So many pop stars and pop outfits made it big in the 1990s. Some of them went on to have careers that lasted well into the new millennium. Others, though, seemingly disappeared without a trace. Let’s take a look at just a few pop stars from the 1990s who disappeared after they became quite famous!
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1. Kriss Kross
Remember Kriss Kross? This hip-hop duo was set to be the next big thing in Southern hip-hop back in the 1990s. In fact, Mac Daddy and Daddy Mac were the youngest commercially successful duo in the industry at the ages of only 12 and 13 years old. You probably heard “Jump” back in 1992, which was a no. 1 Billboard hit for the young pair.
Kriss Kross had a few albums that charted well throughout the 1990s. However, they disbanded in 2002 and only appeared together periodically throughout the 2000s and 2010s. Sadly, Chris “Mac Daddy” Kelly passed away in 2013.
2. Sinead O’Connor
Sinead O’Connor probably wouldn’t love being included on this list of pop stars from the 1990s that disappeared. She never considered herself a pop star. She was best known for her charting hit from 1990, “Nothing Compares 2 U”, as well as her famous on-stage Pope-bashing incident on Saturday Night Live in 1992. However, O’Connor always considered herself a protest singer over a pop star.
After the SNL debacle, O’Connor’s career slowed down dramatically, and she wasn’t seen quite as much through the 2000s. Sadly, O’Connor passed away in 2023.
3. Seal
Seal was huge in the 1990s. The soul-folk pop star topped the charts with songs like “Crazy” and “Killer” in 1991, as well as “Kiss From A Rose” in 1994. He contributed to a few film soundtracks in the 1990s as well.
Once the 2000s hit, Seal continued to put out excellent work, and most of his albums received excellent praise from critics. Unfortunately, he hasn’t released an album since 2017. In the 2020s, Seal appeared in a number of films and TV series, including The Masked Singer, Seal Team, Me Time, and a Mountain Dew commercial during the 2025 Super Bowl.
4. Mandy Moore
This entry on our list of pop stars from the 1990s that disappeared was a showstopping star at the tail end of the decade. The release of her debut single “Candy” in 1999 was massively successful, and she continued to release chart-topping music and appear in films and television series well through the 2000s.
You don’t hear much about Mandy Moore anymore. However, she definitely hasn’t retired. She released her last album in 2022 with a number of celebrity collaborators. She also made news in 2025 for launching a GoFundMe page for relatives whose homes were lost in the Eaton Fire, stirring some controversy among fans.
Photo by SGranitz/WireImage
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