Pop Culture | Music | 00s | 90s
10 Musicians Who Probably Shouldn't Have Left Their Bands
As plenty of members of famous bands have learned the hard way, sometimes the audience might actually like your group much more than they like you. In particular, these 10 artists show that sometimes having a successful solo career is really hard, even if you have the credentials to go with it.
David Lee Roth
After leaving Van Halen and being replaced by Sammy Hagar, Roth went on a solo career for decades that most agree was painful to listen to compared to his previous highs.
Johnny Borrell
Borrell and his band Razorlight found massive success in the indie-rock boom of the early 2000s, but after the band dissolved, his solo career absolutely tanked. His first album only sold 594 copies in its first week.
Mick Jagger
His 2001 album, Goddess in the Doorway, was described by Rolling Stones bandmate Keith Richards as "It's like Mein Kampf - everyone had it, but no-one read it." OUCH.
Billy Corgan
The Smashing Pumpkins frontman took on a much more electronica-inspired sound when the band dissolved, and nobody was a fan.
Any of the Spice Girls
Seriously, after the massive impact the girl power group had on the charts, it's kind of shocking and saddening to see that none of them ever really had a hit again.
Seriously, it's kind of surprising how unsuccessful some of these next solo careers are...
Tommy Lee
Best known for making a pretty explicit home video with his then-wife Pamela Anderson, Lee spent his down time away from Motley Crue recording two solo albums, which have their fans but ultimately paled in sales compared to the 'Crue.
Nick Lachey
Ultimately remembered most as Jessica Simpson's reality-TV husband, Lachey's moderate success in 98 Degrees was never quite repeated in his solo career.
Nicole Scherzinger
Scherzinger skyrocketed to fame as a member of The Pussycat Dolls before striking off on her own. Her first album was only released in Europe and only charted in the UK, but ultimately she's still made millions off her career on TV, so all's well that ends well.
Michelle Williams
While her first album after Destiny's Child found some success, her next few absolutely tanked both critically and in terms of sales, especially when compared to Beyonce.
Nick Carter
The former Backstreet Boy struggled to find an audience in an era that largely didn't care about former boy-band members who weren't Justin Timberlake. Not exactly surprising then that the band would reunite years later.