Being in a band must be hard. Especially when its a hugely successful band. And with all that fame and expectations, sometimes you just flunk out, producing an album that effectively ends your career or at least sets it back a few years.

8. Iggy Azalea- Survive the Summer

Iggy Azalea was a rarity in the musical world: A white female rapper from Australia. But her skills were limited and her views on race were… unfortunate. Her debut yielded one massive hit, Fancy, but really, the whole reason that song was popular was the chorus and the bass, not for Azalea’s rapping. And that was really the reason why she failed after that. Her rapping was forgettable, and when it wasn’t it was just VERY obnoxious. Her follow-up featured no hits and proved that she was simply a forgettable flash in the pan. Couple that with her brain dead rants on Twitter and you have an album that was collectively ignored by everyone.

7. The Clash- Cut the Crap

The Clash were a little more experimental than your average pop band. After the success of 1982’s Combat Rock, the group split in half, with Mick Jones (who wrote most of the groups songs) and Topper Headon leaving. After adding 3 new musicians and a new producer, the group released Cut the Crap, a collection of undercooked songs that lacked energy or purpose. The new producer actually ended up drastically changing the album from its original mix, giving it a very rushed feel. It would be the group’s last album.

6. U2- Rattle and Hum

While U2 definitely didn’t fail after this album, it forced them to rethink their direction as a group. The album was boring and painfully serious, and also didn’t have any solid tunes to back it up. After the album didn’t do as well as the group expected, they completely changed their image into a flashy techno band, releasing their best album, Achtung Baby, and it brought them massive success. So at least this one has a happy ending.

5. B.O.B.- E.A.R.T.H. (Educational Avatar Reality Training Habitat)

B.O.B was a promising newcomer in 2008-2010, having several hits with his easygoing and respectful rap style. His lyrics were fun, and his flow sharp, but slowly he started to get more and more crazier. And not in a good way. He began to spout weird conspiracy theories befitting your insane Uncle Willard, saying 9/11 was an inside job, the government is run by the Illuminati, and the moon landing was staged. His beliefs started to creep into his music, releasing a song called Flatline that talked about his belief that the earth was flat. At this stage, it’s doubtful he will be successful again.

4. Guns n Roses- Chinese Democracy

I have never really been a fan of Guns n Roses. And this might be because Axl Rose seems like a terrible person in real life. This was proven by the 15 year gestation period of what would be their last album. And it would turn out to be massively disappointing, with too much tinkering and excess putting a damper on what was really Guns n Roses greatest strength: Hard Rock with awesome guitar. Chinese Democracy was victim to much thinking, too many collaborators, and inflated egos.

3. Smashing Pumpkins- Adore

Billy Corgan is similar to Axl Rose in that he’s a meticulous planner with a raspy voice that has slowly gone insane over the years. Similar to B.O.B., Billy has gotten more and more conspiratory as they years have gone by, even appearing on Infowars with Alex Jones. His paranoia all started on this album by his band The Smashing Pumpkins. After firing drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, Corgan made an album of weird, mopey electronica. The album sold poorly, and the band broke up soon after. Since then they haven’t had any hits or successful albums.

2. Katy Perry- Witness

A more recent album is Katy Perry’s album Witness. After a long run of hits, Perry released Witness in 2017, featuring more diverse textures taken from trap and funk. The lead single was Chained to the Rhythm, which had more interesting lyrics than her previous songs, about being trapped in a bubble of pop culture. But the lyrics felt a bit hypocritical, and while the beat was unique, it just wasn’t enough for mainstream radio. The album just didn’t have hits, having some terrible lyrics and lots of “TRYING TO BE COOL” moments, with guest artists such as Migos and Nicki Minaj proving to be just as underwhelming as the album’s sales.

1. Van Halen-Van Halen III

No, not the third Van Halen album, but the first to have new singer Gerry Cherone, a.k.a. the one no-one talks about. Overall, the album was a mess off-key guitar rock and screechy voices, even more annoying than Van Halens usual schtick.