SUCCESS:

Justin Timberlake

Robbie Williams

Taylor Swift(?)

Nikka Costa (remember First Love?)

FAIL:

Rick Astley (tried to step into a more serious territory with "Cry for Help" but Never Gonna Give You Up apparently did unrecoverable irreversible damage).

Gary Barlow (Take That)

Debbie Gibson (tried to get some street cred by hanging out with The Circle Jerks and dived into a mosh pit, never to be heard from again)

Likely to FAIL:

Justin Bieber (a series of recent PR disasters don't help matters, and he just seems really really confused (watch his Billboard Awards speech)

Miley Cyrus (thank you VMA)

LIMBO:

JC Chasez (N'Sync)

Christina Aguilera (released one decent album at one point, sang James Brown at the Grammys, only to fall again to the Bubble Gum Kingdom)

NEVER EVEN TRIED

Britney Spears

[Edited 9/10/13 2:39am]

KISS ...recovered but into what?

I always thought Luis Miguel and Hanson made smoother transitions to adult styles even if Hanson's never quite caught on commercially, they're still going.

As for that "never even tried" type of pop acts, there's a lot of acts who still are doing bubblegum or were in their 50s.

"Never recovered" means never recovered from the heights of their fame during their bubblegum years and those people would fit a 100-page biography.

luvsexy4all said:

KISS ...recovered but into what?

I don't agree, Kiss haven't changed much. They've always been pretty much the same musically, except when they tried to go art-rock for Music From The Elder. They've always been aimed at younger fans who are into comic books and fireworks shows. And if you liked that stuff when you were 8 you'll still like it when you're 48. That's why guys like me might still go see them when they come to town.

Alanis Morrissette and Tori Amos both had first albums that were aimed at a young audience before they came into their own. Hanson is a good call. Timberlake too.

Yeah I forgot Alanis.

George Michael from Wham! That is miraculous. Still love Wham though.

Cinny said:

Cinny said:

George Michael from Wham! That is miraculous. Still love Wham though.

GM/Wham! never struck me as a bubblegum artist. Save for "Wake Me Up" but they were more serious than their images let on.

Timmy84 said:

aardvark15 said:

Timmy84 said:

GM/Wham! never struck me as a bubblegum artist. Save for "Wake Me Up" but they were more serious than their images let on.

"Wham. Bam. I am. A man." They did quite a bit of bubblegum

Good point. I forgot about that song.

Cinny said:

Well there was quite an image overhaul and transformation that appealed to an audience that would have dismisses him as bubblegum until he dropped FAITH

He did have a boy band look...

Little Stevie Wonder

New Edition

Donny & Marie

Jackson 5

Paul Anka

Ricky Martin (but not Menudo as a group, since members were kicked out at 16)

Bee Gees (started out a child group)

Sister Sledge

.

Didn't really make it:

David Cassidy

Shanice Wilson

Tracie Spencer

Bobby Sherman

Leslie Gore

The Boys

Tommy Roe

Stacy Lattisaw

DeFranco Family

Frankie Avalon

[Edited 9/10/13 14:01pm]

How about Mandy Moore? She came out during the late 90's just as Britney, Christina Aguilera, the Backstreet Boys and NSYNC were dominating the airwaves and sales with bubblegum teen pop. While she didn't have the sales of her slightly older peers, she never felt the need to take off her clothes and sing sexually overt material like Britney and Christina just to show that she was grown up. Since then she's gotten more notice for her acting gigs (like Saved and Tangled) but she still releases new music.

UnderMySun said:

How about Mandy Moore? She came out during the late 90's just as Britney, Christina Aguilera, the Backstreet Boys and NSYNC were dominating the airwaves and sales with bubblegum teen pop. While she didn't have the sales of her slightly older peers, she never felt the need to take off her clothes and sing sexually overt material like Britney and Christina just to show that she was grown up. Since then she's gotten more notice for her acting gigs (like Saved and Tangled) but she still releases new music.

Mandy Moore definitely made a good transition. She's like Hanson. Not without big sales but still a very respectable career. And she never ditched her wholesomeness. Let's face it, Britney and Christina had already lost their innocence by the time they took off in their careers anyway. Mandy could be forgiven for "Candy" lol

vikfunk said:

Michael Jackson.

thedoorkeeper said:

Michael Jackson.

Ain't that the fuckin' truth.