3 Pop Artists Who Surprised Everyone With a Comeback After Albums That Didn’t Do Them Justice

Sometimes you have to see a little rain before you can get to the rainbow. Here are three pop artists who had a “flop” album right before making some of their best career moves ever, resulting in a comeback for the ages.

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Miley Cyrus

Miley Cyrus’ third studio album, Can’t Be Tamed, was seen as a commercial disappointment next to the star’s previous releases. While Breakout debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, Can’t Be Tamed flopped in comparison. It only performed semi-well on the charts in Europe and debuted at No. 3. Ironically, even though the album was meant to give Cyrus a more mature, provocative edge, she was still working on the last season of Hannah Montana at the time of its release. Her next project, Bangerz, which was released in 2013, would rip her Hannah Montana image to shreds. In addition, it would prove to be one of the most memorable highlights of Miley’s career. With hits like “Wrecking Ball” and “We Can’t Stop”, Cyrus was back at center stage, with a whole new audience at her fingertips.

Kelly Clarkson

While My December was meant to be a bit more mature and darker than Clarkson’s other projects, the album ultimately sold fewer copies than Breakaway did. However, Clarkson did write or co-write all of the songs on the album, which is an impressive feat nonetheless.

“I write a lot of different styles, and we kind of just chose this kind of style to go with,” she explained in 2009. “These kinds of songs fit together and tell a story. I’ve never had an album that’s cohesive and tells a story from beginning to end. So, this is a first time for me. It’s fun.”

In 2009, Clarkson would bounce back with All I Ever Wanted, which was fronted by the single “My Life Would Suck Without You”. The project launched Clarkson to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and back into pop music’s good graces.

Lady Gaga

In 2016, Gaga surprised her fans with Joanne. The album gave her a bit of a country-folk edge while keeping her pop roots intact. “What I wanted to do is bring all different types of people together that love different things,” she shared in an interview about the inspiration for the project. Unfortunately, Joanne received mixed reviews from critics and ultimately became one of Gaga’s lowest-selling projects.

However, the pop star would later have a comeback with the song “Shallow” from 2018’s A Star Is Born. For the film, Gaga won both a Grammy and an Academy Award, which cemented her place in music and Hollywood.

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