Sometimes, a talented artist will get a taste of fame and commercial success, only to virtually disappear from mainstream attention just as quickly. These five pop stars from the 2000s didn’t exactly go anywhere, but they more or less disappeared from the spotlight. Let’s find out what they’ve been up.
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1. JoJo
What would this list be without mentioning JoJo? This former teen star made it big with “Too Little Too Late” in 2005 when she was just 15 years old. “Leave (Get Out)” was another huge hit. She was on track to become very successful, and she definitely achieved that.
However, like most teen stars, her career waned as she aged. Couple that with a tough legal battle with her label that lasted for nearly a decade, and JoJo didn’t really release new music for a while.
2. Ashlee Simpson
One of the most controversial pop stars of the 2000s who disappeared, Ashlee Simpson was pretty successful in her early years. She was the next big thing in pop, with an “emo” attitude and aesthetic that set her apart from her blonde bombshell singer, Jessica Simpson.
Sadly, despite doing well with “Pieces Of Me” in 2004, Simpson’s career took a nosedive after that famous SNL lip-syncing scandal. She doesn’t really make music anymore, and her last appearance on TV was in 2024.
3. Akon
If you were a teenager in the 2000s (or, let’s be real, an adult), you probably loudly sang the lyrics to “Lonely” in the shower once or twice after a breakup. Akon basically exploded into stardom in the mid-2000s with his excellent pop-meets-R&B hits, and “Lonely” is one of the most memorable.
So, what happened to Akon? You might not hear about him as much, but he’s definitely been busy. He has been working on building a futurist city called Akon City in Senegal. However, the government and locals who offered their land for the project have threatened to take it back due to its lack of progress.
4. Jesse McCartney
“Beautiful Soul” was absolutely everywhere in 2004, as well as Jesse McCartney’s album of the same name. He was the next big thing in terms of teen idols, but his career began to wane after the 2000s. He released an album in 2021 and embarked on a tour to support it, though.
Despite not being in the limelight as much anymore, McCartney is still grateful for his career thus far. In an interview with Euphoria magazine, he described his career as a teen and as an adult as “amazing and fruitful”. We love a humble king!
5. Sean Kingston
This baby-faced reggae-pop star is one of the most sorely missed pop stars from the 2000s who disappeared. Sean Kingston made it big with “Beautiful Girls” in the early aughts, as well as “Fire Burning” and “Eenie Meenie”. However, by the 2010s, he started to fall off the map a bit and found himself in hot water. He survived an almost-fatal jet ski accident in 2011, and in 2024 faced federal charges for wire fraud.
Photo by Albert L. Ortega/WireImage
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