Top 10 Popular Music Artists of the 2010s Who Most Fell Off Most in the 2020s
These artists were powerhouses and scored a lot of hits in 2010s, but their popularity and/or the quality of their music declined at an alarming rate in the 2020s.
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... read more Ye was at his peak in the early 2010s. His decline actually started around 2018 when he began wearing MAGA hats in public and said slavery was a "choice."
He could have saved his legacy with good music, but his reputation truly collapsed in 2022 when he made a series of antisemitic and anti-BLM comments and praised Hitler. His music has also never been worse.
An irrelevant nutcase who suffers from delusions of grandeur.
Onika Tanya Maraj, known professionally as Nicki Minaj (born December 8, 1982), is a Trinidadian-American rapper and pop artist. She is widely recognized for hits like "Anaconda," "Super Bass," "Starships," and her feature on "Bang Bang."... read more Nicki Minaj was the Queen of Hip-Hop during the 2010s, releasing one hit after another and collaborating with multiple artists.
Despite finally scoring a #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2020, the following decade was more difficult for Minaj. She definitely ruined her career in early 2024 when she released Big Foot, a massively embarrassing diss track aimed at Megan Thee Stallion that is already considered one of the worst songs of all time.
Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. is an American rapper from New Orleans, Louisiana. He was discovered by Brian "Baby" 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 such... read more
Daniel Hernandez (born May 8, 1996), known by his stage name 6ix9ine, also known as Tekashi69 or simply Tekashi, is an American rapper. He is mostly known for his legal issues, particularly his sexual crimes... read more During the late 2010s, 6ix9ine was popular not only for his music but also for his many legal issues.
After being incarcerated in 2019, he was released early during the COVID-19 pandemic and made a comeback with Gooba in 2020, which landed at #3 on the Hot 100. He followed it up with a #1 single, Trollz, but the following singles all flopped.
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... read more Starting in the late 2000s, Katy Perry was a pop powerhouse. She was at the peak of her popularity during the first half of the 2010s with a string of iconic hits and videos, but her popularity started to decline in the mid-2010s following her alleged feud with Taylor Swift and some public meltdowns.
In 2024, she attempted a comeback, but it was one of the most spectacular failures in recent memory, proving once and for all that she belongs to a bygone era.
Tramar Lacel Dillard, better known by his stage name Flo Rida, is an American rapper and pop music artist from Carol City, Florida. He is known for songs such as "Low," "Right Round," "Sugar," "Club Can't Handle Me," "Good Feeling," "Whistle," "Wild Ones," "My House," and "GDFR." Flo Rida has achieved... read more Starting with his 2008 hit Low, Flo Rida achieved a string of massive hits during the late 2000s and early 2010s.
Since 2015's My House, he hasn't scored another hit.
Maroon 5 is an American pop and pop‑rock band formed in Los Angeles, California. The group originally came together in 1994 under the name Kara's Flowers, when Adam Levine, Jesse Carmichael, Mickey Madden, and Ryan Dusick were still in high school. They self‑released a demo before rebranding... read more Adam Levine and his crew were at the peak of their popularity in the 2010s, scoring one hit after another and benefiting from Adam Levine's role as a coach on The Voice.
However, by the early 2020s, people became more and more disinterested in Maroon 5, especially after their disastrous performance at the 2019 Super Bowl. The definitive blow to their popularity was Adam Levine's cringe-worthy DMs that he sent to random women on Instagram.
Armando Christian Pérez (born January 15, 1981), known professionally as Pitbull, is a Grammy and multiple Latin Grammy-winning Cuban-American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. He's released numerous hit singles including I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho), Give Me Everything, and Timber. Pitbull... read more During the first half of the 2010s, Pitbull was inescapable.
His popularity started to decline in the mid-2010s, and most of his songs have definitely not aged well.
He is now uncreative, constantly sampling well-known hits alongside Mr. Guetta and Mr. Khaled.
I really enjoyed some tracks off his 2011 album (I forgot the name) though.
Aubrey Drake Graham (born October 24, 1986) is a Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor from Toronto. He first gained public attention as an actor on the Canadian series Degrassi: The Next Generation before launching a music career. Drake's become one of the world's best-selling... read more Drake was everywhere throughout the 2010s, scoring multiple hits and releasing platinum-certified albums.
His popularity started to decline in the early 2020s, but he still managed to pull off some hits. However, his 2024 beef with Kendrick Lamar abruptly ended his reign in music, especially when Kendrick released Not Like Us.
Sia Kate Isobelle Furler (born December 18, 1975), referred to mononymously as Sia, is an Australian singer and songwriter. She released her debut album in 1997 but mainly gained mainstream attention in the 2010s... read more After years of releasing music independently, writing songs for other artists, and being featured in multiple songs during the early 2010s, Sia's career finally took off in 2014 when she released Chandelier, the first of many successful solo hits in the second half of the decade.
However, her run came to a screeching halt in 2020 when Music, a film she directed and wrote songs for, was released. The film was panned by critics and heavily criticized by the autistic community. Sia later revealed that she has autism, but the damage was already done, and she may never fully recover from this incident.
The Newcomers
Robin Alan Thicke, born on March 10, 1977, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He has collaborated with many artists including Christina Aguilera, Usher, and Jennifer Hudson. Thicke gained widespread fame with his 2013 hit single Blurred Lines, which topped charts around the world... read more After years of making R&B music with little chart success and writing songs for other artists, Robin Thicke finally had a massive hit in 2013 with Blurred Lines. However, this song also destroyed his career due to lyrics that seemed to glorify rape and a plagiarism trial won by Marvin Gaye's estate.
The infamous music video, featuring models Emily Ratajkowski, Elle Evans, and Jessi M'Bengue, became even more controversial when Emily claimed in her memoirs that Robin groped her during filming.
In the midst of all this, Robin was unfaithful to his wife, Paula, who later filed for divorce. The following year, he released an album named after her in an attempt to win her back, but it didn't work. Since then, his chart success has plummeted, and now he is a judge on The Masked Singer.
will.i.am is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and actor best known as the lead vocalist for the Black Eyed Peas. Born in Los Angeles, California, he has also released several solo albums, including Songs About Girls and Will Power. In addition to his music career, he has worked as a producer... read more He is a member of Black Eyed Peas, but along with Taboo, Fergie, and apl.de.ap, all four members flopped big time in the mid-2010s.
will.i.am's Boys & Girls did not chart very well, and his solo music since then never managed to make it to the Hot 100.
Fergie, on the other hand, literally no one talks about her anymore in the 2020s. She left BEP in 2017, and Double Dutchess marked the end of her career success. After the Star-Spangled Banner performance, that was the end of her career. Since 2018, I have never heard her name again.
Cameron Jibril Thomaz, better known by his stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper, songwriter, and actor. He was born on September 8, 1987. He gained widespread recognition with his single Black and Yellow in 2010. The Pittsburgh rapper scored many rap hits and was featured in numerous songs during the first half of the 2010s.
However, after his highly successful 2015 crossover hit See You Again, he failed to make another true hit and became more known for his smoking habit than for his music.
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 Flo Rida on Timber... read more Between 2009 and 2014, Kesha scored a lot of hits.
However, her career suffered after she accused Dr. Luke of raping her. She was finally released from her contract in 2023.
Carly Rae Jepsen is a Canadian singer-songwriter from Mission, British Columbia, and later based in Los Angeles. She's best known for her 2012 hit single "Call Me Maybe", which topped charts worldwide... read more She is probably a one-hit wonder to some, but Carly Rae Jepsen is much more than that.
Although she never managed to replicate the success of Call Me Maybe, she garnered a strong cult following by the mid-2010s and became a pop star in her own right.
Bastille are an English indie pop band formed in 2010. The group began as a solo project by singer Dan Smith, who later decided to form a band. Beside Smith, the four-piece consists of Chris Wood, Will Farquarson, and Kyle Simmons. Bastille was a massive pop band in the 2010s and could sit alongside Imagine Dragons.
However, they never managed to achieve the same level of success, and their last big hit dates back to 2018 with their Marshmello collab Happier.
Christopher Maurice "Chris" Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. Born in Tappahannock, Virginia, he participated in his church choir and several local talent shows from a young age. He gained international notoriety in 2009 for his physical assault of singer... read more Despite assaulting his then-girlfriend Rihanna in 2009, Breezy still managed to score hits in the 2010s.
By the 2020s, his popularity had pretty much waned, despite his 2019 song Under the Influence becoming a sleeper hit in 2022 after going viral on TikTok.
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... read more The Chainsmokers were the most popular EDM group during the second half of the 2010s, scoring one hit after another.
After their hiatus following the release of their 2019 album World War Joy, they haven't managed to score another hit, and the public grew tired of their "frat boy" personas.
LMFAO was an American music duo that specialized in hip hop and electronic dance music. The group consisted of uncle and nephew Redfoo and SkyBlu. They gained international fame with hits like Party Rock Anthem and Sexy and I Know It. The uncle-nephew duo scored a few big hits between 2011 and 2012, then split.
Redfoo tried to go solo, but his career sank when Literally I Can't by Play-N-Skillz, a song he was featured on, became controversial due to its misogynistic nature. Redfoo blamed female bloggers for starting the controversy.
Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor (born November 7, 1996), better known by her stage name Lorde, is a singer-songwriter from New Zealand. She released her debut EP The Love Club in 2012 and rose to international fame with the single "Royals" at age 16... read more
Bobby Ray Simmons, Jr., better known by his stage name B.o.B, is an American recording artist and music producer from Decatur, Georgia. He rose to fame with the release of his debut single Nothin' on You featuring Bruno Mars, which reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. B.o.B has released several... read more This rapper was scoring hit after hit in the early 2010s, but by the mid-2010s, he became a subject of ridicule when he stated his belief that the Earth is flat.
His career definitely crashed in 2016 when he released Flatline, a diss track aimed at Neil deGrasse Tyson, who challenged B.o.B's flat-Earth belief. This song also contained anti-Semitic lyrics and referred to science as a cult.
Liam James Payne (August 29, 1993 - October 16, 2024) was an English singer and songwriter. He made his debut as a singer when he auditioned as a solo artist for the British television series The X Factor in 2008 with "Fly Me to the Moon" by Frank Sinatra. His solo career never really took off despite two hits, and he died tragically in 2024.
Jonathan Lyndale Kirk (born December 22, 1991), known professionally as DaBaby (formerly known as Baby Jesus), is an American rapper who rose to mainstream prominence in 2019 after releasing several mixtapes from years before. In the late 2010s, DaBaby was becoming a household name. However, a series of legal troubles and some homophobic comments at the 2021 Rolling Loud festival shattered his career.
Gazzy Garcia (known professionally as Lil Pump, born August 17th, 2000) is an American rapper, producer and songwriter. Gazzy began his career in 2016 with a collaboration freestyle with Smokepurpp, which was eventually posted in Soundcloud to popular success. He broke out to mainstream the following... read more Lil Pump was one of the pioneers of SoundCloud rap during the 2010s.
His commercial breakthrough came in 2017 with Gucci Gang. He followed it up with I Love It, a Kanye West collab, in 2018, and the album Harverd Dropout in 2019, but he never managed to be as successful afterward.
Richard Lamar Hawk, better known by his stage name Silentó, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and convicted murderer. He was born on January 23, 1998, in Stone Mountain, Georgia. He is best known for his debut single "Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)," which reached number three... read more He is a one-hit wonder, but he has become infamous in recent years after being charged with murdering his cousin.
Edit: He's in jail now.
Stefan Kendal Gordy, known by his stage name Redfoo, is an American rapper, dancer, record producer, DJ, and singer. He is best known as one half of the musical duo LMFAO, alongside his nephew SkyBlu. LMFAO gained international fame with hits like Party Rock Anthem and Sexy and I Know It.
Jonathan Smith, better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur, DJ, and actor. He is widely recognized for popularizing the crunk subgenre of hip hop in the early 2000s. Lil Jon has collaborated with numerous artists and is known for energetic... read more