you anything new about Kid Rock or his style. In fact, listeners were quick to point out just how little he appeared to have evolved after over three decades in the industry. Corny lyrics, a cringe-inducing music video, and the most copy-and-paste guitar riff imaginable left Rock as a laughing stock by the time the dust had settled.

#14: Rick Ross

“U.O.E.N.O.” (2013)

No list of the most ill-advised and poorly thought-out lyrics in music history would be complete without a mention for Rick Ross on Rocko’s “U.O.E.N.O”. We’ve heard rappers bragging about all manner of things over the years - violence, dealing, murder, you name it. For some strange reason, Ross decided to boast about slipping an illegal substance into a girl’s drink and then taking advantage of her. There was no dual-meaning here, either. He literally ends each sentence by confirming that she had no idea what was happening. Even though he apologised and tried to backtrack, Reebok immediately ended its endorsement deal with him.

#13: Moby“We Are All Made of Stars” (2002)

There was no denying that Moby broke into the mainstream with his monumental album “Play”. That record introduced an entire generation to a style of music that had predominantly lived underground up to that point. However, in the wake of the tragic September 11 attacks of 2001, Moby made an infamously ill-advised career misstep. The overly preachy and sentimental “We Are All Made of Stars” effectively killed Moby’s last shred of underground appeal. It also came off as inauthentic to the mainstream, leaving him with an overall dud on his hands.

#12: Fergie“The Star-Spangled Banner” (2018)

Ok, we’re going to cheat with this one. Fergie, of course, was not responsible for writing the American national anthem. However, her absolutely dreadful performance of “The Star Spangled Banner” at the 2018 NBA All-Star Game has well and truly stuck out as a career-defining moment. The Black Eyed Peas singer is by no means a bad vocalist, but she had an off-night on the worst possible stage. Her attempts to reinvent the wheel fell nearly as flat as her notes, and even though she made a public apology, one does not so easily rebound from such a calamitous performance.

#11: Tiffany“I Think We're Alone Now” (1987)

It’s hard to look at the career of teen-pop icon Tiffany and call “I Think We’re Alone Now” a failure. It was her biggest hit and an enduring classic of 80s pop. However, the song and its reputation pretty much branded Tiffany for life, becoming irreversibly linked to the singer. No matter how hard she tried to pivot, it was nearly impossible to make any real splash. R&B, country, soft rock, electronica… she tried them all. Unfortunately, stepping out of the shadow of that bubblegum-infused teen-pop mega-hit was seemingly a bridge too far.

#10: Vanilla Ice“Ice Ice Baby” (1990)

If there’s one big musical no-no that is all-but-guaranteed to do harm to your reputation, it’s stealing other artists’ ideas. Vanilla Ice already had his critics when he burst onto the scene and his huge hit “Ice Ice Baby” was already perceived as inauthentic by many. However, the biggest problem he had was the fact that the song’s bassline was ripped note-for-note from David Bowie and Queen’s “Under Pressure”. To make matters worse, despite the lawsuit and major blow to his credibility, he still tried to defend it as an original composition, arguing that it had one extra note. Unless he was actively trolling everyone, this was a laughably bad excuse, if you ask us.

#9: Macklemore

“White Privilege II” (2016)

People were happy to let Macklemore exist as the corny but well-meaning white rapper with fun songs like “Thrift Shop,” but winning the award for Best Rap Album over Kendrick Lamar was a bridge too far. The controversial win ignited a discussion about white artists in hip-hop spaces and how they’re often rewarded over Black artists. Macklemore responded to the backlash with his track “White Privilege II,” where he acknowledged the advantages he reaps due to his skin color. While he seemed to say the right things, some felt he shouldn’t have said anything and instead continued to listen and learn.

#8: B.o.B.

“Flatline” (2016)

Stars have succeeded in spite of their fringe views before. But unlike some of them, B.o.B. doesn’t have the catalog to back up his controversial side. In 2015, the “Airplanes” rapper expressed flat Earth beliefs, Holocaust denial, and support for 9/11, Illuminati, and reptilian conspiracy theories. He even got into a Twitter fight with Neil DeGrasse Tyson, aiming his song “Flatline” at the physicist. The song killed any chance at B.o.B. staging a mainstream comeback, being dragged by critics and receiving a scolding from the president of the Anti-Defamation League. With all said and done, it’s safe to say he could really use a hit right now.

#7: Chumbawamba“Tubthumping” (1997)

Most of you might not be aware that Chumbawamba were a lot more than their frat-anthem “Tubthumbing” might suggest. The group had an explicitly anarcho-punk edge to them prior to the song’s explosion on the charts. Unfortunately, it was very easy for people to pigeonhole the band after hearing their biggest hit. This left the world with a narrow view of what Chumbawamba were and what they stood for. To this day, the majority of listeners probably hear their kinda goofy band name and immediately see them as something of a joke. All in all, that’s a very difficult label to shed.

#6: Redfoo

“Literally I Can’t” (2014)

Party rocking isn’t the only thing he has to be sorry for. Redfoo rose to fame as one half of the early-‘10s duo LMFAO. Although they fit in with the popular party music of the time, they struggled to stay relevant as music tastes changed. Redfoo’s guest feature on the 2014 Play-N-Skillz song “Literally I Can’t” came at a moment in his career where every song counted, and it was the wrong one to bet on. Not only was the maximalist EDM production dated on arrival, but his verse tells a woman to shut up and twerk instead of speaking her mind. Insulting half of your audience might not be the best idea when you’re on your fourteenth minute of fame.

#5: Madonna

“American Life” (2003)

Even the Queen of Pop has an occasional court jester era. While she’d broached controversial subjects before, Madonna became more overtly political than ever on 2003’s “American Life.” On the song, Madonna decried the shallowness of fame, but the messaging was all over the place. It lacked focus and seemed hypocritical given her continued celebrity status, and her attempt at rapping is one of the more awkward moments in her discography. “American Life” became Madonna’s lowest-charting lead single since her early career, peaking at #37 on the Hot 100. She might have recovered for a few more albums starting with 2005’s “Confessions on a Dance Floor,” but “American Life” was the first true crack in the Madonna machine and ended her imperial phase.

#4: Robin Thicke

“Get Her Back” (2014)

You know his lines are blurred, but that’s probably the last you’ve heard. After Robin Thicke’s 2013 hit “Blurred Lines,” he released the song “Get Her Back” and its album “Paula.” Both are Thicke’s attempt at reconciling with his then-separated wife, actress Paula Patton. In “Get Her Back,” Thicke admits to his regrets in their relationship, and includes alleged texts between the former couple. One exchange goes “I wrote a whole album about you,” with the reply “I don’t care.” Unfortunately for Thicke, neither did anyone else. The song peaked at #82 on the Hot 100, a far cry from “Blurred Lines”’ success. Thicke has since become a panelist on “The Masked Singer,” but the door is closed on his days as a hitmaker.

#3: Styx

“Mr. Roboto” (1983)

Managing the creative direction of a band can be tough work. For Styx, they spent most of their early life with a style that had elements of progressive rock mixed with arena rock. However, tensions were growing beneath the surface as the years went on, despite some chart success. It was their eleventh album that ended up producing their biggest hit “Mr. Roboto”, a synth-laden pop song that outsold anything they had ever done. Core fans were alienated and eventually the group temporarily split up. Even when they did reform, they didn’t perform the track for 35 years, which tells you everything you need to know about their feelings on it.

#2: Metallica

“I Disappear” (2000)

Metallica ending its reign would be a true “Mission: Impossible,” but for a while there, they were pretty close. The group’s song “I Disappear” was included in the second installment of the spy movie franchise, and became the nucleus of a Napster drama. Metallica’s drummer Lars Ulrich waged war against the file-sharing site when “I Disappear” leaked onto it, tanking the group’s reputation among music heads. After filing a lawsuit against Napster, which would eventually file for bankruptcy, Ulrich was booed onstage at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. To make matters worse, Metallica’s next album, 2003’s “St. Anger” was considered their weakest to date. They’d make a recovery, but for a time, the group seemed hard-wired to self-destruct.

#1: Milli Vanilli

“Girl You Know It’s True” (1988)

This song would make and break its artists. German pop duo Milli Vanilli released “Girl You Know It’s True” in 1988 and followed it up with a trio of #1s. However, a 1989 MTV performance of their debut hit was the beginning of the end. The track skipped, exposing the duo’s lip-syncing, and a year later it would be revealed that they hadn’t sung any of their songs at all. Milli Vanilli’s 1990 Best New Artist Grammy was revoked, and they even faced a class action lawsuit. While they recorded a follow-up later, it never saw the light of day due to member Rob Pilatus’ death. Not only did the controversy kill Milli Vanilli’s careers, but it revealed they were built on lies.

But which ill-fated musician springs to your mind first when this topic comes up? Let us know in the comments below.