Top 10 Music Artists that Aren't as Talented as Some People Say

Some names get thrown around like they're untouchable. You hear them in every "greatest of all time" debate, see their faces plastered across streaming thumbnails, and scroll past armies of fans ready to throw hands in their honor. But just because someone's popular doesn't mean they're actually that good.

Maybe it's a rapper whose lyrics never rise above a middle school diary. Maybe it's a rock star who stumbled into success more from attitude than actual skill. Or maybe it's someone who's been coasting on one hit or leaning hard on a look instead of real vocal chops. You know the type.

This is your chance to call it like you see it. Vote for the artists you think get way more credit than they deserve. Your picks help shape this list, just like others before you who dared to question the hype.

The Top Ten

Kurt Cobain

Kurt Cobain (February 20, 1967 - April 5, 1994) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician, best known as the frontman of the grunge band Nirvana. Founded in 1987, Nirvana achieved global success in the early 1990s, reshaping rock music with albums like Bleach, Nevermind, and In Utero. Cobain died... read more

I think being a member of the 27 Club helped his legacy a lot. Nirvana is probably the most overrated band ever and their songs sound too alike. Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, and Pearl Jam are all better grunge bands.

I mean, he came up with some decent riffs, but otherwise, he wasn't talented whatsoever. Nirvana's music is notorious for being easy to play on guitar, and his lyrics were just a bunch of nonsense. I don't want to sound disrespectful or anything, but he was quite untalented compared to other iconic rock songwriters and guitarists. Half the reason people like him is because he was attractive.
Jimmy Page

James Patrick Page is an English musician, songwriter, and record producer who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of Led Zeppelin. He's widely regarded for his innovative guitar techniques, production work, and influence across rock music genres. After Led Zeppelin disbanded... read more

Pretty much everyone in Led Zeppelin is way less talented than people say they are.
Katy Perry

Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson, professionally known as Katy Perry, was born on October 25, 1984, in Santa Barbara, California. She is a singer, songwriter, actress, and has served as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador since 2013.
She is among the best-selling artists ever, with four Guinness World Records... read more

She is not talented in anything except making my ears bleed with her lame pop music and awful voice.
Aaliyah

Aaliyah Dana Haughton was born on January 16, 1979, and tragically died on August 25, 2001. She was a dancer, actress, model, and R&B singer. Born in Brooklyn, New York, she was raised in Detroit, Michigan, and died in a plane crash near Marsh Harbour, Bahamas.... read more
Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey, born March 27, 1970, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She's one of the best-selling female artists in music history, with 19 number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100.
She's often regarded as a sex symbol through her songs and videos, and has been noted in the press... read more

Maybe some talent, but not a superstar. "All I Want for Christmas Is You" being hated doesn't help.
Ozzy Osbourne

John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (December 3, 1948 - July 22 2025) was an English singer, songwriter, and television personality, often nicknamed "The Prince of Darkness." He rose to fame in the early 1970s as the lead vocalist of Black Sabbath.... read more

Usually, in defense of not-so-good singers, I often read this: "his/her voice suits his/her songs." But this proves nothing. Of course, the songs suit somebody's voice - they were written for his/her voice! Especially singers/songwriters who write songs for themselves.
Do you think somebody would write a song for Ozzy that Ozzy couldn't sing? No, because it doesn't make sense. Ozzy's vocal skills aren't very special, so all his songs are easy to sing. The level of difficulty of "Paranoid" is that of a kiddie song. In "War Pigs," Ozzy sings the entire song of 8 minutes using only one octave of his range!

The most unique voice, and the best voice for Black Sabbath and his solo work. The best? No. Can it be imitated? Definitely not.
Taylor Swift

Taylor Alison Swift is an American singer-songwriter born on December 13, 1989, in Reading, Pennsylvania. She developed a strong interest in country music around the age of nine after watching a documentary about Faith Hill. Swift moved to Nashville as a teenager, signed a development deal with RCA Records... read more

She gets overrated very fast. Almost all of her songs are revenge ballads about her ex-boyfriends or comparing herself to popular people. She never comes up with anything new.
Beyonce

Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter is an American singer, songwriter, and actress who began her career as the lead singer of Destiny's Child. The group scored multiple Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hits, including "Say My Name," "Bills, Bills, Bills," "Independent Women Part I," and "Bootylicious." After the group... read more

People treat her like a goddess when the only thing she's a "goddess" at is using a lot of autotune and overexposing her body.
Kanye West

Ye (born Kanye Omari West. June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. He is regarded as one of the most influential and controversial artists of the 21st century.
Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West initially gained fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella... read more

Yes! Should be number one! He's just a subpar artist with a massively overinflated ego. Also, "Heil Hitler"?

Sorry to break it to you, but Kanye barely has any talent.
Lil Wayne

Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. is an American rapper from New Orleans, Louisiana. He was discovered by Bryan "Birdman" Williams at a young age and signed to Cash Money Records, where he became one-quarter of the rap group Hot Boys. He later founded his own label, Young Money Entertainment, signing artists... read more

The only song I like with him as a featured artist is "Let it Rock." Otherwise, I don't listen to his music.

I don't care about him. He shouldn't have been that popular though.

Nice joke. A pebble has more talent than Lil Wayne.

The Newcomers

?
Brian May

Brian Harold May (born July 19, 1947) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and astrophysicist. He is best known as the lead guitarist of Queen. He co-founded the band in 1970 and contributed iconic guitar parts and vocal harmonies to hits like Bohemian Rhapsody, We Will Rock You, and Another One... read more

No, he underrated. He's done things with Queen that no other guitarist has done. The band is missing something with each member you take out, but without Freddie and Brian there is no Queen.
?
R. Kelly

Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967), known professionally as R. Kelly, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and convicted sex offender. He has been credited with helping to redefine R&B and hip hop, earning nicknames such as "the King of R&B," "the King of Pop-Soul," and the... read more

He's a great vocalist and singer, (when he actually tries), but I don't think he's quite as much of a musical genius or as brilliant of a songwriter as he's often made out to be. I'd personally take other artists and singers from around his time, like Eric Benet, Brian McKnight, Raphael Saadiq, Musiq Soulchild, and maybe even Maxwell over him, not to mention the all time greats like Luther. Keep in mind, I am not saying that he isn't talented at all or anything like that, just that he isn't quite as untouchable as he's made out to be by many.

The Contenders

Lars Ulrich

Lars Ulrich is a Danish drummer and one of the founding members of the American thrash metal band Metallica. He formed the band in 1981 with James Hetfield and has remained its drummer throughout its career.
In recent years, some have criticized his drumming as less consistent, citing a decline... read more

I totally agree with HiBye. Rev is overrated. People think he is good, but he isn't very talented. But that goes more for Lars.

There are much better drummers in metal out there. Even The Rev is better in some aspects.
The Rev

James Owen Sullivan (February 9, 1981 - December 28, 2009), better known by his stage name "The Rev," short for "The Reverend Tholomew Plague," was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was best known as the drummer, backing vocalist, and co-founder of the American heavy metal band Avenged... read more

I love The Rev, no denying it. But even I know there are a lot of better drummers out there. I don't think it's fair to compare him to Dave Lombardo or Mike Portnoy, considering their experience and The Rev's untimely death. The Rev could have been much better over time had he not suddenly passed away.

He's not the best metal drummer. Honestly, Dave Lombardo is a lot better in comparison.
Billie Joe Armstrong

Billie Joe Armstrong (born February 17, 1972) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor best known as the lead vocalist, primary songwriter, and guitarist of the punk rock band Green Day, which he co-founded with Mike Dirnt.... read more

He is 35th on the "Greatest Rock Guitarists of All Time" list, higher than guitarists like James Hetfield and Yngwie Malmsteen.

I absolutely love Green Day, but I will admit that he is not the best guitarist. However, he has very iconic vocals.

I like Green Day, but this one singer is so overrated. There are way better singers out there.
David Garrett

David Christian Bongartz, known professionally as David Garrett, is a German classical and crossover violinist and recording artist. He is recognized for blending classical and pop music styles in his performances. Garrett held the Guinness World Record for the world's fastest violinist from 2008 to... read more
Twenty One Pilots

Twenty One Pilots is an American musical duo from Columbus, Ohio, best known for their hits "Stressed Out," "Heathens," and "Ride." The band formed in 2009 with Tyler Joseph, Nick Thomas, and Chris Salih. Today, the lineup consists of Tyler Joseph (lead vocals. Piano. Keyboards. Synthesizers. Ukulele... read more
The Chainsmokers

The Chainsmokers are an American DJ and production duo consisting of Alex Pall and Drew Taggart. They achieved a breakthrough in 2014 with their single "#Selfie," which became a top-twenty hit in several countries. Since then, they have won a Grammy Award, two American Music Awards, seven Billboard Music... read more
Kendrick Lamar

Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter from Compton, California. He began his career under the stage name K.Dot, releasing mixtapes that gained local recognition and led to his signing with Top Dawg Entertainment. Lamar has become one of the most critically... read more
The Notorious B.I.G.

Christopher George Latore Wallace, born May 21, 1972, better known by his stage name The Notorious B.I.G. (sometimes Biggie Smalls or simply Biggie), was an American rapper from Brooklyn, New York. On March 9, 1997, he was murdered in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles, California, at the age of only... read more
Dave Grohl

David Eric "Dave" Grohl is an American rock musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, producer, and film director. He was the drummer for the influential 1990s grunge band Nirvana and is the founding vocalist and guitarist of the alternative rock band Foo Fighters. He has also performed as... read more

He's a decent drummer, but his guitar skills are mediocre at best. His vocals are at most okay.
Rihanna

Robyn Rihanna Fenty is a Barbadian singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados. She began her music career in 2003 by recording demo tapes with producers Evan Rogers and Carl Sturken, and eventually signed with Def Jam Recordings after an audition for... read more

Unfortunately, Rihanna is not as talented as other singers. Even though she's dominating with Fenty Beauty, she doesn't write her songs herself, a talent that Taylor Swift has.
Selena Gomez

Selena Marie Gomez is an American actress and singer. She's best known for her hit songs "Come & Get It," "Good for You," "Same Old Love," and "It Ain't Me," as well as her starring role as Alex Russo on Wizards of Waverly Place. Her music has explored different styles, including electropop and Latin... read more

To think about it, Selena really doesn't show much talent in her songs. I thought it was just her songs that weren't good. Then I decided to watch her live performance because some artists do better live (like Ariana). No, her voice is still very mediocre, and her performances are very dull.
Kesha

Kesha Rose Sebert (formerly Ke$ha), born March 1, 1987, in Los Angeles, California, is an American singer and songwriter. She became famous for her energetic pop hits like Tik Tok, Die Young, and her collaboration with Pitbull on Timber.... read more
Bono

Paul David Hewson (born May 10, 1960), known professionally as Bono, is an Irish singer-songwriter, musician, philanthropist, and businessman. He is best known as the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band U2.... read more

Honestly, there are far more talented singers out there.

Frontman for the most overrated band not named Nirvana. He WAS the crap.

Mediocre and one-dimensional vocalist.
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 founding member and lead vocalist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, which rose to international fame with their debut album Appetite for Destruction (1987). Known for... read more

There are plenty of other singers who are just as good. He's not the one and only, even though most people try to make him out to be.

Honestly, his singing's not that great, and nowadays, he's just a washed-up has-been. A joke, if you will.

Good and talented? HAHA, nope. His vocal range is below average, and he's washed up.
Ringo Starr

Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, usually for one song on each album, including "Yellow Submarine... read more