ThePunisher said:

I thought Skyscraper did well in the US?

TonyVanDam said:

On the other hand, Ralph Tresvant was the voice of a very successful group yet was the least successful of all the New Edition spinoff acts. Virtually all his hit singles came during the N.E. euphoria. I can consider Rizzo's solo career a disappointment.

superspaceboy said:

It was disappointing to me... I wanted FUNKY Lionel, not ELEVATOR MUSIC Lionel!

That "Hello" video is too damn funny. I love that bust of Lionel's.

I still haven't forgiven the Grammy's for giving him 'Best Album' over Purple rain. What kind of f-d up sh!t was that?
[Edited 1/23/07 14:52pm]

uPtoWnNY said:

Yes, but this post is about folks who had disappointing solo careers. Not disappointing to you, but disappointing success wise.

I can see them giving Lionel the Grammy. He had been with the Thunderbirds and had a huge album prior. Prince for the most part was "up and coming" even though PR was album #6. Prince was up and coming but came so quickly, never did get his grammy.

SoulAlive said:

co-sign

CosmicTalk said:

If we're talking pop success, then Morris Day wasn't successful at all.

But speaking for myself, I'm very happy that he didn't sell out too easily wanting crossover success too much. He sound way better in funk more than mainstream pop.

Najee said:

But then again, Ralph's motives as a solo act was different from the other NE members by design.

Bobby Brown = New Jack Swing

Johnny Gill = R&B/Soul

Bell Biv Devoe = Hip-Hop/R&B.....with a pop appeal to it!

Ralph Tresvant = R&B/Dance-Pop

TonyVanDam said:

No one is saying Morris Day was a disappointment because he didn't try to be a crossover artist, though. His solo career has to be considered a disappointment because he didn't have sustained success overall, given the profile he enjoyed as the lead singer of The Time. Day only had two Top 10 R&B singles and moderate success with his major album releases.
[Edited 1/23/07 18:02pm]

TonyVanDam said:

It still doesn't change the fact that Ralph Tresvant had the least success as a New Edition spinoff, though. He always was considered the most crucial piece of the group and thought by many to be the one with the greatest chance of solo success.

Part of being considered a disappointing solo artist, IMO, is said artist's failure to reach a certain level of success based on his or her profile and/or acclaim in a previous incarnation. Considering that the practically marginal back-up singers of New Edition had a greater impact and more success than Tresvant, it's fair to call his solo career a disappointment.
[Edited 1/23/07 16:55pm]

Najee said:

To further support your point, Bobby actually has 3 platinum albums. Dance!... Ya Know It!, the remix album, also went platinum.

AlexdeParis said:

I knew that Bobby Brown's "Dance ... Ya Know It!" went platinum, but I didn't count it as an "in-play" album of new studio material.

Najee said:

I see.

SoulAlive said:

I find it rather bizarre that you're acting like Lionel Richie had some spectacular fall, a la MC Hammer. His 1986 release "Dancing on the Ceiling" -- the follow-up to 1984's "Can't Slow Down" -- sold four million units and produced four Top 10 singles and a fifth that just missed the Top 10. That hardly constitutes "crash and burn."

As for opening for Tina Turner on her farewell tour, keep in mind they were the only acts on the ticket and since it was her farewell tour guess who came out first. It was billed as the final tour for a very significant artist with another significant artist as the opening act -- you're acting like Richie was reduced to carnival sideshow.

People also keep forgetting that after "Dancing on the Ceiling," Richie took a near-decade sabbatical from the music industry until he released 1996's "Louder than Words."
[Edited 1/23/07 22:31pm]

lionel ritchie was one of the biggest acts of the 80's, yes his music was boring middle of the road but he was a major success. bobby brown was also huge for a minute, i think his solo career was bigger than his career with new edition.and to even mention chaka is ridiculous, most people never include the name rufus even when talking about her hits with them.
my disappointments are
el debarge
aaron hall
boy george
howard hewitt

lest we forget Chyna Phillips.

damosuzuki said:

dude u r funny

lowkey said:

I'm like you. I can't see how someone who has won six Grammys like Chaka Khan has since leaving Rufus can be considered a disappointment (she won two more with Rufus, and one of those was in the midst of her solo career for "Ain't Nobody").

Najee said:

Jesse Johnson, JT from Kool & The Gang, Boy George, Vanity, Rosie Gains, Aaron Hall.

I'm sure I can think of others.

Harlepolis said:

Rufus featuring Chaka Khan WAS the shit, but please don't call her a dumb bitch again or I'll punch you in the nose.

SoulAlive said:

I take issue with the Bobby Brown thing because his third album "Bobby" with humping around was a very good album. Listen to it again but because he married Whitney the press dogged it and him. He deserved to be dogged but the album was good.

dseann said:

I would say if anything, Jesse Johnson exceeded any expectations placed on him. He was simply known as the guitarist for The Time and had never shown any indication that he could have a recording career -- much less have a better solo career than his much higher profile bandmate, Morris Day.
[Edited 1/24/07 5:31am]

Najee said:

He might have exceeded your expectations of him but he still had a disappointing solo career.

dseann said:

How do you figure Jesse Johnson had a "disappointing solo career?" He was an unknown quantity with the music buying public at large when he left The Time. He had no expecations, no fan base and virtually no music profile when he left after "Ice Cream Castles."

Johnson drops a debut album that sells nearly 1 million copies and turns out three Top 5 R&B singles, and then continued to score hits with the "Shockadelica" and "Every Shade of Love" albums. All this from a guy who was practically a relatively obscure sideman in a group where Morris Day garnered all the attention and that included the burgeoning talents of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.

If anything, public awareness of Johnson came BECAUSE OF his solo career, not IN SPITE OF it. A disappointing solo career is defined by the latter, not the former. More importantly, how are you going to compare Johnson's situation with someone like James "JT" Taylor's or Aaron Hall's? Do you actually think Johnson was as highly regarded in The Time by the music-buying public as Taylor was with Kool & The Gang or Hall with GUY? Talk in absolute terms, not relative terms.
[Edited 1/24/07 6:28am]

My pick would be Wendy and Lisa.

lowkey said:

How is Boy George a disappointment?

dseann said:

x10

Kelly Rowland from Destiny's Child.

superspaceboy said:

At the tender age of, like 12, I discovered Boy George and he became someone I looked-up to because there was no closet. He simply "wore" it! I loved his hybrid musical tastes and you have to admit -- it was good and he could sing. Then the first scandal happened right after "From Luxury to Heartache" came out and it was the first time one of my idols fell from grace. Fast forward 20 years and another incident proves Boy George is not only human -- but practically stupid with his actions. His attitude is too much to "play nice" with Culture Club, make-up, and move-on with new material. He pitches a fit over their decision to carry-on with Sam Butcher. And yet, the way he makes headlines is through stupid mistakes. What happened to a sense of humility or returning a favor or two to the very community that supports him? What happened to the role model? What happened to the music?

purpleunderground said:

I guess maybe in that sense he is disappointing as a person and as a cultural Icon. But Boy George was never a nice person...always kinda bitchy with an ego to boot. The only person to really benefit from the CC days is him. Not sure exactly why he has shunned getting together with the best band he's ever had. I am sure it's tensions with the past, Helen and Jon. His drug use or being around drugs also isn't that surprising.

After CC, however, Boy has enjoyed a quite successful carreer. Of course much of this success came after he cleaned up off of Heroin. His first 3 solo efforts did ok commercially and he kept producing decent music with an occasion hit. It was really the 3rd album, The Martyr Mantras (released under Jesus Loves You) that really showed him stretching and growing as an artist and producer. It is, for me his finest moment as a musician/artist. He was discovering all kinds of talent and helping produce their music and careers on the More Protien label. Really fantastic stuff was released on this label. Unfortuneately, the label went under (not sure why). SInce then, he has still produced music and such. Nothing terribly outstanding (though there is a LOT of material out there...some of it's great, some, not so much) Now he mostly dj's and isn't concerned with producing newer material.

You should check out some of his solo material, if you haven't. I highly recommend The Martyr Mantras.

November said:

I was gonna say her but her career is just starting so I gave her a "pass" until she drops at least a 3rd album.