Comeback Kings: The Greatest Music Career Revivals To Date
Need a lesson on the key to success and longevity in the music industry? Ask any one of these comeback stars. These musicians have witnessed the biggest tests of their greatness, beating the odds against public scrutiny, lackluster albums, and learning how to prove the critics wrong when everyone’s already ruled them out as a has-been. A few of these guys have even proved that taking a much-needed break from the public eye doesn’t mean that you’ll never be heard from again. Take a look at 10 artists who witnessed the highs and lows of the music business, and somehow managed to return to their previous glory days stronger than before.
Mariah Carey
A lot of people were ready to rule Mariah out as a diva past her prime after her infamous public breakdown in 2001. Whether it was that questionable and completely random TRL appearance, or the performance of her debut film project, Glitter, the odds for the octave queen to continue her reign were looking slim. After a lukewarm comeback with the 2002 album, Charmbracelet, it was clear that MC had one more shot before her three strikes were up. Thankfully, her 2005 masterpiece The Emancipation of MiMi became a saving grace, giving her the best-selling album of that year and the song of the decade with “We Belong Together.”
Eminem
Battling through personal problems that were clearly brought on by the turmoil he rapped about on wax, Eminem went through a bit of a hiatus in the mid-2000s. It wasn’t due to a decline in success either. By that point, each of his albums had charted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, aside from his debut, The Slim Shady LP. After letting five years go by following 2003’s Encore, in addition to rumors of retirement and naming his last album "The Funeral," Em came back with Relapse to let out the build-up of his issues in the studio. While the project did earn him the best-selling rap album of that year, it wasn’t until the follow-up project, 2010’s Recovery, that his critical acclaim matched the record sales. After that, the king of hip-hop was back in full form.
Daft Punk
Nightlife fiends might have actually been cool waiting another eight years to hear new music from Daft Punk, mainly because they were still dancing to timeless hits like “Around The World” and “One More Time.” When they came back in 2013 with Random Access Memories, no one could have predicted the universal approval of their sound this time around. Of course, the Pharrell-assisted monster smash “Get Lucky” helped with some of that success, leading the French duo to Album of the Year and Record of the Year wins at the 2014 Grammy Awards. At the end of the day, it all comes back to the power of dance.
Sade
R&B songstress Aaliyah once said about Sade, “She can leave us for eight years and come back and be absolutely mind blowing.” After doing just that in the near-decade gap between Love Deluxe and Lovers Rock, the soul queen proved Baby Girl’s words to be true once again by letting a full 10 years pass before dropping the follow-up. Without missing a beat, Sade came back strong on the 2010 album Soldier Of Love, even though it was only comprised of 10 songs that clocked in at just over 40 minutes. Even if we have to wait another decade to hear more music, at least we’ll know that it will result in another masterpiece. History clearly repeats itself when it comes to Sade.
Justin Timberlake
Not too many pop singers take time off while they’re still on top of the game. Then again, launching a successful film career and becoming a member of Saturday Night Live’s coveted Five-Timers Club does have its demands. Just ask Justin Timberlake. After proving that he wasn’t a sophomore slump in 2006 — the album spewed out hits for a year straight — Justin surprisingly took a break from the music world for a whopping seven years. Although he stayed busy on feature tracks for Madonna, Rihanna and frequent collaborator Timbaland, he didn’t make a return to the studio for his own full-length album until 2013’s The 20/20 Experience. The result? Almost a million copies sold in the first week and a reclaimed position as the current king of the new pop generation. Not even the other Justin and his army of fans could top that.
Prince
It’s hard to imagine a time when Prince wasn’t seen as a cultural icon in pop music. However, a lot of people questioned his antics during the better half of the ’90s, mainly during his transition from Prince to going by “The Love Symbol.” His relationship with Warner Bros. played out like a public wrestling match, and the drama was clearly affecting album sales. Starting with 1994’s Come, the decline in chart success turned Prince into an artist dead set on finding his creative freedom. It wasn’t until 10 years later with the release of Musicology that he finally found a common ground to release great music that would actually sell significantly. In less than a year, album was certified Double Platinum and garnered him two Grammy Awards for “Call My Name” and the title track.
Nas
Hip-hop has always been, and probably always will be, a 24/7 competitive sport. Once you’re on top, there’s no time to rest. Putting the mic down, even for a minute, will make another emcee with hunger and a pen game eager to snatch it up. That’s why people were ready to rule out Nas, often referred to as the lyrical messiah of hip-hop, after the backlash from his controversial 2008 album. Even though the album did relatively well, the public focused on all the negativity surrounding him, including his divorce with ex-wife and fellow pop star, Kelis. After putting out his passion project with Damian Marley in 2010, Esco came back in 2012 to channel everything into the Life is Good album. Not only did it appear on virtually every “best of” list in 2012, but the album also proved that Nas still has a place in the game amongst newer guys like Meek Mill and Kendrick Lamar.
Johnny Cash
The casual music listener could literally get lost in Johnny Cash’s decade-defining album catalogue. After a lengthy span of hit records, personal setbacks, and potentially career-ending close calls, Cash became somewhat of a “greatest hits” artist by the ’80s. However, after he linked up with super producer Rick Rubin for the 1994 country classic, American Recordings, a new generation of fans, contemporaries and successors recognized him once again as an icon in the world of folk rock. The album won Cash the 1994 Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album, and went on to launch the stellar Rubin-assisted American series that continued until his death in 2003. Did we mention that it was also his 81st album? Most artists are grateful just to get a third one.
Portishead
Both 1994’s Dummy and the 1997 self-titled album Portishead were masterpieces on record, introducing the world to a trip-hop sound that would go on to inspire hits by Gorillaz and Kanye West. Unfortunately, Portishead went down the “on hiatus” route after their second album, allowing bands like Zero 7 and Massive Attack to take over the early 2000s post-trip-hop movement. By the time they finally released Third in 2008, what could have been a “too little, too late” album ended up being equally acclaimed as their past two records. Six years later, we’re back to the waiting game for another album. Thankfully, they’ve been frequently doing live tour dates.
Green Day
Following the multi-platinum success of Nimrod, Green Day took a pretty normal three years to come back with another album. However, 2000’s Warning was a step away from their usual hard edge sound and lyrical subject matter. Not too many people were ready to hear motivational music from one of America’s favorite punk bands of the ’90s, and the proof was in the reception from fans and critics alike. After another four years filled with compilations and a scrapped album, the guys of Green Day came back strong with American Idiot. Every single they released off that album from "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" to “Holiday” was a success in its own right, and got back to the sound that fans loved.
Need a lesson on the key to success and longevity in the music industry? Ask any one of these comeback stars. These musicians have witnessed the biggest tests of their greatness, beating the odds against public scrutiny, lackluster albums, and learning how to prove the critics wrong when everyone’s already ruled them out as a has-been. A few of these guys have even proved that taking a much-needed break from the public eye doesn’t mean that you’ll never be heard from again. Take a look at 10 artists who witnessed the highs and lows of the music business, and somehow managed to return to their previous glory days stronger than before.