These musicians aren't for everyone. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at musicians who are notoriously disliked for their creative material, public image, or general personality.
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00:00 "How the hell do we wind up like this?"
00:03 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down musicians who are notoriously disliked
00:09 for their creative material, public image, or general personality.
00:13 We're not going as far as artists whose reputation was entirely destroyed by serious
00:18 scandals.
00:19 "I don't wanna play no games, play no games."
00:24 Number 10.
00:25 Coldplay
00:26 "Look at the stars, look how they shine for you."
00:33 Coldplay is undeniably one of the biggest bands around.
00:37 Their acclaim and cultural impact have earned massive fandom, as well as massive backlash.
00:42 Scrutinizing listeners typically find their music banal and cloying.
00:46 It got worse as a band that helped bring British alternative into the 21st century slipped
00:51 deeper into pop.
00:53 Most of the heat is directed at Chris Martin for his frontman frilliness and pretentious
00:57 persona.
00:58 "Nobody said it was easy."
01:04 Sure, some critics appreciate contemporary rockers achieving this much success on DIY
01:10 songwriting and musicianship.
01:12 The band is still so contrived, so smug, that the critics are drowning out the fans.
01:17 "Can't cherish the bells a-ringing, Roman Catholic choirs are singing."
01:24 Coldplay's announcement that they will stop recording new material after 2025 has
01:28 peculiarly been met with little outcry.
01:31 "I'm the champion of the world."
01:37 Number 9.
01:38 Iggy Azalea
01:39 "First things first, I'm the realest.
01:40 Realest.
01:41 Drop this and let the whole world feel it."
01:44 In 2014, it appeared Iggy Azalea could back up the title of her chart-topping debut, A
01:50 New Classic.
01:51 It wasn't long before hip-hop fans designated her a poster child for cultural appropriation.
01:56 One-time rival Azalea Banks led this backlash with claims that some white rapper's popularity
02:02 is orchestrated.
02:03 Online deep-diving also led some to believe that Azalea clinged to rap because she didn't
02:08 have the chops for pop.
02:11 "You won't find a girl like me."
02:13 The Australian's musical accent does sound suspiciously like Southern hip-hop.
02:18 "Don't need dog rules, I am the strip club.
02:19 Don't need real life, I am the strip club.
02:20 I do the left dance, I ride the polo."
02:24 She might have received more support if not for tone-deaf comments on Race and a history
02:28 of offensive social media posts.
02:31 Azalea still has a formidable fanbase.
02:33 But with her continuing controversy over her awkward lyrics, aesthetic and personal life,
02:39 her profile has plummeted.
02:47 Number 8.
02:48 Tekashi 6ix9ine.
02:54 Rapper Daniel Hernandez is a true SoundCloud success story under some variation of the
02:59 stage name Tekashi 6ix9ine.
03:01 Granted his scandals are about as viral as his music, Hernandez's propensity for reckless
03:12 misadventure and crime first went public in 2015 when he pleaded guilty to sexualizing
03:18 a minor in a music video.
03:20 He later served two years in prison for illegal firearms and racketeering after snitching
03:25 on some associates.
03:26 This completely made Hernandez a pariah in his circles and the broader music industry.
03:37 Just for good measure, he's picked petty feuds with the likes of Ariana Grande and
03:42 Justin Bieber.
03:43 Whatever 6ix9ine's fans think of his attitude in music, what Kred Hernandez has left as
03:48 a person is sour.
03:53 Number 7.
03:54 Limp Bizkit.
04:01 Limp Bizkit was at the forefront of the new metal craze of the 90s.
04:05 That doesn't count for much with critics of the controversial music genre.
04:09 This band's crass tone and hostile songwriting are considered particularly obnoxious.
04:14 Many find this brand artificial and the music altogether superficial.
04:24 Whether the band deserves to be judged by a stereotypical frat boy fanbase, frontman
04:29 Fred Durst has earned his share of controversy.
04:32 He has led high-profile music feuds, harassed alleged ex-Britney Spears and directed some
04:37 bad movies.
04:41 Some music historians even charge Durst with helping to incite the riots of Woodstock '99.
04:46 Limp Bizkit's cult following is still going strong, but their haters have a credible claim
04:51 to their legacy.
04:55 Number 6.
04:56 Nicki Minaj.
05:01 The self-proclaimed "Queen of Rap" didn't get to where she is without stirring some
05:05 controversy.
05:06 But the hate isn't just over Nicki Minaj's explicit lyrics and pop-ready brand.
05:16 First off, she has publicly feuded with legions of both major and rookie rappers.
05:21 Meanwhile, she's eager to defend her husband and brother over their respective sex crime
05:26 convictions.
05:27 Such scandals have sparked serious debates over Minaj's status as a feminist icon.
05:32 Her history of bigoted comments and stereotypical alter egos haven't helped.
05:40 Rather than express growth through years of criticism, Minaj mostly stays in the defensive.
05:45 She asserts that today's female artists will never know the disdain she suffered.
05:49 While her impact on hip-hop can't be disregarded, much of that disdain is valid.
06:00 Number 5.
06:01 Vanilla Ice.
06:07 Robert Van Winkle seemed incapable of controversy in the 1990s.
06:11 That was precisely the controversy.
06:14 Vanilla Ice rose from middle-class suburbs to become one of the decade's hottest rappers.
06:19 His stardom was quickly marred by accusations of poserdom, including the unauthorized sampling
06:24 of Queen's "Under Pressure" for the mega-hit "Ice Ice Baby."
06:32 More importantly, Ice epitomized the music industry's promotion of pop and white brands
06:36 over hip-hop's black foundation.
06:38 Many feel he was the wrong person to popularize and diversify the genre.
06:49 Multiple arrests for domestic abuse were certainly the wrong way to harden his image.
06:54 Ice now takes responsibility for his actions and for letting producers sanitize his brand.
07:00 Nonetheless, one of hip-hop's first superstars became one of its biggest jokes.
07:09 Number 4.
07:10 Nickelback.
07:16 Post-Grunge thrived as a more commercial form of alternative going into the 2000s.
07:21 While Nickelback weren't first or foremost on the scene, their success made them an easy
07:26 target for rock purists.
07:34 They heavily criticized the band for a simple repetitive style that's more cheesy than edgy.
07:39 The lyrics' arguably self-aware debauchery also doesn't jive with the pop tone or Chad
07:45 Kroger's cartoonishly grungy vocals.
07:48 Nickelback is widely seen as the prime example of rock and roll charlatans.
07:59 They may just be among the first victims of the internet age compounding negative mob
08:04 mentality.
08:05 Nickelback is undeniably popular, even respected among industry peers.
08:10 That's just how they remind haters of what mainstream rock has become.
08:20 Number 3.
08:21 Kid Rock.
08:27 Robert Ritchie has caused commotion ever since his pioneering mix of country and rap rock.
08:33 This rowdy style and a sometimes rowdier public image presented Kid Rock as a maverick.
08:38 To some though, the affluent-born Ritchie has always been a phony.
08:42 Now he's alienating everyone else by pushing his political outspokenness further to the
08:47 right.
08:48 Rock has turned explicitly misogynistic, homophobic and transphobic tirades into a brand.
08:53 And a few conservative celebrities are more publicly aggressive toward liberal ones' free
08:58 speech.
09:04 Confederate flags aside, Rock blurs the lines between patriotism and nationalism.
09:10 But unlike fellow Detroit rocker Ted Nugent, he tries to have it both ways.
09:15 Rock's clumsy and overly defensive activism has only rallied the opinion that he's a
09:20 fraud.
09:21 Number 2.
09:22 Chris Brown.
09:29 At one time, Chris Brown was credibly considered the king of R&B.
09:33 Then in 2009, he pleaded guilty to felony assault of his girlfriend Rihanna.
09:38 His subsequent relationship with Karrueche Tran ended with Brown fathering a child with
09:42 another woman, before his violent threats resulted in a restraining order.
09:46 Along the way, he's been arrested for fights, a hit and run and damaging his mother's car.
09:56 There are even allegations of sexual assault.
09:58 Although Brown has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, his ego and unceasing legal issues
10:04 suggest a lack of genuine remorse.
10:06 The music world now questions whether this groundbreaking artist deserves to maintain
10:10 his status, but nobody seems willing to defend him as a person.
10:16 Number 1.
10:33 Kanye West.
10:37 Rapper Kanye West's image has always been torn between highly acclaimed music and a
10:42 mostly bewildering ego.
10:44 He didn't win any fans by interrupting Taylor Swift's VMA acceptance speech to praise Beyonce.
10:58 His politics were also divisive back when he said George W. Bush didn't care about black
11:02 people and ran for president on a theocratic platform.
11:15 These and many other controversies were mostly tolerated for years confirmed, then denied
11:19 bipolar disorder.
11:21 The final straw came when he aligned with alt-right movements and began promoting anti-Semitic
11:26 rhetoric.
11:30 Yet the boycotts still haven't stopped his outrageous statements.
11:34 There's no telling what West will do next, let alone his motivations.
11:39 At this rate though, entertainment's biggest provocateur is running out of public sympathy.
11:49 Which music acts do you love to hate?
11:51 Are there any you're willing to defend?
11:53 Chime in in the comments!
12:05 [music]