4 Pop Artists Who Were Canceled by Their Labels

These artists had major beef with their respective labels, and they were more or less “canceled” by those labels before they had a chance to become really huge. Let’s dive in, shall we?

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1. JoJo

JoJo was first signed by her label Blackground at the tender age of 12 years old. Her early 2000s debut yielded huge hits like “Leave (Get Out)” and “Too Little Too Late”, and JoJo was set to be the next big pop superstar.

Sadly, even though JoJo was clearly what listeners wanted, her label basically ignored her for years. And they ignored her despite having a seven-album deal signed, starting in 2004. While she worked on her third album, the label demanded constant reshoots and rerecordings before promptly ignoring her. JoJo tried to leave several times, but she was bound by a contract to basically sit around and do nothing forever. She launched a lawsuit against the label that was tied up in the courts for years before she was finally released.

2. Fifth Harmony

With billions of views and streams under their belt, it’s hard to say that Fifth Harmony didn’t make it to superstardom. They definitely did make it big, but their label more or less prevented them from enjoying a longer (and more pleasant) career. This girl group was huge from the moment they debuted on The X Factor, but they disbanded in 2018 after the departure of Camila Cabello.

Fifth Harmony was historically treated terribly by their label and management team, and worked tirelessly to release albums annually without much in the way of pay. Lauren Jauregui even said at one point that they were “literal slaves” to Epic Records.

3. Rachel Platten

You probably know Rachel Platten from her 2015 single “Fight Song”. The track was absolutely everywhere, after all. Platten should have been a much bigger name from that song’s staying power alone.

A pretty unfortunate case of artists who were canceled by their labels, Platten debuted with Rock Ridge in 2011. Her debut album wasn’t very successful. Her manager left her, the label fell apart, and her launch into pop stardom was ruined. She found some success with “Fight Song”, but too much time was lost to the wreckage her first label created.

4. Kesha

This is probably the most famous example of artists who were canceled by their labels. Kesha was huge in the late 2000s and could have easily become an even bigger name throughout the 2010s. Sadly, Kesha (we have to say “allegedly” here) was assaulted by her music producer, Dr. Luke. 

She could not exit her deal and was more or less forced to work with her abuser or not work at all. The whole debacle caused an enormous uproar among her fans, especially since she couldn’t legally produce music outside of her label. The case was settled out of court in 2023.

Photo by Dana Trippe / Shore Fire Media

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