Successful Singers/Performers that you think are overrated

[NotHardUp1]

I have to say Elton John.

The problem with the PC aspect of criticizing celebrities is their connotation with virtue. Elton John seems to be a paragon of nice, but his performance seemed like it had overstayed.

This same staleness pretty much followed almost all the megastars, going back to Elvis, Sinatra, and probably before. Mae West and others essentially became living parodies of themselves.

It's not universally true. I think stars like Ella Fitzgerald and some other icons were terrific until the end.

 

[Dargelos]

A star like Ella who sings standards is singing songs that were built ot last forever, so their performance never grows stale.
But nobody writes standards anymore so it is difficult for new singers to join her exalted league.

 

[rareboy]

 

[The Loner]

Prince

 

[nycguydowntown]

Taylor swift - can’t stand her - but I never got Mary J Blige and I tried

 

[fredroy]

Overrated, hmm. Ok, in no particular order:

The Beetles
The Eagles
Madonna (for the last 20 plus years at least)
U2
Michael Jackson
Bee Gees
Creed ("With arms wide open" is super awesome and makes my eyes wet, I just can't stand his voice.)
Willy Nelson
Cher
Elvis
Fleetwood Mac
Kansas

I can keep going. The above all have some great tunes but the hype of "they are the bestest ever" is nonsense.

Explorer says I have 120 GB of tunes. I play it all via SlimServer feeding a few Squeezeboxes. Skipping the "not in the mood" stuff is easy.

 

[Thad1527]

And we've barely mentioned country music.

I'd include Chris Young and Eric Church.

 

[rmcrae]

The Beatles. Tried getting into their stuff and it did nothing for me.

 

[rmcrae]

MARIAH FRIGGIN CAREY Sure she has some good songs but these lite fm stations putting AIWFCIY during the holidays is nuts it is practically every other song heres Perry Como followed by Mariah Carey, up next Eartha Kitt followed by Mariah Carey bleech put Michael Meyers in the closet this year!

 

[MartyandRosie]

Michael can't sing Bolton

 

[LoveMyPeppermill]

Madonna is not a great singer

I'm reminded of what Meryl Streep said about Madonna having purchased the rights and starred in the film version of Evita, whose title role Meryl had very much wanted to play:

"I could rip her throat out. I can sing better than she can, for what that's worth."

 

[LoveMyPeppermill]

I remember, about ten years ago, seeing a magazine cover (I think it was Jet) at a subway newsstand: "Mariah Carey: America's Most Misunderstood Black Woman"

I actually blurted out loud, "Mariah Carey's black???"

I swear, I had no idea.

 

[The Loner]

I remember, about ten years ago, seeing a magazine cover (I think it was Jet) at a subway newsstand: "Mariah Carey: America's Most Misunderstood Black Woman"

I actually blurted out loud, "Mariah Carey's black???"

I swear, I had no idea.

 

[LoveMyPeppermill]

Essence, yes. Thank you.

 

[LeicsDom]

I remember, about ten years ago, seeing a magazine cover (I think it was Jet) at a subway newsstand: "Mariah Carey: America's Most Misunderstood Black Woman"

I actually blurted out loud, "Mariah Carey's black???"

I swear, I had no idea.

She isn't black, rather mixed race. But then these days anything less than 5 generations white is classed as black

 

[ShadowCat]

I remember, about ten years ago, seeing a magazine cover (I think it was Jet) at a subway newsstand: "Mariah Carey: America's Most Misunderstood Black Woman"

I actually blurted out loud, "Mariah Carey's black???"

I swear, I had no idea.

About 15 years ago I was at best buy when *clutch your pearls girls* they still had dvds and they had 4 dvds of hers she started off white went Italian then puerto rican and finally ended at black! It was like those old Animorphs books!

 

[fredroy]

Overrated, hmm. Ok, in no particular order:

The Beetles
The Eagles
Madonna (for the last 20 plus years at least)
U2
Michael Jackson
Bee Gees
Creed ("With arms wide open" is super awesome and makes my eyes wet, I just can't stand his voice.)
Willy Nelson
Cher
Elvis
Fleetwood Mac
Kansas

I can keep going. The above all have some great tunes but the hype of "they are the bestest ever" is nonsense.

Explorer says I have 120 GB of tunes. I play it all via SlimServer feeding a few Squeezeboxes. Skipping the "not in the mood" stuff is easy.

To shorten the list, if they spout off about politics it ruins a lot of their music for me.

 

[Thad1527]

Although Mika IS NOT overrated himself.

 

[rmcrae]

I remember, about ten years ago, seeing a magazine cover (I think it was Jet) at a subway newsstand: "Mariah Carey: America's Most Misunderstood Black Woman"

I actually blurted out loud, "Mariah Carey's black???"

I swear, I had no idea.

About 15 years ago I was at best buy when *clutch your pearls girls* they still had dvds and they had 4 dvds of hers she started off white went Italian then puerto rican and finally ended at black! It was like those old Animorphs books!

Mariah's always been honest about her racial background. From day 1 she's said her mother is Irish-American and her father was black and part Venezuelan. The media chose to play dumb and run with their own false narrative about her racial identity. At the end of the day WGAF anyway? The woman is incredibly talented and a legend.

 

[KaraBulut]

The Taylor Swift lite girl. I don’t even know what her name is but all she sings about is her ex. She sings that drivers license song.

Olivia Rodrigo. She's talented but she needs to stop writing and singing songs that all sound alike.

Mariah's always been honest about her racial background. From day 1 she's said her mother is Irish-American and her father was black and part Venezuelan. The media chose to play dumb and run with their own false narrative about her racial identity. At the end of the day WGAF anyway? The woman is incredibly talented and a legend.

She was honest, true. But she also straightened her hair, started spray tanning her skin and got plastic surgery to the point that she is barely recognizable.

All needlessly, because she's incredibly talented to the point that we overlook that she's cray-cray.


Since you said "singer-performer", it's harder to name names. Several of the people listed so far are good performers but not great live singers. Like Rihanna. Like Kanye. Like Fergie. Like Adam Levine. Like Jennifer Lopez. Like Drake. Like Leonard Cohen.