Top 10 Worst Comeback Songs of All Time

Jennifer Lopez

J.Lo’s 2024 has been one for the books — and by that, we mean a series of post-apocalyptic novels. A decade after her previous studio album, Lopez returned to music with an album, film, and planned tour all titled “This is Me… Now.” The new era celebrated her reconciliation and marriage to ex-fiancé, Ben Affleck, which she called “the greatest love story never told.” Unfortunately, things got off to a rocky start with lead single “Can’t Get Enough.” It wasn’t terrible, but it sounded just like her 2000s hits from the first go-around of Bennifer, without much evolution. Besides the song’s underperformance and derivative nature, its lyrics and wedding-themed video aged poorly: Lopez and Affleck announced their second split before the year even ended.

Robin Thicke

The jury on his career was looking blurry, but after this song, his comeback clearly wasn’t happening. On “Get Her Back,” Robin Thicke laments his split from his estranged wife, actress Paula Patton. Not only was the song a far cry from the immediate catchiness of “Blurred Lines,” but it overestimated the amount of public interest in his personal life. While Thicke may have been a solid B-list name, it relied on the mythology of his and Patton’s relationship and banked on people caring about their separation more than they actually did. Lightning probably wouldn’t have struck twice if Thicke had recreated “Blurred Lines,” but “Get Her Back” didn’t even come close to what made that song such a hit.

Gwen Stefani

This song is B-A-N-A-N-A-S — specifically, the peels that make you spin off track in Mario Kart. Gwen Stefani’s “Slow Clap” was the second of two singles meant to kick off her fifth solo album, but contrary to the title, it was mostly met with crickets and tumbleweeds. The song, which features Saweetie on the remix, would sound right at home in a Dreamworks movie or a back-to-school commercial. The music video’s gymnasium setting is a clear nod to Stefani’s past hit “Hollaback Girl,” but it feels like a juvenile, hollow attempt at recreating the latter’s magic without any of its edge. Seeing as its parent album never came, “Slow Clap” seemingly killed the era. Someone probably should have told her to put the pom-poms down.

Christina Aguilera

The title of this song tells you everything you need to know. With electropop having a moment at the turn of the 2010s, Christina Aguilera chased the trend on her ill-fated “Bionic” album, beginning with the lead single “Not Myself Tonight”...and she certainly wasn’t. On the track, Aguilera blatantly aped then-newcomer Lady Gaga’s style in a way that felt disrespectful to her own legacy. She even looks exactly like Gaga at certain points in the music video, and it’s painfully clear that that was the intention. “Not Myself Tonight” isn’t necessarily ‘bad,’ it just sounds like a discount version of “Poker Face,” coming from an artist with over a decade of her own hits.

Justin Bieber

With his 2015 album “Purpose,” Justin Bieber seemingly achieved the impossible. He successfully shed his uncool teenybopper rep, and people who weren’t tween girls could openly admit to liking him without ridicule. Unfortunately, this shift had a momentary dip with his next lead single, 2020’s “Yummy.” More of a TikTok sound bite than a full-fledged song, it was nonsensical, repetitive, and made people question his rehabilitated image. Unlike many of the other songs here, “Yummy” was a major hit and didn’t derail Bieber’s career. However, its inescapability added to its annoyance — even though it was universally panned, it was still absolutely everywhere. Despite the lyrics and visuals bringing to mind a stomach or toothache, it was really our ears that suffered with this one.

Lorde

From the Beach Boys to Jimmy Buffett, many an artist has sung about breezy tropical vacations. But when Lorde kicked off her hot girl summer era with “Solar Power,” the vibes were… off. The song simultaneously felt foreign and overly familiar. Sure, Lorde was bound to evolve as a musician, but this tonal shift was a far cry from what fans wanted from her, especially in the middle of the pandemic. To top it off, the song sounded tediously similar to past classics like “Freedom! ‘90” by George Michael. Given the state of the world, people needed more substance from the artist who brought moody melodrama to the mainstream. Instead, they got the musical equivalent of Lisa Frank dolphin art.

Vanilla Ice

This comeback was a brand new invention in some ways, and a retread of old ground in others. Eight years after the success of 1990’s “Ice Ice Baby,” Vanilla Ice released his third album, “Hard to Swallow.” Rather than continuing the playful pop rap of his early career, it adopted a totally different sound: nu metal. The lead single, “Too Cold,” was a reworked version of “Ice Ice Baby” in the style of Korn and Limp Bizkit. While the genre shift was an admirable creative risk, it omitted the original’s iconic piano rift lifted from Queen and David Bowie’s “Under Pressure.” “Too Cold” briefly gave Vanilla Ice’s career a second life, but it didn’t fully materialize into a successful long-term crossover.

Justin Timberlake

After his squeaky-clean hit “Can’t Stop the Feeling,” JT trolled us all with “Filthy.” The lead single of Justin Timberlake’s “Man of the Woods” album, it managed to crack the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 but lacked the longevity of his previous eras. “Filthy” is somehow all over the place and forgettable at the same time — it doesn’t measure up to his past hits, nor does it commit to the album’s Americana inspirations, leaving it stuck in an awkward limbo. Timberlake’s more recent output isn’t faring much better, with his 2024 singles “Selfish” and “Drown” failing to get in sync with listeners.

Fergie

This song walked so her national anthem disaster could run. Nearly a decade after her debut solo album, “The Dutchess,” Fergie was gearing up for its follow-up, “Double Dutchess.” Its lead single, “L.A. Love (La La)” had already been out since 2014, and 2016’s “M.I.L.F. $” was set to reignite the era. However, not even the song’s star-studded music video featuring Kim Kardashian and Chrissy Teigen could offset its abrasively busy production and grating vocals. There’s certainly a conversation to be had about ageism faced by female singers, but Fergie’s ode to sexy motherhood was just plain obnoxious. After “M.I.L.F. $,” it wouldn’t be shocking to see an ad for her career on the back of a milk carton.

Katy Perry

Sometimes, it only takes one song for an artist’s career to go from “American Idol” to “American Horror Story.” Katy Perry was already struggling since her 2017 album, “Witness,” severely underperformed, but the rollout of “Woman’s World” was an utter disaster. The song was panned for its dated sound, shallow pop feminist lyrics, and production from Dr. Luke, the subject of singer Kesha’s allegations. “Woman’s World” was especially frustrating because it could have gone differently if Perry played her cards right. In the year of Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter, the greater pop landscape was the closest it’s been to her campy style in recent memory, and the hype was there. Unfortunately, the song missed the mark, crushing any hope of a comeback.


Did any of these failed comebacks deserve justice, and what should these artists have done differently? Let us know in the comments.