10 Music Videos That DESTROYED An Artist's Careers

Top 10 Music Videos That Destroyed an Artist’s Career

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most controversial music videos that directly or indirectly had a negative impact on the artist’s reputation.

#10: “Hate Me Now” (1999)

Nas feat. Puff Daddy
Nas’ 1999 single “Hate Me Now” received equal love from both fans and critics. However, when the music video premiered, it set many tongues wagging. In the original cut, Nas portrayed Jesus being crucified, with Sean Combs, as Puff Daddy, playing a criminal beside him. The video received backlash for this depiction, but the internal conflict that arose was even more damaging. After consulting with his religious leader, Combs, who was a Catholic, requested his crucifixion scenes be edited out. Nevertheless, the unedited version aired on MTV’s “Total Request Live”. This infuriated Combs, who stormed the office of Nas’ manager, Steve Stoute, and allegedly attacked him. Stoute sued Combs as a result, and reached a $500,000 out-of-court settlement.

#9: “Get Her Back” (2014)

Robin Thicke
In 2013, Robin Thicke soared to pop music stardom with his ubiquitous hit “Blurred Lines”. The following year, however, his career took a nosedive when he tried using music to win back his then wife Paula Patton. Thicke released “Get Her Back,” a bizarre apology song with an even more bizarre music video. It featured the artist, battered and bloodied, singing right into the camera, while apparent text messages between the couple floated on the screen. Oddly, it also included a random woman caressing his body, which perhaps wasn’t the wisest addition to a plea for forgiveness. “Get Her Back” clearly failed in its mission and ultimately contributed to tanking whatever was left of Thicke’s career.

#8: “Swish Swish” (2017)

Katy Perry feat. Nicki Minaj
Prior to her 2017 effort “Witness,” Katy Perry was a dominant force in pop music. But when the album’s singles were rolled out, each less interesting than the last, many felt Perry had perhaps lost her creative spark. The final nail in the coffin seemingly came with “Swish Swish”. While the song itself was praised for its themes of empowerment, the lackluster music video received the complete opposite reaction. Overcrowded with celebrity cameos and lame attempts at comedy that were more embarrassing than funny, this clip was, to put it nicely, terrible. It certainly left a bad taste in everyone’s mouths as “Swish Swish” was the last single from the album to chart on the Billboard Hot 100.

#7: “Shush Up” (2014)

Alison Gold
Throughout music history, numerous teens and tweens have aspired to become the next pop sensation. In the early 2010s, Alison Gold was one such hopeful, making her solo debut in 2013 with the critically panned “Chinese Food”. The following year, Gold released “Shush Up,” another poorly received song, accompanied by a highly controversial music video. The clip, which featured suggestive themes and inappropriate costumes, faced heavy backlash, much of which was directed at Gold’s producer, Patrice Wilson. This led to a petition aimed at preventing Wilson, who was also responsible for the infamous Rebecca Black song “Friday,” from exploiting other young artists. Ultimately, the video was removed from Wilson’s official YouTube channel and Gold quietly disappeared from the spotlight.

#6: “Don't Tell Me How to Live” (2021)

Kid Rock
Known for his controversial behavior and utterances, Kid Rock decided to up the ante in 2021 with the release of “Don't Tell Me How to Live”. The song compiled practically all his past derogatory comments, while taking aim at his critics and, of course, “woke” culture. To make matters worse, the rap rock artist put out a cringe-worthy music video, in which he dons a fur coat and flips off the camera an inordinate number of times. Then, just in case you missed just how little he cared about your opinions, he is launched into space on a giant middle finger. It was such a ridiculous show that many mistook it for a “Weird Al” Yankovic parody.

#5: “Big Bad Wolf” (2011)

Duck Sauce
This bizarre clip certainly lives up to its title as Billboard’s Most Disturbing Video of 2011. A full year after the release of their 2010 hit “Barbra Streisand,” the legendary electronic music duo Duck Sauce returned with “Big Bad Wolf”. While the song itself is pretty catchy, the music video puts an absurd twist on the phrase “well endowed”. The premise follows two ordinary working men who are revealed to be packing the heads of the band members between their legs. This concept generated quite the controversy and the song failed to match the success of their previous hit. Unfortunately, it became the last song by Duck Sauce to chart in the UK.

#4: “My Jeans” (2010)

Jenna Rose feat. Baby Triggy
Before Rebecca Black became the face of cringe-worthy teen pop in the early 2010s, there was Jenna Rose. In 2010, Rose teamed up with another young artist named Baby Triggy to put out “My Jeans”. The music video, released in October that year, immediately went viral but not for the right reasons. The cheesy lyrics and painfully auto-tuned vocals gave the same sensation as watching a car crash. It was impossible to look away. Whichever adult was making the decisions here clearly needed another adult to supervise them. This could very well have been the start of two promising careers in music, but after this video, everyone turned their gaze to something else and never looked back.

#3: “Literally I Can't” (2014)

Play-N-Skillz feat. Redfoo, Lil Jon & Enertia McFly
In the early 2010s, it was near-impossible to escape LMFAO. The duo, consisting of Sky Blu and Redfoo, had two massive chart-topping hits, but then went on an indefinite hiatus in 2012. Subsequently, Redfoo kicked off a solo career, which essentially came to a screeching halt after he was featured on the controversial song “Literally I Can’t”. The accompanying music video depicted a raucous frat party where a group of sorority girls are forced to drink despite voicing their objection by repeating the song’s title. It was heavily criticized for being misogynistic and led to a petition calling for Redfoo’s removal as a judge on Australia’s “The X Factor”. His career sputtered afterwards with just one album which, literally, was a commercial flop.

#2: “Hello Kitty” (2014)

Avril Lavigne
The fourth single from Avril Lavigne’s self-titled album, “Hello Kitty” was an ode to the artist’s love for the titular Japanese brand. Nevertheless, the accompanying music video, which featured Lavigne in a hyper-stereotyped version of Japanese culture, was deemed offensive by fans and critics alike. The combination of Lavigne’s image, the seemingly vapid lyrics, as well as the neon and anime-inspired visuals felt like a misguided attempt to cash in on the latest trend. And it sure didn’t help that the song’s EDM influence was a far cry from her established sound. “Hello Kitty” certainly left a stain on Lavigne’s discography, as she has only charted one other song in the U.S. since.

#1: “Rock Me Tonite” (1984)

Billy Squier
In the ‘80s, many rockstars maintained a macho image that carried on through their songs, live performances and music videos. For a brief moment during that period, Billy Squier was a rising star, with two of his albums reaching the top five on the Billboard 200. However, his rapid rise was essentially paralyzed with the release of 1984’s “Rock Me Tonite”. The song itself was pretty successful, but the music video could be described as the exact opposite of the so-called macho rockstar image. With cheesy choreography from future “High School Musical” director Kenny Ortega, the video mostly featured Squier dancing and writhing around a room by himself. The vibe change didn’t go down well with many young rock fans and significantly affected sales of Squier’s subsequent music. Squier says the whole thing is “an MBA course in how a video can go totally wrong.”

Did we miss any other career-poisoning music videos? Let us know in the comments below!