Not every musician can have a home run on the charts. Whether it’s for a single or an album, not every piece of music is guaranteed to be a hit, even forthe most legendary musicians and bands. For some musicians who reach legendary status, it feels like every song they touch turns to gold (or platinum).
This is not entirely true. Legendary artists have a greater success rate on the charts, but they aren’t immune to flops and stinkers. That’s what makes the flops so surprising. Genuinelygreat bands can produce bad albums. This goes for any artist from any genre. The bigger they are, the harder they fall, as the saying goes.
12Come by Prince Flopped on Purpose
A Label Feud Got in the Way of the Album’s Success
Out ofPrince’s 40-album discography,Comewas his 15th, but among his most financially disappointing releases. It wasn’t a matter of fans not supporting the album because they didn’t like the material, but because they simply didn’t know about it. That was by design, asPrince refused to promote the album in the midst of his internal feud with Warner Bros.
The most he did to addressComewas to publicly dismiss it as “old material,” even signifying “Prince: 1958-1993” on his album cover to let audiences know these were old songs from his vault released just to satisfy his conract. Simultaneously, though, he preferred promoting his next album under his new identity, The Gold Experience.
11"Whatchulookinat" Was Whitney Houston’s Failed Attempt at a Comeback
The Single Was Overshadowed by Public Perceptions
By 2002, the"I Will Always Love You"songstress’s squeeky, clean image had long faded as Whitney Houston had come under scrutiny during the early 2000s. Following suddenly erratic behavior and being deemed unprofessional during interviews, the media started labeling Houston as, at best, a diva, and at worst, an addict.
“Whatchulookinat,” a single co-produced with then-husband Bobby Brown (who had long been cited as a source for inspiring Houston’s new attitude) was meant as a response to her critics attacking her image. As the lead single to her fifth album, Just Whitney, it fell flat for many.Most felt Houston prioritized responding to critics ahead of producing a good song.
10Invincible by Michael Jackson Marks a Career Low
Public Scrutiny Turned Fans Away
Before he died,Michael Jackson released 10 albums, withInvinciblebeing his 10th and final project. The album ended up peaking at 43 on the Billboard 200 charts, which for most artists isn’t bad, but incredibly low by the King of Pop’s standards. Invincible is among his lowest performing albums, and his lowest since reaching superstardom.
The album is a bigger flop when considering it took nearly $30 million to make, still the most expensive album of all time. By the time the album came out in 2001, public morale for MJ was at an all-time low, suffering enough nasty perceptions and depictions in the media to turn fans away in mass.
9"(Always Be My) Sunshine" Disappointed Long-Time Jay-Z Fans
Even Jay Despises The Record
Reasonable Doubtwas a breakout hit for Jay-Z, providing the best possible debut album that a rapper could ask for. The Brooklynite’s sophomore effort,In My Lifetime, Vol. 1,would boast “(Always Be My) Sunshine)” as his lead single. Rap enthusiasts were immediately turned off as Jay pursued a more pop-driven sound for himself.
He would strike a better balance between poppy undertones and underground grit later in his career with “Hard Knock Life,” but this was not a great start to venture into the sound. After “Sunshine” failed to chart, Jay would publicly dismiss the record in hisLife and Timesranking, saying it actually ruined his second album.
8Drillmatic Heart vs. Mind Underperformed Based on The Game’s Guest List
Failed to Meet Expectations of Its Tracklist
When The Game released his landmark 10th studio album in 2022, the tracklist included a who’s who of special guest features. The album featured legends like Ice-T and Cam’Ron, modern staples of hip-hop like Ye (f.k.a. Kanye West) and Lil Wayne, to newer artists primed for future greatness like Fivio Foreign and Chloe.
Lil Wayne’s recently releasedTha Carter VIcan be argued as a flop itself, due to poor reception from fans and critics, but nonetheless reached Screen Rant’s Top 10 Best Albums of 2025 so far. Clickherefor the rest of the list.
Despite a massive 36-song tracklist filled with guests, the album underwhelmed listeners and failed to have any impact on the charts. It’s strange to see the album struggle to produce much fanfare considering how many big names were attached to the making of this project. To call it a disappointment would be an understatement, all things considered.
7"SoulMate" by Justin Timberlake Wasn’t the Comeback It Was Supposed to Be
Meant to Be a Pop Resurgence
“SoulMate” came out five months after the release of Justin Timberlake’s fifth album,Man of the Woods. Man of the Woodsdebuted at number one on Billboard, so it was a hit, but received mixed reviews as a departure from his usual pop sound. “SoulMate” was conceived as a return to form as JT recaptured his signature poppy style.
It would put high expectations on the record to say it had the potential to be asong of the summer contender, but at bare-minimum, people expect someone of JT’s caliber to at least chart. It did not.“SoulMate” didn’t chart at all on Billboard. For a comeback record from one of the decade’s biggest pop stars, is immesely disappointing.
6Chinese Democracy Didn’t Feel Like a Guns ‘n’ Roses Album
Too Many Staples of the Band Missing in Action
When news broke that Guns ‘n’ Roses were releasing their first album in 15 years, the excitement in the air was palpable. Unfortunately,Chinese Democracycould not match that excitement nor expectations. Fans hated the album enough that itruined the band’s career, and they were never able to recover.
It’s easy to see what went wrong here. By 2008, Izzy Stradlin was gone, Duff McKagan was gone, and Slash was gone. Axl Rose was the only remaining original member still standing, and even then, it wasn’t enough to feel like Guns ‘n’ Roses.The Guns ‘n’ Roses fans long knew was dead, andChinese Democracywas the final nail in their coffin.
Many Thought SIa’s Pen Was Enough to Make a Hit
It’s worth noting that Britney Spears co-wrote this single alongside Sia and the latter’s frequent collaborator Christopher Braide. Sia is particularly notable forwriting epic hits like Rihanna’s “Diamonds.“On paper, it would be safe to assume that Britney Spears should be able to produce the same success alongside her, especially coming off the heels of “Work B****..”
Alas, Britney Spears could not produce the same success as her last hit single, nor to the expectations one would expect from a collaboration with Sia. “Perfume” only peaked at number 76 on the Billboard Hot 100, while herBritney Jeanalbum underperformed as her lowest charting studio album. It was becoming evident that Spears' star was starting to fade.
4Sisters of Avalon by Cyndi Lauper Was Slaughtered in Sales by Delays
Delays Killed the Album
Cyndi Lauper’s fifth studio album is an utterly mature effort, expounding on topics like AIDS, discrimination against gays, and cross-dressing, all controversial topics for 1996, but utterly modern and approached in a classy manner. It’s too bad the album didn’t get the love that it deserved at the time. Those who have heard it have praised it.
Sadly, not many people heard the album at the time becauseSisters of Avalon’srelease date was constantly delayed, performing poorly in most markets that didn’t know when or if Lauper was still releasing an album. By the time it finally came out, it only sold 56,000 copies, debuting at number 188 on the charts.
3"I Don’t” by Mariah Carey featuring YG Was a Clash of Styles
Generations That Don’t Mesh
Whenever Mariah Carey blends her R&B and pop sound with hip-hop (otherwise coined as hip-pop), it usually generates a hit. Unfortunately, this was not the case when she joined forces with YG for “I Don’t.“The song did not chart, which is a rarity for Mariah Carey. Some will say that it’s because YG caters to a different listening audience than Carey.
However, that never stopped Carey whenever she produced hit records with the likes of Bone Thugs ‘n’ Harmony or ODB from the Wu-Tang Clan. Audiences on both the pop and rap side just struggled to connect with “I Don’t.” The song has since long been forgotten in the long run.
