Most Controversial Music Artists

The Top Ten
1 Cannibal Corpse Cannibal Corpse is a American death metal band from Buffalo, New York, formed in 1988. The band is known for their graphic album covers, explicitly violent lyrics and song titles like "I C** Blood" The group got into mainstream after performing the song "Hammer Smashed Face" in the 1994 film Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. In 1995, vocalist Chris Barnes left the band to focus on his new death metal project Six Feet Under. He was replaced by George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher of the band Monstrosity, who has remained as the frontman since. ...read more.

Their album covers feature necrophilia, cannibalism, and more.

I don't even need to listen to any of their songs to know why.

2 Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although they initially lasted just two and a half years and produced only four singles and one studio album, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols, they are considered one of the most influential acts in the history of popular music, having initiated a punk movement in the United Kingdom, and inspired many later punk and alternative rock musicians.

Controversial due to the behavior of Sid Vicious and the lyrics of "God Save The Queen", which the band was banned from playing on the mainland UK. During the queen's Silver Jubilee, the band attempted to play the song from a barge.

3 Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century. His energized interpretations of songs and sexually provocative performance style, combined with a singularly potent mix of influences across color lines during a transformative era in race relations, led him to both great success and initial controversy. ...read more.

How is he controversial?

4 NWA
5 Eminem Eminem, born Marshall Bruce Mathers III, is an American rapper, actor and music producer born on October 17, 1972 in St. Joseph, Missouri. Eminem has sold over 300 million records making him the bestselling hip-hop artist of all time. In addition to his solo career, he is a member of D12 and (with Royce da 5'9") half of the hip-hop duo Bad Meets Evil. Rolling Stone ranked him 83rd on its list of 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, calling him the King of Hip Hop. Including his work with D12 and Bad Meets Evil, Eminem has had ten number-one albums on the Billboard 200 and 5 number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100, and 13 worldwide.

More people know him

6 Alice Cooper Alice Cooper is an American singer, songwriter, musician and occasional actor whose career spans over five decades.
7 Marilyn Manson

If you get blamed for Columbine, I think that answers your question

8 Jim Morrison James Douglas "Jim" Morrison was an American singer, songwriter, and poet best remembered as the lead singer of the Doors.
9 Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne was born on December 3, 1948. He is also known as ''The Prince of Darkness''. Ozzy is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s as the lead vocalist of the band Black Sabbath. Osbourne was fired from Black Sabbath ...read more.
10 Slayer Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California, formed in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. They rose to fame with their 1986 album Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the big four of thrash metal bands, the others being Metallica, Megadeth, and Anthrax. ...read more.
The Contenders
11 Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj, known professionally as Nicki Minaj (born December 8, 1982) is a Trinidadian/American rapper / pop music artist. Minaj is most known for her songs such as "Anaconda", "Super Bass", "Starships" and her feature on "Bang Bang". Despite her controversial songs, Brent Staples from "The New York Times" claimed her to be 'the most influential female rapper of all time', presumably distinctive for her fast flow and her use of alter egos with Cockney accent. She has endorsed Adidas, MAC Cosmetics and Pepsi. Minaj has received ten Grammy-nominations throughout her career, and has won multiple awards including the Billboard's Women in Music 2011 Rising Star award.
12 Slipknot Slipknot is an American metal band formed in Des Moines, Iowa in 1996. The band is best known as one of the pioneers of the New Wave of American Alternative Metal during the late 1990s - 2000s and are distinguishable by the band's clothing choices, consisting of black/red jumpsuits and horror inspired masks. ...read more.

Especially in South Africa. Google Slipknot incident South Africa and see what I mean

13 Rammstein Rammstein is a German Neue Deutsche Härte and Industrial Metal band consisting of Till Lindemann (vocals), Richard Kruspe (guitar), Paul Landers (guitar), Oliver Riedel (electric bass), Christoph Schneider (drums) and Christian Lorenz (keyboard), that formed in 1994 in Berlin . ...read more.

Google songs like Buck dich, P****, Mann gegen Mann, and Mein Teil and you'll see why this band deserves a very high spot on this list.

14 Michael Jackson Michael Jackson (Michael Joseph Jackson; August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, dancer, and songwriter. He passed away from cardiac arrest caused by a propofol and benzodiazepine overdose on June 25, 2009. He donated (at least) a remarkable 500,000,000 dollars to charity. Michael is also known as The King of Pop (a title given to him by Elizabeth Taylor) or under the initials MJ. Dubbed the King of Pop, he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. ...read more.
15 Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone, known professionally as Madonna, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. She influenced a lot of singers such as: Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, Rihanna, Beyonce Knowles and Britney Spears. She is known as Queen of Pop and at modern pop culture specifically ...read more.
16 Fred Durst William Frederick "Fred" Durst is an American musician and film director. Durst is best known as the vocalist of the nu metal band Limp Bizkit, formed in 1994, with whom he has released six studio albums.
17 Varg Vikernes Louis Cachet, (born Kristian Vikernes) more popularly known as Varg Vikernes, is a Norwegian musician, writer, and a convicted murderer and arsonist. He is known as the frontman of the one-man band Burzum (named after a word in the Black Speech, which is a fictional language in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings), which is considered one of the most influential bands in black metal history. He's also known for murdering Mayhem guitarist Euronymous and was sentenced to 21 years in prison in 1994.

How could people not know about this guy?

18 Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress.

On the start of her career, she performed at an event called the Lollapalooza Festival during 2007 whereby a record label company Interscope found her due to her performance being “amusing” to watch. Since Interscope found her, she was a mastermind behind her songs with a team of producers namely Rob Fusari and RedOne. Most of her songs were deep unreleased cuts, due to her having more than 30 songs and 17 were picked. ...read more.

Her mind is just too powerful

19 Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine is a rap metal band formed in Los Angeles, California. The band consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist Tim Commerford, guitarist Tom Morello and drummer Brad Wilk.

Hey, they are protesters, what can I say.

20 GG Allin Kevin Michael "GG" Allin (born Jesus Christ Allin; 1956-1993) was an American singer, songwriter and record producer, who performed and recorded with many groups during his career. He was best known for his graphic live performances which included self-mutilation, parading around the stage naked, fighting ...read more.
21 John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE (9 October 1940 - 8 December 1980) was an English singer and songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as a co-founder of the Beatles, the most commercially successful band in the history of popular music. He was assassinated by Mark David Chapman on December 8, 1980 at age 40. Lennon was characterised by the rebellious nature and acerbic wit in his music, writing and drawings, on film, and in interviews. His songwriting partnership with Paul McCartney remains the most successful in history.
22 Axl Rose William Bruce Rose Jr., better known as 'Axl Rose', is an American singer born on February 6, 1962, in Lafayette, Indiana. He Is the founder and lead singer of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses. He is a celebrated but controversial figure in the world of rock.

I must admit, this guy is pretty awesome, but his controversy should get him above Ozzy. He dove into a crowd, followed by mele, left the stage. He had sex with Adler’s girl in the middle of Rocket Queen, and do I have to go further?

23 Tommy Lee Sparta

I seriously cannot believe that, ever since he started music back in 2008, he didn't get that much mainstream attention. And that's sad because I would've prefered him over the other shitty mainstream artists that were playing at the time like Ke$ha and Justin Bieber.

24 The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. The first settled line-up consisted of Brian Jones (guitar, harmonica), Ian Stewart (piano), Mick Jagger (lead vocals, harmonica), Keith Richards (guitar), Bill Wyman (bass) and Charlie Watts (drums). ...read more.
25 Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Hemsworth (born Destiny Hope Cyrus), known as Miley Cyrus, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was born on November 23, 1992, in Franklin, Tennessee, to Tish Cyrus and Billy Ray Cyrus. Her voice type is Mezzo-Soprano and has 4 octaves. She became a teen idol starring as the character Miley Stewart in the Disney Channel television series Hannah Montana in 2006. After that... read more

One of many responsible for the downfall of the music industry. But she can't do worse than N**** M****. No doubt.

If you thought marilyn manson influences bad behavior in his fans then take a look at this chick.

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